THAP 3302
COURSE OUTLINE
THEORIES OF THE OBJECT FOR ARTISTS
Year 3
2002
Dr Ann Elias
Sydney College of the Arts
Art Theory
Year 3
2002
Semester 2
Lecturer: Dr.Ann Elias
THEORIES OF THE OBJECT FOR ARTISTS
Background
Your previous years of study at Sydney College introduced you to some of the philosophical
and theoretical engagements with the word and concept 'object'. For example:
postmodernity questions the foundations of knowledge in modernity based on a distinction
between subject and object; post-structural thought concerns itself with subjectivity and
language, and one aspect of this is a questioning of the subject-object relation; semiotics
considers objects in terms of their cultural signification (eg as signifiers of prestige) rather
than in terms of their essential nature; the discourse of Art History has traditionally formed the
objects of which it speaks (determining what was understood as art); feminism is concerned
with the subject-object relation which produces the 'otherness' in which women feel trapped,
and so on.
Course Description
In the context of SCA it is an everyday occurrence to speak of ‘objects’, and to engage with
the interpretation of objects. This unit of study addresses the complex ways in which 'object'
can be thought by looking at how theoretical notions of 'object' are situated in the discourses
of philosophy, psychoanalysis, art history and semiotics. It also looks at the activity of
interpretation of objects and in particular the way that the discourses of philosophy,
psychoanalysis, art history, and semiotics are brought to interpretations of art. Art, in turn
influences the scope of these discourses so that the relationship of theory and practice is a
dynamic one.
Previous students across a wide range of studios have shown interest in particular theoretical
areas. For this reason the lecture topics for this course have been devised around these
areas of interest for students. Topics covered in lectures include the following objects: mirror
(and reflection), shadow (and otherness), poetic space (and the home), the visual dimension
(abstraction and ornamentation), the Body, subversive aesthetics.
Structure
The course will be delivered through:
1.
lectures delivered in the Lecture Theatre at 9.00am
2.
movie screenings in the Lecture Theatre on designated
days starting at 10.00am
3.
tutorials with set readings on designated days, with
discussions organised and conducted by groups of students
assigned to specific readings.
Aims and Objectives
1.
Lectures and tutorials will provide a solid theoretical foundation from which students
can pursue individual courses of research.
2.
3.
The course aims to accommodate a range of inquiries about 'object' generated by
students' areas of interest.
By choosing a research-based essay topic relevant to studio practice, the student will
understand the dynamic relationship of theory and practice.
Outcomes
1.
Greater ability and confidence with spoken and written articulation
2
Awareness of the multiple perspectives from which objects can be interpreted and
meanings produced
3.
A self-reflexive approach to the activity of reading to interpret.
4.
Knowledge of essential theoretical issues concerning the interpretation and reception
of art objects
5.
Advancement in research skills and methodologies.
6.
Achievement of personal potential with chosen project
Readers
It is essential to the teaching of the course that students either purchase the course reader, or
read the copy held in the library. Tutorials and student presentations are dependent on the
reader. Class participation in tutorials is also dependent on the Reader.
Assessment
You qualify for assessment if your attendance is adequate, you have presented a class
discussion around a set text, and submitted an essay of 2,000 – 2,500 words with bibliography.
Essay Question and Due Date:
“Research and discuss a topic of your choice (your object of study)- something that
captures your imagination or curiosity and is useful to your studio practice.”
2,000 – 2,500 words
Due Date: Monday 4 November, 4.30pm
Always keep a copy of your essay!!!!!
Assessment Criteria: (work towards achieving all these criteria)
sound academic standard
critical evaluation of research material
demonstration of originality and significance in terms of the research/creative problem
inclusion of relevant research material
demonstration of critical evaluation of material
demonstration of comprehension of material
structural clarity
Concise Introduction outlining both sequence and content
Clear development of discussion and clear focus on the topic throughout
absense of errors
grammatical correctness
inclusion of appropriate acknowledgements and references and formal bibliography
avoidance of unnecessary repetition
High Distinction(85-100) indicates an outstanding level of achievement of the above
Distinction (75-85)
indicates an excellent level of achievement
Credit (65-75)
indicates an above average level of achievement
Pass(50-65)
indicates an acceptable level of achievement
Fail (0-49)
not fulfilling requirements to an acceptable level
Structured Student Assistance:
Every student must make a time to speak with me about their essay. This must take place
before September 30. Please sign up for a consultation time on the sheet on my office door
marked “Year 3”.
Extensions
If you encounter medical or other serious difficulties affecting your work please contact me at
the earliest possible time to discuss this. Extensions are granted for illness and exceptional
unforeseen circumstances occurring in the week prior to the due date of the essay. Submit an
application for extension to me on a special form available at Student Administration
BEFORE the due date of the essay. The form must be signed and the approved form must
be attached to the essay.
Extensions are only given for up to 14 days after the due date.
