Courses - Faculty of Arts
Art History
Stage I
The Renaissance: Art and the City
An investigation of the social and cultural history of urbanisation 1400-1600 as expressed in painting, sculpture and architecture. The areas of study will involve looking at art in the spheres of public buildings, religious institutions and private houses. The cities to be covered may include Florence, Bruges, Venice, Antwerp and Rome.
Shock of the Modern
Will explore the production and reception of modern art in the context of rapid social, political and technological change during the period from c.1850 to 1970. Modern art is interpreted broadly to include painting, sculpture, design, architecture, performance, photography and film. Issues such as the emergence of the avant garde, primitivism and abstraction will be studied.
Restriction: ARTHIST 104, 105, 141
Understanding Art: Leonardo to Dali
Is seeing learned? Can an image be read in the same way as a text? Understanding images is central to everyday life. Visual literacy is fundamental to all disciplines. This course provides students with tools for making sense of various kinds of images and objects: photographs, advertisements, paintings, film, television, comics, cartoons, monuments, buildings, maps, landscape, digital and internet images.
Restriction: ARTHIST 109
Global Art Histories
A broad survey of visual art spanning from the early modern period to the contemporary. Students will be introduced to a range of art practices situated within a global context and will consider art works produced in Māori and Pacific cultures alongside Indian, Asian, Middle Eastern, European and American traditions.
Stage II
Radical Change: 1850-1940
Focuses on a crucial period of change and innovation in European art practices. Addresses ideas about art and the visual, the consequences and complexities of which are still being played out in the art and socio-cultural worlds of today.
Prerequisite: 15 points at Stage I in Art History and 30 points passed
Restriction: ARTHIST 222, 300, 322
Art and Revolution 1750-1850
Topics in late eighteenth and early nineteenth-century painting, sculpture and architecture in Europe, particularly France and Britain. The impact of social and industrial revolution is examined, and developments in portraiture, landscape and history painting are explored. The major artists include Constable, Turner, Goya, Reynolds, Gainsborough, David, Ingres, Gericault and Delacroix.
Prerequisite: 15 points at Stage I in Art History and 30 points passed
Restriction: ARTHIST 321
Art and Devotion in Northern Europe
A survey of art in Northern Europe with the focus on developments primarily in painting and sculpture, and to a lesser extent in manuscript illumination and tapestry. Religious symbolism, approaches to landscape representation and portraiture are examined, as well as new genres such as still life and architectural painting. Artists studied include van Eyck, Campin, van der Goes, Hieronymus Bosch and Pieter Brueghel.
Prerequisite: 15 points at Stage I in Art History and 30 points passed
Restriction: ARTHIST 303
Ways of Seeing Contemporary Art
Examines some central concerns that have arisen in late modernist art, exploring the moves, intensifications and political implications of art in the post-1968 period: dematerialisation of the art object, site-specificity, the artist in a commodity culture, activism, questions of identity, notions of looking and spectatorship, interactivity, new media, contemporary censorship and debates about the place of the aesthetic.
Prerequisite: 15 points at Stage I in Art History and 30 points passed
Restriction: ARTHIST 334
South Asian Photography
Examines the development and reception of photography from the nineteenth to the twenty-first centuries across South Asia, focusing on how photographic practices evolved in response to socio-political factors such as class, gender, and colonisation. The course will cover topics such as studio portraits, painted images, and fine-art prints looking at work by artists such as Dayanita Singh and Raghu Rai.
Prerequisite: 15 points at Stage I in Art History and 30 points passed
Restriction: ARTHIST 313
Modernism and Design
A study of the central role played by architecture and design within twentieth-century Modernism. Dealing with function, materials, decoration and Modernist theory, the course spans the period from Art Nouveau in the 1890s to World War II. The main focus will be on Europe and the United States, with some references to New Zealand.
Prerequisite: 15 points at Stage I in Art History and 30 points passed
Restriction: ARTHIST 310
Rethinking NZ Art and Curating
The selection of topics from the late eighteenth century to the 1970s includes cross-cultural interactions and representations, landscape and art, questions of cultural identity and innovation, relationships with the art of Europe, America, Australia and Oceania, and tensions between the local and international. Painting, sculpture, carving, architecture, photography and other media are studied.
