This course considers issues raised by modern and postmodern art practices in the latter half of the twentieth century to the present. The focus is on art practice in Australia as it relates to developments in the international context. This involves an examination of the nature of modernism in Australia; the relationship between so-called cultural centres and peripheries; and Australia's relation to the Asia Pacific. Issues associated with cultural identity will be central: questioning what it means to be an Australian artist in the late twentieth century. Most lectures and tutorials are held in the National Gallery.

By the end of this course you should be able to:

1. Demonstrate knowledge of the major trajectories in the visual arts and design in Europe, North America and Australia between 1945 and the present
2. Demonstrate a developed capacity to understand and analyse significant works of art and design in formal and contextual terms
3. Comprehend specific historical issues that relate to individual artists, periods or movements
4. Understand the significance of developments in the history and theory of 20^th century art and design for contemporary practice
5. Present written and oral arguments about the history of art and design in the twentieth and twenty-first century

3000 word essay (60%), tutorial presentation 1,500 (20%), tutorial participation (10%), reading group participation (10%).

Attendance at lectures and tutorials is compulsory.

Two lectures and one tutorial per week.

ARTV1009 or with approval

ARTH1002 & ARTH1003