ARTH 239 Image + Object: Postpunk

In this course students will study the intersection of punk, fashion, music, art/design, theory, and economics. This is not a course about the history of punk (although that history will be present); rather it is a course about the anti-aesthetics and effects of punk, especially as a mechanism for critiquing social control. Noisy and anarchic, punk grappled with an everyday reality saturated with contradiction and dilemma, turning mundane things like safety pins and plaid into objects of social critique. This course follows the trajectory of that critique circa 1979 in the music of the Sex Pistols, the fashion of Vivienne Westwood, the record sleeves of Jamie Reed and Raymond Pettibon, the poetic/violent refusals of Black Flag, to present concerns with DIY projects and culture, struggles for autonomy, and critical making in the work of designers and artists operating post punk. Related topics include postmodernism, youth subcultures, the music industry, and issues of politics, race, and gender.

Repeatable: Y
HU
Requirements Sophomore Standing or Above (SO)
Minimum Credits 3 Maximum Credits 3