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JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "AH 278"
COURSE NAME: "Twentieth Century Art"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Summer Session I 2019
SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Sarah Linford
EMAIL: [email protected]
 HOURS: MTWTH 3:40-5:30 PM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 45
CREDITS: 3
PREREQUISITES:
OFFICE HOURS:
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Twentieth century art consists of well-known Modernist and Postmodernist styles and movements such as Cubism, Futurism, Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, installations and earthworks, to name a few. It also encompasses lesser-known movements such as the American urban realists, the Regionalists, Soviet Socialist Realism. But what does Modernism mean and how does it relate to the century’s dramatic modernization of daily life, social organization, commercial development, political and cultural nationalism, and two World Wars? Through an analysis of the art, artists, and critical discourses in question, the course will consider the fundamental questions: what is art’s relationship to the larger culture? What is the artist’s role in society? What do aesthetic concerns have to do with life? While these questions are always pertinent, they demand particular attention in the century largely defined by the ideology of art’s autonomy, pure creativity, and individual expression. Extensive visual analysis will be accompanied by attention to the critical discourses with which the aesthetics were defined, giving students the chance to develop an understanding of key 20th century styles but also to learn how these styles communicated historically.
SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:

The course will be structured around a gaining familiarity with 20th c-art and the critical issues it raises, particularly in Europe and North America. It will emphasize the ways in which Modernism, and the historical avant-gardes especially, have been constructed and narrated in varied ways, and to different ends -- socio-political and "esthetic" especially.
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
LEARNING OUTCOMES: 

-Recognize key works and issues in 20th-c art.

-Develop an understanding of the chronology and development of art and its historiography.

- Recognize and reason about the contributions of influential artists, critics and art historians in the constitution of Modernism.

-Exercise critical thinking while looking, reading, writing and speaking about 20th-c art.

-Identify, analyze and interpret significant aspects and themes in the history of art within different social and historical contexts.

-Evaluate the ways that art as is shaped by dynamic social and cultural interactions.

-Develop technical vocabulary appropriate to the field of art history, communication and, more generally, to our image-based culture.

-Learn to visually analyze works in relation to other genres and other bodies of knowledge — scientific, political, economic, intellectual.

-Formulate and develop critical and rigorous arguments, especially in essays and presentations; find and evaluate pertinent, high-quality sources and information.

-Structure and effectively communicate ideas and information orally and in writing; understand how to convey ideas and information visually.

-Develop an aptitude at visual analysis and the contextualization of works in different histories.

-Formulate an interpretative argument and draw out observations on the cultural outlook, norms and histories that influenced the production, creation and reception of the works under discussion.
TEXTBOOK:
NONE
REQUIRED RESERVED READING:
NONE

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:
NONE
GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:
AssignmentGuidelinesWeight
Midterm examinationMidterm Examination Consisting of slide IDs, slide comparisons and brief essays. 30%
Final examinationFinal Examination The Final will have the same format as the Midterm Examination - but with greater emphasis on the essays. These will address over-arching themes or issues . For this section, This examination is cumulative, except for the slide identifications.30%
5-7 page paperA 5 page paper on a topic suggested by the professor, or of your own choosing (upon approval). The paper should be carefully organized, edited and well-written. Some research required; your own visual analysis for this paper is essential. Guidelines forthcoming in anticipation of the assignment. 25% 30%
Class Participation and AttendanceClass participation and discussion Be sure to have completed the assigned readings before each class. The readings following the scheduled topic are to be read before coming to that class - a strategy for doing well on the exams and assignments. Attendance is naturally a requirement of the course, since much material will be presented in lectures and discussions not available in the readings. Unexcused absence at more than two of the weekly lessons will affect the assessment of your performance for the course. "Participation" is expected to be an active part of your contribution, and to go beyond mere attendance. This is not only beneficial for your grade, but also will make the class more interesting for you. 15%10%

