Theories of Art

The aim of the course is to develop and to encourage critical reflection of art practices. This requires on the one hand that the students acquire a general knowledge about the most influential theories of art and about the diversity of contemporary reflections on art, and on the other hand it requires a critical assessment of selected particular cases of contemporary art practices. Given that this is a general course intended for all different programs the cases will be chosen from different art practices and students of different programs will be encouraged to address artworks of other art fields and to reflect on the aims, impact and context of artistic endeavours and their wider social and conceptual frame. The aim of the course is furthermore to encourage creativity and invention and at the same time to equip students with the critical conceptual tools for evaluating their own practices. The aim is not merely to provide a philosophical and wider theoretical reflection on art, but also to consider the reverse reflection about the ways in which art itself thinks and produces concepts, so that theory also has to learn from it.

A particular focus will be given to the present situation of art in three respects: the role of art after the demise of modernism; the role of art in the globalized world; art confronting the challenges of new technologies.