ARTH3464: Art Since 1945

The end of the Second World War is commonly understood as a watershed moment in art history when the center of western art shifted from Paris to New York and the old tradition of art academies and annual salons disappeared once and for all. It is a moment that sees dramatic changes in who artists are, how they are trained, what kind of art they make, and the audiences to whom they appeal. This course surveys U.S. and European art history from 1945 to the present so that students gain a thorough understanding of the social, political, and economic forces that contributed to the development of significant art movements including abstract expressionism, pop art, and minimalism, as well as key modes of artmaking including painting and sculpture, happenings, installations, video, earthworks, and participatory art. The course also trains students in philosophies of art and tracks the dramatic changes in aesthetics over the period. Primarily a lecture course, students’ historical knowledge is assessed through two in-class examinations in which they identify, compare, contrast, and think critically about works of art. In addition, students practice discipline-specific research skills by compiling an annotated bibliography and writing short papers that rigorously examine primary sources.

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