Batchelor, D. (1997) Minimalism Tate Gallery Publishing
Krauss, R. (1985) The Originality of the Avant-garde & Other Modernist Myths MIT Press
Ferguson, R. (ed., 1990) Discourses: Conversations in Postmodern Art and Culture MIT Press
Wallis, B. (ed., 1984) Art After Modernism: Rethinking Representation New Mus. of Contemp. Art
Wood, P. (& Others, 1993) Modernism in Dispute: Art Since the Forties Yale / OUP

Lectures, seminars, workshops, private study.

Slide projector, audiotape and video playback, room with blackout, Library, slide library, word-processing facilities and internet access.

This will consist of a written assignment of 2000 words.

The idea that art should focus on the everyday, the contemporary, the here-and-now has been repeated in many different ways, has been identified with many different causes, and it remains one of the most keenly fought over issues in modern art today. What is the appropriate subject matter of modern painting? What items, objects or events most clearly embody the experience of modernity? At the same time, modern artists have tended to choose subjects that correspond to the categories or genres of traditional, academic art: still life, landscape, portraiture, and the high academic genre of history painting (Warhol's Death and Disaster series being an instance of this). Does art therefore have to rise above the everyday and reflect on more general, abstract or spiritual matters?

This module examines these debates by providing an accessible historical and thematic progression through the modern period, focussing on particular subjects, movements and artists, while drawing out more general issues and implications. Issues of gender and ethnicity, criticisms of the accepted canon of modern art, and important social and political influences upon the institutions of art are also interwoven with discussions of particular works. Important texts on modern art - including artists' statements - are also considered during this module.