ARTH 391 - Art and Its Changing Contexts: Manifesto
- M&W 12:15-14:45
- EV-1.605
- INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Maya Oppenheimer
To claim that art is political addresses not only the topics of art works but also the standpoint of the artist and their decisions to work with certain materials, spaces of making, networks of circulation (including art criticism, auctions, exhibitions, collections, publications) and particularly histories of art and its practice. The written, signed and distributed manifesto is one such way that artists have communicated their politics, ideas and intentions in their work, both individually and collectively, and to use their creative work as a means to affect change, resistance or dissent.
This course pursues a three-part delivery, which structures the complexities and layers of historical, contemporary and emerging manifestos and their contexts: Manifestos in History, Manifestos in Art; Contemporary Platforms of Resistance; Broadcasting the Manifesto in Practice. We begin by looking at key manifestos in history, which will give us a sound context for the influence of such a document and the radical act of its composition and distribution. The main work of the course, however, will twin specific manifestos with 20th/21st century socio-cultural contexts from feminisms, decolonisation movements, to technology and look at how artists leverage their resources to engage their manifestos’ agendas. Each class will weave together discussions of key texts, theoretical topics, performances, sit-ins, archives, protests and publications as well as art works that are integral to a foundational understanding of what a manifesto is, how to read them as primary objects in context and why they are important resources in the work of art practice, art history and broader socio-cultural study. The course also positions manifestos in an 'expanded sense' by looking at activisms in art that are not explicitly manifestos but operate as such. The third part of the class focuses on the process of manifesto dissemination via workshops and discussion. Articles, film clips, artworks, interviews, podcasts, plays, short stories and exhibitions are pulled from global, historical and contemporary examples of manifesto-driven resistance and political positions to support your study and ability to ‘read’ manifestos and the politics of their signatories while also building your own standpoint.