DRAFT. This version of the catalogue is a draft version and subject to change.
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Last modified: 5 Days, 15 Hours, 16 Minutes ago
Post-war Scottish art (1950-2025) is highly political. From the 1980s “new image” painters (Ken Currie and Steven Campbell) to the 90s conceptual practice (Christine Borland and Douglas Gordon) which borrows from forensic science, psychiatry and ghost stories, Scottish artists are radical in their debunking of myth. With emphasis on public art collections and art education, gender, class and race become key factors in the critical ascendancy of Scottish contemporary art beyond mythic status.
| Study Type | Undergraduate | Level | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Term | First Term | Credit Points | 30 credits (15 ECTS credits) |
| Campus | Aberdeen | Sustained Study | No |
| Co-ordinators |
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Contemporary art in Scotland has an international reputation, often noted for its close-knit collective community and radical sense of political engagement.
Recent Scottish art proves much more than its Celtic fantasies. This course offers a rebuttal to Swiss curator Hans Ulrich Obrist’s idea of a “Glasgow miracle” - that a former slum city could churn out so many blue-chip prize-winners. From Alison Watt’s impish portrait of the Queen Mother to Christine Borland’s porcelain skulls, Scotland’s answer to the Young British Artists (YBAs) will be explored.
Beyond the central belt, classes will cover Joan Eardley’s queer engagement with American abstract expressionism in Arbroath and Catterline, Wilhelmina Barns-Graham’s modern abstraction in St Andrews, and Elizabeth Blackadder’s learning from French fauvism. Decoloniality in Scottish art will also form a necessary basis with which to study of the art of Ade Adesina, Sekai Machache and Alberta Whittle who have risen in critical ascendancy in the last decade, redirecting the possibilities for what Scottish contemporary art might be.
| Description | Value |
|---|---|
| Minibus (£650.00) or train fare to central belt venue; less for a local venue (e.g Duff House) | 650.0000 |
Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 50 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | 18 | Feedback Weeks | 21 | |
| Feedback |
3,500-word essay where students will develop their own questions in consultation with the course coordinator. Written feedback and additional verbal feedback with students as required. |
Word Count | 3500 | |
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Apply | Apply knowledge of the historical avant-garde to critically evaluate key examples of Scottish contemporary art. |
| Conceptual | Evaluate | Develop a critical understanding of how post-war political histories have impacted the shape and purpose of contemporary Scottish Art |
| Reflection | Create | Demonstrate confidence in researching and delivering written and oral academic work in a class presentation on a defined topic, and an essay on a self-defined topic |
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 40 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | 14 | Feedback Weeks | 16 | |
| Feedback |
3,500-word essay (Article/Book Review). Written feedback; in-person feedback on request. |
Word Count | 3500 | |
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Analyse | Demonstrate a nuanced understanding of the media and strategies of Scottish contemporary art, including but not limited to public sculpture, feminist textiles and documentary photography. |
| Conceptual | Evaluate | Develop a critical understanding of how post-war political histories have impacted the shape and purpose of contemporary Scottish Art |
| Reflection | Create | Demonstrate confidence in researching and delivering written and oral academic work in a class presentation on a defined topic, and an essay on a self-defined topic |
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 10 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | Feedback Weeks | |||
| Feedback |
Written feedback after weekly slide presentation; in-person feedback on request. |
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Analyse | Demonstrate a nuanced understanding of the media and strategies of Scottish contemporary art, including but not limited to public sculpture, feminist textiles and documentary photography. |
| Conceptual | Apply | Apply knowledge of the historical avant-garde to critically evaluate key examples of Scottish contemporary art. |
| Conceptual | Evaluate | Develop a critical understanding of how post-war political histories have impacted the shape and purpose of contemporary Scottish Art |
There are no assessments for this course.
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Analyse | Demonstrate a nuanced understanding of the media and strategies of Scottish contemporary art, including but not limited to public sculpture, feminist textiles and documentary photography. |
| Conceptual | Apply | Apply knowledge of the historical avant-garde to critically evaluate key examples of Scottish contemporary art. |
| Conceptual | Evaluate | Develop a critical understanding of how post-war political histories have impacted the shape and purpose of contemporary Scottish Art |
| Reflection | Create | Demonstrate confidence in researching and delivering written and oral academic work in a class presentation on a defined topic, and an essay on a self-defined topic |
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