Contemporary Art 112/212
Spring 2016
TuTh 1:30-2:45 pm
Kadema 145
Professor Elaine O'Brien
Office: Kadema 190
Hours: Tu 6-7pm; Th 11am - 1 pm
and by appointment
eobrien@csus.edu
http://www.csus.edu/indiv/o/obriene/
A visitor looks at Ai Weiwei's Circle of Animals / Zodiac Heads at
Somerset House in London, 2011. The installation is at the Crocker
Art Museum from January 24 – May 1, 2016
Course description:
After a background survey of the 1960s and 1970s, this course moves chronologically and
thematically from 1980 to the present. You will become aware of how contemporary art appropriates
every art tradition from every time and place, how it reinvents the past for current situations and
global contexts as artists engage in countless ways with their lived experiences. Readings,
assignments, and lectures are meant to shed light on what lies behind the aesthetic and antiaesthetic choices artists make that shape the look of visual culture today.
Because contemporary art is made by every kind of person using every conceivable medium, because
it is a product of our own global information age, characterized by fast, continual flux and border
crossing, it is more challenging and necessary to comprehend than any other art in history. Indeed,
contemporary art is not “history” at all. It is of the present; these artists’ era is our era. Your
education in contemporary art, therefore, can help you comprehend your own place in life and in the
history of art as it unfolds.
Prerequisite: Art 1C, Art 109, or equivalent with instructor’s consent
Learning Objectives:
 Gain knowledge about contemporary art in relevant historical contexts
 Develop an understanding of why today’s art looks like it does, in dialogue with but distinct
from the art of any other time
 Develop an understanding of the relationship between artworks and artists’ personal and
historical situations
 Develop vocabulary for talking about art form and content
 Develop critical thinking skills and worldliness
 Gain an appreciation for the difference between an artistic intention and the critical
reception and interpretation of art
 Learn to see the multiple interpretations of artworks as legitimate contributions to a
discourse (a serious conversation), and overcome the notion that there is any one
authoritative interpretation
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 Develop an understanding of the role of artists, artworks, and art institutions in society
Required texts:
o Peter Kalb, Art Since 1980: Charting the Contemporary, 2014
o Subscription (required and free) to email newsletter, Hyperallergic, an excellent
contemporary art blog.
Recommended texts:
 Charles Harrison, ed., Art in Theory 1900 - 2000: An Anthology of Changing Ideas
 Kristine Stiles, ed., Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art: A Sourcebook of Artists'
Writings
o Subscriptions to free email art news:
o Artforum (http://artforum.com/register/)
o Art in America (http://www.artinamericamagazine.com/)
o Art Review
o ArtInfo Newsletter: http://www.artinfo.com/
o Contemporary art magazines, including Artforum, Art in America, Parkett, October, and Art
Journal are available in the current periodical shelves of the Sacramento State library.
o Other blogs you can learn from include Art Fag City, Rhizome, and Centre for Aesthetic
Revolution. See left column my homepage for links.
o Contemporary artist videos:
o Art in the 21st Century
o SFMoMA
o Artnet
Course Requirements and Grade Basis:
 Bay Area Exhibition Review
 Contemporary Art Blog
 Quizzes (no midterm or final)
15%
30%
55%
Total 100%

Participation: Good participation is how much you help others learn: a positive, questioning,
engaged attitude toward the material and the class. This is evident in attendance, arriving on
time (and not leaving early), attentiveness, and note taking. Good participation is noted on the
roster next to your name where extra credit points (see below) are recorded. Poor participation
is also noted on the roster.
