About ARTH 2600 OL1
A study of selected examples of recent and current art and/or architecture. Representative topic: Contemporary East Asian Art. May repeat for credit with different content. Topics vary by offering; periodic offering at intervals that may exceed four years. Prerequisite: ARTH 1018, ARTH 1420, FTS 1420, or FTS 1430.
Notes
Prerequisite: ARTH 1018, ARTH 1420, FTS 1420, or FTS 1430; PACE students by permission and override. Asynchronous online
Section Description
This course will introduce students to more than 50 major modern and contemporary Korean artists and their works from the post-WWII period, and their global interactions. Many of these artists are active in contemporary times and have not yet been extensively studied. The relative lack of temporal distance from the artists’ lives limits the benefit of hindsight, while it allows students to freely exercise their own analysis and interpretation in lieu of the established art historical canons. Many students at UVM may deal with the hermeneutic problem synchronically in their attempt to engage with artists affiliated with Korea, the diachronic similarity across different cultural sites will offer them the opportunity to approach South Korean art with a fresh perspective and with the awareness of being an outsider.
Postwar Korean art serves as a visual microcosm of issues pertaining to Cold War ideology, colonial legacy, decolonization efforts, nationalism, migrations, and globalism. Many of the South Korean contemporary artists hail from mainland South Korea or live in diaspora in various countries. They use their art to convey diverse experiences as Korean immigrants or Korean artists active in the global context, contributing to generational differences in understanding the diasporic studies.
The course’s scope and framework will allow students to engage with the artists, their works, and relevant literature more meaningfully. Students will not only read artists' own statements and listen to their interviews but also write about the artwork and the artists themselves. Various media sources on the artists, including their statements, interviews, exhibition views, videos depicting artists at work and work in progress, as well as journalistic literature in popular media, will enable students to explore various cultural, racial, ethnic, gender, and contextual perspectives.
Section Expectation
Students are expected to complete assigned readings, watch lecture videos, and review artists’ websites to study their work and related scholarship prior to each class. For Fall 2026, this course will be offered in an online asynchronous format, with discussions taking place on the Brightspace Discussion Board. Through these discussions, students will engage with one another on the artists and their works, exploring a range of perspectives, interpretations, and responses that the works evoke.
Evaluation
For the midterm and final take-home exams, students will write essays that engage with the diverse viewpoints discussed in relation to works by contemporary South Korean artists, drawing on course materials and class discussions. Throughout the semester, students will participate in weekly discussions on the Brightspace Discussion Board in place of a traditional final paper.
Important Dates
Note: These dates may change before registration begins.
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Resources
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