91818

ARTH 101

 Perspectives in World Art

Diana DePardo-Minsky

M  W       3:10 pm-4:30 pm

OLIN 102

AA

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, and Africa are studied chronologically to create an integrated historical context. Readings from various critical perspectives present different methodological approaches.  Requirements include a semester-long term paper (turned at three intervals), 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

 

91829

ARTH 120

 Romanesque and Gothic Art & Architecture

Katherine Boivin

 T  Th     1:30 pm-2:50 pm

OLIN 205

AA

AART

Cross-listed: French Studies, Medieval Studies   This survey covers the art and architecture created in Western Europe from around 1000 C.E. to 1500 C.E. Emphasis is placed on an analysis of architecture (religious and secular), sculpture, painting, stained glass, tapestry, and metalwork within a wider cultural context. Among the topics studied are the aftermath of the millennium, the medieval monastery, pilgrimage and the cult of relics, the age of the great cathedrals (Chartres, Amiens, Reims, etc.), and late medieval visual culture up to the Reformation.  The course examines thematically the changing visual articulation of ideas about death, salvation, social status, patronage, and the artist.  Open to all students.  Class size: 22   (Ancient, Europe)

91822

ARTH 123

 Survey of 20th Century Art

Alex Kitnick

M  W       1:30 pm-2:50 pm

RKC 103

AA

AART

A survey of the major movements of modern art, beginning with postimpressionism in the late 19th century and moving through fauvism, expressionism, cubism, futurism, constructivism, Dadaism, surrealism, abstract expressionism, pop art, and minimalism. Painting and sculpture are emphasized. Class size: 22 (1800-present)

91827

ARTH 125

 Modern Architecture: 1850-1950

Olga Touloumi

M  W       1:30 pm-2:50 pm

OLIN 102

AA

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: 22  (1800-present)

91819

ARTH 201

 Greek Art and Architecture

Diana DePardo-Minsky

 T  Th     3:10 pm-4:30 pm

OLIN 102

AA

AART

Cross-listed: Classical Studies, Environmental and Urban 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 iconography studied in this class both expressed contemporary beliefs and laid the foundation for future Western art and architecture. Requirements include quizzes, two papers, a mid-term, and a final. Open to all students. Class size: 22 (Ancient, Europe)

91825

ARTH 225

 Art through Nature: landscape, environment and design in america

Julia Rosenbaum

 T  Th     3:10 pm-4:30 pm

FISHER ANNEX

AA

AART

Cross-listed: American Studies, Environmental and Urban Studies, Experimental Humanities This course explores the relationship between the natural world and American culture: How have 19th and 20th century Americans understood “nature” and imagined its role?  How have visions of landscape shaped perceptions about social order, health, identity and sustainability?  The course is structured around historical case studies and focuses on three conceptions of the land: visual representations in the form of landscape painting; physical shaping through landscape design; and preservation in terms of the development of cultural heritage sites. Visits to local sites and to New York City will also be part of the class. Class size: 22  (1800-present, Americas)

91830

ARTH 246

 Medieval Art of the Mediterranean World

Katherine Boivin

 T  Th     10:10 am-11:30 am

OLIN 301

AA

AART

Cross-listed: Africana Studies, Environmental and Urban Studies, Medieval Studies, Middle Eastern Studies This course explores  connections around and across the Mediterranean from the 4th through the 13th centuries.  It considers art and architecture within dynamic contexts of cultural conflict and exchange.  Designed to introduce students to art traditionally categorized as “Early Christian,” “Byzantine,” “Romanesque,” and “Islamic,” the course also encourages students to question critically these designations.  Looking at art created by Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and “pagan” communities, it examines the role of the Mediterranean Sea as a boundary and a crossroad in the development of urban centers around its periphery.  Topics include the relationship between centers and margins, secular and religious spheres, and majority and minority cultures.  Particular focus will be placed on areas of cultural exchange such as Spain, Tunisia, Egypt, Sicily, Constantinople (Istanbul), and Jerusalem.  Coursework includes regular quizzes, Moodle posts, and two 5-7 page papers.   Class size:  22 (Ancient, Europe)

 

91833

ARTH 260

 New / Old Amsterdam

Susan Merriam

 T  Th     1:30 pm-2:50 pm

OLIN 102

AA

AART

Cross-listed: Environmental & Urban Studies,  American Studies This course looks at the visual culture of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century New Amsterdam (New York City) and its namesake, the Dutch shipping capital Amsterdam. Amsterdam emerged as a global power in the early seventeenth century, having replaced Antwerp as the northern European center of capital and trade. With the help of the extraordinarily successful East and West India companies, the Dutch began exploring and colonizing locations throughout the world, including lower Manhattan. Although the Dutch surrendered New Amsterdam to the British in 1667, they maintained a vibrant presence in New York for decades, shaping the growing city as well as its environs (including the Hudson Valley) well into the nineteenth century. We will look at how images and objects produced in both contexts during this time shaped ideas about nationhood, citizenship, and early modern science, and consider how colonial relationships are forged through representation. Taught at Bard with three visits to New York City and interaction with the BHSECs in Queens and Newark. This is an ELAS class.  Class size: 22  (1400-1800, Europe)

