Noh, the oldest surviving Japanese dramatic form, combines elements of dance, drama, music, and poetry into a highly stylized, aesthetic retelling of a well-known story from Japanese literature, such as The Tale of Genji or The Tale of the Heike.

This lesson provides an introduction to the elements of Noh plays and to the text of two plays, and provides opportunities for students to compare the conventions of the Noh play with other dramatic forms with which they may already be familiar, such as the ancient Greek dramas of Sophocles. By reading classic examples of Noh plays, such as Atsumori, students will learn to identify the structure, characters, style, and stories typical to this form of drama. Students will expand their grasp of these conventions by using them to write the introduction to a Noh play of their own.

Contemporary art denotes a specific period of art starting in the 1960s that is characterized by a break from the modernist artistic canon and a desire to move away from the dominant Western cultural model, looking for inspiration in everyday and popular culture. This course focuses on Western art and culture, yet also explores a selection of contemporary art around the globe. The student will examine a variety of specific aesthetic and social issues and look at the different strategies contemporary artists proposed and used in their work. Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to: identify significant works of contemporary art and visual culture; describe the difference between modernist and contemporary works of art; explain the geographical shift of artistic centers from Europe (Paris) to the United States (New York), and then in the 21st century to a global spreading (Asia and Africa); define and discuss the development of contemporary art as a series of different cultural, social, and political inquiries over the past 50 years; identify and discuss multiple and vital relationships between contemporary art and such broader social and cultural issues as ideology, gender, race, or ethnicity; describe and explain a relationship between different contemporary art strategies, such as performance or installation, and their immediate social and cultural context; discuss how important contemporary artworks relate to their social and historical contexts; define contemporary art as a continuing, international artistic project; identify and define the importance of contemporary art and contemporary visual culture in today's increasingly globalized world. (Art History 408)

World famous South African artist William Kentridge spoke at UCT Gordon Institute for Performing and Creative Arts GIPCA Great Texts Big Questions public lecture on Thursday 8 April He gave a lecture titled Putting the Sinto Laughter looking at Gogol short story The Nose His recent production of Shostakovich opera The Nose premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in New York earlier this month to rave reviews. Kentridge began working on the opera three years earlier producing etchings drawings small bronzes tapestries films and a theatrical monologue in which he performed In GIPCA Great Texts Big Questions lecture Kentridge will revisit his exploration of Gogol story written in 1836 and Shostakovich music first performed in Leningrad in 1930 before being suppressed and not seen again until 1974In 2009 Kentridge was listed by Time magazine as one of the 100 people that most affect the world He has earned international acclaim for his interdisciplinary work which combines visual art theatre and film He uses different mediums to explore oppression colonialism conflict and reconciliation addressing the social political and cultural landscape Kentridge work has been shown in numerous solo exhibitions at museums and galleries around the world He has been exhibited at the Museum of Modern Arts MoMA in New York several times MoMA is currently presenting William Kentridge Five Themesa comprehensive survey of his distinguished career featuring over 120 works created during the past three decades in a range of mediums animated film drawings print books and theatre models The Nose is not Kentridge first foray into opera his production of Mozart Die Zauberfloumlte The Magic Flute premiered in Brussels in 2005 and its global tour included New York Naples and Johannesburg. Dr Rob Baum director of UCT Gordon Institute for Performing and Creative Arts GIPCA said they are honoured to be hosting so distinguished a speaker Part of what GIPCA intends to achieve in South Africa is to highlight interdisciplinary art and make it accessible to a broader audience To host an artist of Kentridge stature an artist who has raised the profile of interdisciplinary work to such a level with so global an effect and with such joyous imagination is a great privilege. Monument to Major Kovalyov nose image released in the public domain

Native Americans responded to U.S. expansion policy in different ways. By incorporating Internet resources and working in groups, students will participate in a game show to share the information they have uncovered in a fast-paced, competitive environment. At the end of the game, the winning team receives a prize.

RoseLee Goldberg South African-born world authority on performance art spoke at the Gordon Institute for Performing and Creative Arts GIPCA Great Texts Big Questions lecture on 11 March Goldberg illustrious career as art historian critic curator and author has spanned almost three decades and has helped shape the public view of live performance as a visual art form Her book Performance Art from Futurism to the Present was first published in 1979 and pioneered the study of performance art even today it is considered a definitive text on the topic Career highlights include directorship of the Royal College of Art Gallery London and curator of exhibitions at The Kitchen New York the Museum of Modern Art MOMA and the Guggenheim A graduate of Wits University and the Courtauld Institute of Art London University Goldberg has taught at New York University since 1987 and lectured extensively at Yale Princeton and Tate Modern among others Born and bred in Durban Goldberg has lived and worked predominantly in the USA and is currently visiting South Africa as a judge for Spier Contemporary. Committed to initiating new directions in visual art performance and to providing a framework for its history and reception Goldberg founded Performa www.performaarts.org New York in 2004 A multidisciplinary nonprofit arts organization Performa is dedicated to exploring the critical role of live performance in the history of twentieth century art and to encouraging new directions in performance for the twenty-first century. Rob Baum Director of GIPCA is thrilled to be hosting a speaker of Goldberg stature Performance art is a discursive arts practice that descends from early 20th Century antiart models It is an overt and interactive form one that is politically vocal and publicly accessible and can change the way people perceive the world she said TodaysArt 2005Nederlands. Dans Theater image by Haags Uitburo shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 license