Prerequisite: 15 points at Stage I in Art History and 30 points passed
Restriction: ARTHIST 110, 110G, 314
The Print in Northern Europe 1470-1600
Examines the emergence and development of the print as an independent art form in Northern Europe during the Renaissance, with a close study of the works of major artists.
Prerequisite: 30 points at Stage I in Art History, or 30 points at Stage I in European Studies, or 15 points at Stage I in Art History and 15 points at Stage I in European Studies
Restriction: ARTHIST 315
Contemporary Pacific Art
Focuses on work by contemporary Pacific artists, exploring the ways that they translate indigenous knowledge and urban experiences into gallery forms such as painting, installation, performance, film and video making. Themes such as migration and diaspora, language and memory, notions of homelands and return, and the creation of complex cultural identities will be explored.
Prerequisite: 15 points at Stage I in Art History and 30 points passed
Restriction: ARTHIST 317
Power and Piety: the Baroque
The use of art to display, enhance, and justify political power and piety and to promote political and religious ideologies in the major power centres of seventeenth-century Europe in the Baroque period. Refers to the work of artists such as Caravaggio, Bernini, Velasquez, Rubens, Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Le Brun, Jones and Wren.
Prerequisite: 15 points at Stage I in Art History and 30 points passed
Restriction: ARTHIST 306, 324
Imaging the Renaissance
An examination of the society and culture of Europe between 1400 and 1700 as expressed in print and visual images. Topics include court and merchant culture, popular cultures, religious faith and the Reformation, festivals, literacy and the book, family and marriage, food, sexualities, witchcraft, death and disease.
Prerequisite: 15 points at Stage I in Art History or History or EUROPEAN 100 or HUMS 101, and 30 points passed
Restriction: ARTHIST 325
Art Crime
Explores the growing trend of art crime through a focus on five primary areas: theft, fraud, smuggling, forgery, and vandalism. These will be examined within the context of international and New Zealand case studies, including the theft of the Mona Lisa in 1911, Nazi looting in World War II, and thefts during the Iraq War in 2003. Ways to curb such crime, particularly the development of art crime squads, will also be discussed.
Prerequisite: 15 points at Stage I in Art History and 30 points passed
Restriction: ARTHIST 332
Framing the Viewer: 20th Century Art
The rise of Modernism saw the development of art which is reflexive, which draws attention to itself and the illusion of representation, making us reflect about what art is and how it affects the viewer. This course is designed to enable students to develop their own reflexivity and critical awareness through a study of the 'classic' movements of the twentieth century, such as Cubism, Expressionism, Dada, Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism, Op, Pop and Conceptual Art.
Prerequisite: 15 points at Stage I in Art History and 30 points passed
Restriction: ARTHIST 331
The Art of Gender Politics
Explores the intersection of gender and ethnicity with the visual arts. Emphasis will be on art forms and traditions in Aotearoa/New Zealand, the United States, Canada and Australia, with some reference to the Pacific, including photography, film, jewellery, tattoo and textiles.
Prerequisite: 15 points at Stage I in Art History and 30 points passed, or 30 points in Transnational Cultures and Creative Practice
Restriction: ARTHIST 319, 333
Contemporary Art in Aotearoa NZ
Focuses on contemporary art in Aotearoa New Zealand from the 1970s to the present, beginning with the later modernist period, exploring the innovations and contributions of Māori and Pākehā artists, and charting its influences and evolution into post-object, and contemporary practices. The development of Pacific art as well as practices that engage with feminism and gender are also a focus.
Prerequisite: 15 points at Stage I in Art History and 30 points passed
Restriction: ARTHIST 103, 335
Artists and Patrons in Renaissance Italy
A journey into the motivations and inspirations behind the production of art in Renaissance Italy, this course examines the social, economic, religious and political relationships between patrons, artists and artworks c.1400-c.1520 in a variety of civic, religious, familial, artistic and spatial contexts. It ranges from Florence to Milan, the Medicis to the Sforzas, Duccio to Donatello, Leonardo to Michelangelo.
