Fine Art - Eesti Kunstiakadeemia / Estonian Academy of Arts

Introduction to contemporary art
Study load: 2 CP / 3 ECTS
Location in curriculum: I and II semester
Objective: To treat problems of contemporary art.
Content: Although contemporary art is tightly connected with life around us and thus should be more
directly understandable than classics, experience shows that it has always been more problematic to
understand.
Series of lectures meant for I year students introduces selection of works from 90s, from Estonia as well as
from elsewhere, and tries on the basis of specific works, through their detailed analysis, to show their
meaning, context and position on art map.
Such method is not trying to give historical overview, but concentrates on single keywords, which should
improve students’ orientation in art and provide basic concept apparatus for analysing and assessment of
contemporary art.
Separately treated themes: reference mechanisms characteristic to pop culture, situationist strategies,
installation-specific problems, body and gender-specific art and psychoanalytical reference frames, design,
space and environment specificity in contemporary art. Lecture course also provides basic view of
institutional frames of contemporary art, e.g. students analyse different art journals and their aims.
Method: series of lectures will end with independent written task, for which students select on the basis of
videos from Estonian Centre of Contemporary Art one specific work of Estonian artist and write an essay
on it (approximately 3 pages).
Study practice
3 CP / 4.5 ECTS
Objective:
Objective of summer practice in I course is to distance from ordinary working environment - school, to
new environment - nature. To broaden the range of feelings of young creator, working with nature.
Content:
Practice takes place in summer base of the academy on Muhu island, Tamse village, being actually
international painting camp where in addition to our students also students from Finland, Latvia, Lithuania,
Russia, Poland and Sweden participate. Work is done according to common programme, which enables to
get overview of the nature of painting cultures with different traditions and thereby broaden understanding
of the student of possibilities and orientations of painting.
Practice takes place in summer in nature and includes drawing, photographing and painting of nature,
animals and people in “open air”, as well as tasks of performing art with documentation of result.
Method: Practical work with individual instruction, discussions and analyses, reviews.
Workshop
1 CP / 1.5 ECTS
II semester
Intensive courses treat topics or techniques not covered by the curriculum elsewhere, but which are
considered necessary from the standpoint of higher art education.
LOCATION OF LINE STUDIES IN CURRICULUM
I year
I semester, subjects in hours per week