Fine Art - MA

This module is self-directed by you and allows you to develop your individual and/or collaborative practice in whatever form it takes in relationship to the development of your theoretical and/or contextual research. In the first instance it is anticipated that you will reorientate your practice and that this will be moved forward through practical experimentation and research towards the creation of a developmental platform. There is also an opportunity to acquire new practical skills in alternative media and/or related disciplines where relevant.

This module is self-directed by you and allows you to further develop and consolidate your individual and/or collaborative practice in whatever form it takes in relationship to the development of your theoretical and/or contextual research. This module further deepens and enhances the orientation, practical experimentation and research within the creation of a developmental platform. Practical skills in alternative media and/or related disciplines where relevant will be further enhanced.

The purpose of the module is to enable you to undertake a sustained, in-depth and theoretically informed research project exploring an area that is of personal interest to you. It is important that we can support you appropriately, so you will be guided towards choosing a research topic which is relevant to your discipline and in which your lecturers have expertise. The outcome may take the form of a written dissertation or a practical outcome with accompanying reflective, critical and contextual material. The main consideration when choosing your topic is that it must be relevant to your programme and you should consider the relevance of this topic to your future academic or professional development.

This module is largely self-directed with tutorial/ supervisory support and offers you the opportunity to develop your study towards higher degree research and/ or professional practice and engagement in the workplace.

The module examines a range of works of art and craft, designed objects, ethnic artefacts and architecture from periods embracing the early modern to contemporary, considered in the light of socio-historical contexts, intellectual discourses, theoretical models and methodological approaches. Students are thus introduced to different historical periods, products of art and design from within those periods, the cultural politics and technological developments that have helped shape them, and research questions and methodologies that can be brought to bear on them. Weekly meetings present independent topics, not necessarily in chronological order, but selected so as to demonstrate the wide diversity of objects from visual culture for potential study and the range of approaches that can be applied to them. Students are encouraged to reflect on and evaluate their own practice, to locate their approach in the field and develop a clear rationale for their approach.

This module, Contemporary Philosophy & Aesthetics explores how Fine Art is made and understood conceptually. How thinking in Fine Art works. This may inform research into practice via the meeting of philosophy, visual culture and social contexts within Fine Art practices. We may look at exhibitions artists and cultural discourses. For example: texts, films, music, fashion and events. It sets the stage for developing your own critical knowledge of the complexities underlying modern and contemporary life and in so doing, building your concepts and language, in your own practices.

The purpose of this module is to introduce you to contemporary curatorial thinking. Throughout the module, you will encounter a range of concepts, themes, approaches and methodologies relevant to your discipline including the role of the curator and exhibition making; the museum and gallery as context and framework; the role of the artist-curator-artist, curating for new media and technologies and curating global exhibitions. You will be supported to develop skills in confidently articulating your knowledge in verbal and written forms.

This module attends to both historical and contemporary models of practice in relationship to the emergence of queer theory. We will explore a range of art practices and queer methods that critique or subvert dominant modes of representation and operation. Focus is given to the following areas: Introduction to queer theory, Art beyond representation, Queer Speech, Queer horror, Education and transgression, Queering the Archive; Care; Queer reading.

The module examines art as a social practice, its relationship with our present time and links to historical works and contexts. You will be introduced to key examples and debates within Social Practice with focus given to the following areas: Activism, Antagonism, Participation, Collaboration, Community, Environmentalism, Relational Aesthetics, Socially Engaged Practice, Dialogical Art & Institutional Critique.

This module provides you with an insight into entrepreneurship and small business start-up within the arts and related sectors. Its focus is an exploration of the practicalities of starting-up a creative business. It also covers the nature of the creative industries as a whole as well as the significance of entrepreneurship within the arts and society as a whole.

The acts of photographing and researching are intrinsically linked. They are both activities concerned with expansion and contraction. If we imagine a photograph as a means to isolate a sphere of reality (with all of the caveats this statement demands) that are rendered, most often, in fractions of seconds. Then we could think in a similar way about research. An effort to know more and more about less and less.

The module will be based on a specific workshop process (e.g. for example in the print room this might be etching, screen-print or lithography etc.), technical method (e.g. for example this might be around casting techniques, film and video making, 3D modelling etc.) or material (e.g. for example this might be an investigation into the material properties of clay, stone, a textiles material, etc.). You will independently identify and investigate your chosen line of enquiry to enable you to engage in practical hands on experience of a fabrication/production process.

This module provides a grounding in arts and transcultural communication, using artistic practices and discursive frameworks to highlight and examine issues related to communication. Communication, but also translation and interpretation intended from a linguistic, visual, cultural, artistic and curatorial perspective, are crucial when working internationally (and locally) with different communities. This module is for those students who aim at working and researching in a transcultural global environment more critically and effectively.

This module will explore publishing as a dynamic contemporary art form, a vehicle for the dissemination of ideas and an exploration of radical formats for bringing your art to a wider public. You will be introduced to artist-made books, self-publishing, digital publishing and other non-gallery modes of sharing and communicating art.

This module creates a trans-disciplinary space in order to explore art’s capacity to change the way we perceive our relationship to ecologies, whether they are environmental, social or psychological. Situated in the emerging field of the environmental humanities, the module will consider the history and theory of artworks associated with earth art, environmental art, and eco art from the 1960s to the present day. You will be introduced to a range of case studies and encouraged to unearth different strategies and methodologies in the environmental arts, from projects that pursue concrete political objectives to artworks that adopt eco-poetic approaches.

The module is an opportunity to learn and critically reflect on the skills of collaboration by enabling you to create a research-informed interdisciplinary project with students from complementary disciplines, or with academic staff.