ARTH 1012-920: Renaissance to Contemporary: Introduction to Western Art
ARTH 102-920 RENAISSANCE TO CONTEMPORARY: INTRODUCTION TO WESTERN ART Summer Session II Mondays & Wednesdays: 9:00 am-12:50 pm Room: TBD; class time will also include visits to local collections Instructor: Laura Tillery |
[email protected] Office Hours: Mondays 3-5pm; or by appointment (Jaffe Building, B-8, basement) Course Description: This course is an introduction to the visual arts including painting, sculpture, print culture, and new media such as photography, film, performance and installation art in Europe and the United States from 1400 to the present. It offers a broad historical overview of the key movements and artists of the period, as well as an investigation into the crucial themes and contexts that mark visual art production after the Middle Ages. Such themes include the secularization of art; the (gendered) role of the artist in society; the sites of art production and consumption such as the artist's studio, the royal courts and the art exhibition; the materials of art; the import of technology and science to art's making, content and distribution; the rise of art criticism; and the socio-political contexts of patronage and audience; among others. Several in-class lectures and interactive activities will be at local collections, such as the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Course Objectives: Students in ARTH 102 will gain familiarity with the history of art and architecture of Western Europe and North America. Students will work both independently and collaboratively to develop their: • • • •
Ability to analyze, interpret, and write about visual culture Ability to contextualize cultural and historical significance of artworks Oral presentation skills Critical thinking ability in response to primary sources & scholarly literature 1
ARTH 1012-920: Renaissance to Contemporary: Introduction to Western Art Course Requirements: There are no prerequisites for this course. Requirements include weekly assigned readings posted on Canvas, weekly quizzes (a total of 4), 2 writing assignments, and active participation in lecture and discussions. Course Materials: Required readings: PDF readings will be posted on Canvas. [Optional textbook] There is no required textbook for this course, but I recommend Marilyn Stokstad and Michael W. Cothren, Art History, Vol. II (Prentice Hall, 5th edition). Older editions of the textbook are perfectly acceptable for general content but may not contain same images. You can purchase the text new or used at the Barnes & Noble Penn Bookstore, the Penn Book Center, or online. The textbook is also on reserve as Fisher Fine Arts Library. Course Evaluation: Attendance and participation Assignment 1 Assignment 2 Weekly Quizzes
20% 25% due 7/10, 7/12, 7/17 30% due 8/2 by midnight 25% 7/10, 7/17, 7/24, 8/2
Attendance and Discussion Participation: (20%) Students are required to attend all classes, and attendance will be taken every meeting. You can miss one lecture without losing grade points; and you will be marked late if you arrive more than fifteen minutes late to class. It is your responsibility to make up absences; in the case of missing lecture material, this means arranging with a classmate to pick up handouts and learn what you have missed. Attendance will be recorded on Canvas. During class we will extensively discuss the reading assignments. Students are required to read the assignments and participate in the discussions. Please be sure to bring copies of that day’s Canvas readings to class (either in PDF or hardcopy). Students will be asked to demonstrate knowledge of the weekly readings in the quizzes as well. Assignment 1: Visual Analysis Paper & Presentation (3-part assignment, 25% total) Students will submit a 3-4-page visual analysis paper on a selected object in the Philadelphia Museum of Art collection. The goal of this assignment is to hone your visual analysis skills in both describing and analyzing an art object. Students will consult with the instructor on selecting an art object from the PMA collection. Assignment distributed in class on 7/3. This assignment is due in three stages: 1) 1-2-page visual description of the selected object (due 7/10 by 9:00am, Canvas submission) (5%)
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ARTH 1012-920: Renaissance to Contemporary: Introduction to Western Art 2) 10-minute presentation on selected object in the PMA Galleries (in class on 7/12) (5%) 3) 3-4-page visual analysis of the selected object (due on 7/17 by midnight, Canvas submission) (15%) Assignment 2: Comparative Analysis Paper (30%) Students will submit a 5-6-page paper comparing two art objects local Philadelphia collections (e.g. PMA, Rodin Museum, Barnes Collection, PAFA, ICA, among others). This paper will build upon the previous assignment’s focus on description and analysis of a single art object to interpret and compare two objects. Students will consult with the instructor on selecting art object(s); students may use the same object analyzed in Assignment #1, or select two new objects. Assignment distributed in class on 7/19. (Due on 8/2 by midnight, Canvas submission) Quizzes: (25% total) There are four quizzes given in weeks two through five: 7/10 (5%), 7/17 (5%), 7/24 (5%), and 8/2 (10%). The quizzes will typically cover material from the previous week’s readings and lectures, including definitions of terminologies, slide identifications, comparisons, and/or short answer questions. Students will be responsible for identifying the objects and monuments by title, date (within decade), artist/architect, and medium as given on the monuments list. *There is no final exam for this course and the quizzes are non-cumulative. *The instructor will post the PowerPoint slides from lecture and a condensed monuments & terms list on Canvas. These materials will be posted after class to help prepare for the quizzes. COURSE SCHEDULE: *readings TBD Week 1 M 7/3: Introduction to Art History & What is ‘The Renaissance‘? [no readings] W 7/5: The Renaissance in Europe, 1450-1600 Week 2 M 7/10: Ecstasy & Controversy, 1600-1750 Assignment 1.1 (visual description) due at 9am on Canvas Quiz #1 W 7/12: PMA Visit I (Print Room, Renaissance & Baroque Galleries) No class lecture: Meet at Perelman Building (PMA) at 9:50am Assignment 1.2 (in-class presentations at the PMA)
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ARTH 1012-920: Renaissance to Contemporary: Introduction to Western Art Week 3 M 7/17: Revolutions in Art and Technology in Europe and America Quiz #2 Assignment 1.3 (visual analysis) due at midnight on Canvas W 7/19: Modern Art to WWI & PAFA Visit Part I: in-class lecture; Part II: in-class visit to the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts Week 4 M 7/24: Art Between & After the Wars Quiz #3 W 7/26: PMA Visit II (Modern & Contemporary Galleries) No class lecture: Meet at PMA Main Building at 9:50am Week 5 M 7/31: 20th Century Film & Contemporary Art after 1975 W 8/2: Art Now & Course Conclusions Quiz #4 Assignment 2 (Comparison Paper) due at midnight on Canvas
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