RADICAL BLACK THOUGHT IN THE STUDIO: ARTISTS CITING BLACK STUDIES

Credit Hours: 3 · Undergraduate Upper-Level

Citations can be a radical form of collective activism and liberation. Who we cite builds archives and informs the way we tell histories. In this class, we will look at moments when radical Black thought slip into an artist’s studio space and informs their work. In this class, students will have the opportunity to interact with visual and performance artists. We will take field trips into the studio spaces of Houston-based artists in order to ask questions about who they cite and why. Additionally, we will discuss how those citations of radical Black thought are visible within their art-making. Over the course of the semester, we will pair black contemporary artists with core readings in black studies and underline citational practices between the fields of Black studies and art history. Through this unique case-study-based pairing, students will learn about the methods, materials, and theoretical throughlines within the work of formative visual and performance artists while also becoming familiar with different concepts within the interdisciplinary field of black studies. Cross-list: AAAS 366 .