Undergraduate Course: Myths, Miracles and Monsters: false histories of recent Scottish art (HIAR10142)
Course Outline
| School | Edinburgh College of Art |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course can be taken independently but also specialises with regard to content in the 3rd Year course Scottish Art in the Age of Change 1945-2000. The course covers the same chronological range (1945 to the present) but allows students to develop skills and knowledge through a focused, themed course at a more demanding conceptual level. It looks at major artists some of whom were discussed in a broader art historical context in 3rd Year; others of which are entirely new. It does this through the lens of a set of related concepts around myths, miracles and monsters in order to understand how recent artists in Scotland have problematised an easy, positivist view of their worlds. The works they produce range from the dark and troubling to the light-hearted and playful. There is also discussion of how curatorial and critical terms can be applied to this theme, particularly in art since the 1980s. There is a greater emphasis on post-1990s art and the course will be punctuated by gallery and museum visits and talks by artists.
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| Course description |
After establishing key conceptual terms and exploring the main directions of the content in Week 1, the course moves broadly chronologically through some of the major artistic figures since the 1950s with a particular emphasis in the second half of the course on the 1990s to the present. Most of the course content is based on conceptual uses of myth', 'monsters' and 'miracles' as explored in the art practices selected. However there is also exploration of curatorial and critical constructions of these themes, such as in 'The Glasgow Miracle' term and the market for 1980s neo-figuration.
An element of self-reflexivity is introduced in the course through an assessed element which merges art historical and creative writing. This uses material drawn from Art History: Creative Writing and Art History, Catherine Grant and Patricia Rubin (eds.), April 2011 Volume 34, Issue 2) which is available online to students.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
Students MUST have passed:
History of Art 2 (HIAR08012)
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- demonstrate a strong grasp of the three basic conceptual terms 'myth, miracles and monsters' and an ability to apply these terms in relation to recent visual arts in Scotland.
- demonstrate the acquisition of a critical and informed knowledge of between 12-15 artistic practices in Scotland within the course time period.
- demonstrate an awareness of and ability to understand and critique the literature around individual artistic practices in recent Scottish art.
- demonstrate the ability to write in art historical modes that are informed by more than one register or style, and will be able to synthesise this approach in their own understanding in response to the content of the course.
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Reading List
Roland Barthes, Mythologies (1957/2009)
Roberto Calasso, The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony (1994)
Laurence Coupe, Myth (1997)
Eric Csapo, Theories of Mythology (2004)
James Frazer,The Golden Bough (1922/2003 abridged edition)
Catherine Grant and Patricia Rubin (eds.), Art History: Creative Writing and Art History, April 2011 Volume 34, Issue 2)
Charles Harrison and Paul Wood (eds), Art in Theory 1900-1990. An Anthology of Changing Ideas (1992)
Moira Jeffrey (ed.) Generation. 25 Years of Contemporary Art in Scotland 1989-2014 (2014)
R D Laing, The Divided Self (1960)
Colin Manlove, Scottish Fantasy Literature: A Critical Survey (1994)
Gilda Williams The Gothic (2007)
http://glasgowmiracle.blogspot.co.uk/
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
The acquisition of an approach to art historical study that is research-led, autonomous and confident.
The acquisition of skills in communication, presentation and dialogue in relation to their own learning, understanding and peer group.
The acquisition of the ability to take subject specific knowledge and apply it to further academic or related activities in the future.
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| Keywords | myth,scottish art,contemporary art,modern art |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Prof Andrew Patrizio
Tel: (0131 6)51 1782
Email: |
Course secretary | Mrs Sue Cavanagh
Tel: (0131 6)51 1460
Email: |
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