Second/Third Year Compulsory Unit
FST100 Art and Design Theory 1
Introduces the language and issues of practical art criticism. What do we respond to when we look at works of art? How do we describe, analyse, interpret, and evaluate a work of art? The weekly lectures address a range of theoretical concerns which confront visual artists in the late 20th century. Particular attention is given to providing accounts of the ways in which 20th-century artists, architects and designers have dealt with these problems. In both semesters, each week the tutorial groups will discuss one or two visual images which relate to the particular lecture topics. Students are expected to write a short commentary on the images before each tutorial; these commentaries form the basis for discussion. The aim of the unit is to provide the student with a working knowledge of the techniques for describing, analysing and interpreting a work of art. By the conclusion of the unit the successful student should be able to articulate a complex and persuasive response to a work of art. This is taught by example in the lecture program and by exercise in the tutorials.
Staff: Mr EJ Colless, Assoc Prof JH Holmes and Dr L Negrin
25% *full year -1-hr lecture, 1-hr Art Forum, 1-hr tutorial weekly (26 wks) *assess weekly short piece of writing in sem 1 and 2; a 1,500- word essay (mid-sem 2), a slide test (at the end of sem 1); attendance and participation. *req Honour H and Fleming J, A World History of Art, Laurence King, London, 1991.
Handbook information on Art and Design Theory 1 FST100
Second Year and Third Year Units FST200/300 Art andDesign Theory 2/3 (compulsory)
Is the core year-2 or year-3 unit, and explores, in semester 1, a range of theoretical issues confronting visual artists and designers in the postwar period (1940- 1970) and investigates the relationship between modernist art theory and practice. Students begin by studying the writings of Jean-Paul Sartre, which consider the visual arts and existentialism, and continue with diverse writers such as Clement Greenberg, Susan Sontag, Lawrence Alloway, Roland Barthes, Bernard Leach and Lucy Lippard, ending with an examination of Leo Steinberg's essay, 'Other Criteria'. Tutorial papers and discussions focus on the way in which many of the theoretical ideas under investigation were manifested in works of visual art. Students can expect to study a number of the significant late modern art movements as well as the work of a wide range of individual artists. N.B. compulsory unit
Staff: Assoc Prof JH Holmes and part-time staff
12.5% osem 1 -1-hr lecture, 1-hr Art Forum, 1-hr tutorial weekly (26 wks) * prereq FST100 *assess 2,000- word essay, tutorial presentation with associated 1,500- word tutorial paper
* req Harrison C and Wood P, Art in Theory, 1900-1990: An Anthology of Changing Ideas, Oxford, 1992.
Handbook information on Art and Design Theory 2/3 FST200/300
Second Year and Third Year Units FST200/300 Art andDesign Theory 2/3 (optional)
Please note, these courses are a semester long and run once a year. A course that runs in the first semester may not be avaliable in the second semester. Each course is 12.5%.
FST201/301 Australian Art of the 1970s and 1980s
FST202/302 Cinema
FST203/303 Postmodernism and Visual Culture
FST204/304 Performance
FST205/305 Picturing the Wilderness
FST206/306 Contemporary Craft and Design
FST207/307 Fashioning the Body
FST208/308 Art as a Way of Life: Romantics, Rebels, Academics and Aesthetes
FST209/309 Feminist Aesthetics
FST210/310 Spells of Enchantment: Fairy Tale and Fable in Recent Cinema
FST211/311 Has the World Gone Mad? Surrrealist Art Between the Wars
FST212/312 Fantasy Decor
FST201/301 Australian Art of the 1970s and 1980s
Covers certain key survey exhibitions of the period, beginning with The Field in 1968 and including others such as the Sydney Biennales, Perspectas and a range of exhibitions of Australian art shown overseas. All visual arts disciplines are studied using much contemporary source material, including exhibition catalogues, recent journal articles and newspaper clippings. A study booklet with extensive topic bibliographies is provided at the beginning of the semester.
Staff: Assoc Prof JH Holmes
12.5% *sem 2 -1-hr lecture, 1-hr Art Forum, 1-hr tutorial weekly (14 wks) *prereq FST100 *assess 2,000-word essay, tutorial presentation with associated 1,500-word tutorial paper
req Butler R, What is Appropriation? IMA, Brisbane, 1997. *rdg Colless E , The Error of My Ways, IMA, Brisbane, 1996 Taylor P, Anything Goes: Art in Australia 1960-70, Melbourne 1984.
Handbook information on Australian Art of the 1970's and 1980's
In the first part of the unit the artistic form and production techniques of cinema are studied, and students learn how the two work together creatively. This is done through a series of demonstrations in the lectures and through a series of practical exercises in the tutorials. In order to assess how the material has been understood; students complete a simulation exercise in filmmaking. This results in a short 'treatment', with a 'marked up' scripted sequence and a 'storyboard' of that sequence showing how the student would direct it. In the second part of the unit this knowledge about form and technique is applied to the experience of looking at feature films in order to understand what those films are saying and how they say it. Students write a short paper on one of the films screened in the unit, addressing one of the topics indicated in the program.