Late Essays without extensions:
You will lose 1 mark per working day from the set date of submission.
If your essay is submitted 14 days late, it will only be assessed for “Pass” or “Fail”.
Tutorial Program/Student Presentations
Tutorial discussions are around set readings contained in the course Reader. Every student must
read all the set texts for tutorials. However, each student will choose a specific reading from
those asterixed, and tutorial discussions will be organised and conducted by a small group of
people from the tutorial group who will confer and work together on the organisation and content
of the tutorial discussion.(approximately 3-4 people in each group)
Guidelines for student Presentations around set Readings:
Use the essay as a springboard for discussion rather than re-presenting the material in the essay.
Does the text relate/connect with your practice?
What does the text make you think about? Does the text relate to another artist's practice?
Does the text relate to other texts (books, films, exhibitions) you have come across.
Please ask me for assistance if you need it.
Lecture and Tutorial Program and Lecture Starting Times
Lectures and film screenings are held on Tuesday in the Hall between 10am and 11am:
Asterix marks the readings which students choose from and present in tutorials
Week 1, July 30
Lecture:
10.00 am
Introduction to the course
Tutorial
Organisation of Reading Topics and Tutorial Groups
-------------------------------------------------Week 2, August 6
Lecture
10.00 am
Philosophy: object/subject relations
Tutorial
Barbara Savedoff : "The Art Object"
in The British Journal of Aesthetics volume 29, no.2, Spring 1989, p.160
-------------------------------------------------Week 3, August 13
10.00am
Lecture
Psychoanalysis and Unconscious: object/subject relations
Video: Bill Viola “The Passing”
Representations of the unconscious and the sublime
discussion of “The Passing” in the Lecture Hall
--------------------------------------------------------Week 4, August 20
10.00 am Film Screening
Tutorial
Michael Powell’s Peeping Tom(1960)
Tutorial
No Tutorial
---------------------------------------------------------**Week 5, August 27
10.00 am
Lecture
Semiotics – the Sign
Tutorial
Bronfen, Elizabeth, "Killing Gazes, Killing in the Gaze: on Michael
Powell's 'Peeping Tom'", in Gaze and Voice as Love Objects
R. Salecl and S. Zizek (eds), Duke University Press, Durham and
London, 1996, pp.60-89
----------------------------------------------------------Week 6, September 3
10.00 am Film
Lecture
Michael Curtiz, Casablanca (1944)
Tutorial
No tutorial
----------------------------------------------------------**Week 7, September 10
10.00am
Lecture
The Mirror, the Self and Objects of Reflection
Tutorial
Eco, Umberto, "Casablanca: Cult Movies and Intertextual Collage"
in Modern Criticism and Theory, Longman, 1988, pp.445-455
-----------------------------------------------------------------------**Week 8, September 17
10.00am
Lecture
In the Shadow of the Object – the shadow in Australian
photography and painting
Tutorial
Victor Stoichita, “The Shadow Stage” in A Short History of the
Shadow, Reaktion Books, London, 1997, pp11-41
-------------------------------------------------**Week 9, September 24
10.00am
Lecture
The Home as Poetic space: familiarity and estrangement in
contemporary art.
Gaston Bachelard, “The House from Cellar to Garret. The
Significance of the Hut”, in The Poetics of Space, Beacon Press
1994, pp3-38, first published 1958
-------------------------------------------------Tutorial
MID SEMESTER BREAK
---------------------------------------------------------**Week 10, October 8 10.00am
Lecture
The Body – as passive object, and active subject(performance and
photography)
Mick Carter, “The Re-Education of Desire: some thoughts on
current erotic visual practice”, Art & Text, no.4, Summer 1981,
pp.20-39
--------------------------------------------------------**Week 11, October 15
10.00 am
Lecture
Social Philosophy: Art, Aesthetics and Subversion
Tutorial
Tutorial
Becker, Carol, "Herbert Marcuse and the Subversive Potential of Art" in
The Subversive Imagination: artists, society and social responsibility, C.
Becker (ed), Routledge, NY and London, 1994, pp 113-129
--------------------------------------------------------**Week 12, October 22
10.00am
Lecture
Abstraction and Avantgarde Culture; Ornamentation and Popular
Culture
Mark C.Taylor, “Dermagraphics” in Hiding, University of Chicago
Press, 1997, pp74-162
--------------------------------------------------------Week 13, October 29 10
.00am
Lecture
Guest Artist: The Object of Practice
Tutorial
Formal Course Evaluation by students
---------------------------------------------------------Tutorial
THEORIES OF THE OBJECT FOR ARTISTS
YEAR 3
BIBLIOGRAPHY 2002
Please Note: the bibliography has been built up over several years with texts that
previous students have found important to their research. In addition it includes texts
accessed for lectures and tutorials and important works contributing context to
“theories of the object for artists”. [Contact Ann Elias]
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