Aims of the Course:

            Students will be expected to develop, in the course of the semester, the following:

-          Ready recognition of selected works, and knowledge of basic facts related to them. A basic understanding of the historical development of painting, sculpture, architecture and other art  forms from the late 18thC through early 21stC within the cultural, political and ideological contexts of the periods.

-          Awareness of problems of interpretation, in relation to the study of selected works; basic familiarity with the subject matter and meaning, function, issues of patronage, sponsorship and identity, and purpose of selected works.

-          Development of the visual and analytical skills of looking. The student should achieve a recognition of major representative moments; also essential is a perception of the ways in which form and meaning are conjoined. An awareness of the development of different art forms and the ideas and cultures which shape them is also to be gained.

-   A grasp of the changing function of art as a shifting expression of individuals, institutions and belief systems in different moments of history and in different nations and cultures.

-          Furthering of writing skills: declaration and development of a clearly stated theme, development of methods of argumentation and organization, written expression and structure.

-          Furthering of oral communication skills, through class discussion, questions and comments.

Description:

            The course is intended to offer an introduction to the most significant examples and trends of European and American art and architecture from the late 18th to the 21stC. Several sections will include also the art of Africa, in order to explore the intersections of other cultures, past and present, with the Western tradition.

            Emphasis will be on the art of Europe and the emergence and gradual independence of modern art in the United States, in order to provide the student with a basic knowledge of the most influential developments in Western art of this period. From the French Revolution and a concept of art as a means of moral elevation, we will turn to the Romantic celebration of individual sensibility, and to the Impressionists’ discovery of new techniques and subjects within modern Parisian society.  In the late 19thC, artists begin to emphasize emotion and spirituality over naturalistic representation; in the early 20thC, Modernist artists begin to examine the very nature of art itself. With the explosion of movements as varied as, for instance, Futurism, Dada and Surrealism, issues concerning the role of the artist and the relationship of art to reality become ever more vital, leaving those in the later part of the century to wrestle with questions concerning, among others, the value of social engagement or aesthetic isolation. Finally, more recent trends of the last decades of the 20thC and first decade of the 21st will be examined through a selection of works which exemplify the expanding borders of “what is art,” and which can even challenge the by now “classic” status of the avant-garde.

          We will also take the opportunity to investigate how 19th and 20thC artists and architects in Europe and the U.S. developed an increasing awareness of visual worlds outside of their own Western framework, and absorbed and reinvented this cultural material according to their own interests. Alternatively, some attention will be given to the way in which artists in Africa, often emerging from a colonized past, achieve an art expressive of their own cultural identity, traditions, and modern experiences.

          This course is designed both for the student with no previous art history background, and for the student with some experience seeking a general historical overview. Through lectures, class discussions, readings and a few visits to sites and museums, the student will become familiar with a variety of period styles and cultures, artists and major works from the Modern and Contemporary periods. In addition, the course should stimulate consideration of some of the various approaches of art-historical study – the different ways of looking and thinking about art, and an awareness of the contexts in which art is made. In this way, the student will be introduced to the basic methods of the field, as well as to the tools which enable a more informed appreciation of painting, sculpture, architecture, and more contemporary art forms.

           The range of artworks presented in this course is selective rather than all-inclusive, in the belief that deeper knowledge of a few key works will supply students with essential art-historical skills, and a foundation for what may be hoped to be a continued involvement with art. In order to achieve a firm grasp of the basic issues relevant to the quite vast spectrum of art to be investigated, students are expected to arrive at class having already carefully read the assigned sections in the textbook. Several additional brief readings, especially of texts contemporary with the artists and works under investigation, will also be required. The class lessons will consist of both lecture and class discussion, with stress on individual student engagement.
 

Textbook:

Gardner's Art Through the Ages: A Global History, ed. F.S. Kleiner, volume II; Boston: Thomson/Wadsworth, fourteenth edition, 2011
(If you already have the thirteenth edition, 2009, and/or were in AH143 last term, there is no need to purchase the new edition.) 

Textbook:

Gardner’s Art Through the Ages: A Global History,  ed. F.S. Kleiner, Boston: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2009, thirteenth edition – Volume II

Assessment Guidelines for assigning main letter grades: A, B, C,D, and F.

A:  Work of this quality directly addresses the question or problem raised and provides a coherent argument displaying an extensiveknowledge 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.

B:  This 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.

C:  This is an acceptable level of performance and provides answers that are clear but limited, reflecting the information offered in the lectures and reference readings.

D:  This 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.

F: This work fails to show any knowledge or understanding of the issues raised in the question. Most of the material in the answer is irrelevant.

AH 144 / World Art IV: Visual Culture of the Modern and Contemporary Periods
Spring 2011 / C. Smyth
Schedule of Classes

(NB: The professor reserves the right to adjust the schedule of classes with the agreement of the class.)