-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
AWork of this quality directly addresses the question or problem raised and provides a coherent argument displaying an extensive knowledge of relevant information or content. This type of work demonstrates the ability to critically evaluate concepts and theory and has an element of novelty and originality. There is clear evidence of a significant amount of reading beyond that required for the course.
BThis is highly competent level of performance and directly addresses the question or problem raised.There is a demonstration of some ability to critically evaluatetheory and concepts and relate them to practice. Discussions reflect the student’s own arguments and are not simply a repetition of standard lecture andreference material. The work does not suffer from any major errors or omissions and provides evidence of reading beyond the required assignments.
CThis is an acceptable level of performance and provides answers that are clear but limited, reflecting the information offered in the lectures and reference readings.
DThis level of performances demonstrates that the student lacks a coherent grasp of the material.Important information is omitted and irrelevant points included.In effect, the student has barely done enough to persuade the instructor that s/he should not fail.
FThis work fails to show any knowledge or understanding of the issues raised in the question. Most of the material in the answer is irrelevant.
-ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:

 

Class meets four days a week for 110 minutes each time: M,T, W, TH 3:50pm-5:40pm

Office hours:  weekly, by appointment made in class or via email to [email protected]

Attendance is required and classes are scheduled as follows:

Week 1: May 27 to May 30, 2019

1. Monday: Introduction and course presentation

 

2. Tuesday: Post-Impressionism and Symbolism: on ‘abstraction’ and ‘historicism’ circa 1900

Required Reading: 

Briony Fer, “What is Modern?” in Modernity and Modernism, ed. Frascina, Blake, Fer, Garb and Harrison, Yale,1993: pp. 3-14.

 

3. Wednesday: The Historical avant-gardes and the question of teleology

Required Reading: 

Fer, “Invisible pictures;” “The Modern in Formation” in ibidem, 1993: pp. 15-27.

Further reading, posted on my JCU AH 278: 

Denis, "From Gauguin and van Gogh ..." (1909)  

Wassily Kandinsky, from “Concerning the Spiritual in Art “  (1911)

 

4. Thursday: Modernism and Post-modernism: some issues

Required Reading: 

Fer, “The spectator-The artist;” “The modern in fragments-After modernity?” in ibidem: pp. 28-48.

 

 

Week 2: June 3 to June 6, 2019

 

5. Monday: Fauvism

Required reading: 

Gill Perry “The decorative, the expressive and the primitive” in Primitivism, Cubism, Abstraction. The Early Twentieth century, ed. Harrison, Frascina, Perry, Yale 1993: pp. 46-61.

Further reading, posted on my JCU AH 278: 

Matisse, "Notes of a Painter" and "Statements to Tériade" 

 

6. Tuesday: Expressionism 

Required reading: 

Gill Perry “The Expressive and the Expressionist;” “Expression and the body- Conclusion” in ibidem, pp. 62-85.

Further reading, posted on my JCU AH 278: 

Kirchner, "Programme of Die Brücke," 

Marc, "'Foreword' to ... Der Blaue Reiter”

 

7. Wednesday: Cubism

Required reading: 

Francis Frascina “An Introduction to semiotics and Cubism” in ibidem, pp. 87-100.

Further reading, posted on my JCU AH 278: 

Picasso, "Conversation with Picasso"

Braque, "Thoughts on Painting" 

Picasso "Picasso Speaks"  

 

8. Thursday: Futurism 

Required reading: from Italian Futurism, 1909–1944: Reconstructing the Universe, ed. Vivien Greene, Guggenheim, 2014.

Further reading, posted on my JCU AH 278: 

Marinetti, "Manifesto of Futurism" 

 

 

Week 3: June 10 to June 13, 2019

 

9. Monday: Russian Constructivism and Suprematism

Required reading: 

Francis Frascina, ”Kazimir Malevich” in ibidem, pp. 228-249.

Further reading, posted on my JCU AH 278: 

Kazimir Malevich, “Non-Objective Art and Suprematism” (1919)  

Rodchenko & Stepanova, "Program ... Constructivists"

 

10. Tuesday:  Bauhaus and De Stijl

Required reading: 

Francis Frascina, “Piet Mondrian” in ibidem, pp. 250-264

Further reading, posted on my JCU AH 278:

De Stijl, "Manifesto 1;” Gropius, "Theory and Organization of Bauhaus;”.

