Theory and Practice of Contemporary Art - Syllabus

Theory and Fine Art

Practice

of

Contemporary

Course Aim The course will aim to provide students with skills equivalent to those of a foundation course through the development of a personal portfolio and research paper. For those students wishing to prepare for a Bachelors Degree, in art or art related subjects, the course will act as degree preparation. For mature students or those people simply wishing to gain practical skills in painting, drawing and other art related practice and to further their theoretical and contextual understanding of contemporary art the course will function as a starting point for their personal development.

Course Structure The 22-week program will be composed of a series of lectures, workshops, artist talks and gallery visits. The course will deal with the development and themes in contemporary art practice.

The writing of the research paper will begin in the first week with ‘How to write a research paper’. A first draft will be assessed in week 13 and the final draft will be handed in at the end of the course.

The Practical component will begin with technical skill workshops. Personal Studies will begin in week nine and run until the final week.

Practical Component Practical lessons will be held alternately with the Theoretical. The course will begin with technical workshops in drawing and painting. The technical workshops will run from week one until week 9, at which point students will begin the Personal Studies module where students will be encouraged to explore, analyze and experiment with the traditional disciplines. In the Personal Studies module students will work in the medium of their choice to develop a personal body of work and a portfolio.

Art practice has diversified drastically in recent years. Contemporary art practice involves many different methods and materials. As such, the students will not necessarily be expected to utilize the traditional fine art disciplines of painting, drawing and sculpture. They will nevertheless be expected to achieve a level of competency and skill with any chosen medium. Group discussions and one-to-one tutorials will be held to discuss work produced.

Students will be able to make painting, drawing, collage, photography, video and small scale 3D work in the classroom. Students wishing to pursue larger scale work and work which cannot be made in the classroom, should pursue this outside of the classroom. For in depth study of new medias, workshops will be arranged subject to requirement. Help and advice will be offered to students to allow them to access the correct facilities and equipment to develop their work.

The Practical component of the course is an opportunity for students to develop an exciting and interesting visual language of their own. It will culminate in the curation and assessment of a public exhibition.

Theoretical component The theoretical component aims to develop a strong contextual framework from which an understanding of contemporary art can emerge. It will aim to understand contemporary fine art through an art historical context and through broader sociopolitical, cultural and economic contexts. The theoretical component will be 1|Page

supported by a series of lectures and literature and will culminate in the completion and assessment of a 1500 word research paper.

Illustrated lecture notes will be provided in book form to each student, in English for each lecture. If students miss, or do not understand something, they can refer to their notes.

Students will be expected to read about their personal areas of interest and develop their own thoughts and ideas in relation to this. The student’s personal reading, as well as that done with the group, will form an integral part of the research for the research paper. There will also be a number of compulsory reads, which students will read and review prior to group discussions.

Research Paper The 1500 word research paper should explore the ideas, which students are focused on in their practical work. It will be an opportunity for students to explore their own ideas and develop a contextual understanding of themes in contemporary art and their own practice.

In week one there will be a lecture dedicated to ‘How to write a research paper’ and direction, advice and guidance, with English language and research techniques will be given at all times throughout the course. A first draft should be completed for the 13th week and the final draft in the 22nd week.

Exhibition The final exhibition of work will be a chance for students who may not have exhibited work in the past to gain an understanding of curating and hanging work in a gallery context. The exhibition will be curated, installed and advertised collectively. Each student will be expected to contribute in each of these areas.

For those students who want to, the final exhibition will be an opportunity to explore larger scale and technically more ambitious work in a gallery setting. Students will be encouraged to consider this through the course of their practical studies.

Visiting Artists and Speakers Irena Popiashvili – Newman and Popiashvili Gallery, New York. Former Dean, Art Academy, Tbilisi Wato Tsereteli– Founder& Director of CCA-Tbilisi.