Prerequisite: 15 points at Stage I in Art History and 30 points passed
Restriction: ARTHIST 336
Māori Art History: Mana Taonga
Considers Māori visual art from arrival from the Pacific to the present day. Examines how artists critically negotiated current notions of identity in their work. Forms including moko, carving, weaving, architecture, film and contemporary art are explored through key ideas such as gender politics, patronage, and repatriation. Artists examined include Raharuhi Rukupo, Te Kooti, Pine Taiapa, Lisa Reihana and Ralph Hotere.
Prerequisite: 15 points at Stage I in Art History and 30 points passed, or 45 points in BGlobalSt courses
Restriction: ARTHIST 102, 338
The Art of Majesty: Tudors and Stuarts
Examines the role of art, architecture and material goods in communicating magnificence and legitimising political power in Tudor and Stuart England. Coverage includes Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, Anne of Denmark and Charles I and artists and architects such as Hans Holbein, Marcus Gheeraerts, Anthony van Dyck and Inigo Jones.
Prerequisite: 15 points at Stage I in Art History and 30 points passed
Restriction: ARTHIST 345
Global History of Photography
Overview of photography’s global history, beginning with proto-photographic forms and ending with a consideration of digital technology and social media. Art photography is examined alongside journalistic, scientific and ethnographic paradigms of photographic practice. Conceptual issues such as socio-cultural power relationships and diverse representations of time lie at the heart of this course.
Prerequisite: 15 points at Stage I in Art History and 30 points passed
Restriction: ARTHIST 346
Special Topic
Prerequisite: 15 points at Stage I in Art History and 30 points passed
Stage III
Radical Change: 1850-1940
Focuses on a crucial period of change and innovation in European art practices. Addresses ideas about art and the visual, the consequences and complexities of which are still being played out in the art and socio-cultural worlds of today.
Prerequisite: 15 points at Stage II in Art History and 60 points passed
Restriction: ARTHIST 200, 222, 322
Art and Devotion in Northern Europe
A survey of art in Northern Europe with the focus on developments primarily in painting and sculpture, and to a lesser extent in manuscript illumination and tapestry. Religious symbolism, approaches to landscape representation and portraiture are examined, as well as new genres such as still life and architectural painting. Artists studied include van Eyck, Campin, van der Goes, Hieronymus Bosch and Pieter Brueghel.
Prerequisite: 15 points at Stage II in Art History and 60 points passed
Restriction: ARTHIST 203
Modernism and Design
A study of the central role played by architecture and design within twentieth-century Modernism. Dealing with function, materials, decoration and Modernist theory, the course spans the period from Art Nouveau in the 1890s to World War II. The main focus will be on Europe and the United States, with some references to New Zealand.
Prerequisite: 15 points at Stage II in Art History and 60 points passed
Restriction: ARTHIST 210
South Asian Photography
Examines the development and reception of photography from the nineteenth to the twenty-first centuries across South Asia, focusing on how photographic practices evolved in response to socio-political factors such as class, gender, and colonisation. The course will cover topics such as studio portraits, painted images, and fine-art prints looking at work by artists such as Dayanita Singh and Raghu Rai.
Prerequisite: 15 points at Stage II in Art History and 60 points passed
Restriction: ARTHIST 206
Rethinking NZ Art and Curating
The selection of topics from the late eighteenth century to the 1970s includes cross-cultural interactions and representations, landscape and art, questions of cultural identity and innovation, relationships with the art of Europe, America, Australia and Oceania, and tensions between the local and international. Painting, sculpture, carving, architecture, photography and other media are studied.
Prerequisite: HISTORY 252 and 15 points at Stage I in Art History or 15 points at Stage II in Art History, and 60 points passed
Restriction: ARTHIST 110, 110G, 214
The Print in Northern Europe 1470-1600
Examines the emergence and development of the print as an independent art form in Northern Europe during the Renaissance, with a close study of the works of major artists.
Prerequisite: 15 points at Stage II in Art History and 60 points passed
Restriction: ARTHIST 215
Contemporary Pacific Art
Focuses on work by contemporary Pacific artists, exploring the ways that they translate indigenous knowledge and urban experiences into gallery forms such as painting, installation, performance, film and video making. Themes such as migration and diaspora, language and memory, notions of homelands and return, and the creation of complex cultural identities will be explored.