 Note taking: This is a lecture-format class. Information presented in lecture contains the
central concepts of the course and information included on exams. Cognitive studies
suggest that we recall only 50% of what we heard and 20-30% of what we remember is
incorrect. Therefore, taking notes is essential for success in college. Review these good
suggestions for note taking:
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~acskills/docs/taking_notes.doc

Class Policies:
Attendance: Quizzes and circulated sign-up sheets give me a record of attendance.
o You are permitted two unexcused absences with no effect on your grade.
o Three unexcused absences reduce your grade by one letter.
o Each subsequent absence reduces your grade by a whole letter.
o Five unexcused absences result in automatic failure.
o Chronic unexcused lateness or leaving early (more than three times) can reduce your
grade by one letter.
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o
o
o
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Scheduled appointments, transportation problems, and job demands are not
excused.
Illness and family/childcare emergencies are excused with a note from your doctor or
the student health clinic.
Tell me about any situation that will keep you from class in person (not by email) so
that I can understand the situation completely and excuse you. If you could not
come to class for a good reason but have no documentation, see me in person
during my office hours or by appointment to explain. I will probably excuse your
absence.
NOTE: Always feel free to email me if you think I can help you.
However, an email about an absence does not excuse the absence.

Electronic devices: Use of cellphones, laptops, any electronic communication device is not
permitted. Please keep everything turned off and out of sight during class. Otherwise, I will
ask you to leave the class and count you as absent.
o Large-screen laptops (not tablets) are permitted for note taking only where I can easily
see the screen when I walk around the room: in the front row and the aisle seats of the
first four rows only.

Sleeping: A dark lecture room is soporific. Sleeping in class, however, means you are not
learning and a sleeper lowers the energy level and morale of the entire class. If you fall
asleep, I might wake you up and possibly ask you to leave class and count you absent.

Eating or drinking: Not permitted.
NOTE: See me during my office hours or by appointment (not before or after class) for
questions that require my full attention, such as your progress in class, or personal situations
that are affecting your performance.
NOTE: Students can answer many questions about the class for each other. Exchange contact
information with two students sitting next to you in class.
If you have a disability and require accommodations, you need to provide disability documentation
to SSWD, Lassen Hall 1008, (916) 278-6955. Please discuss your accommodation needs with me
after class or during my office hours early in the semester.
15% Bay Area Exhibition review (Due April 28):
Note: Check the website for the museum or art space before you go for opening hours, free days,
directions, parking advice, etc. Avoid rush hours or take the train. Check out Megabus.com : an
inexpensive commuter bus between Sacramento and San Francisco.
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Visit one of the exhibitions below. You may choose another exhibition at a museum in the
Bay Area or in another cosmopolitan city if you are travelling, but it must be approved by
me first.
Read and follow the directions in “Writing an Exhibition Review,” a scanned document
available on the course website under “Readings.” To make sure you get all the information
from the show you will need for your review, print out “Writing an Exhibition Review” and
take it with you to the exhibition.
Take a notebook and pencil with you. Pens are taboo in museums.
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Take at least six photographs in the exhibition and museum. At least one should be of you
looking at the art you will write about. Have someone else take the picture. (*Do not take a
selfie because it is too close). Take pictures of favorite artworks, signage, guards, other
visitors looking at it, anything about the installation that you might mention in your review.
Do you want to be a curator? Write about that. A video clip would be great to put on your
blog.
*Photographs are the gatekeeper requirement: Your paper will not be accepted without
photographs. Ask at the information desk where photographs are okay. Flash is normally
prohibited everywhere.
NOTE: Check to be sure your photographs are good before you leave the museum. I do not
accept photographs that are illegible. All photographs must be captioned with full
identification of people, place, titles of artwork, and date. They must be inserted into both
your print and online reviews with captions.
Submit your paper in two formats: 1) posted to your blog, and 2) hardcopy. It must
be clean and professional looking.
