Art of Africa (386-0-1)

Topic

Contemporary African Art

Instructors

Antawan I Byrd

Meeting Info

Kresge Centennial Hall 2-319: Tues, Thurs 12:30PM - 1:50PM

Overview of class

This course examines the contributions of African artists to contemporary art practice and discourse from the 1980s to the present. Students will explore the critical networks, strategies, politics, and institutions that have shaped and supported the making, circulation, and reception of African art practices in recent history. The course will strive to analyze objects from multiple vantage points, considering the ways in which the meaning and value imputed to African art practices shifts across local and international contexts. Students will gain substantial insight into the role of museum exhibitions, art biennials, publishing platforms, and transnational collaborations in defining the field of contemporary African art. We will question how artists today interrogate geopolitical power arrangements and engage issues related to gender, identity, and sexuality. We will also explore how artists grapple with the insights and limitations of theories ranging from decolonization, feminism, modernism, and globalization to ideas of Posthumanisim and the Anthropocene. The course will address a spectrum of media including film, installation, painting, photography, performance, sculpture, and sound.

Class Materials (Required)

No textbook required.

Class Notes

Please use the following link for Art History waitlist information: https://arthistory.northwestern.edu/courses/2023-2024/registration_waitlist.html

Class Attributes

Historical Studies Foundational Discipline
Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline
Historical Studies Distro Area
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area
Global Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity