ARHT5902 - Australian Art Writing (2006)

Postgraduate

Department: Art History and Theory School: School of Letters, Art and Media Semester(s): Semester 2 Credit Points: 6 Co-ordinator: Dr Catriona Moore. Email: catriona.moore@arts.usyd.edu.au Telephone: 9351 6905

UoS Description

Australian Art writing/criticism: theories and methods. The Unit explores the varieties of art writing, particularly those which engage with the ongoing production of art and its institutions. This will be pursued through: (i) a study of the practice of individual critics of modern art; (ii) examination of the work of recent and current art writers, particularly in Australia; (iii) direct practice in a number of different writing genres. The results of (i) and (ii) will be presented in the form of both class papers and essays; (iii) will take the form of writing exercises with stipulated frameworks.

UoS Objectives:

This unit will:
--provide students with a body of knowledge of Australian art history, criticism and curatorial practice.
--allow advanced students to apply theoretical methods in art history, exhibition conventions and art writing through practical analyses of artworks and exhibitions
--enable students to think imaginatively about the visual arts and crafts, building skills by working with a combination of original objects, museum installations, and reproductions;
--enhance students’ abilities to communicate in written and oral English ideas that concern visual materials and relevant contextual information through seminar discussions, different styles of art writing, class presentations and essay assignments.

UoS Outcomes:

Students will learn to speak and to write effectively and persuasively about visual materials (knowing how to account for their decisions and to think creatively). Students will gain the critical skills necessary for analysing and evaluating Australian art, art criticism and curatorial practice.

UoS Learning Situations:

Seminars ,  One 2hr seminar
one 2hr seminar

UoS Assessment:

One Long Essay or mixed assessment of 4,000 words

UoS Readings/References:

Bernard Smith (with Terry Smith), Australian Painting, Oxford University Press, (4th Ed, 2001)
Andrew Sayers, Australian Art, OUP, 2001
Joan Kerr, Heritage: The National Women’s Art Book, CUP, Sydney, 1995
Ian Burn et al, The Necessity of Art: An Essay About Interpretation, Power Publications, 1988
Ben Genocchio, The Art of Persuasion: Australian Art Criticism 1958-2001, Craftsman House, Sydney, 2003
Rex Butler (ed), Radical Revisionism in Australian Art, IMA, 2005

Online Components:

A listing of Lecture and Tutorial topics

Additional reading references

Assessment topics and assessment criteria

How the Online Components work with the rest of the UoS:

The on line component of this unit is optional.

It provides a supplementary guide to information supplied in classes.

Minimum Requirements for Hardware/Software:

WEB BROWSERS:

* for Windows users( Microsoft IE 5.0 or higher, Netscape 6.2 or higher)

* for Macintosh users ( Microsoft IE 5.1 or higher, Netscape 6.2 or higher, Safari 1.2 or higher)

INTERNET CONNECTION: 56k modem