111-264 Postmodern Culture: the Visual Arts in Manhattan

Note

Special entry conditions apply. Places are limited. See Department for further information.

Credit Points

Coordinator

Semester

Contact

Subject Description

The subject is taught in New York during a one-month study tour. The Subject uses the social, economic, geographical and cultural effects of the Manhattan art scene as a case study of postmodern culture. Students will be introduced to the key institutional components of the contemporary art scene; museums, galleries, alternative spaces, corporate collections, auction houses, art magazines and studios. These will be analysed using models derived from discourse theory, the institutional model of art, urban sociology, psychogeography, architectural history and subcultural theory. The display and consumption of art will also be studied, allowing consideration of recent developments in museology, arts policy, commodity theory, and cultural tourism.

Assessment

Written work consisting of exercises totalling 2000 words undertaken in New York and an essay of 3000 words.

Prescribed Texts

• David Harvey, The Condition of Postmodernity. Basil Blackwell, Oxford, 1989.
• Brandon Taylor, The Art of Today. The Everyman Art Library, London, 1996.
• Carol von Pressentin Wright, Blue Guide. New York, W.W. Norton, New York, 1983.