91146

ARTH 101   Perspectives in World Art

Diana Minsky

M . W . .

3:10 -4:30 pm

OLIN 102

AART

Perspectives in World Art introduces the diversity of the visual arts worldwide over the course of two semesters.  Students may take either semester or both. The first semester examines painting, sculpture, architecture, and other artifacts from the Paleolithic period through the 14th century.  Works from Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas are studied chronologically to create an integrated historical context. Readings from various critical perspectives present different methodological approaches.  Requirements include two papers, a mid-term, a final, and quizzes.  This course fulfills one requirement for moderating into Art History; potential majors are urged to take Perspectives prior to other Art History classes.  Open to all students. Class size: 25

 

91152

ARTH 114   History of the Decorative Arts

Tom Wolf

. . W Th .

10:10 - 11:30 am

OLIN 102

AART

Cross-listed:  STS   A survey of decorative arts from the rococo period to postmodernism. Students explore the evolution of historical styles as they appear in furniture, interiors, fashion, ceramics, metalwork, and graphic and industrial design. Objects are  evaluated in their historical contexts, and formal, technical, and aesthetic questions are also considered. Two or more trips to museums to see decorative arts collections are included. Class size: 25

 

91145

ARTH 122   Survey of African Art

Susan Aberth

M . W . .

3:10 -4:30 pm

HEG 102

AART/DIFF

Cross-listed: Africana Studies   This introductory course surveys the vast array of art forms created on the African continent from the prehistoric era to the present, as well as arts of the diaspora in Brazil, the Americas, and Haiti. In addition to sculpture, masks, architecture and metalwork, we will examine beadwork, textiles, jewelry, house painting, pottery, and other decorative arts. Some of the topics to be explored will be implements of divination, royal regalia, the role of performance, music and dance, funerary practices, and the incorporation of western motifs and materials. Because art and visual culture most deeply reveal the aesthetic, spiritual and social values of a people, this course fulfills the Rethinking Difference requirement.  We will examine the ways in which objects, performances, regalia and other forms designed for visual consumption work together in African societies to create a cohesive sense of identity and belonging to community members. All students welcome.   Class size: 25

 

91148

ARTH 125   Modern Architecture, 1850 - 1945

Noah Chasin

. T . Th .

11:50 -1:10 pm

RKC 102

AART

Cross-listed:  Environmental & Urban Studies   This course will address the history of modern architecture from its emergence in Western Europe during the eighteenth century through to its widespread presence and diversification by the end of World War II. The course will pay particular attention to the ways in which architects have responded to, and participated in, formal and aesthetic developments in other arts, as well as the role of architecture in broader technological, economic, and social-political transformations. Covering many aspects of architecture—from buildings, drawings, models, exhibitions, and schools, to historical and theoretical writings and manifestoes—we will investigate a range of modernist practices, polemics, and institutions. The readings, both primary and secondary texts, have been selected both to provide an overview of the history of modern architecture and to offer a number of critical and historical approaches to evaluating its legacy. Figures discussed include Schinkel, Paxton, Sullivan, Wright, Oud, Corbusier, Mies, and Aalto. Requirements include two short written assignments, a midterm, and a final exam. No prerequisites. Class size: 25

 

91144

ARTH 130   Introduction to Visual Culture

Julia Rosenbaum

M . W . .

1:30 -2:50 pm

FISHER ANNEX

AART

“Looking isn’t as easy as it looks”   Ad Reinhardt, early 20thc. artist

“It is only shallow people who do not judge by appearances. The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible.”  Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, chapter 2

This course constitutes an introduction to the discipline of art history and to visual artifacts more broadly defined. It teaches students to look at, think about, and analyze or interpret visual material. We will focus on different types of visual “texts,” from monuments to media advertising, considering how they communicate through style, medium, or genre, and how the visual can convey meaning, whether political, personal, or social. Thinking about images goes hand in hand with writing about them. The short writing assignments and the essays that you will work on over the semester are designed to strengthen your interpretative skills and help you become a persuasive and effective writer and observer.  Class size: 15

 

91154

ARTH 194   Arts of Buddhism

Patricia Karetzky

. . W . .

