Image Scavengers:

Collage, Montage, & Appropriation in 20th Century Art

Professor Erika Wolf

This course will introduce students to a broad cross section of European and
American art through study of the creative techniques of collage, assemblage,
montage, construction, and appropriation. The collage technique (the
incorporation of found or appropriated “non-original” or “non-art” material) is
arguably the most significant and original technical innovation of 20th century
art. These techniques were central to the avant-garde’s questioning of traditional
painting and sculpture, conceptions of the nature of the art object, the role of the
artist, the relation of high art to popular culture, and the commodity status of art.
Critical issues raised by these techniques would also play a central role in Post-
modernism. Through close examination of collage techniques in the visual arts,
literature, film, and popular culture, students will develop an understanding of
some key critical issues of both Modernism and Post-Modernism. The development
of analogous creative practices in other cultural forms, such as film and literature
will also be examined.

No previous study of art is required for this course.

Artistic movements that will be studied
Cubism, Futurism, Suprematism, Dada, Surrealism, Soviet Constructivism, Neo
Realism, Pop Art, Situationism, Conceptual Art, Installation Art, and
Postmodernism

Some artists, writers, and filmmakers who will be studied

Pablo Picasso, George Braque, D.W. Griffith, Umberto Boccioni, Luigi Russolo,
Mikhail Larionov, Kazimir Malevich, Fernand Leger, Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray,
Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven, Vladimir Tatlin, Liubov Popova, Naum Gabo,
Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray, Max Ernst, Kurt Schwitters, Hannah Höch, John
Heartfield, George Grosz, Meret Oppenheim, Andre Breton, Salvador Dali, Joseph
Cornell, Aleksandr Rodchenko, Gustavs Klucis, El Lissitzky, Lev Kuleshov, Sergei
Eisenstein, Dziga Vertov, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Arman, Richard
Hamilton, Andy Warhol, Ilya Kabakov, Barbara Kruger, Sherrie Levine, Jeff Koons

Texts that will be discussed during the course

Readings consist largely of primary source texts related to the artworks (artist
statements, avant-garde manifestos, visual poems, and surrealist novels),
supplemented by a few key critical essays. Some texts will be in Russian. Most
readings are short, and many are “collage texts”. We will also be looking at a
variety of avant-garde and modernist films, and listening to sound art and music.

Description of the kind of assignments for the course

Participation and active attendance will be stressed in seminars, which will include
the presentation of creative assignments by students.

Students will complete six short weekly assignments, which include a mixture of
creative projects and brief written responses to artworks and primary texts.

The final project will take the form of a focused essay on a topic related to the
course. It will consist of three parts: topic development in consultation with the
instructor, a rough draft, and an edited and revised final draft.

Breakdown of the final grade

Participation: 30%
Weekly Assignments (Six): 30%
Final Project 40%

Prerequisites
Curiosity, a dedication to reading & looking, and a willingness to experiment

Related Majors
This course counts as an elective in Cultural Studies and Film & Media Studies.