 

11. Wednesday: Dada and Surrealism

Required reading:

Marcel Duchamp, "The Richard Mutt Case" (1917); Walter Benjamin, "The Work of Art in an Age of Mechanical Reproduction" (1936) 

Further reading, posted on my JCU AH 278: 

Tristan Tzara, "The Dada Manifesto" (1918); 

Duchamp, "The Creative  Act" (1957), "Apropos of 'Readymades'" (1961) 

André Breton, "First Manifesto of Surrealism" (1924);

 

12. Thursday: Purism, the “Return to Order” and art between the Two World Wars

Required reading: 

Jonathan Harris “Capitalist crisis and artistic culture during the 1930s,” in Modernism in Dispute. Art since the Forties, ed. Wood, Frascina, Harris, Harrison, Yale, 1993: pp. 6-32 (lots of illustrations).

Further reading, posted on my JCU AH 278: 

Fernand Léger, "The Origins of Painting and its Representational  Value" (1913)  

Clement Greenberg, “Avant-Garde and Kitsch" (1939)   

This class ends with a midterm review

Week 4: June 17 to June 20, 2019

13. Monday: Midterm examination and paper practicum

 

14. Tuesday: Gestural Abstraction and Color Field Painting

Required reading: 

Jonathan Harris “Abstract Expressionism and the politics of criticism,” in Modernism in Dispute. Art since the Forties, ed. Wood, Frascina, Harris, Harrison, Yale, 1993: pp. 42-64.

Further reading, posted on my JCU AH 278: 

Harold Rosenberg, "The American Action Painters" (1952)  

Barnett Newman, "The Plasmic Image" (1943-45)  

 

15. Wednesday: Pop Art

Required reading:

Mark Francis and Hal Foster, from Pop,  Phaidon, 2010.

Further reading, posted on my JCU AH 278: 

from Lucy Lippard Pop Art, Praeger, 1966.

 

16. Thursday: Minimalism and Conceptual Art

Required reading:

Francis Frascina, “Issues and Debates: the late 1960s as a representative moment” in Modernism in Dispute. Art since the Forties, ed. Wood, Frascina, Harris, Harrison, Yale, 1993: pp. 90-102.

Further reading, posted on my JCU AH 278: 

Donald Judd, "Specific Objects" (1965)  

Michael Fried, "Art and Objecthood" (1967)

 

 

Week 5: June 24 to June 27, 2019

 

17. Monday: Site-Specific and Environmental Art

Required reading:

no required reading as paper is due today

Further reading, posted on my JCU AH 278: 

James Turrell, "Mapping Spaces" (1987)  

18. Tuesday: Happenings, performance art and the politics of institutional critique in the late 20th c.

Required reading:

Francis Frascina, “Making fantasies?…” in ibidem, pp. 104-123.

Further reading, posted on my JCU AH 278: 

Allan Kaprow, "Guidelines for Happenings" (c. 1965)  

Barbara Kruger, "Pictures and Words: Interview of Jeanne Siegel" (1987)  

 

19. Wednesday: Technocultures and Hyperreality  

Required reading: Jean Baudrillard, “Simulacra and Simulation”  (1981)  

Further reading, posted on my JCU AH 278: 

Raphael Lozano Hemmer, "Perverting Technological Correctness" (1999)  

Takashi Murakami, "The Super Flat Manifesto" (2000)  

 

20. Thursday: Globalism, relational aesthetics and social practice in the age of relativism

Required reading:

coll., "The (Dis)Placement of National Art in a TransNational Art World" (2008)  

 

 

Final exam date TBA.
ACADEMIC HONESTY
As stated in the university catalog, any student who commits an act of academic dishonesty will receive a failing grade on the work in which the dishonesty occurred. In addition, acts of academic dishonesty, irrespective of the weight of the assignment, may result in the student receiving a failing grade in the course. Instances of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Academic Affairs. A student who is reported twice for academic dishonesty is subject to summary dismissal from the University. In such a case, the Academic Council will then make a recommendation to the President, who will make the final decision.
STUDENTS WITH LEARNING OR OTHER DISABILITIES
John Cabot University does not discriminate on the basis of disability or handicap. Students with approved accommodations must inform their professors at the beginning of the term. Please see the website for the complete policy.
SCHEDULE

SYLLABUS

AH 278 Twentieth Century Art

Twentieth century art consists of well-known Modernist and Postmodernist styles and movements such as Cubism, Futurism, Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, installations and earthworks, to name a few. It also encompasses lesser-known movements such as the American urban realists, the Regionalists, Soviet Socialist Realism. But what does Modernism mean and how does it relate to the century’s dramatic modernization of daily life, social organization, commercial development, political and cultural nationalism, and two World Wars? Through an analysis of the art, artists, and critical discourses in question, the course will consider the fundamental questions: what is art’s relationship to the larger culture? What is the artist’s role in society? What do aesthetic concerns have to do with life? While these questions are always pertinent, they demand particular attention in the century largely defined by the ideology of art’s autonomy, pure creativity, and individual expression. Extensive visual analysis will be accompanied by attention to the critical discourses with which the aesthetics were defined, giving students the chance to develop an understanding of key 20th century styles but also to learn how these styles communicated historically.

 

Class meets four days a week for 110 minutes each time: M,T, W, TH 3:50pm-5:40pm

Office hours:  weekly, by appointment made in class or via email to [email protected]

Week 1: May 27 to May 30, 2019

1. Monday: Introduction and course presentation

 

2. Tuesday: Post-Impressionism and Symbolism: on ‘abstraction’ and ‘historicism’ circa 1900

Required Reading: 

Briony Fer, “What is Modern?” in Modernity and Modernism, ed. Frascina, Blake, Fer, Garb and Harrison, Yale,1993: pp. 3-14.

 

3. Wednesday: The Historical avant-gardes and the question of teleology

Required Reading: 

Fer, “Invisible pictures;” “The Modern in Formation” in ibidem, 1993: pp. 15-27.

Further reading, posted on my JCU AH 278: 

Denis, "From Gauguin and van Gogh ..." (1909)  

Wassily Kandinsky, from “Concerning the Spiritual in Art “  (1911)

 

4. Thursday: Modernism and Post-modernism: some issues

Required Reading: 

Fer, “The spectator-The artist;” “The modern in fragments-After modernity?” in ibidem: pp. 28-48.

 

 

Week 2: June 3 to June 6, 2019

 

5. Monday: Fauvism

Required reading: 

Gill Perry “The decorative, the expressive and the primitive” in Primitivism, Cubism, Abstraction. The Early Twentieth century, ed. Harrison, Frascina, Perry, Yale 1993: pp. 46-61.

Further reading, posted on my JCU AH 278: 

Matisse, "Notes of a Painter" and "Statements to Tériade" 

 

6. Tuesday: Expressionism 

Required reading: 

Gill Perry “The Expressive and the Expressionist;” “Expression and the body- Conclusion” in ibidem, pp. 62-85.

Further reading, posted on my JCU AH 278: 

Kirchner, "Programme of Die Brücke," 

Marc, "'Foreword' to ... Der Blaue Reiter”

 

7. Wednesday: Cubism

Required reading: 

Francis Frascina “An Introduction to semiotics and Cubism” in ibidem, pp. 87-100.

Further reading, posted on my JCU AH 278: 

Picasso, "Conversation with Picasso"

Braque, "Thoughts on Painting" 

Picasso "Picasso Speaks"  

 

8. Thursday: Futurism 

Required reading: from Italian Futurism, 1909–1944: Reconstructing the Universe, ed. Vivien Greene, Guggenheim, 2014.

Further reading, posted on my JCU AH 278: 

Marinetti, "Manifesto of Futurism" 

 

 

Week 3: June 10 to June 13, 2019

 

9. Monday: Russian Constructivism and Suprematism

Required reading: 

Francis Frascina, ”Kazimir Malevich” in ibidem, pp. 228-249.