1:30 -3:50 pm

OLIN 205

AART

Cross-listed: Asian Studies, Religion  Buddhism began in India around the sixth century B.C.E. with the philosophical meditations of the historic Buddha. Self-reliance and discipline were the primary means to achieve release from suffering. Within five hundred years the philosophy, responding to external forces, evolved into a religion incorporating new ideologies of eschatology of the Buddha of the Future and of paradisiacal cults. A new pantheon of deities appeared with the powers to aid mankind in its search for immortality. Buddhist pictorial art begins with auspicious emblems representing key ideas of the doctrine and anthropomorphic images of the Buddha; later, the new pantheon is formulated and employed in the art. This course analyzes the development of Buddhist art in India from its earliest depictions and its transmission through Southeast Asia, Central Asia, to China and Japan.  Class size: 25

 

91151

ARTH 201   Greek Art and Architecture

Diana Minsky

. T . Th .

4:40 -6:00 pm

OLIN 102

AART

Cross-listed: Classical Studies   This class traces the evolution of Greek sculpture, vase painting, and architecture from the Bronze Age through the Hellenistic Age. Topics include the development of nude sculpture, the depiction of myths and daily life in painting, and the political alliances and institutions which shaped Greek architecture. The stylistic vocabulary and icongraphy set forth in this class both expressed contemporary beliefs and laid the foundation for future Western art and architecture. Requirements include two quizzes, two papers, a mid-term, and a final. Open to all students. Class size: 22

 

91158

ARTH 209   Art & Nation Building

Julia Rosenbaum

. T . Th .

1:30 -2:50 pm

OLIN 102

AART

Cross-listed:  American Studies, Human Rights  Between 1650 and 1876, a new nation came to dominate the world scene. This course explores the contribution of the visual arts to the conceptualization of an American national identity, from the founding of the colonies through the Federal and Antebellum periods to the Civil War and Reconstruction. We will look at a range of visual and textual materials to examine the development of American culture and the efforts to portray the political experiment of democracy. Topics range from depictions of authority and difference, to the importance portraiture and landscape painting to national culture and politics, to the emergence of American art institutions, to issues of aesthetics, to transatlantic connections and traditions. The course serves as an introduction to the painting, sculpture, photography, and material culture of America.  Class size: 25

 

91433

ARTH / FILM 230   Film Among the Arts

Richard Suchenski

                   Screenings:

. . W . .

. T . . .

1:30 -4:30 pm

7:00 - 10:00 pm

AVERY 110

AART

See Film section for description.

 

91153

ARTH 240   Rights and the City

Noah Chasin

. . W . F

11:50 -1:10 pm

OLIN 202

AART

Cross-listed: Environmental & Urban Studies, Human Rights (core course); STS   The course will explore the often-contested terrain of urban contexts, looking at cities from architectural, sociological, historical, and political positions. What do rights have to do with the city? Can the ancient idea of a "right to the city" tell us something fundamental about both rights and cities? Our notion of citizenship is based in the understanding of a city as a community, and yet today why do millions of people live in cities without citizenship?  The course will be organized thematically in order to discuss such issues as the consequences of cities' developments in relation to their peripheries (beginning with the normative idea of urban boundaries deriving from fortifying walls), debates around the public sphere, nomadic architecture and urbanism, informal settlements such as slums and shantytowns, surveillance and control in urban centers, refugees and the places they live, catastrophes (natural and man-made) and reconstruction, and sovereign areas within cities (the United Nations, War Crimes Tribunals). Students will do two position papers and one research paper. Admittance is at the professor’s discretion.  Class size: 22

 

91844

ARTH 264   Islam from Spain to Russia and China: Art, Philosophy, and Politics  in the Medieval World

Ali  Humayun Akhtar

. T .  Th .

4:40 – 6:00 pm

OLIN 205

AART

This course examines the encounter of Islam with cultures and civilizations from Spain to Russia and China 800-1750 by exploring the  history of art, architecture, and material culture. The course examines specifically the political and philosophical dimensions of Islamic art in the pre-modern world in order to analyze more closely  categories like the "West," the "Middle East," and the "Far East." To what extent does the art and politics of the pre-modern world allow us to define these geographic categories as distinct cultural regions with clear intellectual borders? Can we consider additional models of historiography that extend beyond paradigms like "The West and the Islamic World” or "Imperial Russia and the Islamic World"? How does our understanding of these paradigms change when we think in terms of

 "trans-Mediterranean" and "trans-Caspian" artistic and political exchange?

 

91150

ARTH 273   Religious Imagery in

Latin America

Susan Aberth

. T . Th .

