How are contemporary artists engaging with abstraction (non-objective art) and modernism?
Step 1:
See these videos and take notes on these artists different views on abstraction, its legacy in the 21st century, and how abstraction can be political.
Julie Mehretu, https://art21.org/watch/extended-play/julie-mehretu-politicized-landscapes-short/ (09: 54 minutes)
Mark Bradford, https://art21.org/watch/art-in-the-twenty-first-century/s4/mark-bradford-in-paradox-segment/ (14 minutes, up till the shot)
(d/collage is a term we will explore in the next class just in case you are wondering what Bradford is talking about)
Step 2:
Take notes on how abstraction was interpreted in these two texts:
a. Clement Greenberg and the relation of abstraction to modernism, pdf uploaded in Blackboard Module 8 (this might take some good 20 minutes to read, even though it is a single page, excerpts from a longer text)
b. Adrienne Edwards, and contemporary abstraction in relation to color black (might also take 20-30 minutes):
https://www.artnews.com/art-in-america/features/blackness-in-abstraction-3-63053/
Step 3:
Go to discussion board 4, module 8
Discuss the question:
How are contemporary artists engaging with abstraction (non-objective art) and the legacy of modernism?
As you discuss, refer to the texts read and use the artworks seen in the videos as examples, but use your own words to describe. (Practice doing formal analysis! youll need it for the curate an exhibition final project. You will do infinitely better in this class when you describe on your own).
You will be graded on:
– personal analysis and response to the artists works.
– understanding of arguments in the two texts, using own words to explain them.
– following instructions