91832

ARTH 271

 Visual Intelligence

Susan Merriam

 T  Th     11:50 am-1:10 pm

OLIN 102

AA

AART

Cross-listed: Experimental Humanities  What does it mean to have visual intelligence? While we regularly interact with our smartphones and computers, we tend to overlook how much we rely on visual aptitude to interpret what we encounter there. Rarely, if ever, do we think about how we navigate the visual world based on a shared vocabulary, gained over time, dependent in some cases on formal conventions with long histories. In this course, focused primarily on the early modern period, we’ll study how images (paintings, drawings, and prints) and objects (primarily sculpture), practices central to the creation of images and objects, and visual technologies have shaped modes of seeing in the west from the fourteenth to eighteenth centuries. We’ll also examine how neuroscientists study visual cognition with the help of two guest lecturers. Class size: 22  (1400-1800, Europe)

91823

ARTH 285

 History of Art Criticism

Alex Kitnick

M  W       6:20 pm-7:40 pm

FISHER ANNEX

AA

AART

This course explores art criticism as an historical phenomenon. Beginning with the writings of Diderot and Baudelaire, we will consider the emergence of art criticism as a response to the public forum of the Salon exhibition and, subsequently, its relationship to other sites of presentation. We will also look at art criticism alongside other forms of writing, including film and cultural criticism, and consider models such as those of the poet-critic and the artist-critic. Towards the end of the course we will look at the historical moment in which criticism became increasingly embroiled with theory. We will conclude by focusing on the current crisis of criticism. As the status of the public has changed we will ask how the role of criticism has transformed as well. Throughout the course we will ask the question, What can art criticism do?  (1800-present)  Class size: 15

 

91821

ARTH 292

 Contemporary Chinese Art

Patricia Karetzky

  W         1:30 pm-3:50 pm

OLIN 301

AA

AART

Cross-listed: Asian Studies  This course begins with the emergence of a modernist aesthetic in the 19th century (at the end of China’s last dynasty) and covers the formation of a nationalist modern movement, the political art that served the government under the Communist regime, and the impact of the opening of China to the West.  The primary focus is on the various ways in which artists have responded to the challenges of contemporary life and culture. Class size: 22 (1800-present, Asia)

91826

 ARTH / PHOT 314

 Portrait & Its Guises

Luc Sante

 T           1:30 pm-3:50 pm

OLIN 301

AA

AART

What is the object of a portrait?  What constitutes the nature of “likeness” or resemblance?  Is it a matter of recording the physical characteristics of a person, or rendering the “inner person” in pictorial form?  In addition to considering the ontology of the portrait, this course traces developments in portraiture in the 19th and 20th centuries, a critical period that encompasses the advent of photography, which ultimately challenged (and changed) the terms of the genre. (1800-present) Class size: 15

91831

ARTH 316

 Multi-Media GOTHIC

Katherine Boivin

  W         10:10 am-12:30 pm

FISHER ANNEX

AA

AART

Cross-listed: Experimental Humanities, French Studies, Medieval Studies   Although scholarship on medieval art has often been separated by medium, Gothic church programs were actually multi-media spaces with meaning transcending the individual work of art.  This class, therefore, explores a wide range of artistic media, including stained glass, painting, sculpture, architecture, textiles, and metalwork, as they contributed to the dynamic space of the Gothic church.  In addition, it considers modern technologies for representing these complex programs, drawing parallels between the explosion of images in the Gothic era and the role of media today.  Structured around the investigation of case-study churches throughout western Europe—with a particular focus on France and Germany from the 13th through 15th centuries—this class will cover topics including architectural structuring of space, image placement, dramatic performances of the liturgy, the “economy of salvation,” and cultural notions of decorum.  Coursework includes weekly writing assignments, active in-class discussion, and a final 15-page research paper. Class size:  15 (Ancient, Europe)

91828

ARTH 340

 Seminar in Contemporary Art

Tom Wolf

  W         10:10 am-12:30 pm

OLIN 301

AA

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  (1800-present)

91820

ARTH 345

 Michelangelo: the Man, the Masterpieces, the Myth

Diana DePardo-Minsky

    F        1:30 pm-3:50 pm

FISHER ANNEX

AA

AART

Cross-listed: Italian Studies   In addition to cultural and iconographic readings of Michelangelo’s sculpture, painting, and architecture, this seminar situates his life and work within the context of the biographies of Vasari (1550 and 1568) and Condivi (1553).  The class considers how the ambitions and alliances of the biographers shaped the texts and, thus, the reception of the art and artist.  Discussions critique the scholarship, interpret the work, and analyze Michelangelo's role in crafting his public image as an isolated genius.  Requirements include critical essays, one class presentation, and one research paper. Students with some background in art history, Renaissance studies, and/or Italian will have priority.  Permission of the professor required.  Class size: 15 (1400-1800, Europe)

91824

ARTH 385

 Theories and Methods of Art History

Susan Merriam

  W         1:30 pm-3:50 pm

FISHER ANNEX

AA

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. (Art History required class)

Class size: 15

Cross-listed course:

91839

HIST 2123

 FROM ANALOG TO DIGITAL: PhotoGRAPHY & Visual History in Africa

Drew Thompson

M  W       11:50 am-1:10 pm

OLIN 201

HA

HIST

Cross-listed: Africana Studies; Art History