3:10 -4:30 pm

OLIN 102

AART

Cross-listed: Africana Studies, LAIS   This course will explore the varied visual manifestations of religious expression in Latin America after the Spanish Conquest. Although Spanish missionaries originally employed art and architecture as conversion tools, Latin America ultimately developed unique kinds of Catholic imagery and building types. One of the topics discussed at length will be the Virgin of Guadalupe and the use of her image as a tool for building national identity in Mexico, as well as for other political and cultural movements. In addition to conventional churches, statuary and paintings, we will examine folk art traditions such as popular saints and cults, masked performances, and shamanic beliefs tied to healing. A significant portion of the course will deal with African diasporic religions such as Candomble and Santería as practiced in Brazil, the Caribbean and the United States. A significant portion of this course will be dedicated to contemporary art and practices. In addition to reading and viewing documentary films, students will be asked to execute and present a number of art projects such as altars, ex-votos, etc. Students who have taken my “Survey of Latin American Art” will be given preference, but all are welcome to enroll.    Class size: 22

 

91143

ARTH 298   History of the Museum

Susan Merriam

M . W . .

1:30 -2:50 pm

OLIN 102

AART

Cross-listed:  Science, Technology & Society; related interest:  Environmental & Urban Studies   Examines the history of the museum from the Renaissance to the present, with focus on natural history and art museums. Traces the transformation of early collecting and display practices into the first modern “survey” museum, and considers the emergence of alternatives to this model. Particular attention given to critiques of the museum (including critiques of exclusivity and cultural insensitivity), as well as to problems in contemporary museum practice (such as contested provenance and the issue of restitution). Other topics to be addressed include: the museum as memory and memorial; the role played by the museum in the wake of New World discovery and European colonization; collections as sites for producing knowledge; artists’ intervention in the museum; the virtual collection; the gallery and the museum; the logic and politics of display. The class will be conducted as both lecture and discussion.  The final class project, and most of the written work for the class, will involve creating an on-line exhibition and print-on-demand catalog about a historically significant local area. The project will require students to do weekly research on an area of the exhibition, and to produce, for their final paper, an essay that will be published as part of the on-line exhibition and a print-on-demand catalog. The class is open to moderated students in any field.  Class size: 22

 

91156

PHOT 321   The Employment of Photography

Luc Sante

. . . Th .

1:30 -3:50 pm

WOODS

AART

See Photography section for description.

 

91155

ARTH 340   Seminar in Contemporary Art

Tom Wolf

. . . Th .

1:30 -3:50 pm

FISHER ANNEX

AART

A consideration of the history of recent art, beginning with a short survey of the minimalism of the 1960s and then focusing on subsequent artistic developments through the early 21st century.  The class meets in New York City every fourth week to view current exhibitions.   Students give presentations about selected artists and topics to the class.  Class size: 15

 

91147

ARTH 349   Women Artists of the

Surrealist Movement

Susan Aberth

. T . . .

10:10 - 12:30 pm

FISHER ANNEX

AART

Related interest: Gender & Sexuality Studies, LAIS   The Surrealist Movement, launched in the 1920s by the poet André Breton in Paris, ascribed to woman a pivotal and revolutionary role in the life and work of man.  The movement offered women unique roles as both muse and creator and attracted a large number of active female participants.  Until recent feminist scholarship, the lives and work of these women were overshadowed by those of the male Surrealists.  This course will first examine the use of, indeed the centrality of, female sexuality in Surrealist imagery, and then juxtapose it to the writings and art work of such female Surrealists as Dorothea Tanning, Remedios Varo, Lee Miller, Meret Openheim, Leonor Fini, Nusch Eluard, Dora Maar, Jacqueline Lamba, Valentine Hugo, Mimi Parent, Unica Zürn, Ithel Colquhoun, Eileen Agar, Frida Kahlo, Leonora Carrington, Kay Sage, Toyen, Claude Cahun, and others.  Issues explored will be female subjectivity, cultural identity, occultism, mythology, dream imagery, artistic collaboration, the role of poetry, and the various methodologies employed to interpret Surrealism in general. Class size: 15

 

91142

ARTH 385   Art Criticism and Methodology

Susan Merriam

M . . . .

10:10 - 12:30 pm

FISHER ANNEX

AART

This seminar, designed primarily for art history majors, helps students develop the ability to think critically about a range of different approaches to the field of art history. Students read and discuss a variety of texts in order to become familiar with the discipline’s development. Methodologies such as connoisseurship, cultural history, Marxism, feminism, and post-modernism are analyzed.  Class size: 15