Prerequisite: 15 points at Stage II in Art History and 60 points passed
Restriction: ARTHIST 217
Art and Revolution 1750-1850
Topics in late eighteenth and early nineteenth-century painting, sculpture and architecture in Europe, particularly France and Britain. The impact of social and industrial revolution is examined, and developments in portraiture, landscape and history painting are explored. The major artists include Constable, Turner, Goya, Reynolds, Gainsborough, David, Ingres, Gericault and Delacroix.
Prerequisite: HISTORY 224 and 15 points at Stage I in Art History or 15 points at Stage II in Art History, and 60 points passed
Restriction: ARTHIST 201
Power and Piety: The Baroque
The use of art to display, enhance, and justify political power and piety and to promote political and religious ideologies in the major power centres of seventeenth-century Europe in the Baroque period. Refers to the work of artists such as Caravaggio, Bernini, Velasquez, Rubens, Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Le Brun, Jones and Wren.
Prerequisite: HISTORY 243 and 15 points at Stage I in Art History or 15 points at Stage II in Art History, and 60 points passed
Restriction: ARTHIST 224, 306
Imaging the Renaissance
An examination of the society and culture of Europe between 1400 and 1700 as expressed in print and visual images. Topics include court and merchant culture, popular cultures, religious faith and the Reformation, festivals, literacy and the book, family and marriage, food, sexualities, witchcraft, death and disease.
Prerequisite: 15 points at Stage II in Art History or History and 60 points passed
Restriction: ARTHIST 225
Framing the Viewer: 20th Century Art
The rise of Modernism saw the development of art which is reflexive, which draws attention to itself and the illusion of representation, making us reflect about what art is and how it affects the viewer. This course is designed to enable students to develop their own reflexivity and critical awareness through a study of the 'classic' movements of the twentieth century, such as Cubism, Expressionism, Dada, Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism, Op, Pop and Conceptual Art.
Prerequisite: 15 points at Stage I in Art History and 15 points from ENGLISH 206, FRENCH 244, HISTORY 241, PHIL 212, or 15 points at Stage II in Art History and 60 points passed
Restriction: ARTHIST 231
Art Crime
Explores the growing trend of art crime through a focus on five primary areas: theft, fraud, smuggling, forgery, and vandalism. These will be examined within the context of international and New Zealand case studies, including the theft of the Mona Lisa in 1911, Nazi looting in World War II, and thefts during the Iraq War in 2003. Ways to curb such crime, particularly the development of art crime squads, will also be discussed.
Prerequisite: 15 points at Stage II in Art History and 60 points passed
Restriction: ARTHIST 230
The Art of Gender Politics
Explores the intersection of gender and ethnicity with the visual arts. Emphasis will be on art forms and traditions in Aotearoa/New Zealand, the United States, Canada and Australia, with some reference to the Pacific, including photography, film, jewellery, tattoo and textiles.
Prerequisite: GENDER 208 and 15 points at Stage I in Art History, or 15 points at Stage II in Art History and 60 points passed, or 30 points in Transnational Cultures and Creative Practice
Restriction: ARTHIST 233, 319
Ways of Seeing Contemporary Art
Examines some central concerns that have arisen in late modernist art, exploring the moves, intensifications and political implications of art in the post-1968 period: dematerialisation of the art object, site-specificity, the artist in a commodity culture, activism, questions of identity, notions of looking and spectatorship, interactivity, new media, contemporary censorship and debates about the place of the aesthetic.
Prerequisite: At least 15 points from FTVMS 203, HISTORY 206, PHIL 212 and 15 points at Stage I in Art History or 15 points at Stage II in Art History, and 60 points passed
Restriction: ARTHIST 204
Contemporary Art in Aotearoa NZ
Focuses on contemporary art in Aotearoa New Zealand from the 1970s to the present, beginning with the later modernist period, exploring the innovations and contributions of Māori and Pākehā artists, and charting its influences and evolution into post-object, and contemporary practices. The development of Pacific art as well as practices that engage with feminism and gender are also a focus.
