Term: Summer

Prerequisites: None

This course attempts to provide a new perspective on contemporary art and architecture. Venice is unique for many reasons, not only because of the amazing Gothic and Byzantine buildings loved and described by John Ruskin, but also because of its incredible urban history, where constructed elements and nature are indivisible, where stone and water permeate each other. But the lagoon-city is not only a dream of the past if, as Rem Koolhaas notes, Manhattan itself can be interpreted as a "modernized, automotive Venice."

The presence of the Architecture Biennial (along with many other leading art institutions), potentially assures that every two years Venice becomes the most important hub of the debate on contemporary architecture, attracting a high number of artists and art projects as well.

Through theoretical classes, exhibition visits and excursions, the course aims at activating Venice as a powerful tool to address urgent issues concerning historical and contemporary art and architecture.

(See syllabus below. An updated syllabus will be posted at the beginning of each term.)

Syllabus & Faculty

• Summer 2018 (Marco Baravalle)