ARTH 354 - Studies in Interdisciplinarity in the Visual Arts

• T - 09:00-11:30
• EV-1.615
• INSTRUCTOR: CHARLES GAGNON

The term Gesamtkunstwerk (total work of art) is often used to describe artistic and non-artistic immersive environments, which make use of visual, aural, tactile and sometime olfactory stimuli. Starting from Richard Wagner’s notion of the total work of art, the course will explore the various ways this term has been put to use, from artworks to urban and social phenomenon such as political rallies and carnivals, to the act of walking. Often the identification of viewer and performer becomes inexistent in such cases as the sport event, or the pilgrimage. We will look at many art practices that try to blur the everyday and art, while other practices seek to break from the everyday as a way to achieve a total work of art. With these different modes of “totality” the notions of inclusion, exclusion, and community become relevant. Some of the artists and subjects we will be exploring include, the Vienna Secessionists, Andrea Zittel, General Idea, Lee Lozano, Maud Lewis, synaesthesia, Afrofuturism, the Mount Royal, l’Oratoire Saint-Joseph, and ancient Greek theater.