ARH 270 Art Since 1945
The period following the end of the Second World War saw profound changes in how art was produced, understood, and circulated. The world’s cultural and creative capital shifted from Paris to New York and, with that, artists began to address more capitalistic, materialistic, and individualistic concerns. They expanded on questions asked by earlier generations, such as “what is art” and “what is art supposed to do” and began to test the outer limits of art’s role in society and its capabilities to embody, reflect, and re-produce social, political, and cultural currents. Who can be an artist? What counts as art? What are the responsibilities of an artist? How do we judge “good” art? In this course, students will engage with artists working in a variety of media, who are claimed by major contemporary movements, including Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, Op Art, Land Art, Conceptual Art, Performance Art, and others that defy and transcend easy categorization.