History and Theory of Art and Media I

Objectives and competences

  • Studying the key characteristics of fine arts, visual and digital arts from their historical origins until today. Studying the periods of the history of art, different directions, movements, spiritual-historical development and art-historical development. ability to recognise works of art and connect them in relation to the timeline and concepts; - encouraging students to reflect on connections among different forms of art through a historical perspective; - studying the specific styles and periods of the history of fine arts (the 20 century and the first decade of the 21 century) with reference to the theoretical questions which the rhe works of art, the world of art or a wider cultural context have posed within a particular period; - ability to discern characteristics of the key historical works of art, and knowledge of technological development; application, by means of an analytical process, of theoretical knowledge to one's own work. - studying the key theories and interpretations of contemporary arts since the historical Avantgarde period until the modern times, and ability to use the knowledge in a written assignment; - - understanding these theories and interpretations, and ability to apply them when evaluating a particular work, opus, or time period.
    Within the module, the students will be able to obtain the following general competences: - analytic and synthetic skills; - ability to apply the obtained knowledge in practice; - development of critical and self-critical evaluations; - ability to use critical arguments to present and defend one's own viewpoints, and consider the viewpoints of one's colleagues; - mastering research methodologies, procedures and processes; - autonomy in one's own professional work.

Prerequisites

General education and secondary school knowledge in the field of history of fine arts, philosophy, literature, and music.

Content

History and theory of art and media module consists of three types of contents: a) historical contents encompass a wider field of art and are based on comparisons and parallels among different types of art and artistic directions; these contents include Comparative history of art amd History of art in the 20 century; b) historical-critical contents in the fields of film, animation, photography and new media are carried out as theoretical lectures, supported by an analysis of historically significant works of a particular period; c) critical-theoretical contents rely on a critical theory of contemporary arts and media, which, via the theory of art and works' analysis, involves students into a critical dialogue and encourages them to critically reflect on their own work.
Historical contents include a chronological overview of the development of the history of art from its beginnings (paleolithic period) to the present days (contemporary art); seeking of analogies, connections among different forms of art and periods within them.
Content units in year one: - Comparative history of art - Critical theory of art and media I - Historical-critical contents in film studies, animation, photography and new media I
Comparative history of art since the paleolithic times until the beginning of the 20 century: establishing parallels and connections among different forms of art and periods within them, in particular comparisons between the development of fine arts on one hand, and literature and music, on the other hand. Through the historical approach, the students become acquianted with the “intermedia” understanding of art and an integral view of the history of man's creativity.

The critical theory of contemporary arts and media (CTCAM) unites a presentation of the key theories and interpretations of contemporary art, that is, of the art in the second half of the 20 century and the first decade of the 21 century. This teaching unit aims to critically present the key issues related to contemporary art, from Greenberg's critical theories of late modernism to the so called institutional theory. At the same time, it is concerned with a historical view of the issues such as stylistic analyses, iconology, structuralism and semiotics, and sociological history of art. It also touches upon the questions of form and conceptual art, art as philosophy, ending of art and postmodern approaches (neo-marxisim, deconstruction, feminisim) and the institutional theory of art. A special section of lectures will be dedicated to local theories and interpretations of art. We are concerned with a chronological overview of the origins and development of particular theories in the 20 century and early 21 century as well as with a critical evaluation of the beginnings, development and existence of certain approaches towards art within a specific historical moment. In year one, the subject provides a chronologicla overview and presentation of the key theroies and interpretations of art from the end of World War II until the end of the 1980s in Europe and the United States.
Historical-critical contents: history of a particular field of art and media; history of technological development within a particular field and of historically significant works of art. The important part of the contents is dedicated to analyses of works of art, comparisons with contemporary works, and development of critical thinking related to a respective field

Intended learning outcomes

  • Knowledge of the developmental logic of fine arts and ability to connect other forms of art (music, literature, film, photography, etc) into a wholesome picture of art as developed through history; - understanding the processes of dynamics inherent in art development and of intercultural connections existing among the different types of art; - knowledge of the developmental logic of interpretations and the theory of contemporary arts; - ability to discern specific possibilities and aspects of interpretation and thinking about contemporary art, and ability to apply knowledge to a particular piece of art, opus or time period; - understanding the origins, development and rule of particular theories; - ability to interpret, reflect, evaluate, compare and synthesise fine arts, literary, music, photographic, audio-visual, performative works, particular pieces of art, opuses or time periods within the history of fine arts, visual and digital arts; also, ability to find parallels with other forms of arts.

