Head of Department:
Univ.-Prof. Jakob Schillinger, PhD
Art theory’s core task is an analysis of the structures
and rules, as well as the social, economic, mediatechnological and ecological conditions and functions of art and its discourses.
Hereby at stake is a critical analysis of the present, which works out the contingency of its order and the possibilities
of its transformation. The very notion of art theory—as distinct from philosophical aesthetics—implies as its domain art as
a subject area distinct from other aesthetic forms, such as for example popular culture. It does not, however, take such distinctions
for granted or even for ontologically given. On the contrary, the specific historically variable articulations of such distinctions
themselves make up one of its central objects of study.
At Angewandte, course offerings in Art Theory are addressed
to students of humanities and studio programs alike. They aim to provide a systematic, historical, and above all critical
understanding of key categories of art and influential theoretical traditions. The goal is not to teach a canon, but rather
to collectively engage with and critically work on concepts and theoretical models. Art Theory thereby seeks to offer approaches
for understanding and reflecting on current cultural developments—and the place of one's own artistic, scholarly, or art-critical
practice within them.
