Objectives of the Course

 

Through a seminar series students will critically engage the many issues that relate to the South African contemporary art world and the changes that have taken place in creating a democratic society. Through site visits and fieldwork, students will explore the knowledge, concepts and processes that drive such change and the responses and translation by visual artists to society. This would include a study on an individual, community and societal level.

Objective

For students to gain an understanding of the processes towards democracy after the period of Apartheid. Students will:

-understand these processes as they relate to the visual arts and material culture in South Africa.

-through site visits, seminar series, guest speakers and artists, students will gain a perspective on the issues, problems and successes that surround the democratization of the visual arts in South Africa.

- explore the South African model in relation to current issues in the USA and how this might have a bearing on the contemporary visual art scene in the USA.

-study the practice of art making and the spaces that artists inherit and function in, from studio, gallery to Biennales.

-be challenged on how contemporary formats and art processes are derived at, by investigating the work of traditional art and contemporary art in urban and rural spaces.