FAH438H1

History of Bad Art from Gothic to Kitsch

"Bad" art is a critical category that shadows and defines "good" art. How has the art of invective shaped the histories of art by applying ethical, psychological and anthropological values to the world of art? Topics include blasphemy, decadence, senility, the "other" and anti-social behaviors. Special attention will be given to such prejudicial period styles as Gothic, Mannerism, Baroque and Rococo, and to such artistic movements as the Macchiaioli, neo-Kitsch, Dada, Automatism and Degenerate Art. Readings range from Seneca and Vitruvius to Walter Benjamin and Clement Greenberg. Case studies of artists range from Caravaggio to Odd Nerdrum.