Fall 2016 Art History 559: Art Since 1945

James Luna, Artifact Piece, 1987. Performance. San Diego Museum of Man.

Prof. Bridget Gilman [email protected] Tues/Thurs – 2 – 3:15 pm, Art North 412 Office Hours: Tues 12 – 1 pm, Thurs 10 am -11 am, and by appointment, Art South 557

Description This course will explore a range of artworks from 1945 to the present, considering both aesthetic innovations and their social, economic, and political context. Topics will cover diverse locations, artistic media, and historical events, from the postwar rise of American Abstract Expressionism to contemporary debates on global migration. Case studies will range from government- sponsored monuments to acts of protest. Widely-recognized movements will be paired with less canonical works, and particular attention will be paid to the roles of geography, class, gender, sexuality, and race in production and reception. The course will also introduce a range of interpretive lenses, familiarizing students with art history’s central debates and providing multiple methods for understanding contemporary art.

Objectives The course will provide students with an expansive understanding of art produced after 1945. Students will not only be able to identify movements, artworks, and artists, but also to understand their historical context and interpretations. In-class interactive activities, readings, written responses, discussions, and exams will hone visual and textual analysis skills, allowing greater insight into the art of the recent past. Prerequisites Students enrolling in this course are required to have taken Art History 259, Introduction to Art History II. You are strongly advised not to take this class until you have the prerequisite.

Course Materials Required Text: Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art, edited by Kristine Stiles and Peter Selz. Berkeley: University of California, 2012. Second edition. ISBN: 9780520257184. Available at the University bookstore or check addall.com for copies online.

Assignments from the required text are highlighted in grey. All other readings are posted on Blackboard under “Course Documents.” Readings must be done the week they are assigned in order to complete the required reading questions and class participation activities (see below).

Grading Your course grade is determined by four components: reading questions, class participation, and midterm and final examinations. You must complete all requirements listed on the syllabus. Even if your overall average without one of these elements is sufficient for a passing grade, you cannot pass the class without specific, prior permission of the instructor. Likewise, late work will not be accepted without permission of the instructor.

Reading Questions (20%) Each week reading questions will be posted in the “Discussions” section of Blackboard; you are required to post 5 responses over the course of the term. Responses can take a variety of forms— answers to the questions, related questions about the readings, responses to others’ posts—but must be at least 150 words each. Please maintain a respectful tone toward the material and your fellow classmates; any inappropriate comments will be immediately removed and the author will receive zero credit for this component of the course.

Class Participation (20%) Class sessions will be comprised of both lecture material and participatory activities, including group discussions, writing practice, and hands on with materials. The latter exercises will provide opportunities to engage extensively with visual materials and course readings. Participation activities will be submitted and evaluated on a regular basis; you must attend lecture in order to receive credit for class participation.

Midterm (30%) and Final (30%) Exams The midterm will test images, lecture content, and readings from the first half of the course (Aug. 25th – Oct. 6th); the final will cover images, lectures, and readings from the second half of the course (Oct. 18th – Dec. 8th). The exams will require you to visually analyze, compare, and contextualize works of art covered in the lectures and readings; class attendance is essential for exam success. Relevant images will be posted on Blackboard for review and exam preparation.

Please note: Class participation activities and exams may only be made up of illness or other severely extenuating personal circumstances. Documentation will be required.

2 Grading Scale A: 93 – 100 B: 83 – 87 C: 73 – 77 D: 63 – 67 A-: 90 – 92 B-: 80 – 82 C -: 70 – 72 D-: 60 – 62 B+: 88 – 89 C+: 78 – 79 D+: 68 – 69 F: 0 – 59

Classroom Policies and Accommodations Please use your laptop, phone, or tablet for note-taking purposes only. Visual engagement with the class materials is an essential component of course participation and success.

If you require accommodations for a disability, you must contact the Student Disability Services at (619) 594-6473. Please make sure to contact SDS as soon as possible, as I cannot provide accommodations based upon disability until I have received an official accommodation letter from SDS.

Academic Integrity Students are required to follow the SDSU Standards for Student Conduct (http://go.sdsu.edu/student_affairs/srr/conduct.aspx) and to act fairly and honestly at all times. Academic dishonesty includes plagiarism (submitting work which does not properly acknowledge use of another’s thoughts or words), cheating (use of unauthorized assistance on exams or assignments), and submitting the same work for two different courses without prior permission. All assignments and exams will be read carefully; academic dishonesty of any kind will result in an automatic zero for that assignment and possible failure of the course.