Staff: Mr EJ Colless
12.5% osem 1 -1-hr lecture, 1-hr Art Forum, 1-hr tutorial weekly; regular film screenings (14 wks) *prereq FST100 *assess film treatment, script and 'storyboard' presentation of between 1,500-2,000 words; a critical 500 to 1,000-word evaluation of a feature film study during the term.
Handbook information on Cinema FST202/302
FST203/303 Postmodernism and Visual Culture
Looks at recent widespread questioning of the value of the project of high art, a challenge which is central to what has come to be known as the postmodern sensibility. In the realm of theory it has led to a fundamental re-evaluation of the concepts by which art has traditionally been analysed. In the realm of practice it has led to a search for new cultural forms which transcend the boundaries between high art and mass culture, and to a critical examination of the role of the arts and the artist in modern society. The unit examines and critically evaluates the impact of postmodernism on contemporary art theory and practice.
Staff: Dr L Negrin
12.5% *sem 1 -1-hr lecture, 1-hr Art Forum, 1-hr tutorial weekly (14 wks) *prereq FST100 *assess 2,000-word essay, tutorial presentation with associated 1,500-word tutorial paper
req L Buck and P Docc, Relative Values, BBC, London, 1991 Hal Foster (ed), The Anti-Aesthetic: Essays on Postmodern Culture, Port Townsend, Washington, 1983 F Frascina and J Harris (eds), Art in Modern Culture: An Anthology of Critical Texts, Open Univ, London, 1992.
Handbook information on Postmodernism and Visual Culture FST203/303
Introduces the critical theories and techniques of performance art. As with the critical study of any mode of art, hands-on experience of that art will sharply enhance understanding and appreciation of it. The unit provides students with practical skills in performing, to inform them about procedures for producing a performance, and to help them to develop a critical perspective on performance as an art. In order to achieve these aims the unit has both practical and academic objectives. The academic component involves critical study of bodily expression in photography, theatre, cinema and TV. It will examine the nature of gesture, of pose, of modelling, mimicry and enactment. It will include study of the principles of certain methods for effective performance both in theatrical and non-theatrical modes. The practical component of the unit, which takes up the largest part of the total contact hours, is directly related to the academic work and consists of a series of two hour workshops. The workshops include basic exercises in stage and non-stage performance, basic production techniques and exercises in directing. This will involve practical floor work followed by critical feedback.
Staff: Mr EJ Colless
12.5% *sem 2 -2-hr seminar; 1-hr Art Forum weekly (14 wks) *prereq FST100 *assess short essay, a series of workshop exercises, presentations of a short ensemble and solo performance of student's own devising
Handbook information on Performance FST204/304
FST205/305 Picturing the Wilderness
Looks at the history and theory of landscape art with particular emphasis being given to the ways in which artists have worked with wilderness and the natural environment themes. While it will be historical in nature the unit will also offer students the opportunity to consider the role of the visual arts in current environmental debates.
Staff: Assoc Prof JH Holmes
12.5% *sem 1 -1-hr lecture, 1-hr Art Forum, 1-hr tutorial weekly (14 wks) *prereq FST100 *assess 2,000-word essay, tutorial presentation with associated 1,500-word tutorial paper
req Mitchell WJT (ed), Landscape and Power, Univ of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1994
Handbook information on Picturing the Wilderness FST205/305
FST206/306 Contemporary Craft and Design
Looks at ideas and influences which have shaped craft and design practice in Australia in the post-war period and places it in the context of contemporary international craft and design. The major focus will be domestic objects and interiors although the unit will also focus on developments in graphic design and in architecture. Of particular concern will be the study of emerging craft trends in the post-war period, the role of the Crafts Council of Australia and the impact of the Australia Council from the early 1970s onwards. There will also be the opportunity to examine the role design has played in manufacturing industry and in the media. Some study of pre-war design and craft will be included.
12.5% *sem 2 -1-hr lecture, 1- hr Art Forum, 1-hr tutorial weekly (14 wks) *prereq FST100 *assess 2,000-word essay, tutorial presentation with associated 1,500-word tutorial paper
req Grace Cochrane, The crafts movement in Australia: a history, UNSW Press, Sydney, 1992.
Handbook information on Contemporary Craft and Design FST206/306
FST207/307 Fashioning the Body
Focuses on the body as a site of cultural transformation. It investigates the various ways in which the body has been moulded and adorned in accordance with culturally defined ideals and how changing conceptions of the body have been expressed in the works of artists.
Staff Dr L Negrin
12.5% *sem 2 -1-hr lecture, 1-hr Art Forum, 1-hr tutorial weekly (14 wks) *prereq FST100 *assess 2,000-word essay, tutorial presentation with associated 1,500-word tutorial paper
req Hollander A, Seeing Through Clothes, Univ of Calif Press, Berkley, 1993.
