H48.1059/ 2059 Sem 4 Credits
Instructor(s): Martha Wilson
Art & Politics: The Art Space Movement in New York, 1960 to Now
Professor Martha Wilson, artist and Founding Director of Franklin Furnace
H48.1059.001 (Undergraduate)
H48.2059.001 (Graduate)
Undergraduate and Graduate
Undergraduates – Sophmores, Juniors and Seniors only
Friday, 11:00am – 1:45pm
4 points – will count toward general education requirements (Humanities)
The Art Space Movement introduced Post-modern, activist works to the mainstream of cultural discourse in this country. Now, “performance art” has gone beyond the art world to become a household term; and the installation – another art form which blossomed and thrived in art spaces – is now a de rigueur mode of exhibition in mainstream galleries as well as high-end retail venues, such as the Prada flagship store in New York City designed by architect Rem Koolhaas. Art spaces are embedded in their social and political environment because avant-garde artists have historically ignored national boundaries as well as aesthetic ones; Cabaret Voltaire, founded by Emmy Hennings and Hugo Ball in Zurich, Switzerland in 1916, was comprised of artists from a half-dozen European countries who created sound poetry, made outrageous costumes, and employed film. These artists were political activists; Emmy served jail time for forging papers for friends who wanted to avoid the draft. The contemporary art space movement takes this avant-garde legacy as its own, championing visual artists who may incorporate musical, theatrical, literary, dance, film and now technological elements in their work in order to address the pressing issues of our time.
This course will introduce students to the history and current practice of art spaces in New York through site visits; guest lecturers; archival and bibliographic research; reading assignments; interviews; and preparation of a Case Study, a plan for the intellectual content of a documentary project focused on one art space.
