New Course for Spring 2012: Art of the Historical Avant-Garde

As registration for Spring 2012 academic courses begins, I have been fielding questions regarding new courses I will be teaching in January. In addition to previously taught courses which I will be instructing again, FPA 111: Issues in Fine and Performing Arts (SFU) and ARTH 1130:Introduction to Film Studies (Kwantlen), I will also be involved with teaching a new upper level seminar—see detailed description below. Once again I am looking forward to a dynamic and engaging term in all classes!

Kwantlen Polytechnic University (Thursdays 4:00-6:50pm, Fir D128)

ARTH 3100: Art of the Historical Avant-Garde

This seminar examines the shifting field of visual art and culture in Europe and North America during the first half of the twentieth century (c. 1900-1955) with special emphasis given to the movements of the historical avant-garde. Considering these major movements (such as Fauvism, Futurism, Expressionism, Cubism, Dada, Surrealism) in the context of the social, economic and political upheavals of this complex and multi-faceted time period, key to the course will be the broader question of modernity itself and its transformation through a time of radical technological, social and political change. 

Blindman. Ed. Henri-Pierre Roche, Beatrice Wood,  and Marcel Duchamp. New York, 1917.

Topics such as the social and representative meanings of abstraction, the internationalization of art production, the development of modernism and its attendant theories, and the impact of new technologies on the production and dissemination of art objects will be explored. And while the seminar itself will be organized around the familiar “isms” that have historically constructed the canon of avant-garde studies, careful consideration will be given to the fabricated nature of these designations, reading instances of art practice for aesthetic significance together with connections and responses to specific historical and social developments. Traditional media such as painting, drawing and sculpture will be examined alongside the newer media of photography, assemblage, film and collage.

Weekly Twitter Round Up

Discovered via Twitter this week: Modern CuCoo Clock (see tweet below)

Marking, marking, marking, marking, marking, marking, marking, pause to sleep, marking, marking, marking, pause to eat, marking, marking, marking, marking, marking, pause to check Twitter, marking, marking, marking, marking, marking, marking, marking, marking, marking, (you get the point...)

The 'starving artist' stereotype is officially over according to new study 

Amazing faceted modern clock

Cooper Union, famously tuition-free, may not be so much longer

Why do academics hog conversations?

10 Contemporary Performance Artists You Should Know

PDFs of Michel De Certeau's great The Practice of Everyday Life, Vol 1 and Vol 2

Protests Aim to "Shut Down" Goldman Sachs-Owned Art School, Money Pours in for Ai Weiwei, and More Top Stories

Weekly YouTube Round Up

Some of my favourites from around YouTube land this week including: a walk on the High Line park in NYC and a peek inside Gerhard Richter's new retrospective exhibition at the Tate, to David Hockney's iPad art, Alison Knowles discussion of fluxus, and a video examining what bare essentials an artist needs to live and work in a major city. Enjoy!

Occupying Public Space: Judith Butler, Noam Chomsky, David Suzuki, Cornell West, Jeffrey Sachs

A protest sign from Occupy Washington D.C. that frames the importance of creating public space for open discourse.

Last month, while contemplating the growing discourse around the Occupy movements globally, I blogged about how philosopher and professor of critical theory Slavoj Zizek openly addressed the Occupy Wall Street protesters in New York City. Since then, a growing number of diverse, high profile, and well respected academics have been popping up at Occupy demonstrations around the world-- post-structural philosopher Judith Butler, cognitive scientist and linguist Noam Chomsky, professor of genetics and environmental activist David Suzuki, philosopher and civil rights activist Cornel West, and American economist and professor of sustainable development Jeffrey Sachs-- all raising awareness and providing more of the critical conversation needed to language the movement's core concerns. With the power of social media at the center-point of these demonstrations, the messages are now being broadcast well beyond their original audiences. Notice the emphasis in all addresses on the need to maintain a public space for open democratic dialogue. You will also witness the power of the human megaphone in action. Here is a selection to consider, reflect upon, and most importantly, discuss.

Art Explained, Warhol and Colville: CBC Retrobites

CBC's Retrobites continues to intrigue with their periodic release of vintage interviews and insights into the lives of artists, musicians, and filmmakers. In the past two weeks, two clips caught my attention in particular. The first is a rare look inside Andy Warhol's Factory in the mid-1960's as he produces prints and answers questions about Pop Art. Interestingly, his agent seems to do most of the talking and will remind many of you of the more famous Brillo Box interviews that typify Warhol's deadpan approach to answering questions about his art production.

The second clip is from an artist closer to home, Canadian painter Alex Colville. He is perhaps best known for his hyper-realist paintings that attempt to capture aspects of Canadian life through portraiture and a more straight forward approach to modern figurative painting. Set in juxtaposition, we can see the two clips (filmed only two years apart) in a kind of productive tension, illustrating the critical differences emerging in the 1960's between a new art-making sensibility that seems less interested in foregrounding artist motivation and intention, and the more traditional approach to an artist interview where the artist speaks directly to his or her own work. Notice too the stakes involved with the discourse and emphasis on seeing and understanding developed around Warhol's and Colville's art practices through these brief glimpses. Fascinating!