Prerequisite: 15 points at Stage II in Art History and 60 points passed
Restriction: ARTHIST 103, 235
Artists and Patrons in Renaissance Italy
A journey into the motivations and inspirations behind the production of art in Renaissance Italy, this course examines the social, economic, religious and political relationships between patrons, artists and artworks c.1400-c.1520 in a variety of civic, religious, familial, artistic and spatial contexts. It ranges from Florence to Milan, the Medicis to the Sforzas, Duccio to Donatello, Leonardo to Michelangelo.
Prerequisite: 15 points at Stage II in Art History and 60 points passed
Restriction: ARTHIST 236
Māori Art History: Mana Taonga
Considers Māori visual art from arrival from the Pacific to the present day. Examines how artists critically negotiated current notions of identity in their work. Forms including moko, carving, weaving, architecture, film and contemporary art are explored through key ideas such as gender politics, patronage, and repatriation. Artists examined include Raharuhi Rukupo, Te Kooti, Pine Taiapa, Lisa Reihana and Ralph Hotere.
Prerequisite: At least 15 points from ANTHRO 207, HISTORY 252 and 15 points at Stage I in Art History or 15 points at Stage II in Art History and 60 points passed, or 30 points at Stage II in BGlobalSt courses
Restriction: ARTHIST 102, 238
The Art of Majesty: Tudors and Stuarts
Examines the role of art, architecture and material goods in communicating magnificence and legitimising political power in Tudor and Stuart England. Coverage includes Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, Anne of Denmark and Charles I and artists and architects such as Hans Holbein, Marcus Gheeraerts, Anthony van Dyck and Inigo Jones.
Prerequisite: 15 points at Stage II in Art History and 60 points passed
Restriction: ARTHIST 245
Global History of Photography
Overview of photography’s global history, beginning with proto-photographic forms and ending with a consideration of digital technology and social media. Art photography is examined alongside journalistic, scientific and ethnographic paradigms of photographic practice. Conceptual issues such as socio-cultural power relationships and diverse representations of time lie at the heart of this course.
Prerequisite: 15 points at Stage II in Art History and 60 points passed
Restriction: ARTHIST 246
Special Topic
Prerequisite: 15 points at Stage II in Art History and 60 points passed
Special Topic
Prerequisite: 15 points at Stage II in Art History and 60 points passed
Restriction: ARTHIST 248
Postgraduate 700 Level Courses
Participation, Collaboration, and Photography
Explores a range of increasingly prevalent artistic practice grounded in artistic collaboration and audience participation that are typically mediated though photographic documentation. Considering work by artists such as Thomas Hirschhorn, Tania Bruguera, and Sophie Calle, this course covers topics such as relational aesthetics, site-specificity and pedagogical interventions into public space.
To complete this course students must enrol in ARTHIST 700 A and B, or ARTHIST 700
Art for the City and the Court
Examines the production, patronage and display of art and its function within the political, religious and social frameworks of the early modern court and the city. It focuses on Amsterdam and The Hague in the Dutch Republic and London as the epicentre of the Stuart court. The full panoply of visual and material culture are discussed including painting, sculpture, tapestries, clothing, jewellery and interior decoration.
To complete this course students must enrol in ARTHIST 701 A and B, or ARTHIST 701
Cross-cultural Encounters and Creativity
Explores cross-cultural interactions through images and objects in all visual media from the eighteenth to the twenty-first century in New Zealand, the Pacific, Australia, the Middle East, the Americas, China, Japan and India. The course focuses on meanings and uses of visual arts in different socio-cultural contexts, as well as travel, migration and displacement.
Restriction: ARTHIST 733
To complete this course students must enrol in ARTHIST 703 A and B
Public Art: Politics and Process
Examines the politics and process around modern and contemporary public art and monuments, predominantly sculpture. Topics include: the challenges of public space, patronage, issues of nationalism and cultural identity, memorialisation (e.g., war and Holocaust memorials), and the urban environment. Issues and controversies around international case studies and local practice are studied in relation to work in Europe, North America, and Australasia.
Restriction: ARTHIST 717, 719
To complete this course students must enrol in ARTHIST 706 A and B, or ARTHIST 706
Special Topic: Museums and Politics of Culture
This interdisciplinary course investigates the presentation of culture in museums and art galleries, the strategies of public exhibitions, and the role of curators and institutions in identity formation and nationalism. Case studies are drawn from international practice as well as regional examples from New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific.