Further reading, posted on my JCU AH 278: 

Kazimir Malevich, “Non-Objective Art and Suprematism” (1919)  

Rodchenko & Stepanova, "Program ... Constructivists"

 

10. Tuesday:  Bauhaus and De Stijl

Required reading: 

Francis Frascina, “Piet Mondrian” in ibidem, pp. 250-264

Further reading, posted on my JCU AH 278:

De Stijl, "Manifesto 1;” Gropius, "Theory and Organization of Bauhaus;”.

 

11. Wednesday: Dada and Surrealism

Required reading:

Marcel Duchamp, "The Richard Mutt Case" (1917); Walter Benjamin, "The Work of Art in an Age of Mechanical Reproduction" (1936) 

Further reading, posted on my JCU AH 278: 

Tristan Tzara, "The Dada Manifesto" (1918); 

Duchamp, "The Creative  Act" (1957), "Apropos of 'Readymades'" (1961) 

André Breton, "First Manifesto of Surrealism" (1924);

 

12. Thursday: Purism, the “Return to Order” and art between the Two World Wars

Required reading: 

Jonathan Harris “Capitalist crisis and artistic culture during the 1930s,” in Modernism in Dispute. Art since the Forties, ed. Wood, Frascina, Harris, Harrison, Yale, 1993: pp. 6-32 (lots of illustrations).

Further reading, posted on my JCU AH 278: 

Fernand Léger, "The Origins of Painting and its Representational  Value" (1913)  

Clement Greenberg, “Avant-Garde and Kitsch" (1939)   

This class ends with a midterm review

Week 4: June 17 to June 20, 2019

13. Monday: Midterm examination and paper practicum

 

14. Tuesday: Gestural Abstraction and Color Field Painting

Required reading: 

Jonathan Harris “Abstract Expressionism and the politics of criticism,” in Modernism in Dispute. Art since the Forties, ed. Wood, Frascina, Harris, Harrison, Yale, 1993: pp. 42-64.

Further reading, posted on my JCU AH 278: 

Harold Rosenberg, "The American Action Painters" (1952)  

Barnett Newman, "The Plasmic Image" (1943-45)  

 

15. Wednesday: Pop Art

Required reading:

Mark Francis and Hal Foster, from Pop,  Phaidon, 2010.

Further reading, posted on my JCU AH 278: 

from Lucy Lippard Pop Art, Praeger, 1966.

 

16. Thursday: Minimalism and Conceptual Art

Required reading:

Francis Frascina, “Issues and Debates: the late 1960s as a representative moment” in Modernism in Dispute. Art since the Forties, ed. Wood, Frascina, Harris, Harrison, Yale, 1993: pp. 90-102.

Further reading, posted on my JCU AH 278: 

Donald Judd, "Specific Objects" (1965)  

Michael Fried, "Art and Objecthood" (1967)

 

 

Week 5: June 24 to June 27, 2019

 

17. Monday: Site-Specific and Environmental Art

Required reading:

no required reading as paper is due today

Further reading, posted on my JCU AH 278: 

James Turrell, "Mapping Spaces" (1987)  

18. Tuesday: Happenings, performance art and the politics of institutional critique in the late 20th c.

Required reading:

Francis Frascina, “Making fantasies?…” in ibidem, pp. 104-123.

Further reading, posted on my JCU AH 278: 

Allan Kaprow, "Guidelines for Happenings" (c. 1965)  

Barbara Kruger, "Pictures and Words: Interview of Jeanne Siegel" (1987)  

 

19. Wednesday: Technocultures and Hyperreality  

Required reading: Jean Baudrillard, “Simulacra and Simulation”  (1981)  

Further reading, posted on my JCU AH 278: 

Raphael Lozano Hemmer, "Perverting Technological Correctness" (1999)  

Takashi Murakami, "The Super Flat Manifesto" (2000)  

 

20. Thursday: Globalism, relational aesthetics and social practice in the age of relativism

Required reading:

coll., "The (Dis)Placement of National Art in a TransNational Art World" (2008)  

 

 

Final exam date TBA.