 Jan. 17 - Introduction to the Course

 The Late 18thC to the Mid-19thC – Neoclassicism and Romanticism:

 Jan. 19 – Art and architecture in the Age of Enlightenment: Reason, Science, Nature – and Revolution; Neoclassicism, as expression of aesthetic and moral ideals

 Jan. 24 – Neoclassical art and architecture in England and the United States:  The “Grand Tour,” the discovery of Pompeii and Herculaneum, Palladianism, and imagery for a new democracy

 Jan. 26 – Romanticism in France: Napoleon and the cult of the hero; Gericault and Delacroix, individuality and emotion

 Jan. 31 – Romanticism, the sublime, and landscape painting: Solitude, spirituality and the transports of nature in German art (Friedrich); English poetic vision in the local and in the cataclysmic (Constable and Turner); Pioneering art in the New World (American landscape painting)

 Feb. 2 – Architecture: Building for an Industrial Age, historical revival, new public projects
DUE: FIRST JOURNAL SUBMISSION – ONE ENTRY

The Later 19thC – The Beginnings of Art for a Modern World

 Feb. 7 – “Realism” in France and the defiance of tradition: Courbet and the artist “as a man”; Daumier and political commentary;  

 Feb. 9  – Manet, “the painter of modern life.” Realism in Britain and the United States.  A look at a new medium, Photography – the birth of photography; servant or rival of painting? Explorations in the possibilities and potential of the new art.

 Feb. 14 -  Impressionism: “Spontaneous” painting in Paris; work and leisure, city and suburbs 

Feb. 16 - Post-Impressionism: Seurat and Cézanne; Impressionism transformed – as optical research, as a return to monumentality
DUE: SECOND JOURNAL SUBMISSION – SECOND ENTRY (two entries total)

Feb.  21 - Post-Impressionism, continued: Van Gogh and Gauguin ,  Impressionism transformed – the painting of inner feeling and emotional response

 Feb. 23 -  Symbolism: Munch and Rodin

 Feb. 28 – TBA

Review for the Midterm Examination – two evenings, Monday and Tuesday Feb. 27, 28

 March 1 – MIDTERM EXAMINATION

 The Early 20thC – Modernism

 March 6  – European Expressionism: the Fauves; Matisse from Expressionism to the exoticism of a personal world

 March 8 – European Expressionism, continued: Die Brücke and Kirschner; Der Blaue Reiter and Kandinsky

 March 1 - Cubism and its Legacy: Picasso (to Guernica)

 March 15 - Futurism in Italy: Modernity, nationalism and “velocità”
DUE: TOPIC FOR COMPARATIVE PAPER

 SPRING BREAK

 March 27: African Art and Culture: Traditions and Modern Experience

 March 29 – NO CLASS

 April 3 - Art and the Irrational: Dada (especially Duchamp). Modernism arrives in America: the Armory Show and early American Modernists (1913-1920’s)

 April 5 - A World Gone Mad: Artists in World War I Germany - Grosz, Beckmann, Dix.  Surrealism: The subconscious, the primitive, childhood – de Chirico, Dali, Magritte, and Kle
DUE: COMPLETED JOURNAL (five entries total)

 April 10 - Utopias: Art as aesthetic and social Ideal in Suprematism, Constructivism, and de Stijl; Early 20thC architecture and design:  the Bauhaus, the International Style, and Frank Lloyd Wright

April 12 – NO CLASS

 The Later 20thC to Now:  Modernism  and Postmodernism in America

 April 17 – New York as Art Center – the 1950’s and 60’s: Clement Greenberg and formalism; Abstract Expressionism, “Post-Painterly Abstraction,” Color Field Painting, Minimalism; Painting and sculpture as “Object”

 April 19 – Outside the Frame! Happenings, Fluxus, Performance Art, Conceptual Art, “Earthworks.” Public art and public controversy.  Art and Consumer Culture: Pop Art and Super-Realism
DUE: COMPARATIVE PAPER

 April 24 – Architecture in the later 20thC: From Modern to Postmodern to Deconstructivism.  (Students will be expected to have visited recent sites in Rome for discussion).

 April 26 – Art as Political Statement and Identity: Gender, Race, Society

  Review for the Final Examination – two evenings, Monday and Tuesday April 23, 24

 Final Examination: to be scheduled April 28 - May 4 
NB: Do not make plans to leave Rome before May 5!!!

 Review of Due Dates:
Feb. 2 – First Journal Submission
Feb. 16 – Second Journal Submission
March 1 – Midterm Examination
March 15 – Paper Topic
April 5 – Completed Journal
April 19 – Paper
TBA – Final Examination