This seminar will study the emergence of Los Angeles as a center for cultural production since 1945. It will assess the relationship between urban space and the visual arts — including painting, photography, architecture, film, and video. And it will investigate the role of representation in shaping the social topography of the city. This course will ultimately seek to answer a series of questions: How has Los Angeles established itself as one of the most important global art centers? How do the city’s history and landscape create the conditions for certain artistic movements and styles? And how do Los Angeles’ ethnically and economically diverse communities use the arts to address issues of social justice and marginality?
Art History 203; or consent of instructor.