CHID 390 A: Colloquium in the History of Ideas

"BAD ART" ART IS ASSUMED TO BE SYNONYMOUS WITH A CULTURE'S HIGHEST AESTHETIC, AND OFTEN EVEN ETHICAL, VALUES. INSTITUTIONS COMMIT ENORMOUS RESOURCES TO PRESERVE AND CATALOGUE IT SO THAT THEY CAN EDUCATE THE PUBLIC TO APPRECIATE IT. BUT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN ART THAT IS UNDERSTOOD AS 'BAD', FOR WHATEVER REASON, BEGINS TO CHALLENGE THOSE ASSUMPTIONS AND PROCESSES? AMONG OTHER THINGS, WE'LL BECOME ACQUAINTED WITH THEORIES OF THE 'BAD' IN ART AND CULTURE; THE EMERGENCE AND EVENTUAL ACCEPTANCE OF OUTSIDER ART; DEBATES ABOUT THE PLACE OF OBSCENITY IN ART; CHANGES IN MUSEUM AND CURATORIAL PRACTICES; AND THE INFLUENCE OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES. OFFERED VIA REMOTE LEARNING