Unit information: Approaches to the Artist (Reflective Art History Unit) in 2020/21

Unit name	Approaches to the Artist (Reflective Art History Unit)
Unit code	HART30007
Credit points	20
Level of study	H/6
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
Unit director	Professor. Shaw-Miller
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None
School/department	Department of History of Art (Historical Studies)
Faculty	Faculty of Arts

Description including Unit Aims

This unit will consider the idea of the artist as a part of the discussion of the culture and of the cultural products of any given historical era. What art historians think they know about ‘the artist’ as a category is open to constant scrutiny within the discipline, and new approaches to the idea of ‘the artist’ (or of any given artist) can substantially change the ways in which artists and their works are considered. As well as this, academic and popular views of particular individual artists, or groups of artists, can shift and change, producing further new interpretations and frameworks within which they and their works can be considered. This unit encourages students to examine the theoretical issues presented by studying artists – as a category or individually – and to consider the changing receptions in academic and popular culture of particular artists and groups of artists.

Intended Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:

1. demonstrate a detailed knowledge and critical understanding of the development of the idea of the artist;
2. evaluate the changing ways in which the works of an artist or group of artists may be viewed over time;
3. analyse theoretical issues presented in studying artists
4. identify, evaluate, and synthesise pertinent evidence/data in order to advance a cogent argument;
5. present and frame their ideas in a fashion consistent with the conventions of reviews and proposals for non-academic audiences.

Teaching Information

Classes will involve a combination of discussion, investigative activities, and practical activities. Students will be expected to engage with readings and participate on a weekly basis. This will be further supported with drop-in sessions and self-directed exercises with tutor and peer feedback.

Assessment Information

One 1000-word review or proposal for a non-academic audience (25%) [ILOs 1, 4, 5]

One timed assessment (75%) [1, 2, 3, 4]

Reading and References

Barker, Emma et al (eds.), The Changing Status of the Artist, New Haven/London, Yale University Press/Open University, 1999.

Vasari, Giorgio, The Lives of the Artists (edited and translated by G. Bull; first published in 1550) Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991.

Krauss, Rosilind, 'In the Name of Picasso', October, Vol. 16, Art World Follies (Spring, 1981), pp. 5-22.

Cubism and Abstract Art (MoMA, NY, 1936)

David Cottington, Cubism and Its Histories (MUP, 2004)