Summer 2024 Art History Courses

ARTH 3940 - Topics in Art History: BLK ART IN MINNEAPOLIS with Prof. Daniel Greenberg and Prof. Dwight K. Lewis
May Term (May 13 - May 31)
Mon-Thurs, 10:00am-1:15pm

Together with your classmates, museum professionals, and your instructors, you will organize an exhibition that spotlights local Black art, artists, and narratives. It will open at the Quarter Gallery in the Nash Gallery at the UMN in November 2024.  Working with your instructors, you will curate every aspect of this show, including choosing works of art, designing the exhibition space, and writing interpretive content for the gallery! Participants will be introduced to local Black artists and delve into the diverse narratives, expressions, and histories embedded in their artworks. Through hands-on experiences, we will learn the art of selection, presentation, and interpretation, fostering a deeper understanding of the significance of Black art in Minneapolis.
 

ARTH 3464 - Art Since 1945 with Prof. Hyeongjin Oh
June 3 - June 28
Mon-Thurs, 10:00am-12:50pm
Meets Liberal Education requirement of Historical Perspectives

In this course we will examine artists, artistic movements, and aesthetic theories dominant since the end of WWII when the centers of modern art, influenced by advanced capitalism and the rise of the US and the Soviet Union as new superpowers, shifted from Europe to North America, eastern Europe, and other epicenters of contemporary art. The course studies the change over time, from that watershed moment in 1945, with its attendant discourses of nationalism and modernism, to the globalization in art that is taking place today. It looks critically at how the history of modern art and its transition to contemporary art has been written and by whom, how the ideas of modernism have been diversified across multiple maritime channels yet largely remained "US-centric," and how "contemporary" has become both a historical period in art history and ongoing phenomenon in the social life of the United States and beyond. Students will engage with primary texts and learn about historical methods, broadening and clarifying their understanding of modernism, postmodernism, and global contemporary art across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America by focusing on key events and movements, from Flux and global conceptualism to Minjung Art in South Korea and the rise of art biennials from the Global South. Classes are structured around course readings, lectures, group discussions, and museum excursions. This course's relatively compact size, with around 12 students or so, will create a robust and effective learning atmosphere and ample opportunities for the instructor's detailed feedback and mentorship to students.