Handbook information on Fashioning the Body FST207/307
FST208/308 Art as a Way of Life: Romantics, Rebels, Academics and Aesthetes
The rise of modernism saw great changes in the dreams, the desires and the everyday lives of artists and designers. The industrial revolution, the age of steam and speed, had opened up new geographical vistas, had created a new appreciation of time, had introduced a new experience of mass urbanism and provided a vast bank of new and daunting imagery to confront the imagination. Artists associated with movements such as romanticism, realism, impressionism, symbolism, aestheticism and post-impressionism will be discussed in relation to these phenomena. Their training, their opportunities for exhibiting work, and their professional roles in society will be considered alongside analysis of the art and design works they produced. Diverse influences on the art of early modernism such as the impact of technology and of the cultures of the Near and Far East will also be discussed.
Staff: Assoc Prof JH Holmes
*sem 2 -1-hr lecture, 1-hr Art Forum, 1-hr tutorial weekly (14 wks) *prereq FST100 *assess 2,000-word essay, tutorial presentation with associated 1,500-word tutorial paper
req Frascina F, Blake N, Fer B, Garb T and Harrison C, Modernity and Modernism: French Painting in the Nineteenth Century, Yale UP, New Haven NJ, 1993 Eisenmann S, et al, Nineteenth Century Art: A Critical History, Thames and Hudson, London, 1994.
FST209/309 Feminist Aesthetics
Examines the impact which feminism has had on contemporary art theory and practice. The unit will be divided into three sections. In the first section we will examine the way in which art history has been written in such a manner as to render the creative achievements of women invisible. The second section will be concerned with a critical analysis of the way in which women have been portrayed in various visual media, including painting, advertising, film, etc., while the last section will examine the various attempts which have been made to produce an alternative image of women.
Staff: Dr L Negrin
*sem 2 -1-hr lecture, 1-hr Art Forum, 1-hr tutorial weekly (14 wks) *prereq FST100 *assess 2,000-word essay, tutorial presentation with associated 1,500-word tutorial paper
req Parker R and Pollock G, Old Mistresses: Women, Art and Ideology, Pandora, 1987.
Handbook information on Feminist Aesthetics FST209/309
FST210/310 'Follow the White Rabbit': Fairy Tale, Fable and Cyber Fiction
'I put a spell on you,' the song goes, 'because you're mine'. Even if the sequence of actions doesn't quite make sense, the idea is clear -I possess you through a subtle force: enchantment. This unit looks at these 'spells of enchantment' in post-war cinema. It will examine the way in which mythology, fable and fairy-tale are used in the creation of narratives and screen roles in cinema. Depending on the availabilty of films, the unit looks at the variations of the myth of Pygmalion (in movies such as My Fair Lady to Pretty Woman and Nikita ), and the use of dream and fantasy to create 'metafiction' (such as from The Wizard of Oz to The Neverending Story or The Last Action Hero ). It will also consider the nature of enchantment in non-Western films such as Chinese Ghost Story (part 3) and Wicked City.
Staff: Mr EJ Colless
*sem 2 -1-hr lecture, 1-hr Art Forum, 1-hr tutorial weekly; regular film screenings (14 wks) *prereq FST100 *assess submission of academic and practical work responding to exercises in narrative and role relevant to the screenings list.
Handbook information on Fairy Tale, Fable and Cyber Fiction FST210/310
FST211/311 Has the World Gone Mad? Surrrealist Art Between the Wars
The Surrealist Movement had a profound impact in the second quarter of the 20th century. One author has described the movement as a 'universally intelligible plea for the revival of the imagination based upon the unconscious as revealed by psychoanalysis, together with a new emphasis on magic, accident, irrationality, symbols and dreams.' The unit will look at the large number of literary and theoretical documents associated with Surrealism as well as analysing Surrealism's direct impact in the various visual arts. Although there will be an emphasis upon media such as painting, photography, sculpture, film and drawing, there will also be extensive coverage of the other graphic arts, design and fashion.
*sem 2 -1-hr lecture, 1- hr Art Forum, 1-hr tutorial weekly (14 wks) *prereq FST100 *assess 2,000-word essay, tutorial presentation with associated 1,500-word tutorial paper.
FST212/312 Fantasy Decor - the decoration of social spaces
Decor is a vital yet often ignored aspect of the history of art and design. This unit will present an overview of its most extreme examples, including the delirious rococo interiors of 18th-century Europe, the ruinously expensive 19th-century palaces built by Bavaria's mad King Ludwig, and twentieth century dreamscapes like Disneyland and virtual fantasy worlds. Often dismissed as 'excessive', or simply 'tasteless', all these types of decor are also radically imaginative in their transformations of space and appearance. They have inspired writing which is similarly playful, labyrinthine, and seductive, like Vivant Denon's erotic, libertine story No Tomorrow and Umberto Eco's writing on the 'hyper-reality' of Disneyland. Through study of this visual and written material, we will consider questions like: What is natural and what is artificial?
*sem 2 -1-hr lecture, 1- hr Art Forum, 1-hr tutorial weekly (14 wks) *prereq FST100 *assess 2,000-word essay, tutorial presentation with associated 1,500-word tutorial paper.
Handbook information on Fantasy Decor FST212/312