ART 222 Modernism to Postmoderism

This course will consider art and culture of Western Europe and the United States from World War through the Vietnam War. Beginning with the period of high modernism, major art historical movements and highly distinct aesthetic practices will be examined in order to foreground the complex relations that exist between art making and specific socio-historical contexts. Topics to be addressed inlcude the development of the arts after World War II, the role of art in a consumerist and spectacle-driven society, the dematerialization of the art object, and the shift from late modernist to postmodern sensibilities. Students will be introduced to a range of theoretical models which foreground structural and formal investigations, as well as issues of social and historical analysis. Formerly titled "Contemporary Art."