Bay Area Exhibitions:
San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, 560 South First Street, San Jose
Any of the art exhibitions this semester: http://sjica.org/exhibitions_and_programs.html
Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way, Berkeley
Architecture of Life (Inaugural show for the new museum)
January 31–May 29, 2016
http://www.bampfa.berkeley.edu/program/architecture-life
Wattis Institute for Contemporary Art, 360 Kansas Street, San Francisco
January 23, 2014 to March 29, 2014
http://www.wattis.org/exhibitions
Mills College Art Museum, 5000 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland, CA 94613
Can We Live Here? Stories from a Difficult World
Photographer Young Suh and writer Katie Peterson collaboration featuring
photography, video, and performance.
January 20 – March 13, 2016
http://mcam.mills.edu/visit/
Kevin Cooley: Golden Prospects
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 701 Mission Street, San Francisco
Dec 18, 2015 to Sun, Apr 3, 2016
http://www.ybca.org/kevin-cooley-golden-prospects
Note: check out the Yerba Buena calendar for other exhibitions
For free, one-on-one help with writing in any class, visit the University Reading and Writing Center
in Calaveras 128. The Reading and Writing Center can help you at any stage in your reading and
writing processes: coming up with a topic, developing and organizing a draft, understanding
difficult texts, or developing strategies to become a better editor. Students can sign up for up to an
hour a week with a tutor by visiting the Reading and Writing Center in CLV 128. Students may drop
in at any time, but please visit the Writing Center website for current “drop-in only” hours. We also
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offer tutoring for one unit of academic credit through ENGL121. For Reading and Writing Center
hours and more information, visit the website at www.csus.edu/writingcenter
30%: Contemporary Art Blog:
 Create a public blog. Launch due February 9. Google Blogger is easy and has the options for this
project: https://support.google.com/blogger/answer/1623800?hl=en
 Before you start, take a good look at prize-winning blogs like Art Fag City, Hyperallergic,
and Centre for the Aesthetic Revolution to get a sense of how it is done. Use the articles as
models for your own. Links for art blogs are on the homepage of my website on the left
side.
 Select eight contemporary art exhibitions, lectures, videos and articles from the list below or
that you find out about, and publish a blog entry for each one with captioned photographs,
videos, links and any other educational content you want to add. Write for readers who are
advanced art students.
 Eight articles is the requirement for the course, but feel free to add any other subjectrelated content that you think is interesting and important.
 Web log entry dates should span the semester from beginning to end, so start right away. I
will look at your blog weekly and mark the roster when you add information. Your grade is
lowered for starting late and not adding something weekly.
 Blogs will be reviewed in class on March 10 and May 10 and 12, the last two classes of the
semester. I will grade your blog on the basis of the following criteria modified from “Google
webmaster guidance for high quality blogs”:
1. Do the articles provide original content or information, original reporting, original
research, or original analysis?
2. Do the articles contain insightful analysis or interesting information that is beyond
obvious?
3. Does the page provide substantial value when compared to other blogs in the class?
4. How much quality control is done on content?
5. Do articles provide thorough descriptions of the topic?
6. Are the articles too long or too short (stay between 200-1000 words); unsubstantial
or otherwise lacking in helpful specifics?
7. Does the blog have plenty of relevant photographs and are they captioned?
8. Are the articles and entries edited well, or does it
appear sloppy or hastily produced?
9. Do the articles have spelling, stylistic, or factual errors?
Select your eight required blog article topics from the list
below. You may substitute a lecture or exhibition on this list for
another one of your choosing, but get my approval first. If you are
travelling to a cosmopolitan city during the semester, you may write
on contemporary art you see there.

Three campus and/or regional exhibition reviews
The link to the schedule of Sac State art department exhibits
and lectures in the left section of the website homepage. Write
the exhibition review entry as soon as possible after you see
the exhibition. Follow the guidelines for Bay Area Exhibition
review above.
Andy Warhol Portraits on view at
the Crocker Art Museum
March 13 – June 19, 2016
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o
o
One student show in the Witt, Else, or University Union gallery, or an independent
space off campus
Two professional contemporary art exhibitions in the Else Gallery (Pump Up The
Volume! is the only professional show this semester), University Library Gallery or the
Crocker Art Museum
NOTE: Additional student exhibition reviews are great extra credit. Get photos and try to
interview the artists. Write a brief (100-200 word) description and commentary and post
to your blog.

