ART 323 Twentieth Century Art

ART 323 TWENTIETH CENTURY ART

Course Description:

In this course we shall study some of the major art movements and institutions of the twentieth century in close relation with the political, social and economic events of the period. We will focus on debates in the art world that provoked these artistic practices, and the trends and disputes which they, in turn, instigated.

Expectations:

Reading Assignments: The textbook for this class is: Edward Lucie-Smith. Visual Arts in the Twentieth Century. New York: Harry N. Abrams Inc., 1997.

Photocopies of additional reading material for some of the classes, mainly taken from Art in Theory, 1900-1990. An Anthology of Changing Ideas, edited by Charles Harrison & Paul Wood, Cambridge, Mass.: M.I.T. Press, 1996 , will be placed on 2 hour reserve, available from the Circulation Desk in the Library.

Written Assignments: will consist of two papers OR two web-pages.

a short paper (1250 words - 5 pages); OR a web page with a short essay (750 words) and links, images, etc.
a research assignment that analyzes the work of an individual artist, an artistic movement or an artistic institution of the twentieth century. The objective of this assignment is to conduct independent research on an art-historical subject, as well as to develop your analytical skills and your skills in writing about art. Again, this assignment can be handed in as a typed paper (2000 words - 8 pages) or as a web-page with an essay (1500 words) that includes links, images, etc.

Class Participation: Your full participation is essential to the success of this course

During the lecture I will ask you to comment orally on the images you will be viewing as well as to respond to the weekly reading assignments.
Five times during the semester I will ask you to write a one page commentary in class of the material covered during that week. In these assignments you should freely articulate your personal opinions about the works you have seen and studied. These will be graded on a pass/unacceptable basis.
The Website for this course will have a bulletin board. I will post a forum for discussion in this space every two weeks - you will be required to visit the bulletin board and respond to the question, and, or, comment on the responses made by your peers - in short, engage in a discussion about the image, the artist, or the stylistic movement.
I will conduct one field trip to view the selections of twentieth century art in museums in Washington D.C. (The Phillips Collection, The Corcoran, the National Gallery of Art, The National Museum of American Art). The main purpose of the field trip is to enhance your learning experience in this course.
Quizzes: Five times during the semester I will give you a brief quiz in class (5 questions max.) The quizzes will total to 10% of your final grade. The dates of these quizzes will not be announced in advance. The quizzes may be given at the beginning, middle, or end of the class.

Exams: A Midterm Exam and a Final Exam.

The format of each exam will be given out a few weeks in advance. In the format I shall also indicate a list of images that you should be prepared to identify.
Most of these images are reproduced in your text-book. You will be able to view copies of all the images at the web site for this course. For each exam you will be required to answer one essay question. The essay questions will evaluate your ability to synthesize the material presented in the lectures.

References:

Atkins, Robert. Art Spoke. A Guide to Ideas, Movements, and Buzzwords. 1848-1944. New York: Abbeville Press Publishers, 1993 (UMCP - Non-Circulating)

Atkins, Robert. Art Speak. A Guide to Contemporary Ideas, Movements, and Buzzwords. 1945-1990. New York: Abbeville Press Publishers, 1990. N6490.A87 (Non-Circulating)

Chadwick, Whitney. Women, Art, and Society. New York, Thames & Hudson, 1994.

Foster, Hal. Recodings . Art, Spectacle, Cultural Politics. Port Townsend, Washington, Bay Press, 1985. (NX 456.5.P 66 F67)

Hunter, Sam & John Jacobus. Modern Art. Painting, Sculpture, Architecture. Third Edition. New York: Harry N. Abrams Inc., 1992. (ON RESERVE)

Kurtz, Bruce D. Contemporary Art. 1965-1990. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1992. (NX504.K87)

Stiles, Kristine and Peter Selz, edited. Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art. A Sourcebook of Artists’ Writings. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996.

Wallis, Brian, edited. Art After Modernism. Rethinking Representation. New York: The New Museum of Contemporary Art, 1984 (NX 456.5.P66A74)

Wallis, Brian, edited. Blasted Allegories: An Anthology of Writings by Contemporary Artists. New York: The New Museum of Contemporary Art and MIT Press, 1990. (NX504.B5)

Wood Paul and Charles Harrison, edited. Art in Theory. 1900-1990: An Anthology of Changing Ideas. Cambridge, Mass., Blackwell, 1994 (first published in 1992)

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