Art & the History of Art 373 - Materiality and Meaning

This seminar explores the conceptualization and employment of matter in modern and contemporary artistic practice. Matter will be considered plainly as constituent material having mass and occupying space, but also as material means for expression, action, and the formation of thought. We will probe the material process of Kurt Schwitters, Joseph Beuys, Robert Rauschenberg, Eva Hesse, Richard Serra, Robert Irwin and other artists in context of broad understandings of these practices as performing a social or even epistemological role.  

Requisite: One course in art history, studio art, or consent of the instructor. Limited to 15 students. Not open to first-year students. Fall semester. Visiting Professor Saletnik.