Modern through Contemporary Art | Spalding University Catalog

ARTH-252: Modern through Contemporary Art

3 credit hours

Have you ever looked at modern art and thought, “I just don’t get it!  What am I missing?”  This course answers that question, tracing a history of artists dissatisfied with the limitations of illusionistic art and easy subject matter.  In this course you will learn how artists began to see art as a means of “undeceiving the eye”—drawing the viewer’s attention to the underlying forces that shape our perception of the world.  We will follow artists as they respond to the demands of the marketplace and consumer culture, embody the desire for social activism or aesthetic detachment, and explore the relationship between technology and creativity.  Through readings, discussion, and writing, students will examine the history of art produced in a world forever altered by the Industrial Revolution, colonialism, mechanized warfare, and the ongoing struggle for social and economic equality. This course can be used to satisfy University Studies requirements.