ART 232 - Twentieth-Century Art: From Post-Impressionism to Postmodernism

The 20th century witnessed an unprecedented explosion in human populations, demographic and migratory shifts, and urbanization. Technologically, the century saw two major revolutions that have shaped the so-called Anthropocene: the “Second” Industrial Revolution, in which chemicals, steel, and electricity transformed industrial production into a global powerhouse, and the “Third” Industrial Revolution, which brought about the computer age toward the century’s end. These developments were immediately reflected in visual art around the world.

This course examines how European, North American, and global artists sought to represent, understand, and participate in these modernization processes, extending into the postmodern era. We will explore how the invention of psychoanalysis influenced artists to engage with previously taboo subjects, and how factory-made artifacts encouraged both machine aesthetics and a return to the handmade and organic. The devastation of the two world wars profoundly impacted artists, many of whom used their work to advance political agendas in an effort to prevent future conflicts of such magnitude. We will also examine how neoliberal capitalism, Soviet communism, and European fascism shaped artistic responses, and how the American victory in WWII shifted the art world’s focus from Paris to New York, with Abstract Expressionism positioned as an avant-garde movement championing American individuality.

Postwar demands for gender parity, equal civil rights, and identity politics brought modern art to an end, ushering in the uneven, fractured responses we now call postmodernism. We will conclude by discussing postmodern theories on the limits of history, the rise of digital media, and the increasing globalization and fragmentation in contemporary art. This course features active lectures, a writing project with multiple stages of revision, and a Reacting to the Past game. All are welcome; no prerequisites.

Satisfies Studio Art and Art History major and minor requirement.
Satisfies Visual and Performing Arts requirement.