You can prepare for this free course, Making sense of art history, by looking around you. It's likely that wherever you are you'll be able to see some images. It's also likely that many of these will be intended to have some sort of effect on you. In the course itself you will be exploring the power of images via a study of contemporary art from the 1980s onwards. Taking the time to look beyond the immediate appearance of an art work to consider what the artist might be trying to say can be immensely rewarding.

After studying this course, you should be able to:

• identify the effects of art works
• understand a range of artistic techniques, such as the use of colour, composition and medium
• recognise the relationship between effects and techniques in a range of art works
• understand some of the factors involved in interpreting meaning
• understand the significance of context in informing the interpretation of art works.