Art and Architecture Program

Strange Worlds and Rubble: Art and the Second World War in Britain and America

Faculty Advisor: Lecturer, Stanford University

Research Program Introduction

The legacies of the Second World War continue to fundamentally shape Britain and America into the twenty-first century. Artists and architects were no less marked than ordinary people by the conflict: modernist tower blocks looming over the City were one response to the wastelands which scarred postwar London; Troy Brauntuch’s appropriation of images of Hitler in 1970s New York was another, more personal reaction. The story of British and American art since 1940 is defined by how the war seeped into its painting, architecture, and photography.

In this program, we will learn how the Second World War reshaped society, and the art which emerged from the craters. We will engage with ten different artists and architects, showing how their work countered triumphalist narratives of postwar prosperity, instead exposing a fragmentary world torn asunder by violence. Radical artists like Frank Auerbach, Rachel Whiteread, and Edith Tudor-Hart embraced the rough poetry of a post-conflict world in order to confront the urgent demands of the age. Weekly meetings will consist of discussion of the readings and the ideas presented. Students will have the chance to write a final paper (~2,000 words).

Standard of Assessment

To excel, students must demonstrate their ability to describe, analyse, and interpret works of art in relation to historical, political, social changes, both verbally in group meetings and through the final written assignment.

Possible Topics For Final Project:

  • An architectural analysis of an urban environment shaped by the war

  • A visual analysis of works of art (painting/photography/sculpture/mixed media etc) in dialogue with the war

  • A comparison between works of art made in Britain and made in America which are shaped by conflict

  • An analysis of films in dialogue with the war

  • How were the effects of the Second World War felt in popular media in Britain/America? Respond with three case studies made between 1945 and 1960.

  • How did the Second World War change how people understood the urban environment? Respond with three urban case studies primarily constructed between 1945 and 1970.

  • Or other topics in this subject area that you are interested in, and that your professor approves after discussing it with you.

Program Details

  • Cohort size: 3 to 6 students

  • Workload: Around 4 to 5 hours per week (including class and homework time)

  • Target students: 9 to 12th graders interested in Art History, Architecture, History, Cultural Studies, Literature and Critical Theory, Photography, and Visual Arts.

  • Schedule: TBD. Meetings will take place for around one hour per week, with a weekly meeting day and time to be determined a few weeks before the start date.