TamunaChabashvili - Head of Installation Art Academy Tbilisi, Artist, Co-founder PSWAR. MarikaAsatiani, Artist. Installation and Sculpture Thea Djordjadze, Artist. Installation and Sculpture

Calendar - 22 weeks –2&3 lessons per week.

Lessons will be held in the evening and on Saturday afternoons for the first 18 weeks. In the final four weeks there will be three lessons, held twice in the evening during the week and once on a Saturday.The timetable may be subject to change to suit the needs of the guest speakers. Thea Djordjadze will be scheduled into the timetable at a later date.

Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6

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Drawing Workshop – Line & Life Lecture – Research Paper Introduction Drawing Workshop – Line & Life Lecture –Drawing The Resurgence Of Drawing Drawing Workshop Lecture –Painting The Window Painting Workshop – Light &Colour Lecture –Painting Within The Frame Painting Workshop – Creating Space Exhibition Visit Painting Workshop – Creating Space Exhibition review: Group discussion

Week 7 Week 8 Week 9 Week 10 Week 11 Week 12 Week 13 Week 14 Week 15 Week 16 Week 17 Week 18 Week 19

Week 20

Week 21

Week 22

Painting Workshop – Creating Space Lecture – Book Review and Discussion Painting Workshop – Creating Space Lecture – Sculpture & Installation The Expanded Field Of Sculpture Personal Studies Lecture –Sculpture & Installation The Exploded Field Of Sculpture Personal Studies Visiting Artist – Marika Asatiani Personal Studies Lecture - Performance Art Personal Studies Visiting Artist – Tamuna Chabashvili Group Discussion, discussing personal studies work Student Presentations : presenting research. Hand in first draft of RP Personal Studies Lecture – Photography Personal Studies Exhibition Visit Personal Studies Exhibition Review and Discussion Personal Studies Lecture – Video Art Personal Studies Lecture –Context ‘Context As Content’ (From Brian O’Doherty’s essay) Personal Studies Personal Studies Lecture –Context and Curating: Irena Popiashvili Personal Studies Personal Studies Lecture – Context and Curating: Wato Tsereteli Personal Studies Personal Studies Visit Exhibition Space for the final Exhibition Personal Studies &Research Paper deadline.

Curating and Hanging the Exhibition Exhibition Opening

Practical Work Assessment The assessment of practical work will be carried out at the end of the course.

Students will be assessed on the below criteria.

• • • • •

Creativity with their chosen medium Understanding of methods and materials Appropriateness and use of chosen methods and materials Technical skill and competency Ability to produce work to deadline and successfully install a public exhibition

Research Paper Assessment Criteria The Research Paper will be scored from 0-100 Grade

76-100

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Research

Context and Content

Understanding

Presentation and Language

Self-directed, thorough understanding and goodexcellent interpretation and use of research material.

Correctly referenced.

Good-excellent understanding of the context andcontent of the research paper is evident.

Students will evidence goodexcellent understanding of the ideas and material they are dealing with.

Presentation and language will be good-excellent.

Clearly articulated ideas with little or no language errors.

51-75

26-50

0-25

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Research is selfdirected, appropriate and demonstrates a good knowledge and interpretation of available resources.

Correctly referenced.

Students will demonstrate appropriate research techniques from correctly referenced sources.

Students will evidence a good understanding of context and content of the research paper.

Students will evidence a good understanding of the ideas and material they are dealing with.

The essay will be well presented and structured.

Evidencing clearly articulated ideas and coherence.

Students will have shown some understanding of the context and content of their research paper.

Students will evidence some understanding of the ideas and material they are dealing with. In part their understanding may be lacking.

Good presentation and language though coherence and effective articulation may be lacking in places.

Little or no research will have been done. Little or no evidence is demonstrated of available resources.

Incompletely or incorrectly referenced.

Little or no understanding of the context and content of the research paperis evident.

Little or no understanding of ideas or material approached in the essay will be evidenced.

Poor presentation of the finished paper along with little or no effort to improve or attain coherence in the language.