In an attempt to connect students more intimately to art making and art writing practices in the contemporary era, this course is specifically structured around seven international and national exhibitions that cover the years between 1958 and the present. This course places significant emphasis—and casts a critical eye—on the voices of artists and curators as they emerge within the exhibition format especially. The range of source material that students will encounter within ARTH 339 is purposefully broad, encompassing exhibition catalogues, curatorial essays, artist writings and published projects, recorded and live interviews, videos, films, blogs, and exhibitions. The course also places great importance on connecting students with the dynamics of the contemporary Montreal milieu through a visit to the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, a studio visit with MFA students in the Concordia graduate program, as well as a live interview panel with artists included in the current Sobey’s Art Award exhibition. Finally, with the belief that images can act mnemonic devices to recall key historical events, this course invites students to develop a strong visual memory of key artworks from the last 50 years of artmaking in the western world as we collectively build an online image registry of 100 iconic images.
View complete course outline: ARTH339A2010 [.pdf]