Assessment

Theoretical assignment 50 %
Examination 50 %

Lecturer's references

Assoc. Prof. Kristina Pranjić, PhD graduated in comparative literature, and Russian language and literature at the University of Ljubljana. She defended her doctoral thesis entitled Non-objective Sound and Image: Bely, Kruchenykh, Malevich at the same institution in 2018. She led the research project Yugoslav Avantgardes and Metropolitan Dada (1916–1927): A Multidirectional and Transnational Genealogy, financed by the Slovenian Research Agency (2019–2021). Currently she is an assistant professor at the Faculty of Humanities and the Academy of Arts of the University of Nova Gorica, where she leads the modules Theory and History of Art and Media, and Discourses in Practice. At the Faculty of Media in Ljubljana she lectures on Media Art and Graphic Design, and the semiotics of media and communications. In her theoretical and research work, she focuses mainly on the historical avant-garde of the 20th century and the re-actualization of the avant-garde today. She has conducted research in the field of art and literature of historical avant-garde and new media art and aesthetics at the University of Konstanz, the University of Belgrade and the University of Paris 8.
Izbor člankov:

  1. PRANJIĆ, Kristina. Ljubomir Micić in Branko Ve Poljanski v reviji Maska : (1920/21). Borec : revija za zgodovino, literaturo in antropologijo. 2021, letn. 73, št. 793/795, str. 61-70.
  2. PRANJIĆ, Kristina. The emergence and establishment of Yugoslav dada : from Prague to Zagreb : (1920-1922). Svět literatury. 2021, vol. 31, no. 64, str. 89-103.
  3. PRANJIĆ, Kristina. Značaj ljubljanskog časopisa Maska (1920/21) u kontekstu jugoslovenskih avangardi. Zbornik radova Akademije umetnosti. 2021, br. 9, str. 111-121, ilustr.
  4. PRANJIĆ, Kristina. Prispevek umetnosti in nedvojnosti k znanstvenemu raziskovanju prvoosebnega izkustva. Anthropos : časopis za psihologijo in filozofijo ter za sodelovanje humanističnih ved. 2020, letn. 52, št. 3/4, str. 131-143.
  5. PRANJIĆ, Kristina. Zenitistični koncept barbarogenija kot kritika zahodnoevropske kulture. Primerjalna književnost. 2020, letn. 43, št. 3, str. 139-157.
  6. GERMEK, Magdalena, PRANJIĆ, Kristina. Constructing new signifiers with aesthetic intervention : using coal in design. Zonemoda journal. 2020, vol. 10, iss. 1s, str. 121-132, ilustr.
  7. PRANJIĆ, Kristina. Premagati silo gravitacije na presečišču umetnosti in tehnologije : primer ruskega konstruktivizma. Časopis za kritiko znanosti. 2019, letn. 47, št. 277, str. 102-116, ilustr.
  8. PRANJIĆ, Kristina. Brezpredmetnost in ekonomičnost v poeziji = Objectlessness and economy in poetry. Slavica Tergestina. 2019, 22, str. 50-68, ilustr.
  9. PRANJIĆ, Kristina. Formalne mistične prakse ruskega futurizma. Slavistična revija : časopis za jezikoslovje in literarne vede. 2019, letn. 67, št. 3, str. 479-486.
  10. PRANJIĆ, Kristina. Vek perehoda ot videnija k probelu. Kommentarii. 2018, no. 32, str. 147-153.
  11. PRANJIĆ, Kristina. Misliti v simbolih, ustvarjati avantgardno. Slavistična revija : časopis za jezikoslovje in literarne vede. 2018, letn. 66, št. 3, str. 299-314.
  12. PRANJIĆ, Kristina. Zvočna destabilizacija jezika : zaum in glosolalija. Zbornik Matice srpske za slavistiku. 2018, 93, str. 231-247.