ARTH 63.23 Global Contemporary Art
This course examines the geographic and cultural reach of contemporary art as a global phenomenon. The early 1990s saw the proliferation of biennials, large-scale art exhibitions that showcase the work of artists from disparate parts of the world. This trend has been heralded as a diversification of the art world beyond traditional centers in Europe and the United States. We will consider transnational and translocal currents in contemporary art in relation to larger processes associated with economic globalization (the formation of global labor markets, multilateral trade agreements, and financial operations) and cultural globalization (the largescale transmission of artifacts, images and ideas across national borders). Close attention will also be paid to the ways in which diverse artistic practices and identity formations are made legible but are also sometimes mistranslated as they enter into global art world institutions. This course will also consider how contemporary artists picture or allegorize the particular sense of disjuncture associated with globalization in the 21st century.