Prospectus

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Contemporary Art and Theory & World Art Studies. Concepts of Place and Time in Contemporary Art

Course
2008-2009

Works of art create or reconstruct places and experiences of time. Some contemporary artworks address a kind of ‘presentness’, others deal with place and time as theoretical constructions which relate to either past (memory) or future (how the world will or could be). Artists experiment with experiences of different places and moments at the same time and analyze various media in their abilities to communicate new views on these concepts.
Contemporary art deals with concepts of place and time which are sometimes traditional Western but often quite different from that. Auxiliary disciplines like philosophy, anthropology, and sociology can provide insights in how concepts of place and time produce meanings related to identity, politics or existential questions. Investigating Asian theories next to Western ones concerning place and time (and even search for views from other parts of the world) may throw new light on contemporary art from many places around the world.

Timetable

Timetable 2008-2009

Method of Instruction

Seminar meetings

Required reading

To be announced

Examination

Presentation and paper

Information

Dr. H.F. Westgeest h.f.westgeest@hum.leidenuniv.nl