Meets the following requirements: AD HS HY

In July of 1989 North Carolina's Senator Jesse Helms sent a letter to his constituents describing Andres Serrano's photograph "Piss Christ" as a sickening, abhorrent, and shocking act by an arrogant blasphemer.  Using the visual arts, film, and performance pieces of the recent past, this course attempts to assess the contemporary arts and the controversies which surround them as reflective of broader currents of social change.  Significant trends and events of the 70s, 80s, and 90s which include gay-themed and feminist art as well as art which asks provocative questions about race are addressed as a way of understanding the postmodernist sensibilities.  Among the artists and works to be considered are the photos of Cindy Sherman, Andres Serrano, and Robert Mapplethorpe; the paintings of Mark Tansey, David Salle, Eric Fishl, and Balthus (the grandfather of voyeurism in postmodernist painting).  Evaluations are based on participation in class discussions, a journal, an oral presentation, and a final project or paper. 

Level:  Introductory.  Class limit: 20   Prerequisite:  coursework in visual arts or contemporary culture.  *HS* *HY*  *AD*