Students participating in this program will have the chance to experience and analyze some of the most recent and important works of art and architecture in three of the most significant global exhibitions of contemporary art: the Venice Architecture Biennale, Marseille Manifesta, and the Berlin Biennale. These periodic exhibitions offer an opportunity for scholars of recent art to pause to “take the pulse” of the art world, to note the major trends and cultural producers active today, and to speculate on where these trends will go in the future. For artists, architects, and designers, these exhibitions provide an unparalleled opportunity to showcase their work to a large and diverse global audience. Students will, therefore, immerse themselves in the current state of the art world, learn about the major artists and artistic themes active today, and place them into an historical context. In addition, students will be asked to think critically about the institutions that comprise the contemporary art world: not only the mega-exhibitions themselves, but also museums, commercial galleries, auction houses, and art journals. Since some of the most significant art criticism that responds to current art trends lives online, students will create their own art blog where their responses to these fascinating works will be assembled for a broad public.
The seminar will begin in Venice, Italy, where students will both spend time with the sprawling and immense Biennale exhibition and learn about the immediate historical precedents for the work we will be studying up close. After roughly three weeks in Italy, students will then travel to Marseille, France to view Manifesta, an “itinerant” biennial exhibition that takes place in a different European city every two years. Students will then have a short break—during which time they can make short trips elsewhere in Europe—after which time we will all reconvene in Berlin, Germany. There, we will continue our exploration into contemporary art trends by visiting the Berlin Biennale. We will also have the opportunity to visit artists’ studios while in the city.
- Analyze works of contemporary art and architecture formally and place them within their historical context.
- Critically evaluate the institutions that support today’s contemporary art world.
- Reflect on how these institutions and exhibitions represent art’s global diversity.
- Hone their critical writing skills for both academic and general audiences.
- Grow in confidence and maturity through travel and engagement with new environments
This seminar is open to all Carleton students, but preference will be given to those with a demonstrated interest in contemporary cultural production. A course in Art History or Cinema and Media Studies will provide both valuable background information and the vocabulary necessary for analyzing challenging works. Students without said coursework should be able to demonstrate a significant interest in the material either through personal readings or related coursework.
18 Credits
ARTH 211: Critical Issues in Art Now (6 credits)
In this survey, students will be exposed to the diverse range of themes, concepts, and mediums that contemporary artists are working with at the present moment. After a brief historical overview of artic practice since 1960, the course will be divided into a set of thematic concerns. Students will learn about how artists today respond to globalization, market capitalism, issues and racial and ethnic identity, and other issues within our complex contemporary geopolitical situation. Readings will be pulled from contemporary art journals, art blogs, e-journals, and statements by both artists and exhibition curators.
Instructor: Ross Elfline
ARTH 212: The Art World and Its Institutions (6 credits)
In this course, students will think critically about the institutions that present and frame contemporary art today, including the biennial exhibition, the museum, the commercial gallery, and the art journal. Critical questions include: If biennial exhibitions purport to be global surveys, how do they conceptualize “the global”? How have museums changed the ways in which they present such challenging works, and how do they make judgments about which works to acquire? What role do commercial galleries play in promoting certain artists over others, and has this skewed the survey of global artists toward certain kinds of art or artists?
Instructor: Ross Elfline
ARTH 213: Art Criticism in the Digital Age (6 credits, S/CR/NC)
This course is a platform for students to reflect thoughtfully and critically on the works they have encountered abroad, the ideas raised by the visiting speakers, and the broader experiences they have had while traveling through Europe. The primary medium through which students will voice their reactions will be a student-authored art blog. Given that so much cultural criticism now takes place in these virtual forums, students will thus be part of a broader community of art critics and theorists as their contributions add productively to the ongoing virtual conversation around the art of this moment.
Instructor: Ross Elfline
Ross Elfline, Associate Professor of Art History
Ross Elfline offers courses on the history of modern and contemporary art and architecture, as well as other courses focusing on the theories and methods of art history as a discipline. Professor Elfline has written extensively on the history of conceptual and radical architecture practices of the 1960s and 70s. He is currently at work on a book project on the intersection of architecture, urban design, and performance in the late 1960s.
While Professor Elfline’s academic work focuses primarily on the work of previous generations of artists and designers, the questions he poses about this work reflect critically upon issues relevant to artists working today. His essays have appeared in Footprint, Design and Culture, and The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians. He contributed an essay to the exhibition catalog for the Walker Art Center’s exhibition Hippie Modernism: The Struggle for Utopia, for which he was a lead consultant.
Lodging will be provided in hostels and hotels.
Students will take short trips to nearby sites in Venice, Marseille, and Berlin. Further highlights include museum and exhibition visits, guest speakers, field study assignments.
The Art Now Seminar functions as a Carleton term of the academic year. Participants are required to take a leave of absence during the following winter term 2021.
Program will take place mid-June to late-August. Specific dates will be communicated to program participants.
All Carleton-sponsored summer break programs cover the costs of instruction, lodging, some meals, group excursions, public transportation, medical and evacuation insurance, travel assistance, and most cultural events.
Students are responsible for passports and visas (when required), books and supplies, transportation to and from the program sites, and personal expenses during the program. Students will receive a program-specific Additional Cost Estimate at the time of acceptance.
Financial assistance is available. See the Off-Campus Studies website for further information on billing, financial aid, and scholarships.
No meetings or deadlines are available at this time. Please check back later.
Application Deadline EXTENDED!
2022 Program: February 14, 2022