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Contemporary Art and Visual Culture

Code: 100549 ECTS Credits: 6
2025/2026
Degree Type Year
Art History OB 3

Contact

Name:
Nuria Llorens Moreno
Email:
nuria.llorens@uab.cat

Teaching groups languages

You can view this information at the end of this document.


Prerequisites

No prerequisites are required


Objectives and Contextualisation

Understanding of the changes that have affected artistic production from the end of the seventies to the present day. Students will trace the development of the new values, procedures and behaviors with which the artistic event has been elaborated, identified, judged and developed in recent decades, placing a special emphasis on the crossroads to which the system has been subjected of dominant representation.


Competences

  • Critically analysing from the acquired knowledge a work of art in its many facets: formal values, iconographic significance, artistic techniques and procedures, elaboration process and reception mechanisms.
  • Interpreting a work of art in the context in which it was developed and relating it with other forms of cultural expression.
  • Make changes to methods and processes in the area of knowledge in order to provide innovative responses to society's needs and demands.
  • Recognising the evolution of the artistic imagery from the antiquity to the contemporary visual culture.
  • Respecting the diversity and plurality of ideas, people and situations.
  • Students must be capable of applying their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way and they should have building arguments and problem resolution skills within their area of study.
  • Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Accurately defining and explaining an artistic object with the specific language of art criticism.
  2. Analyse a situation and identify its points for improvement.
  3. Analysing ideas about an artistic phenomenon in a given cultural context.
  4. Analysing the creators of an artistic phenomenon in a specific cultural context.
  5. Analysing the recipients of an artistic phenomenon in a specific cultural context.
  6. Applying the iconographic knowledge to the reading of artistic imagery.
  7. Connecting an artistic imagery with other cultural phenomena within its period.
  8. Distinguishing the elaboration techniques and processes of an artistic object.
  9. Examining an artistic imagery and distinguishing its formal, iconographic and symbolic values.
  10. Explaining the reception mechanisms of a work of art.
  11. Identifying the artistic imagery, placing it into its cultural context.
  12. Propose viable projects and actions to boost social, economic and environmental benefits.
  13. Propose ways to evaluate projects and actions for improving sustainability.
  14. Reconstructing the artistic outlook of a particular cultural context.
  15. Working in teams, respecting the other's points of view and designing collaboration strategies.

Content

The crisis of the Modernity project and the failure of utopias
Historical-artistic context from the end of the IIGM to the decade of the 80s
A new epistemological framework: Postmodernity. Theoretical positions and debates
1. First crossroads: the return of painting and its conflict
2. Second crossroads: visual culture and image management and production mechanisms
3. Third crossroads: new subjectivities and micropolitical practices linked to gender
4. Fourth crossroads: new subjectivities and micropolitical practices linked to decoloniality
5. Fifth crossroads: history of the relationships between art, biology and technology


Activities and Methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
DEBATES 13.5 0.54 4, 5, 3, 11, 6, 1, 8, 9, 10, 14, 7, 15
THEORICAL CLASSES 77.75 3.11 4, 5, 3, 11, 1, 8, 9, 10, 14, 7
Type: Supervised      
TUTORIALS 7.5 0.3 4, 5, 3, 11, 6, 8, 9, 10, 14, 7
Type: Autonomous      
INDIVIDUAL WRITTEN WORKS 9.25 0.37 4, 5, 3, 11, 6, 1, 8, 9, 10, 14, 7

- Theoretical classes with visual support.
- Analysis of texts and films.
- Debates on the readings.
- Tutorials.

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.


Assessment

Continous Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Group written work 35% 25 1 4, 5, 3, 11, 2, 6, 1, 8, 9, 10, 13, 12, 14, 7, 15
Practical Exercises: exhibition, document and/or film analysis 25 % 15 0.6 4, 5, 3, 11, 6, 1, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14, 7
Theoretical proof 40% 2 0.08 4, 5, 3, 11, 6, 1, 8, 9, 10, 14, 7

1. CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT


1 Written proof of the contents of the agenda (40%)

1 work on an aspect of mass culture related to contemporary art, under the supervision of the teacher of the student's choice (35 %)
 
Classroom exercises: analysis of exhibitions, documents and/or films proposed by the teacher (25%)

 
Observations:

The due-dates of the evaluation activities will be specified on the first day of class.
 
NOT ASSESSED/NOT SUBMITTED: Students will obtain a Not assessed/Not submitted course grade unless they have submitted more than 30% of the assessment items.

The passing of the exam and and the realisation of all exercises will be necessary topass the subject. No deliveries will be accepted outside the agreed deadlines. The minimum grade to average is 4 in each test, as long as the final grade is 5.

REVIEW: at the moment of realisation of each activity evaluative, the teacher will inform the students of the procedure and date of review of the qualifications
 
RECOVERY: those students who do not pass any of the tests with a grade lower than 4 or do notdeliver in due time will only have to recover the part not approved or not presented
 
PLAGIARISM AND IRREGULARITIES:in the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded to an assessment activity, the student will be given a zero for this activity, regardless of any disciplinary process that may take place. Those academic exercises in which there have been irregularities (copy, unauthorised use of AI etc.) can not be retaken. In the event of several irregularities in assessment activities of the same subject, the student will be given a zero as the final grade for this subject.
 
