1) Choose one movement or style from the history of contemporary art (for example Abstract Expressionism, Informel, Pop Art, Minimal Art, etc.). Provide an overview about its origins and development in relation to the historical context (social, political, economic). Include a discussion of at least two representative artists from your chosen movement/style. In your response, balance the overview with the analysis of the artists’ work: do not simply provide a list of artists; instead, use their work as representative of a broader narrative centered on the movement/style you chose. Take 1.5 pages (double spaced) to respond.
2) Discuss the relationship between art and life in the history of contemporary art, from the 1940s to the 1960s. In your response, analyze how artists tried to transgress and blur the boundary between art and life, acting “in the gap between the two” (Rauschenberg). Illustrate your argument with at least three examples of artists that were significant in this process of blurring art and life, discussing specific works from each artist. In your response, balance the overview with the analysis of the artists’ work: do not simply provide a list of artists; instead, use their work as representative of a broader narrative centered on the relationship between art and life. Take 1.5 pages (double spaced) to respond.
3) Reflect on the concept of medium in the history of contemporary art and how it changed, in the context of Modernism and in the moment in which the idea of Modernism underwent a crisis. Choose at least two different media (for example painting, sculpture, assemblage, happening/performance, video) and briefly describe their main aesthetic features in the period of the 1940s-1960s, illustrating each medium with the work of at least one artist. Take 1.5 pages (double spaced) to respond.
4) We’ve been studying contemporary art as located within material systems. Specifically, reflect on the systems of exhibition and commercialization of art, and describe the major shifts that they underwent in the period of the 1940s-1960s: First, analyze the exhibition of art in its institutional contexts such as the gallery and the museum, or in other types of spaces. Secondly, discuss the increasing importance of the art market in the commercialization of art. Contextualize these two topics in the relevant economic, social and/or political dimensions. Take 1.5 pages (double spaced) to respond.