Term 1
Lecture Avant Garde and Kitsch
Focus on the abstract expressionist paintings of Pollock, de Kooning, Rothko, and others and their legacy. Learn the relevance of art critic Clement Greenberg's theories and how they impacted on British sculptors such as Anthony Caro.
Visit States of Flux
Tate Modern
Consider the work of key painters and sculptors from the post-war generation on this guided visit.
Lecture The Only Blonde in the World
The revolutionary antics of Andy Warhol and fellow artists blurred the line between fine art and commercial art, making work that was fun and accessible. Understand the differences between American pop art and its British equivalent as epitomised by Richard Hamilton and Pauline Boty.
Visit Venus in Rags
Tate Modern
Consider the arte povera movement and other developments in sculpture on this guided visit.
Lecture A Pile of Old Bricks
When the Tate gallery exhibited Carl Andre's Equivalent VIII, an arrangement of firebricks in 1976, there was an outcry in the tabloid press. But Andre, Donald Judd, Robert Morris, Dan Flavin, Ellsworth Kelly, Eva Hesse and others argued for Minimalism and 'what you see is what you see.'
Term 2
Lecture Less is a Bore
The political movements of the sixties and seventies and the proliferation of critical theory led to a host of artworks and architecture that challenged the notion that art has to be new, avant-garde, or original. From Derrida to the Disney Headquarters, this session will demystify postmodernism and its jargon.
Visit White Chess
This guided visit will explore Fluxus, Happenings and other artists who use performance in their practice..
Lecture Bodies That Matter
There was also another more political side to postmodernism where the voices of 'others' (whether artists, curators, or art historians) were heard. Artists such as Cindy Sherman, Jenny Holzer, Kara Walker, Barbara Kruger, and Yasumasa Morimura made the marginal central.
Visit A Question of Site
Tate Modern 2
From the 'Fourth Plinth' in Trafalgar Square to the Turbine Hall of Tate Modern, artists have experimented with different sites and situations either taking their work outside the gallery altogether or transforming the gallery space. This session is a guided visit.
Lecture Still and Chew
What did Michael Craig-Martin mean when he exhibited a glass of water and said it was an oak tree? Why did John Latham invite his students to eat an art text book? By what criteria should we judge a conceptual art piece? This session traces the growth of this art form from Duchamp's urinal through the performance and mail art of the 1960s and 1970s to the 1990s yBa movement to today's Sophie Calle.
Term 3
Lecture A New Spirit in Painting
The 1980s saw a return to figurative painting as artists such as Peter Doig, Anselm Kiefer, Georg Baselitz and Paula Rego experimented with different approaches to expressionism and story-telling.
Visit Shark Infested Waters
This guided visit will explore the work of the Young British Artists who put London on the map in the 1990s.
Lecture Recessional Aesthetics
Reacting against the commodification and expense of much '90s art, artists have become increasingly interested in participation or relational aesthetics. In these works, the viewer's role - whether playing a game of Trivial Pursuit, revealing a secret, or making a journey - is key to the work. How has the recession impacted on contemporary art?
Visit The Dream That Kicks
This guided visit will explore film, video/digital art/photography.
Visit Art Now
This guided visit will look at some of the best contemporary art on display in London's smaller commercial galleries.