Two contemporary art off-campus events or gallery shows of your choosing

Three contemporary art lectures at Sac State, UC Davis, or the Bay Area
NOTE: You can attend and write on a lecture that’s not listed, but you must get my okay
first.
NOTE: You are required to attend the Festival of the Arts art history symposium on April 16
as the make-up assignment for the missed classes February 2 and 14. You can write one of
your three blog articles about the symposium, relating the topics presented to
contemporary art if you can. You may select one lecture to write about or write about the
symposium as a whole.
NOTE: Attendance at more than three lectures is great extra credit. For extra credit blog
entries on lectures, post a photograph of the speaker (with other students and/or with you)
and a brief summary and commentary (c. 200 words) on your blog.
How to write your lecture blog:
• Research the speaker before you go and include relevant background information in your
article.
• Take careful notes during the lecture or record it.
• Ask the speaker at least one question and write down your question and the speaker’s
answer. Include the question and answer in your article.
• Take at least one photograph of the speaker and audience to put in your article about
the lecture. Try to get a picture of you with the speaker.
• Write a 400-500-word article for publication in your blog. See helpful video guidelines:
“How to Write a Good Blog Post.”

Sacramento State lectures: See Art Department Spring, 2016 event schedule on
the website home page in the left-hand column

UC Davis Visiting Artist Lectures: http://arts.ucdavis.edu/news-release/20152016-visiting-artist-lecture-series
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Bay Area lectures (open the links below for choices)
*Consult art museum, gallery, and independent space websites for more lectures.*
NOTE: Art 212 Graduate students are required to attend one Bay Area lecture.
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California College of the Arts: https://www.cca.edu/calendar/graduate-studies-lecture-series
San Francisco Art Institute: http://www.sfai.edu/events-calendar
UC Berkeley Wiesenfeld Visiting Artist Lecture Series:
http://art.berkeley.edu/events/category/wiesenfeld-visiting-artist-lecture-series/
Mills College Art Museum events: http://mcam.mills.edu/events/
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55% Quizzes: On most Tuesdays, class begins with a (timed) 15-20-minute slide identification
and essay quiz. Changes are announced in class. Identify an artwork from the previous lecture(s):
1) full name and nationality of artist, 2) title of artwork, 3) date, 4) medium, and 5) art movement
if relevant. You will be asked to discuss the significance of the artwork, showing what you learned
from the readings, videos, and class lecture(s).
 Occasionally I might ask you to identify an “unknown” work by an artist whose art we studied in
lecture, video, textbook.
 The essay question will draw from the textbooks as well as lecture. An “A” quiz will give
information from both.
 Scoring is on a scale from 1-10 points based on mastery of the material.
 At the end of the semester, the lowest quiz score is deleted from your record and the
rest of them are totaled and averaged.
 Keep your quizzes for possible discrepancies at the end of the semester.
 No makeup quizzes will be given, but one “free” quiz (missed or low score) is subtracted
from the total.
Suggestions for how to study for an art history quiz:
 Take good lecture notes.
 Form a study group and get a study partner. Ask me to circulate a sign-up sheet for
contact information of students who would like to form study groups.
 Review the description of the quizzes on the syllabus.
 Go to the PowerPoint lectures for this class on the course website
 Make flashcards – one for every artwork that was shown in lecture.
1) On the front of the card draw a thumbnail sketch of the artwork. On the back, write
down the ID – title, artist’s full name, date, medium, movement (or movements),
notes on “significance” (why is the artwork important enough for us to study?) for
essay questions.
2) Include notes on what you have read in Kalb and heard in lecture about this work or
similar works. Write titles of related artworks and names of related artists.