Email and Office Hours If you have questions about course content or policies, or would like to discuss any difficulties you may be experiencing, please drop by my office hours or schedule an appointment. I strongly encourage you to come to office hours at least once during the term—use me as a resource!

You are responsible for checking your SDSU email regularly for communications about course assignments, deadlines, etc. All course documents will be posted on Blackboard; please check there first if you have questions about requirements or assignments.

Class Schedule (subject to change)

Aug 30 Introduction: Defining the Postwar Era

Sept 1 Action and Abstraction: America’s High Modernism and Modernist Dispersions Case Studies: Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Barnett Newman, Clyfford Still, Lee Krasner, Norman Lewis, Gutai Group, NeoConcretist Group Readings: • Harold Rosenberg, “The American Action Painters,” Artnews (1952): 22-23, 48-50. • Jackson Pollock, “Guggenheim Application,” (1947) and “Interview with William Wright,” (1950) in Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art, 24-26.

Sept 6 The Troubled Body: L’Art Informel, Bay Area Figuration, Expressionist Figuration

3 Case Studies: Jean Dubuffet, Wols, Jean Fautrier, Alberto Giacometti, Louise Bourgeois, Willem de Kooning, Philip Guston, Richard Diebenkorn, David Park Readings: • Jean Dubuffet, “Anticultural Positions” (1951); Willem de Kooning, “Content is a Glimpse: Interview with David Sylvester,” (1963); and Philip Guston, “Philip Guston Talking,” in Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art, 216-222, and 285-90.

Sept 8 The Duchamp Effect: Neo-Dada Case Studies: Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, Joseph Beuys, Nam June Paik, Jean Tinguely, Piero Manzoni Readings: • Leo Steinberg, selections from Other Criteria, (1972) 82-91. • Robert Rauschenberg, “Statement,” “Note on Painting,” and “Interview with Barbara Lee Diaomsteenm” (1959, 1963, and 1977); and Jasper Johns, “Statement,” and “Interview with G.R. Swenson,” (1959, 1964) in Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art, 373-76.

Sept 13 New Material Attitudes: Nouveau Réalisme and Junk Art Case Studies: Yves Klein, Arman, César, Niki de Saint Phalle, Simon Rodia, Jess, Edward Kienholz, Bruce Conner, Noah Purifoy Readings: • Sarah Schrank, “Picturing the Watts Towers: The Art and Politics of An Urban Landmark,” in Reading California: Art, Image, and Identity, 1900- 2000, 372-86. • Pierre Restany, “The Nouveau Réalistes’ Declaration of Intention,” (1960) in Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art, 352-53.

Sept 15 Ready-Made Realities: Pop Art in London and New York Case studies: Eduardo Paolozzi, Richard Hamilton, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, James Rosenquist, Claes Oldenberg

Readings: • Richard Hamilton, “Letter to Peter and Alison Smithson,” (1957); Claes Oldenburg, “I am For an Art,” (1961); Roy Lichtenstein, “Interview with G.R. Swenson,” (1963); and Andy Warhol, “Warhol in His Own Words: Statements” (1963-87) in Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art, 343- 344, and 385-96.

Sept 20 The Consumer Landscape: Pop Art in Los Angeles Case Studies: Edward Ruscha, David Hockney, Billy Al Bengston, Vija Celmins Readings: • Cecile Whiting, “Cruising Los Angeles,” in Pop L.A.: Art and the City in the 1960s, 63-92.

Sept 22 Street Photography: Fractures in Postwar America Case Studies: Robert Frank, Charles Moore, Garry Winogrand, Diane Arbus, Roy DeCarava, Garry Winogrand, Vivian Maier

4 Readings: • Jack Kerouac, introduction to Robert Frank’s The Americans (1958), 1-3. • Katherine A. Bussard, “Charles Moore: To Be Involved,” in Unfamiliar Streets: The Photographs of Richard Avedon, Charles Moore, and Philip- Lorca Dicorcia, 55-97.

