The Real and the Fictive in Contemporary Art
Fall 2008
LIB 41
Tues - Thurs. 2:40 - 4 PM
Professor Robert Slifkin
LIB 320
email: rslifkin@reed.edu
Office hours: Tuesdays 9 AM - 12 PM or by appointment
It could be argued that in the broadest sense the modern conception of the aesthetic is predicated on a degree of fictiveness, that is to say, the acknowledgement that the work of art stands somewhere outside the realm of everyday experience. Yet throughout the history of modernism, and in particular the history of late-twentieth century art, artists have repeatedly and productively blurred this boundary. This class will explore the various ways works of art have engaged with external reality, both as literal documents and imaginative artifacts, in an effort to construct an innovative paradigm for the understanding of modern and contemporary artistic practice. Readings will emphasize theoretical approaches to the subject to which relevant ‘case studies’ taken primarily from exhibitions at the Cooley Gallery and Portland Art Galleries and Museums will serve as examples and challenges to the models provided in the assigned texts.
Required texts (available at the Reed College Bookstore):
Nicolas Bourriaud, Relational Aesthetics (Dijon: Les Presses du Réel, 2002).
Jacques Ranciere, The Politics of Aesthetics (London: Continuum, 2004).
Lawrence Welschler, Mr. Wilson's Cabinet of Wonder
All other readings are available on e-reserve or through various online archives.