Art Studio: Counter-Memory as Art

Students will work with interdisciplinary approaches to art subjects. Representative topics: Multi-Media Documentary; Socially-Engaged Art. May repeat for credit with different content. Topics vary by offering; periodic offering at intervals that may exceed four years. Prerequisites: ARTS 1010, ARTS 1011, ARTS 1014, ARTS 1100, or ARTS 1400.

Prereqs enforced by the system: ARTS 1010 or ARTS 1011 or ARTS 1014 or 1100 or 1400; SART, ARTH, ARTE, FTS majors only during the first week of registration; CAS SART, ARTH minors only for the following 3 days; Non-CAS minors for the following 2 days; then all restrictions will be removed; Minimum sophomore standing; Fee $210 PACE students by permission and override

Counter-Memory as Art is a studio art course that cultivates students' abilities to create original works of art that demonstrate innovation in concepts, materials, and formal qualities through their personal responses to in-class discussions on memory and counter-memory. This special topics course combines art-making with a broad exploration of the artistic and theoretical approaches to memory including projects of memory and counter-memory around the Holocaust, the Vietnam War, and the Black Lives Matter movement. Students will be guided through four major art projects informed by readings about monuments, memorials, and counter-monuments. By the end of the course, students will learn to identify the role of monuments and memorials in constructing and reflecting social and cultural values. They will have gained an understanding of the changing relevance of monuments and memorials in different times and contexts. They will practice their conceptual and visual skills through art-making by using art as a means to reflect on topics on memory and counter-memory.

As a whole, students in the Counter-Memory as Art course will be expected to produce creative works about memory and counter-memory that demonstrate their facility in design, concept, and use of materials. They will be invited to use any materials, tools, and processes already in their repertoire, however, the materials provided by the instructor will be limited to sculpture and painting (modeling clay, armature wire, and acrylic paint) as well as access to the video lab. Students will need to supply their own materials if they want to use materials outside of the supplied items. Students are encouraged to consider the appropriate media relative to their ideas. Though there is no required textbook for the class, the course includes in-class discussions about required reading materials such as book excerpts and articles on related topics.

Student grades will be based on the quality and innovation of produced works around the theme of memory and counter-memory, participation in in-class discussions, and overall engagement throughout the course.