| CODE | ART3038 | ||||||||||||
| TITLE | Contemporary Art Biennials: Critical and Theoretical Issues | ||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 03 - Years 2, 3, 4 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 6 | ||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Art and Art History | ||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit engages with key Modern and Contemporary art biennial exhibitions, mainly with the Venice Biennale, and the importance of the biennial structure within the Contemporary art scene. The Maltese context will be central to this debate, focusing on local exhibition and biennial history, as well as on international participation. The study-unit will also enter into critical approaches to curating Contemporary art rooted in history and theory, with reference being made to local examples, especially the Mdina Biennale. Study-Unit Aims: The aim of this course is to root Modern and Contemporary art history in twentieth and twenty-first century biennial exhibition history, criticism, and curatorship. Central to this unit is the aim to situate the Maltese context within the broader international one. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Describe how biennial history influenced the evolution of Modern and Contemporary; - Appreciate the significance of curatorial approaches to the continuing development of Contemporary art; - Identify the most important international art biennial exhibitions; - Engage with the history of biennial art exhibitions; - Understand the art historical and theoretical framework for the study of biennial exhibitions; - Outline the objectives and concerns of curatorial practice. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Discern between different types of art exhibitions and place them within their historical context; - Recognise the influence of a particular period of history upon selected biennials; - Recognise the way that biennials shaped art and contemporary society; - Discern the curatorial approaches used by leading international curators; - Assess and evaluate Contemporary art exhibitions and biennials; - Be capable of placing art exhibitions and biennials within the wider historical and geographical context. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - B. Altshuler, Biennials and Beyond: Exhibitions that Made Art History: 1962–2002, Phaidon, New York, 2013. - Esposizione Internazionale d’Arte La Biennale di Venezia 1895-2019, Biennale di Venezia, Venice, 2020. - G. Schembri Bonaci, I. Biolchini, and N. Petroni, eds., The Mdina Cathedral Contemporary Art Biennale: Christianity, Spirituality and the Other, Horizons, Malta, 2015. G. Schembri Bonaci and N. Petroni, eds., The APS Mdina Cathedral Contemporary Art Biennale 2017: The Mediterranean: A Sea of Conflicting Spiritualities, Horizons, Malta, 2017. - G. Schembri Bonaci and N. Petroni, eds., The APS Mdina Cathedral Contemporary Art Biennale 2020: Regaining A Paradise Lost: The role of the arts, Horizons, Malta, 2020. - J. Hoffmann, Show Time: The Most Influential Exhibitions of Contemporary Art, Thames and Hudson, London, 2014. - On Curating, Issue 46 (June 2020), "Contemporary Art Biennales – Our Hegemonic Machines in Times of Emergency," https://on-curating.org/files/oc/dateiverwaltung/issue46/OnCurating_Issue46_WEB.pdf Supplementary Readings: - The Disquieted Muses: When La Biennale di Venezia meets History, Biennale di Venezia, Venice, 2020. - K. Siebenhaar, documenta.: A brief history of an exhibition and its contexts, Berlin, B&S Siebenhaar Verlag, 2017. - J.P. Cassar, Pioneers of Modern Art in Malta Vol. 1, PIN, Malta, 2011. - J.P. Cassar, Pioneers of Modern Art in Malta Vol. 2: The years of change - the path forward, Heritage Malta, Malta, 2019. - K. Wilson, The Modern Eye: Stieglitz, MoMA, and the Art of the Exhibition, 1925-1934, Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 2019. - J. Stallabrass, Art Incorporated: The Story of Contemporary Art, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2004. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | ||||||||||||
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| LECTURER/S | Nicola Ann Petroni Keith Paul Sciberras |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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