00951 - History of Contemporary Art

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, students will learn about the history of painting, sculpture and decorative arts from the neoclassical age to the present day, with particular attention to the relationship between the Italian and international spheres.

Course contents

Course contents
This year's course is divided in two modules.
In the first module ( first 30 hours of lectures ), by another teacher, investigating the historical avant-garde at the beginning of the century and it assess impacts and influences in years closer to us , that is to say from the Sixties to today. For more details , please refer of course to the specific program module .
The lessons for the second module ( the remaining 30 hours) , which I kept, in the fourth period, t will focus on the general problems of method and also will be devoted to the study of decoration and especially the decorative pattern, ie the set of repetitive elements that make it pleasing to the eye surface .
You will see how the problem of decoration is very important in the art as the contemporary age has fully rehabilitated practices decorative for the position of subjection that had for centuries . Today we can say that in fact the decoration, in its broadest sense , has the majority in our figurative landscape

Readings/Bibliography

The examination programme is the same for both attendants and non-attendants

The basis text of the firs module is
R. Barilli, L'arte contemporanea. Da Cézanne alle ultime tendenze, Feltrinelli, Milano 2005.

Is requested another text choised from this list:

R. Barilli, Prima e dopo il 2000. La ricerca artistica 1970-2005, Feltrinelli, Milano 2006.

O. Chiantore, A. Rava, Conservare l'arte contemporanea, Mondadori - Electa, Milano 2005

G. D'Amato, Storia del design, Bruno Mondadori, Milano, 2005

F. Fabbri, Lo zen e il manga. Arte contemporanea giapponese, Bruno Mondadori, Milano 2009

P. Fameli, Esperienza come forma. Le poetiche del Comportamento in Italia negli anni Settanta, BUP, Bologna 2019

C. Marra, L'immagine infedele. La falsa rivoluzione della fotografia digitale, Bruno Mondadori, Milano 2006

C. Marra, Fotografia e arti visive, Roma, Carocci Editore, 2014

F. Muzzarelli, Formato tessera. Storia, arte e idee in photomatic, Bruno Mondadori, Milano 2003

J. Nigro Covre, Arte contemporanea: le avanguardie storiche, Carocci, Roma 2008

L. Nochlin, Il realismo nella pittura europea del XIX secolo, Einaudi, Torino 2003

J. Rewald, Dopo l'Impressionismo, Sansoni, Firenze 2005

F. Tedeschi, La Scuola di New York. Origini, vicende, protagonisti, Vita & Pensiero, Milano 2009

M. Vitta, Il progetto della bellezza. Il design fra arte e tecnica, 1851-2001, Einaudi, Torino 2001

C. Zambianchi, Arte contemporanea: dall'espressionismo astratto alla pop art, Carocci, Roma 2011

 

The basis text for my module is:
G. L. Tusini, La pelle dell'ornamento. Dinamiche e dialettiche della decorazione tra Otto e Novecento, Bononia University Press, Bologna 2005.

Teaching methods

 

The method used involves the active partecipation of the students who are invited to speak during the lessons with observations. All this makes the lessons a chance to exchange views and debate.

Assessment methods

The test will consist of an oral examination in which the candidate will demonstrate that they have assimilated the content of the lesson, both in terms of fundamentals and in terms of references. Will be evaluated, as well as the degree of preparation, properties of language, knowledge of the authors which reference is made, the ability to build a speech critically aware. Training gaps, imprecise language, only rote learning will be evaluated negatively.

The exam is divided in two parts:

first part with professor Fameli

second part with professor Tusini who will give the final valutation

However, it is the student's right to support the entire exam with prof. Tusini.

1. Those students who show developed analytical skills of selected readings and their correct contextualization within a complete vision of the issues discussed during lectures will be given a mark of excellence. Mastering of field-specific language and good expression during the examination will also be required (A =28-30 con lode).


2. Those students who show mnemonic knowledge of the subject and a superficial analysis of selected readings, as well as a correct but not always appropriate mastering of the field-specific language will be given a satisfactory mark (B = 25-27 and C = 23-24).


3. Those students who will show vague knowledge and superficial understanding of selected readings, limited analytical skills and a not always appropriate expression will be given a ‘pass’ mark roughly (D = 18-22).


4. Those students who show gaps in their knowledge and lack of familiarity with selected readings will not be given a ‘pass’ mark (E).


Teaching tools

The lectures will be supported by modern digital projection of images and the use of multimedia tools.

Excursions and visits to exhibitions will be organized whenever possible.

Teaching tools

Office hours
See the website of Gian Luca Tusini
See the website of

Office hours

See the website of Gian Luca Tusini

See the website of Pasquale Fameli