ART CRITICISM AND CURATORIAL PRACTISE

The course is part of the Minor course in Art Criticism and Curatorship. The Minor is an interdisciplinary and non-divisible thematic path, complementary to the degree course, consisting of three courses of 6 CFU each, which allows you to enrich your main training area with transversal skills useful both for continuing studies and for the demands of the world of work.

- knowledge and understanding: to know the basic terminology of the subject; to know the main artists, critics and artworks, that will be discussed in the lessons;
- ability to apply knowledge and understanding: to know how to use the reference terminology with particular attention to the theoretical specificity of framework and the reference texts;
- communication skills: to be able to converse with an adequate and specific terminology within the project part of the course;
- knowing how to deal respectfully and fruitfully with teachers and students in class discussions and during planned outdoor visits

Knowledge of the main movements related to the history of Contemporary Art from the 1960s to current trends; interest in exhibitions, cultural and artistic production activities; motivation to confront with the figure of the artist and his space, where it is possible to figure out the artwork and to produce it; aptitude for a pragmatic and exploratory approach to knowledge

"Each work is specific in its exhibition space and its setting. In exhibition space, the relationship between work, artist and curator influences the meaning of the work itself". The path proposes a reflection on the dynamics that are activated in the complex relationship between artist, exhibition space and curatorial mediation at the moment of installation and ‘commissioning of an artwork’. Starting from some basic notions of exhibition design didactics, with relevant references on what is meant by the correct arrangement and communication of the works, a path will be built that encompasses technical aspects, such as the management of physical exhibitionspace, critical aspects, such as the nature of explanatory texts in presentation of a work, and phenomenological aspects, such as the importance of continuous remodulation of the artwork's meaning in function of its setting up. The three-steps objective is to delineate the moment of the exhibition as a particular learning environment and interaction of knowledge according to a constructivist, organic and trans-disciplinary approach. The next step involves a reflection on the ways of approaching the figure of the artist in his operating space during critical reflection on his work and in the modality of the temporary residence: the transition from the closed atelier to specific space-time of artistic production and the placement of the work in a place open to the public, which we call ‘exhibition’. The third moment concerns the introduction of certain modes of critical writing within this perimeter; the interview, the ‘exhibition’ texts, the review, the narrative interpretation of contemporary artworks in literature

With a collaborative and relational intention, in which the lecturer acts as facilitator, a lot of space will be offered to the participants' personal re-elaboration of contents with their own final paper (interview, review, exhibition project), sharing as much as possible an idea of knowledge that improves some practices. It is required the assimilation of some key concepts and knowledge of some fundamental historical steps on the evolution of curatorial figure and on the most influential exhibitions and set-ups.

written and oral

The grades will range from a minimum of 18 to a maximum of 30 with honours, comparing the written paper and the oral exam of the candidate.

Materials such as pdf files, images, videos with interviews with artists, illustrations of exhibited artworks, and introductions to some dynamics of curatorial practices will be used for this learning module. Reference will be made to exhibitions and living artists, including emerging ones. An extensive bibliography is provided for guidance to explore both the theoretical and museographic references proposed in the course and recent developments in curatorial practices and modes of dialogue with artists. It will be visits to exhibition and art spaces. A number of contemporary literature books will be suggested, in which it is possible to find particular examples of interpretation of artworks, created from the 1960s to the present day.

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