Art and Architecture in London

About

This module is an interdisciplinary course that explores the relationship between art and architecture through visits to London’s famous museums, art galleries, public artworks and iconic architecture. We will analyse the impact architecture has on viewing art with seminars which will take place in some of London’s most famous museums and galleries such as the British Museum, Tate Modern, and the Victoria & Albert Museum. The course will then consider alternatives to this model, including more recent curatorial phenomena by organisations such as ArtAngel which commission contemporary artists to make artworks in unexpected places: from a performance in an abandoned Underground station to a concrete cast of an entire house. Through the lens of specific case studies of art and architecture, the course will examine relevant critical issues such as race, globalisation, and environmental justice. In doing so, we will interrogate how urban circumstances have shaped issues in modern and contemporary art and architecture in London.

Course leader

Daisy Silver

Target group

This is a level one module (equivalent to first year undergraduate). No prior subject knowledge is required to study this module but students are expected to have a keen interest in the subject area.

Course aim

Upon successful completion of this module, students will:

Recognise key works of 20th century art and architecture in London and demonstrate an adequate language to describe their social, political and artistic standing.
Be able to evaluate how cities and urban circumstances shape issues in modern and contemporary art.
Be able to analyse contemporary art and its reaction to the urban condition through relevant social, historical, and theoretical frameworks.
Have examined works of art and architecture through direct observation and applied visual and analytical skills.
Be able to interpret modern interior spaces and the urban environment through relevant academic discourses.

Fee info