Ruslana Lichtzier

Answering Duchamp’s explosive question, “[how] can one make works that are not ‘of art’?' this class will center on experimental, research-driven contemporary art practices that work against the world as it is now. We will focus on works that manage (albeit mostly partially) to escape the global capitalist structures of meaning-making while pointing towards the horizons of liberation. De-centering the division between the first and third world, the class will analyze contemporary artistic practices that insist on the making of utopias across the globe. The class will examine a wide array of works and practices, such as Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Forensic Architecture, Jumana Manna, Jesse Chun, Joseph Grigely, Devin Mays, Grupa Spomenik, Laura Henno, Lydia Ourahmane, and others. The practice of writing and constructing 'speculative' art history will be examined via scholars such as Hannah Feldman, Kristine Khouri, and Krista Thompson. Experimental curatorial practices will include those of Marcel Duchamp, Lucy Lippard, The Guerrilla Art Action Group (GAAG), Strike MOMA, and others. Course work will vary but will include weekly reading responses and a final research-based project which may take the form of an art, curatorial, performance, or archival project, or a research paper.