 For the essay question, think about questions that you would ask about this work if you
were the professor. What are the main arguments and points made in readings and
lectures?
 Study the textbook.
 Come to see me during my office hours whenever you have a question. If you can’t
make my office hours, email me for an appointment.
Extra Credit: You are encouraged to see and experience contemporary art and visual culture that
particularly interest you, especially if they are not presented in class. You can get extra credit for
unassigned exhibitions, readings, videos, etc. by adding blog entries, including photographs. Ask
me if you are not sure that your idea qualifies for extra credit. I will add extra credit points to the
roster when I review your blog.
Art 212 Graduate Requirement: Genealogy paper and presentation
25% of the Art 212 course grade
Note: Discuss your paper with me (in person) during my office hours or by appointment (use email
for scheduling with me) by February 18 or your paper will be marked down 25%. If we cannot
figure out a time to meet in person by then, we can schedule a telephone conversation.
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Genealogy Paper: Due March 31. Five pages (1400 words, double space, 12 font). Describe your
self-selected “family” of precursor artists. Which artists produce artwork that you admire and relate
to, that you feel is like yours in form and/or content? Precursor artists can be from any time and
place and employ any medium(s); they can be any kind of artist: writers or musicians, popular,
commercial, self-taught, or academically trained and employed teacher-artists. Research the
professional biography and especially the intentions of the artists you include in your genealogy. Give
and cite (Chicago style footnotes and bibliography) evidence from credible sources (the artist as well
as experts (research their expertise online) about why the artist’s work looks the way it does. What
lived experiences does the artist believe were formative? What experiences and personal values
shaped the artist’s artistic goals? Include in your paper a few illustrations of your own work in
comparison with illustrations of work by the artists with whom you claim affinity. The main goal of
this assignment is for you to see your work as part of the great creative conversation that is historical
and global.
Presentation: Completed by May 5: This is a PowerPoint slide presentation off campus. The time
and place are decided by you in consultation with your host and me before the end of February.
If you know a high school or community college teacher who would like you to present your paper
to his or her class, that would be ideal. This kind of lecture would also interest people in retirement
homes and community groups. If you need a host, I will find a good one for you.
Important: Give my email address to your host and give me theirs. I must communicate with them
(email is best) before the end of February to confirm your invitation, and again after you present.
Your presentation grade is an automatic A. Your host must agree to email you and me after your
presentation with an evaluation and constructive suggestions in an informal paragraph or two.
Schedule (subject to changes announced in class or by email)
Notice: The California Faculty Association is in the midst of a difficult contract dispute with
management. It is possible that the faculty union will call a strike or other work stoppage this
term. I will inform the class as soon as possible of any disruption to our class meeting schedule.
General notes about assignments:
o Study the textbook, Art Since 1980: Charting the Contemporary (as “Kalb” in schedule), and use
it as a reference to expand your knowledge and better understand the lectures, videos,
exhibitions, and events you will experience this semester. Use the book’s index to find artists and
art movements presented in lecture. Class lectures loosely follow the text.
 Quizzes will test you on your understanding of the textbook as well as class lectures.
o Quizzes will assess what you have learned from lectures, the textbook (Kalb) and videos
covered in class since the previous quiz. A quiz might also include an unknown work by an
artist we have studied or information covered in the previous quiz, especially if the class did not
do well on that quiz.
o The slide lectures are available on the website just before or after they are shown in class.
January 26: Introduction
 Read “35 Years After Fashion Moda, a Bronx Gallery Revisits the Landmark Space,” by Tiernan
Morgan available online at http://hyperallergic.com/227683/35-years-after-fashion-moda-abronx-gallery-revisits-the-landmark-space/
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Assignment: Carefully review some prize-winning contemporary art blogs like Hyperallergic, Art
Fag City, and Centre for the Aesthetic Revolution to have good models for your blog.
 Create your blog and add title and basic information about you. Email the address to
eobrien@csus.edu Blog launch due date is February 9.
