Art and the Modern City: New York to London (Online)

This course provides a unique perspective on the development of the arts by exploring their vibrant relationship between art, artists, and the metropolis from the skyscrapers of New York to London today.

 At the end of the 19th century, cities rivalled each other as centres for art.  Paris was widely acknowledged to be the capital of modernity.  But this status would be contested over the course of the next century by other cities in Europe and America, including Milan, Berlin, New York, and London. At the same time, the city also became a focal point for new conceptions of human society, ranging between capitals of communist revolution, garden city utopias and dystopian science fiction fantasies.  20th-century artists – painters, sculptors, architects, photographers, and film makers – would play a leading role in defining these and other visions of the modern city. Expert lecturers examine the rise of the modern metropolis, with case studies on Barcelona, Prague, New York, Paris, Chicago, and London.