Restriction: ARTHIST 721
Public Art: Issues and Controversy
A study of the politics and function of public art and monuments, predominantly sculpture. Topics include: the challenges of public space, issues of nationalism and cultural identity, memorialisation (for example war and Holocaust memorials), patronage and the urban environment, controversial works, and local practice in relation to international case studies. Public art in Europe, North America and Australia is examined.
Restriction: ARTHIST 706
Rembrandt and the Dutch Golden Age
A broad range of critical approaches to the art and life of Rembrandt. The course is taught in seven modules: these comprise the socio-political milieu in which he worked, the historical documents of his life, the artworks he produced, the technical aspects of his work, the organisation of his studio and mechanics of the art market, the issue of authorship and the critical reception of his life and work.
Restriction: ARTHIST 737
To complete this course students must enrol in ARTHIST 722 A and B, or ARTHIST 722
Concepts in Contemporary Art
Examines the cross-fertilisation of theory and praxis, philosophy and art, materialism and idealism in the arts. It will be taught in four thematic units – Body/Mind; Representation/Experience; Self/Other and Materialism/Conceptualism – testing how visual theory bridges the gap between these dual terms. Students will learn to apply a number of important critical theories to their understanding of art, and importantly, to fine-tune those theories through visual experience.
Restriction: ARTHIST 724, 729
To complete this course students must enrol in ARTHIST 725 A and B, or ARTHIST 725
Special Study
Directed study on a topic or topics approved by the Academic Head.
Art in Context: Study Abroad
Highlights the importance of studying original artworks in context. Contexts for artworks include the original setting, such as a palace, monastery, or town hall, to wider examinations of the socio-historical situations in which they were created. In addition, new museological contexts for artworks offer insight into the display and interpretation of visual culture.
Restriction: ARTHIST 327
Special Topic
To complete this course students must enrol in ARTHIST 728 A and B, or ARTHIST 728
Exploring Pacific Art
Focuses on a range of Māori and Pacific art forms. Themes dealt with include indigenous and migrant voices, memory and notions of belonging, popular culture and its interface with gallery practices, and stereotypes and representation. These topics will be discussed alongside relevant Māori and Pacific writers and theorists, including Ngahuia Te Awekotuku, Albert Wendt and Epeli Hau’ofa.
Restriction: ARTHIST 732, 736
To complete this course students must enrol in ARTHIST 730 A and B, or ARTHIST 730
Sites of Resistance
Focuses on issues and implications of colonialism and its role in relation to the creation and expression of cultural identities. Classes revolve around close discussions of key readings and their implications in relation to contemporary art practice. There will be particular emphasis on the mediums of film, video, photography, multimedia and performance. Topics include border art, gender issues and counter-curating.
Restriction: ARTHIST 712
Topics in Pacific Art and Visual Culture
Focuses on a range of Pacific art forms and aspects of visual culture. Topics include indigenous and migrant voices, memory and notions of belonging, popular culture and its interface with gallery practice and stereotypes and representation. A range of art works and issues are discussed alongside relevant Pacific writers and theorists, including Ngahuia Te Awekotuku, Albert Wendt and Epeli Hau'ofa.
Restriction: ARTHIST 730
Art Writing and Curatorial Practice
Explores the basic principles of curatorial practice and art writing. It will open up professional opportunities for students interested in working with art galleries and museums, and will focus on developing comprehensive art writing skills.
To complete this course students must enrol in ARTHIST 734 A and B, or ARTHIST 734
Special Topic
To complete this course students must enrol in ARTHIST 738 A and B, or ARTHIST 738
Research Project - Level 9
To complete this course students must enrol in ARTHIST 790 A and B, or ARTHIST 790
Dissertation - Level 9
To complete this course students must enrol in ARTHIST 792 A and B, or ARTHIST 792
Research Essay - Level 9
A 5000 word supervised research essay selected by the student and the Academic Head or nominee in consultation.
To complete this course students must enrol in ARTHIST 793 A and B, or ARTHIST 793
Research Portfolio - Level 9
Prerequisite: A BA(Hons) in Art History with at least Second Class Honours, First Division, or equivalent
To complete this course students must enrol in ARTHIST 795 A and B
