Course

ARTH 102   Perspectives in World Art II

Professor

Susan Aberth

CRN

17365

 

Schedule

Mon Wed   3:00 -4:20 pm  OLIN 102

Distribution

OLD: A/C

NEW: Analysis of Art

Cross listed: Africana Studies, LAIS

This course, the second half of a two-semester survey, will continue to explore the visual arts worldwide. Beginning in the fourteenth century and ending in the present, the class will survey painting, sculpture, and architecture, as well as works in newer media (such as photography, video, and performance). The class will encompass works from Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, arranged chronologically in order to provide a more integrated historical context for their production. In addition to the course textbook, readings will be chosen to broaden critical perspectives and to present different methodological approaches. This course is designed for those students with no background in art history as well as for those who may be contemplating a major either in art history or studio. Students who have taken part one of this course will be given preferential enrollment. First and second year students are encouraged to enroll. On-line registration

 

Course

ARTH 113   History of Photography

Professor

Laurie Dahlberg

CRN

17370

 

Schedule

Tu Th          10:30 - 11:50 am                    CAMPUS WEIS

Distribution

OLD: A/C

NEW: Analysis of Art

Cross-listed: Photography, Science, Technology & Society

The discovery of photography was announced in 1839, almost simultaneously by several inventors. Born of experiments in art and science, the medium combines vision and technology. It possesses a uniquely intimate relation to reality and for this reason has many applications outside the realm of fine art; nevertheless, from its inception photography has been a vehicle for artistic aspirations. This survey of the history of photography from its earliest manifestations to the 1970s considers the medium’s applications – as art, science, historical record, and document. This course is open to all students and is the prerequisite for most other courses in the history of photography. On-line registration

 

Course

ARTH 160   Survey of Latin American Art

Professor

Susan Aberth

CRN

17366

 

Schedule

Tu Th          2:30 -3:50 pm  OLIN 102

Distribution

OLD: A/D

NEW: Analysis of Art / Rethinking Difference

Cross-listed: LAIS (core course), SRE, Theology

Related interest: Africana Studies

A broad overview of art and cultural production in Latin America, including South and Central America, Mexico, and the hispanophone Caribbean. A survey of major pre-Columbian monuments is followed by an examination of the contact between Europe and the Americas during the colonial period, 19th-century Eurocentrism, and the reaffirmation of national identity in the modern era. On-line registration

 

Course

ARTH 210   Roman Art and Architecture

Professor

Diana Minsky

CRN

17376

 

Schedule

Tu Th          4:00 -5:20 pm  OLIN 102

Distribution

OLD: A/C

NEW: Analysis of Art

This course follows the development of Roman art and architecture from the founding of the city by Romulus in 753 B.C.E. to the transfer of the capital to the east by Constantine in 330 C.E. Lectures and discussions explore how Rome incorporated and synthesized the styles and achievements of conquered peoples (including Etruscans, Greeks, and Egyptians) to produce something entirely new that not only communicated the nature of the empire but also established a common artistic vocabulary throughout the Mediterranean basin. The ability of art and architecture to communicate political policy and the conversion of the classical into the Christian are among the themes of the course. Participation in the class qualifies students for consideration for future sessions of Roma in situ, taught in Rome over intersession. On-line registration

 

Course

ARTH 231   The High Renaissance

Professor

Jean French

CRN

17372

 

Schedule

Mon Wed   10:30 - 11:50 am                OLIN 102

Distribution

OLD: A/C

NEW: Analysis of Art

Cross-listed: Italian Studies

A study of major painters and sculptors of the High Renaissance in Florence and Rome, focusing on the works of Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Raphael. The class considers the origin and development of a monumental style in Italian art and concludes with an examination of the work of selected mannerist artists. On-line registration

 

Course

ARTH 235   Tale of Two Cities

Professor

Noah Chasin / Ivan Sablin (Smolny)

CRN

17368

 

