You will build on the insights and skills gained in Contextual 1 and 2, further emphasising the importance of direct experience/scrutiny for the effective critical discussion of contemporary art.
The module introduces key terms, ideas and methodologies for the contextualisation, interpretation and evaluation of visual works, exploring questions about meaning and value, agency and display, as well as an introduction of further relevant theoretical perspectives, including psychoanalysis, feminism and relational aesthetics.
You will learn through a series of lectures and texts, explored through personal reading and interactively interrogated through study visits and seminar discussion. You will also identify an artwork to critique in depth through an identified ‘lens’ of critical theory and will share your findings in a live presentation and an essay.
