[Peace] art and social movements

[Sarah Kanouse]

---please forward widely--

The deadline to register for ARTPA 291 "Art and Social Movements" is 
May 1, 2004.

ARTPA 291
Summer II
Tuesday, Thursday 9-noon, 1-4

This elective course introduces students to a range of ways in which 
artists have participated in movements for social justice. The course 
is a hybrid seminar-studio experience with an emphasis on 
cross-disciplinary approaches, collaborative processes, and experiences 
beyond the classroom.

Politically-engaged art practices have always had an uneasy relation to 
both the art world and the academy, a relation which becomes all the 
more uncomfortable when political artists work closely with concrete 
movements for social justice. Conversely, artists allied with political 
organizations often find their roles painfully limited to lending a 
disposable cultural gloss to the ‘real’ politics. The lack of a 
critical discourse on activist art across these boundaries fosters a 
hermetic and elitist art world, which often fetishizes ambiguity for 
its own sake, and denies activist artists access to the important 
historical and theoretical perspectives offered by art theory.  Through 
readings, discussions, and the creation of new projects, students will 
come to understand and to address these problems in their own work as 
artists, activists, and concerned citizens.

The primary instructor acts as a facilitator, posing critical questions 
and developing a framework for inquiry and experience. Much of the 
class, however, involves workshops by guest presenters, followed by 
projects using the forms they introduce. Guest presenters return during 
critique. Projects and guest presentations will be supplemented by core 
readings, supplementary video screenings, and a field trip to Chicago.

For more information, including to arrange grad credit, contact Sarah 
Kanouse at kanouse at uiuc.edu or 691-1783.