Schedule

Tu Th          10:00 - 11:20 am  HDR 302

Distribution

OLD: A

NEW: Analysis of Art

This  course wishes to address some basic issues of architecture and urbanism through a comparative analysis of the most culturally significant urban centers of Russia and the United States. Three centuries of history in each city can be viewed against that of the other as three totally different stages of development of modern settlements in general. Through readings; visual analyses of buildings, cartographic documents, and films; and discussions, we wish to ask, and hopefully answer, some fundamental questions about what comprises an urban identity. Can such answers derive through comparative methods? Does urban development depend mainly on architectural ideas, or vice versa? We anticipate three major levels of comparison: 1) Historical issues, knowledge gained from the point of view of the architectural, cultural, political, social, etc. developments in respective countries. 2) Local issues—those that go beyond the merely vernacular to include geographical, aesthetic, sociopolitical—that contribute to the “image of the city”, and 3) Monuments, collective memory, and their articulation in the built fabric of each city. The course will meet twice a week: once via videoconference with all students at Smolny and Bard. The course has no prerequisites, although preference will be given to those students either with an architectural-art historical or a Russian Studies background; likewise students with an interest in urban studies are encouraged to enroll. On-line registration

 

Course

ARTH 247   Photography 1950-Present  From “Human Documents” to the Image World

Professor

Laurie Dahlberg

CRN

17371

 

Schedule

Wed Fr  10:30 - 11:50 am   Fisher Annex

Distribution

OLD: A

NEW: Analysis of Art

Cross listed: Human Rights, Photography, Science, Technology & Society

In the decades after World War II, photography’s social and artistic roles changed in many ways. The 1950s saw the dominance of magazine photography in Life and Look and witnessed the birth of a more personal photographic culture, exemplified by Robert Frank’s book The Americans. In the 1960s and 1970s, photographers such as Diane Arbus, Garry Winogrand, and Lee Friedlander created a new view of contemporary life from moments gathered in the streets and from private lives. Beginning in the late 70s, artists trained outside of traditional photography began to employ the camera for wholly different purposes, using photography to pose ideological questions about images and image-making in a media-saturated culture. Today, the transformation of photography through digital technology has again thrown the meaning(s) of photographically-derived images into question. This lecture/discussion class will cover the historical context of this period and tease out fundamental issues of photography and its ostensible “nature” and the politics of representation. Student performance will be evaluated in class discussion, exams, and papers. No prerequisites, but preference ill be given to moderated photography and moderated art history students. On-line registration

 

Course

ARTH 248   Roma in Situ

Professor

Diana Minsky

CRN

17375

 

Schedule

Mon Wed   7:00 -8:20 pm  Fisher S. Arts Annex

Distribution

OLD: A

NEW: Analysis of Art

Cross-listed: Classics.

This class consists of two weeks in Rome (January 12/13-27, 2007) followed by bi-weekly meetings during the spring semester.   Credit will only be awarded upon successful completion of both components.     Roma in situ offers two intensive weeks of walking, talking, looking, and learning in Rome followed by class meetings in the spring semester to discuss secondary scholarship and present student research.   In Rome, the first week will focus on the ancient city, studying the evolving role of public monuments as the republic transformed into an empire.   The second week will analyze how post-antique (Early Christian, Renaissance, Baroque, and nineteenth/twentieth-century) art and architecture reference and reconfigure antiquities in order to articulate the agendas of their patrons.   The portion of the class conducted in Rome will be rigorous, consisting of approximately 60 hours spread over fourteen days.   There will be three-hour morning and afternoon sessions (9-12:30; 1:30-5:00) with half-hour coffee breaks.   Lectures will fill most sessions; others will incorporate time for on-site drawing or exploration.   Some days will only have one meeting to provide students with time to study and document the objects they will research during the spring semester.   Sessions will begin promptly; no absences will be allowed (except for medical emergencies).   Class time will be spent at archaeological sites, in museums, or in churches.   Lectures will occur in situ , rain or shine .   Required communal dinners (all but three of the nights in Rome) will incorporate preparatory discussions.   The hours between the end of the afternoon session and dinner (probably circa 8:00 p.m.) will provide further time to explore the art, architecture, food, and fashion of Rome. During the spring semester, requirements for the class will consist of two presentations (one of a text, one of a monument), two papers (one a textual analysis, one   a research paper), and two exams.  There will be no make-up exams or extensions for papers.  Prerequisites for the class include successful completion of one of the following classes: The Roman Revolution (CLAS 102), Rise and Fall of Ancient Rome (HIST/CLAS 103), Roman Art and Architecture (ARTH 210), Roman Urbanism (ARTH 227), Tacitus and Gibbon (HIST/CLAS 333), or Latin (LAT 101, 201, or 301).   (Registration for this class is complete.)

