Description
Modern and contemporary art broke with enormous force the patterns and languages of past pictorial traditions and beyond. Therefore, artists experimented with new visual forms and innovative interpretations of reality.
In this framework, Paris represents the emblem of the artistic development of Modern Art and is nowadays becoming the European Contemporary Art pivotal point with its museums, galleries, and auction houses.
The course will focus on the evolution that affects the art scene from the 19th century to the present day. Through an active learning approach based on teamwork, peer-to-peer education, and visits to museums and art galleries, participants will strengthen their critical and visual thinking skills and foster their knowledge of the topic.
Indeed, the whole program is addressed to anyone who would like to integrate ground-breaking and fresh artistic values in the classroom useful to stimulate reflection and practical activities on current societal issues.
In addition, the course will foster educational strategies based on digital tools useful to integrate art and culture into school curricula. The emphasis on the digitization of some museums and cultural institutions seeks to obtain transparent and selected information to develop easier hands-on projects.
The course provides visits to museums such as Musée d’Orsay, Centre Pompidou, and Palais de Tokyo. Moreover, a walking tour in the Marais district will be organized to discover the most important international contemporary art galleries.
Learning outcomes
- Reflect on how to integrate modern-day art into practical classroom activities;
- Develop visual skills to comprehend how artists and designers react to the cultural and social challenges of their time;
- Foster critical thinking skills to analyze and contextualize the main artistic currents of modern and contemporary art;
- Gain the ability to think open-mindedly considering alternative systems of thought that challenge received notions and social-cultural bias;
- Acquire skills in observing and discussing modern and contemporary art and find sources of creativity from the art that surrounds us.
Tentative schedule
Day 1 – Introduction to the course
- Introduction to the course, the school, and the external week activities;
- Icebreaker activities;
- Presentations of participants’ schools;
- Definition of Modern and Contemporary Art;
- The break with the aesthetic canons of the past over the XIX, XX, and XXI centuries.
Day 2 – The new experimentation in Modern Art
- Romanticism and its main exponents;
- Realism, painting faithful to reality;
- Expressionism: the drama within the canvas;
- The artful thinking palette for artworks interpretation in the classroom;
- Visit Musée D’Orsay.
Day 3 – The Modern Art evolution in the XIX and XX centuries
- Symbolism: from Baudelaire’s quill to Gauguin’s canvases;
- Impressionism, features of painting that immortalize emotions;
- Futurism: socio-economic change in XX-century masterpieces;
- Visit Centre Pompidou.
Day 4 – The transition to contemporary
- Cubism: modern art in the paintings of Braque and Picasso;
- Surrealism: between imaginary scenery and mythical personages;
- Trends in Post-War Contemporary Art: conceptual art, performance art, feminist art, pop art, graffiti;
- Visit Palais de Tokyo.
Day 5 – The language of contemporary art and digitization
- From Arte Povera to the contemporary art scene in Europe;
- The digitization of cultural institutions, art galleries, and their online archives;
- Final brainstorming on the use of contemporary art language in the classroom;
- Visit art galleries district.
Day 6 – Course closure and cultural activities
- Course evaluation: round-up of acquired competencies, feedback, and discussion;
- Awarding of the course Certificate of Attendance;
- Excursion and other external cultural activities.