Sept 27 Reduced Form: Minimalism, Arte Povera, Light and Space, and Finish Fetish Case Studies: Donald Judd, Carl Andre, Dan Flavin, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Lucio Fontana, Robert Irwin, James Turrell Readings: • Donald Judd, “Specific Objects,” (1965) in Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art, 138-140. • Dawna Schuld, “Practically Nothing: Light, Space, and the Pragmatics of Phenomenology” in Phenomenal: California Light and Space (2011), 105-22.

Sept 29 Work, Play, and Collective Action: The New Left Case Studies: Guy Debord, Asger Jorn, Guiseppe Pinot Gallizio, Art Workers’ Coalition Readings: • Situationist International, “Definitions” (1958) in Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art, 827-828. • Julia Bryan-Wilson, “From Artists to Art Workers,” in Art Workers: Radical Practice in the Vietnam Era (2011), 13-39.

Oct 4 Conceptualism: Art as Idea Case Studies: Sol Lewitt, Dan Graham, Lawrence Weiner, Art and Language, Vitaly Komar, Alexander Melamid, Mike Mandel, Larry Sultan, Eleanor Antin Readings • Sol Lewitt, “Paragraphs on Conceptual Art,” (1967) and “Sentences on Conceptual Art,” (1969); Vitaly Komar and Alexander Melamid, “Blue Landscapes, Bewitching Numbers and the Double Life of Jokes: An Interview with JoAnn Wypijewski,” (1997) in Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art, 987-992 and 365-368.

Oct 6 Realism After Abstraction Case Studies: Philip Pearlstein, Chuck Close, Richard Estes, Robert Bechtle, Marilyn Minter • Linda Nochlin, “The New Realists,” in Realism Now (1968), 7-14. • Philip Pearlstein, “Figure Paintings Today are Not Made in Heaven” (1962); Chuck Close, “Interview with Cindy Nemser,” (1970); and Richard Estes, “Interview with Herbert Raymond,” (1974) in in Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art, 250-60.

Oct 11 Midterm Review

Oct 13 Midterm

5 Oct 18 Sculptural Expansions: Process and Site Specificity Case Studies: Robert Smithson, Walter De Maria, Eva Hesse, Yayoi Kusama, Christo and Jean-Claude, Nancy Holt, Michael Heizer Readings: • Walter de Maria, “The Lightning Field: Some Facts, Notes, Data, Information, Statistics, and Statements,” (1980); Robert Smithson, “The Spiral Jetty,” (1972); Michael Heizer, Dennis Oppenheim, and Robert Smithson, “Discussions with Willoughby Sharp and Liza Bear of Avalanche” (1968-69); Nancy Holt, “Sun Tunnels,” (1977) in Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art, 630-642.

Oct 20 Body and Identity: Performance Art Case Studies: Chris Burden, Vito Acconci, Yoko Ono, Adrian Piper, Marina Abramović, Gilbert and George, Coco Fusco and Guillermo Gómez-Peña, Asco, James Luna Readings: • Chris Burden, “Statements,” (1975) and “Border Crossing: Interview with Jim Mosian,” (1979); Adrian Piper, “Ideology, Confrontation and Political Self Awareness,” (1981) Coco Fusco, “The Other History of Intercultural Performance,” (1992), in Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art, 899- 904, 921-24, and 934-35.

Oct 25 “Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?” Case Studies: Judy Chicago, Mary Kelly, Carolee Schneeman, Linda Benglis, Louise Bourgeois, Suzanne Lacy, Hannah Wilke Readings: • Linda Nochlin, “Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?” (1971) in Art and Sexual Politics, 1-39. • Suzanne Lacy, “The Name of the Game,” (1991) in Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art, 895-899.

Oct 27 Public Interventions and Institutional Critique Case Studies: Hans Haacke, Marcel Broodthaers, Martha Rosler, Allan Sekula, Krzysztof Wodiczko, Gordon Matta Clark, Jenny Holzer, The Guerrilla Girls Readings: • Krzysztof Wodizcko, “Memorial Projection” and “Homeless Projection,” (1986); Hans Haacke, "Museums: Managers of Consciousness," (1984); and Jenny Holzer, “Language Games: Interview with Jeanne Siegel,” (1985) in Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art, 491-93, 1025-1031, and 1036- 1040.