 

Course

ARTH 252   Nineteenth Century British Art: From Blake to Beardsley

Professor

Tom Wolf

CRN

17224

 

Schedule

Wed Th      10:30 - 11:50 am                PRE 110

Distribution

OLD: A

NEW: Analysis of Art

This course surveys eighteenth and nineteenth century art in England,  focusing on major figures such as Blake, Constable, Turner, the  pre-Raphaelites and Beardsley.  Victorian genre painting will also be  considered, and the semester will conclude with a study of the British  Arts and Crafts movement as inspired by John Ruskin and William  Morris.  Students will take a midterm and a final exam, and write two  short papers. On-line registration

 

Course

ARTH 272   The European Baroque

Professor

Caroline Wamsler

CRN

17378

 

Schedule

Mon Wed   12:00 -1:20 pm OLIN 102

Distribution

OLD: A

NEW: Analysis of Art

Cross listed: French Studies, Italian Studies

A survey of 17th century European art, with an emphasis on major figures such as Bernini, Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Rubens, Velázquez, and Verneer. Topics include the baroque as a pan-European sensibility; artistic negotional of personal style, princely prerogative, papal authority, and the demands of the market; collecting and connoisseurship; the rise of academics; studio practice; and illusionistic painting and architecture. On-line registration

 

Course

ARTH 292   Ming to Post-Mao:

Modern Chinese Painting

Professor

Patricia Karetzky

CRN

17374

 

Schedule

Wed            1:30 -3:50 pm  Fisher Annex

Distribution

OLD: A

NEW: Analysis of Art

This course examines the origins of modern Chinese art in the Ming Dynasty (16th to 20th century) in order to appreciate the challenge faced by modern Chinese artists in addressing their traditional artistic heritage, and to understand contemporary artistic currents. On-line registration

 

Course

ARTH 321   The Animal Style in Arts

Professor

Jean French

CRN

17373

 

Schedule

Mon            4:30 -6:50 pm  Fisher Annex

Distribution

OLD: A

NEW: Analysis of Art

Cross-listed: Irish and Celtic Studies, Medieval Studies

This seminar explores the character and widespread diffusion of the “animal style” – a nonfigural, essentially abstract, and highly decorative art displaying a genius for pattern and fantasy. It reviews the art of the Scythians and Sarmatians, who roamed the steppes of Central Eurasia; manifestations of this style in the La Téne civilization and among Germanic tribes; and the treasures of Celtic Ireland and Anglo-Saxon England (among them, the magnificent Sutton Hoo ship burial). Attention is given to the art of the Vikings, other aspects of their culture, and Viking influence in areas as widespread as Ireland and Russia. The course concludes with an investigation of the influence of the animal style on the art of Romanesque Europe. On-line registration

 

Course

ARTH 340   Seminar in Contemporary Art

Professor

Tom Wolf

CRN

17453

 

Schedule

Th   1:30 -3:50 pm Fisher S. Arts Annex

Distribution

OLD: A

NEW: Analysis of Art

This seminar considers the history of recent art. It begins with a survey of minimalism of the 1960s and examines subsequent artistic developments, up to the present. Students give reports on selected artists or topics. The class meets in New York City every fourth week to view current exhibitions. On-line registration

 

Course

ARTH 349   Women Artists of the Surrealist Movement

Professor

Susan Aberth

CRN

17367

 

Schedule

Mon  9:30 - 11:50 am Fisher S. Arts Annex

Distribution

OLD: A

NEW: Analysis of Art

Related interest: Gender & Sexuality Studies, LAIS

This course examines the use of female sexuality in surrealist imagery and then juxtaposes it to the writing and work of such female surrealists as Dorothea Tanning, Lee Miller, Meret Oppenheim, Leonor Fini, Remedios Varo, Toyen, Claude Cahun, Leonora Carrington, Dora Maar, and others. Issues explored are female subjectivity, cultural identity, occultism, mythology, dream imagery, artistic collaboration, and the various methodologies employed to interpret surrealist in general. Seniors in photography are permitted to take this course to fulfill their upper level photography course requirement. On-line registration

 

Course

ARTH 385   Art Criticism and Methodology

Professor

Noah Chasin

CRN

17369

 

Schedule

Tu               1:30 -3:50 pm  Fisher Annex

Distribution

OLD: A

NEW: Analysis of Art

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. On-line registration