HNAR-352: Critical Ends: Films by Women

This class is a study of films and videos made by artists who have a unique approach to process and to relationships between form and content. We will look at works by women from around the world in the fields of Experimental Film, Video Art, Independent film and internet based projects, among other practices. Some examples include the films of Akosua Adoma Owusu, Cheryl Dunye, Peggy Ahwesh, Ana Mendieta, Shambhavi Kaul, Yvonne Rainer and Sophie Calle. Rather than looking at the films through established theoretical frameworks of film or women's studies, we will be engaging a more open approach by which we allow the frameworks to emerge from the works themselves. Our involvement with this experimental pedagogy includes reading and discussing primary source materials (artist writings) and other theoretical texts and keeping written entries for every artist and every film. We will ask ourselves questions such as ..what is the role of influence and lineage in these works? How are notions of collaboration conceived and enacted? How does the presence of personal material interact with other types of subject matter? Part of the objective of this class is to expose you to a greater number of works by women than you would otherwise see. There'll be visiting artists and field trips around town. This class is open to everyone.