Global Currents in Contemporary Art

Catalog description

The course will cover key developments in contemporary art from the post-World War II era in the Western context to global currents in the present international arena. From a socio-political perspective, artistic tendencies will be considered as part of a trajectory that saw the center of the art world shift from being Euro- and Anglo-centric in the mid-twentieth century, to one without a discernible center in the early twenty-first century. Analysis of artworks from this decentralized cultural climate will focus on the evolution of conceptualism, the persistence of traditional modes of aesthetic practice, the role of the art market, and notions of environmentalism and sustainability as related to these "transnational transition." The course will consider works from Eastern Europe, South and Central America, the Caribbean, East/West/South/Southeast Asia, Oceania, and Africa.