CONTEMPORARY ART - I

Knowledge of contemporary art history from the end of the 50's to nowadays, through the analysis of neoavant-garde movements, main contemporary artists and works of art, paying particular attention to the "art system" and connections between history and art history, to relationships between culture and arts.
This course (6 cfu) is a fundamental module of the whole course Arte contemporanea (12 cfu) for the EGArt Master's degree, connected with the other module - Arte contemporanea II (prof. Nico Stringa) - which presents itself as a monographic theme.
Arte contemporanea I can also be attended also as a single course for every Master's degree or for Erasmus program, as 6 cfu module.
The course has a particular relevance: in addition to presenting a program that allows to interpret the history of contemporary art, it gives notions about protagonists and mechanisms of the art system, useful to be connected to the themes of other EGArt teachings.

- knowledge and understanding: knowledge of terminology; knowledge of main artists' poetic and works of art, groups and movements in the field of visual arts from the Fifties to nowadays;
- ability to apply knowledge and understanding: knowledge of how to use a precise terminology and ability to recognize main artists and works of art specified on the program, formulating an explanatory and argumentative exposure about artists' works and poetics;
- ability to understand: how to analyze a work of art or an artist's poetry or a group / movement among the studied ones, relating them to a correct temporal and cultural collocation; to be able to argue with property of language and correct formal analysis;
- communication skills: knowing how to use an appropriate and specific terminology, introduced and explained at lesson or on recommended texts and books; apply a good Italian (or English) syntax and grammar; being able to behave in a respectful and profitable way with professors and peers;
- learning skills: being able to recognize the fundamental protagonists of the arts of the XX and XXI Century; being able to understand how to connect a work of art or an author to cultural and artistic movements / groups or to a specific cultural moment, making comparisons between different themes based on thematic, formal, poetic bases.

recommended but not indispensable knowledge of contemporary art history from the end of the XIX century to 50s, particularly basics on avantgarde artistic groups, the role of Marcel Duchamp and abstract expressionism (a short review will be presented at the beginning of the lessons)

Contemporary art from the the end of the 1950s to nowadays: new dada, nouveau realisme e pop art, op art, minimal e conceptual art, land art, process art, arte povera, body art, poesia visiva, performance e happening, video art, postmodern, posthuman e postproduction art, public art.
The contemporary art system: gallerists, art critics, curators, museums, auctions, fairs and biennials.
Topics on the role of the art curator: "Visions and prospectives" - management and curatorial decisions at Venice Biennale from 70s to nowadays.

bibliography for examination:
- Arte contemporanea. Le ricerche internazionali dalla fine degli anni ?50 a oggi, a cura di Francesco Poli, Mondadori Electa, Milano 2005 (ed edizioni successive)
- recommended reading: Francesco Poli, Il sistema dell'arte contemporanea. Produzione artistica, mercato, musei, Laterza, Bari Roma 1990.
- per il focus: small suggested reading from S. Portinari, Anni settanta. La Biennale di Venezia, Marsilio Editori 2018 (pp. 7-15 + pp. 16-29 + pp. 47-127 + pp. 129-174 + pp. 169-174 e 180-191 + pp. 327-329)

written examination composed by 4 questions about the general program (one of them will be about the topic or the art system)

frontal lessons with images projections, readings, revisions with students, case studies, possible lectures and visits to museums or exibitions

Italian

Non attendant students can write an email to the teacher to ask advices on the examination program, based on the same arguments studied by attendants.
If understanding books written in Italian seems quite difficult to some foreign student, Michael Archer, Art Since 1960, Thames & Hudson 2002 or similar is suggested as fundamentals.

written

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Human capital, health, education" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development