This course intends to explore the «nature» of street art, highlighting its innovative features, the new socio-political status, and the differences between this emerging art form and dominant trends in contemporary visual art. This examination builds on the premise that artistic phenomena can only be considered from a critical perspective that situates questioning within a historical and specific gaze. Therefore, the aim is not to place this art movement within categorial boundaries, identifying the necessary and eternally true characteristics of street art, but to identify the motives and tendencies that constitute it as a movement that runs against the dominant orientations in contemporary art. Building on this comparative analysis, the construens part of this course will explore the salient features of street art more thoroughly and more extensively, through an examination of the works of certain street artists.

The program will develop according to these points:

1. Provide theoretical coordinates to read the tendential lines of development of the aesthetic experience in late modernity and contemporaneity. This work will do through the reading of some passages of Hegel's Aesthetics Lessons, of some passages of The work of art in the era of its technical reproducibility and through the relfections of Giovanni Urbani;

2. The origin of street art;

3. Is there a paradigm of contemporary art? If so, can street art be placed within this paradigm?;

4 .Street art between universality and manifestation of cultural identities;

5. Street art and the dialogue between tradition and present.

The course will develop through the continuous reference to street artists' productions.

At the end of the course the student is expected:

- to have a general knowledge of the founding concepts of Modern Aesthetics;

- to know and critically interpret the work and the text;

- to know how to discuss and adequately understand aesthetic-philosophical problems;

- to know and understand the theoretical problems related to conception of art;

- to interpret, read, comment on, recognise and explain the work and the philosophical texts;

- to interpret, read, comment on, recognise and explain philosophical texts; to contextualise philosophical arguments and theories (particularly in the field of aesthetics);

- to argue philosophical theses in an appropriate and convincing way; to recognise and evaluate different philosophical traditions;

- to acquire autonomy of judgement in relation to philosophical theses;

- to acquire communication skills in the presentation of philosophical theses and arguments.

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

Teaching

taught lesson

Attendance

to attend at the last 70% of the lessons

Course books

W. Benjamin, 2000, L’opera d’arte nell’epoca della sua riproducibilità tecnica. Arte e società di massa, trad. it. Di E. Flippini, Einaudi, Torino.

F. Hegel, Lezioni di Estetica, a cura di P. d'Angelo, Laterza Editore, Roma-Bari 2000.

G., Urbani, , La parte del caso nell'arte d'oggi, "Tempo presente", 1961, n. 7, pp. 491-8. 

G. Travaglini, Street Art and the New Status of the Visual Arts, "Aisthesis" 2019, n. 2, pp. 177-194

Assessment

The examination consists of an oral exam. Students are required to read and comment on single passages of the texts and philosophically to explain street works. Students are expected to be able to grasp the main theoretical features of the examined passages and to be able to contextualize them within the text.

Particular attention is given to oral exposure’s capacity through the proper terminology.

Students are expected to be able to develop a critical approach to the theories they studied and to their ability to make comparisons between the authors they studied.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Attendance

To contact the teacher