Special Topics in Visual Arts: Extraordinary Processes

This course will investigate how extreme amounts of invested time and manual labor are still capable of achieving a kind of magic, that is, capable of transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary. For the last century, artists around the world have become more and more interested in the aesthetic value of everyday life, in part as a political gesture designed to bring art down a peg or two, in part a celebration of the surprising levels of beauty and meaning that can be mined from mundane things. Readings regarding the extraordinary as a philosophy, an aesthetic, and a political statement will support in-class studio work and screenings.

Sample reading list:
Lars Von TrierThe Idiots
Lars Von Trier and Thomas FinsterbergDogma ’95 Manifesto
Clement GreenbergAvant Garde and Kitsch
Nan GoldinThe Ballad of Sexual Dependency
Sol LewittParagraphs on Conceptual Art
Ann TruitDay Book

Reading/Writing assignments:
Bi-weekly readings and/or film screenings to be discussed; Five studio assignments, three short (two weeks) and two long (six to twelve weeks) in duration, chosen by each enrolled student; Five presentation studios and critiques. Grading basis of 10% ‘Other’: Field Trip/Visiting Artists

Faculty

Sections

U01

Tuesday, 7:30 - 9:40 pm
Wednesday, 1:30 - 4:20 pm
185 Nassau Street, Room 301

Instructor(s)

Joe Scanlan