84214 - Contemporary Art Protagonists (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

After completing the course, the student acquires basic knowledge of the history of exhibitions in order to discern and evaluate the different specificities of the artistic and curatorial role, as well as to deepen the lines of research emerged internationally in recent years. In particular, the student has the coordinates to analyze, from historical and artistic point of view, recurring and major museum exhibitions and the methodology to detect, historically locate and critically evaluate the major issues related to the organization and curatorship of art exhibitions, also in order to develop individual research.

Course contents

This course aims to deal with the issues related to organizing and curating art exhibitions also to contextualize and critically evaluate them. During the lessons, the main issues related to the history of the exhibitions will be examined, analysing the various contexts related to the exhibition spaces and the system of temporary exhibitions; in addition, they will be treated the roles and functions of the individual actors in this field. Special attention will be paid to the functions and the role of the curator.

To tackle the topics above, several exhibitions and art events that have marked the course of the history of recent art will be analysed. More specifically, during the course the following topics will be considered:

• The origin of art exhibitions. The Salon tradition, the system of great exhibitions and the birth of the Venice Biennial

• Exhibitions in the period of the historical avant-gardes: Salon d'Automne (1905), Les Peintres Futuristes Italiens (1912), The Armory Show (1913), Erste Internationale Dada-Messe (1920)

• Duchamp artist and curator: Exposition Internationale du Surréalisme (1938), First Paper of Surrealism (1942)

• The second avant-garde exhibitions: This is Tomorrow (1956), Primary Structure (1966), Arte Povera Azioni Povere (1968), When Attitudes Become Form (1969)

• Recent exhibitions: Chambres d'Amis (1986), Magiciens de la Terre (1989), Cities on the Move (1997)

• The system of recurring exhibitions: Venice Biennial, Documenta, São Paulo Biennial, Whitney Biennial, Gwangju Biennial

• The exposition like place for meeting from artistic traditions belonging to different cultural and geographic contexts.

 

Readings/Bibliography

bibliography (both for attending and non-attending students)

Pinto R. (2013), Nuove geografie artistiche. Le mostre al tempo della globalizzazione, Postmediabooks, Milano.

and one from this list:

Haskell F. (2008) La nascita delle mostre, i dipinti degli antichi maestri e l'origine delle esposizioni d'arte, Skira, Milano 2008

Negri A. (2011), L’arte in mostra. Una storia delle esposizioni, Bruno Mondadori, Milano.

O'Doherty B. (2012), Inside the White Cube. L'ideologia dello spazio espositivo, Johan and Levi, Monza.

Suggested reading:

H. Foster - R. Krauss - Y.A. Bois - B. Buchloh, D. Joselit, Arte dal 1900, Modernismo, Antimodernismo e Postmodernismo,Zanichelli, 2017

Teaching methods

Lectures with the aid of projection of images and videos.

Assessment methods

The exam consists of an interview to evaluate the critical and methodological skills acquired by the students. Students will be assessed especially considering whether they have acquired ability to move within the visual and written sources recommended in the bibliography and on the AMS Campus online platform, for finding useful information to illustrate topics and issues by connecting them.

It will be assessed as excellent the performance of those students achieving an organic vision of the course contents, the use of a proper specific language.

It will be assessed as discrete the performance of those students showing mostly mechanical or mnemonic knowledge of the subject, not articulated synthesis and analysis capabilities, a correct but not always appropriate language, as well as a scholastic study of the topics of the course. It will be assessed as barely sufficient the performance of those students showing learning gaps, inappropriate language, lack of knowledge of the recommended bibliography. It will be assessed as insufficient the performance of those students showing learning gaps, inappropriate language, no orientation within the recommended bibliography and inability to analyse the discipline.

Teaching tools

Students will be given the images projected during the lectures and part of the bibliography.

Office hours

See the website of Roberto Pinto