 
2. SINGLE ASSESSMENT

 
1 exam of the contents of the agenda (40%)

1 work on an aspect of mass culture related to contemporary art, under the supervision of the teacher of the student's choice (35 %)
 
Classroom exercises: analysis of documents and/or films proposed by the teacher (25%)

 
Observations:
 
Unlike the continuous evaluation, the single evaluation is a single evaluation date.

The due-date for all assessment tasks will be specified on the first day of class.

Students will be eligible for the Single Assessment through a form that they will present in Academic Management between 12 February and 23 February.
 
NOT ASSESSED/NOT SUBMITTED: Students will obtain a Not assessed/Not submitted course gradeunless they have submitted 100% of the assessment items.

The passing of the exam and and the realisation of all exercises will be necessary topass the subject. No deliveries will be accepted outside the agreed deadlines. The minimum grade to average is 4 in each test, as long as the final grade is 5.

REVIEW: at the moment of realisation of each activity evaluative, the teacher will inform the students of the procedure and date of review of the qualifications
 
RECOVERY: those students who do not pass any of the tests with a grade lower than 4 or do notdeliver in due time will only have to recover the part not approved or not presented
 
PLAGIARISM AND IRREGULARITIES:in the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded to an assessment activity, the student will be given a zero for this activity, regardless of any disciplinary process that may take place. Those academic exercises in which there have been irregularities (copy, unauthorised use of AI etc.) can not be retaken. Inthe event of several irregularities in assessment activities of the same subject, the student will be given a zero as the final grade for this subject.
 
IA

This subject allows the use of AI technologies exclusively for support tasks such as
bibliographic or content-based searches, text correction or translations, where applicable.
In the case of subjects in a Modern Languages degree, use of translation must be specifically
authorised by the teacher. Other specific situations may be contemplated, as deemed
appropriate by the teacher.
The student must clearly (i) identify which parts have been generated using AI technology; (ii)
specify the tools used; and (iii) include a critical reflection on how these have influenced the
process and final outcome of the activity.
Lack of transparency regarding the use of AI in the assessed activity will be considered academic
dishonesty; the corresponding grade may be lowered, or the work may even be awarded a zero.
In cases of greater infringement, more serious action may be taken.


Bibliography

AA.VV. Art & Pub. Art et Publicité 1890-1990. Paris: Centre Georges Pompidou, 1991.
AA.VV. Gràfica anarquista: utòpica tinta, 1931-1939. Barcelona: Ajuntament de Barcelona, 2021.
ARENDT, Hannah. Más allá de la filosofía: escritos sobre cultura, arte y literatura. Madrid: Trotta, 2014.
AZOULAY, Ariella. Historia potencial y otros ensayos. México: Conalcuta, 2014.
BARTHES, Roland. La cámara lúcida. Notas sobre la fotografía. Barcelona: Paidós, 1995.
BAUDRILLARD, Jean. Cultura y simulacro. Barcelona: Kayrós, 2016.
BENJAMIN, Walter. Sobre la fotografía. València:Pre-Textos, 2008.
BOURDIEU, Pierre. El sentido social del gusto: elementos para una sociología de la cultura. Buenos Aires: Siglo XXI, 2022.
BÜRGER, Peter. Teoría de la vanguardia. Buenos Aires: Las Cuarenta, 2010.
DORFLES, Gillo. El Kitsch. Antología del mal gusto. Barcelona: Lumen, 1973.
ECO, Umberto. Apocalípticos e integrados ante la cultura de masas. Barcelona: Tusquets, 2006.
FUSCO, Renato de. Historia del diseño. Barcelona: Santa&cole, 2005. 
GREENBERG, Clement. La pintura moderna y otros ensayos. Madrid: Siruela, 2006. 
GUARDIOLA, Ingrid. L'ull i la navalla. Un assaig sobre el món com a interfície. Barcelona: Arcàdia, 2018.
GUBERN, Roman. La mirada opulenta. Exploración de la iconosfera contemporánea. Barcelona: Gustavo Gili, 1994.
KRAUSS, Rosalind E. Lo fotográfico: por una teoría de los desplazamientos. Barcelona: Gustavo Gili, 2002.
RAMÍREZ, Juan Antonio. Medios de masas e Historia del arte. Madrid: Cátedra, 1997.
ROSE, Gillian. Visual methodologies: an introduction to researching with visual materials. California: SAGE , 2023.
SCHWARTZ, Vanessa R.; PRZYBLYSKI,  Jeannene M. The nineteenth-century visual culture reader. London, New York:Routledge, 2004. 
SONTAG, Susan. Sobre la fotografia. Barcelona: Arcàdia, Ajuntament de Barcelona (també edició en castellà per ed. DeBolsillo).
VARNEDE, Kirk; GOPNIK, Adam. High & Low. Modern Art and Popular Culture. New York: MOMA, 1990.

 

 

 

 


Software

  1. Powerpoint
  2. MS Word (or similar)
  3. PDF Reader
  4. VLC Multimedia (free)

Groups and Languages

Please note that this information is provisional until 30 November 2025. You can check it through this link. To consult the language you will need to enter the CODE of the subject.

Name Group Language Semester Turn
(PAUL) Classroom practices 1 Catalan second semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 1 Catalan second semester morning-mixed