This module will reflect on the importance of the body in and to art. With particular focus on the twentieth century, we will consider the ways in which the body is implicated in artworks beyond figurative representation – for example through gesture (e.g. drawing) or live presence (in performance art). By challenging the firm distinction between abstraction and figuration, the module will engage with the very notions of embodiment and subjectivity, also in the context of debates related to gender and feminism.