The Artist's Body (AHIS40007)

This subject focuses on contemporary artists' redefinitions of the body and work and, by extension, redefinitions of the artist and the artwork. Students will be introduced to contemporary theories of the body, artistic identity, and artistic authorship through an analysis of changing uses of the artist's body. Students will encounter art from the late 1960s to the present, and trace the transition from conceptual art to earth art, body art, and performance art. The subject will engage with issues such as corporate collectives, artist families, the creation of third authors and body doubles, and the redefinition of the erotic. On completion of the subject students should have a knowledge of the theories of artistic identity and artistic production underlying visual art from conceptualism to the present, and be able to locate artistic and critical practices from the period within specific social, historical and theoretical contexts.