Nov 1 NO CLASS MEETING

Nov 3 Postmodern Painting and Photography Case Studies: Richard Prince, Cindy Sherman, Sherrie Levine, David Salle, Julian Schnabel, Anselm Kiefer, Jeff Wall, Barbara Krueger

6 Readings: • Frederic Jameson, excerpt from “Postmodernism, or the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism,” (1984) in Art in Theory, 1046-1051. • Douglas Crimp, “The Photographic Activity of Postmodernism,” October 15 (Winter 1980), 91-101.

Nov 8 Contested Spaces: Public Sculpture and Monuments Case Studies: Richard Serra, Maya Lin, London’s Fourth Plinth Project, Rachel Whiteread Readings: • Maya Lin, “Interview with Elizabeth Hess,” and Allan Wallach, “Which Way the Tilted Arc?,” in Modern Art in the USA: Issues and Controversies of the Twentieth Century, 439-45. • Rachel Whiteread, “If Walls Could Talk: Interview with Craig Houser,” (2001) in Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art, 682-83.

Nov 10 Culture Wars Case Studies: Robert Mapplethorpe, Andres Serrano, ACT UP, Félix González- Torres, David Wojnarowicz Readings: • Jonathan D. Katz, “‘The Senators Were Revolted’: Homophobia and the Culture Wars,” in Amelia Jones (ed.), A Companion to Contemporary Art Since 1945, 231-48. • Jesse Helms, “Senator Helms Objects to Taxpayers’ Funding for Sacrilegious Art” (1989) and Andres Serrano, “Letter to the National Endowment for the Arts,” (1989) in Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art, 297-99.

Nov 15 New Communications: New Media and Relational Aesthetics Case Studies: Bill Viola, Jim Campbell, Tony Oursler, Christian Marclay, Camille Utterback, Leo Villareal, Ben Rubin, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Vanessa Beecroft, Eduardo Kac Readings: • Martha Rosler, “Video: Shedding the Utopian Moment,” (1985-86); Eduardo Kac, “GFP Bunny,” (2000); and Rirkrit Tiravanija, “Interview with Mary Jane Jacob” (2004) in Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art, 512-23, 581- 84, and 795-97.

Nov 17 Bull Markets & Selling Out: The Business of Art Case Studies: Basquiat, Keith Haring, Louise Lawler, Jeff Koons, Damien Hirst, Takashi Murakami, Banksy Readings: • Don Thompson, “Damien Hirst and the Shark,” in The $12 Million Stuffed Shark: The Curious Economics of Contemporary Art (2008), 61-72. • Banksy, “Banging Your Head Against a Brick Wall,” (2001), in Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art, 431-32.

Nov 22 NO CLASS MEETING

7 Nov 24 THANKSGIVING BREAK – NO CLASS MEETING

Nov 29 Wrestling with History Case Studies: Gerhard Richter, Luc Tuymans, Carrie Mae Weems, Fred Wilson, Kara Walker, Christian Boltanski, Rachel Whiteread Readings: • Anne Wagner, “Kara Walker’s History,” A House Divided, 78-98.

Dec 1 Postcolonial Legacies Case Studies: Kimsooja, Yinka Shonibare, El Anatsui, Do Ho Suh, Mikhael Subotzky, Bodys Isek Kingelez Readings: • Homi Bhabha, “On ‘Hybridity’ and ‘Moving Beyond’” (1994) in Art in Theory, 1110-16. • Yinka Shonibare, “Interview with Anthony Downey,” (2005) in Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art, 671-72.

Dec 6 The Networked World Case Studies: Allan Sekula, Andreas Gursky, Edward Burtynsky, Taryn Simon, Julie Mehretu, Gabriel Basilico Reading: • Katy Siegel, “Consuming Vision,” and Alex Alberro, “Blind Ambition,” Artforum (January 2001): 104-14.

Dec 8 Representing Crisis: Contemporary Borders and Zones of Conflict Case studies: Richard Misrach, Rula Halawani, Xu Yong, Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre, Camilo José Vergara, Ira Nowinski, Janet Delaney • Josh Kun, Richard Misrach and Guillermo Galindo: Border Cantos, 9-13, 17, 49, 61, 75, 95, 129, 145, 165, 193-96.

Dec 13 Final Review

Dec 20 Final Exam, 1 – 3 PM

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