 Use Google Blogger: https://support.google.com/blogger/answer/1623800?hl=en
NOTE: I will look at your blog weekly and note in the class roster when you start it and add
information.
January 28:
 Read Kalb: Introduction, Chapter 1: Discovering the Contemporary
 Study for syllabus quiz. Note: this quiz is worth as much as the other quizzes and is an easy
“10,” so study the course requirements.
 Launch your blog with title, basic information about you, and a picture of you. Email the URL to
eobrien@csus.edu Blog launch due date is February 9.
February 2: O’Brien at CAA Conference
In-Class Make up assignment: Cool School: How LA Learned to Love Modern Art (2008) view video
in class. Take a page of notes and write a one-paragraph about what made the Los Angeles
artworld (“Cool School”) creative at that time? What makes a successful artworld? Turn in your
paper for credit before you leave.
February 4: O’Brien at CAA Conference
In-Class Make up assignment: Revolutions of the Wheel part 3. Peter Voulkos and the Otis Group,
and part 4, Robert Arneson and the Davis Group (2011). View video in class. Take a page of notes
and write a one-paragraph about what was innovative about the work of Voulkos and Arneson.
February 5: Art Hotel film screenings: Marshall Hotel Lobby, 7th Street
Art Hotel is at 1122 7th Street (7th & L). See this – for More….
Art Hotel runs from Feb 5 at 12 PM to Feb 13 at 11 PM
February 9: Blog launch deadline
Syllabus Quiz on course requirements (only) as described on the syllabus.
February 11:
Read Kalb: Chapter 1: Discovering the Contemporary,
February 16: No quiz
February 18:
 Graduate student deadline to discuss genealogy papers with O’Brien.
 Read Kalb: Chapter 2: Taking Pictures: Appropriation and its Consequences, pp. 46-65
February 23: Quiz
February 25:
March 1: Quiz
 Read Kalb: Chapter 3: Back to the Easel: Neo-Expressionism and the Return of Painting, pp.6591
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March 3:
March 8: Quiz
 Read Kalb: Chapter 4: Into the Streets, pp.91-116
March 10: Class Blog Review
March 15: Quiz
 Read Kalb: Chapter 5: Commodities and Consumerism, pp.116-14
March 17:
March 21 -27 Spring Break; Cesar Chavez Day March 31: No Class
March 29: No quiz
 Read Kalb: Chapter 6: Memory and History, pp.140-168
March 31: Graduate student genealogy papers due
April 5: Quiz
 Read Kalb: Chapter 7: Culture, Body, Self, pp.168-193
April 7:
April 12: No quiz
 Read Kalb: Chapter 8: Eastward Expansion: Contemporary Art in Russia and China, pp.193-218
4/13 – 4/17 Festival of the Arts
4/13 – Library Gallery: Lecture by Professor Kendall H. Brown, 6 p.m.
4/14 – Library Gallery: Lecture by Bidou Yamaguchi (with Kendall H. Brown), 2 p.m.
4/15 - Library Gallery: Lecture by collector Steve McCleod, 2 p.m.
April 14:
Saturday, April 16 - Mariposa 1001: 11th annual Art History Symposium, 1-5 PM,
Hers & Hers: Women as Artists, Clients, and Consumers
You may write blog articlea about one of the symposium lectures or the symposium as a
whole.
April 19: Quiz
 Read Kalb: Chapter 9: Engaging the Global Present, pp.218-250
April 21:
April 26: Quiz
 Read Kalb: Chapter 10: New Metaphors and New Narratives, pp. 250-280
April 28: Bay Area Exhibition Review due
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May 3: Quiz
•
Read Kalb: Chapter 11: The Art of Contemporary Experience, pp. 280-311
May 5: Graduate student deadline for public presentation of genealogy paper
May 10: Quiz / Class Blog Review
May 12: Class Blog Review
No Final Exam
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