ARHT301

This course covers the major art movements of the second half of the twentieth century. Topics range from the Abstract Expressionism of Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko and Lee Krasner, to Pop Art as defined by Andy Warhol, Johns, Rauschenberg and others. We explore the Minimalism, Conceptual Art and Earth Art of the Sixties, each of which challenged the subjects and processes of art and staked out new territory for the arts. We also study emergence of Feminist and Activist Art , examining how these movements challenged the exclusionary nature of art practices and institutions. In the nineteen eighties and nineties, we’ll see, these tendencies merge as new kinds of socially-engaged art gain force. The class is designed to be accessible to students from any discipline, and will refer to works of music, theater, architecture and design as well as to political and social events that coincide with, and influence, American Art since 1940.