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ARHA378

Blockbuster! Politics and Art Exhibit
ARHA378 FA

Crosslistings: AMST209, CHUM378

Not Currently Offered

This seminar will examine selected post-1945 art exhibitions of artworks from diverse cultures as case studies to examine the category of blockbuster and how the theme and content of art exhibitions have been influenced by marketing strategies, as well as the modes of interaction among institutions, patrons, politicians and scholars/interpreters. Among the exhibitions we will examine are "Advancing American Art" (organized by the State Department in 1946), "Harlem on My Mind" (Metropolitan Museum), the Robert Mapplethorpe Retrospective (organized by the Institute of Contemporary Art in Philadelphia), and the Enola Gay exhibit (Smithsonian Institution).

MAJOR READINGS

There is no single text applicable to this
course: students will be assigned readings from the
catalogues for the exhibitions under discussion as well as
contemporary reviews (newspaper, magazine and commentaries).

EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS

Weekly submission of notes from reading assignments; each student will also be assigned to prepare a 15-20 page paper on the planning, execution and reception of a selected exhibition, and to deliver an in-class progress report.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS and/or COMMENTS

Unless preregistered students attend the first class meeting or communicate directly with the instructor prior to the first class, they will be dropped from the class list. NOTE: Students must still submit a completed Drop/Add form to the Registrar's Office.

COURSE FORMAT: Seminar

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Level: UG Credit: 1.00 Gen Ed Area & Dept: HA ART

Prerequisites: ARHA271 or AMST200

Last Updated on MAR-22-1999




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