Art 252

Vincent Van Gogh's Starry Night,
Museum of Modern Art, NYC
http://moma.org
Art 252 traces
the development of modern art, from 1900 to
the present. The
course covers painting, sculpture, architecture, printmaking,
photography and the decorative
arts (for example, furniture or jewelry). We include landmark art
works, such as
Van Gogh's Starry Night (above), Warhol's
Marilyn, Brancusi's Bird in Space, and Frank Lloyd Wright's Guggenheim
Museum design.
We also consider important questions in the art world today,
such as:
Art 252, History of Modern Art, is one of the best Art History
courses
for Art or Computer Graphics majors. It allows
you
to focus on the works of art being produced today, and exposes you to contemporary
work in your field. This course may be
counted toward
your program requirements, and
may be transferable. (Check with your
transfer institution to be sure). Art 252
is also a good
choice for community members interested in
modern
art, or for anyone who enjoys visiting museums. And, for anyone who
appreciates modern art, this course is also a great deal of fun.
A museum trip with a guided
tour by the instructor is included.
Course
Objectives and Goals: This course
is a chronological survey
intended to provide an introductory knowledge of Modern Art in the
Western
tradition, from the 19th century to the present, including painting,
sculpture,
printmaking, photography and architecture. We will examine the
development of
modernism and how emerging modernism in art was tied to political,
social and
religious changes in
COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING
You will receive grades for the following: three quizzes, a presentation/paper (on an issue or artist), final exam (pick a future modern master) and class discussion.
Each quiz will consist of slide identifications and essay questions.
The discussion grade reflects the general effort I feel you are putting into the course. It considers class discussion, attendance and any positive contributions made toward the success of the course. This grade is particularly important to borderline students, but applies to everyone.
PRESENTATION/PAPER
Each student will deliver a short presentation or write a paper on a current art issue or on a major modern artist. There is a suggested list of topics below. (Other 19th and 20th century topics will be considered if you have an idea that is relevant to the course.)
Papers should be five pages, plus a bibliography and illustrations. Papers are due the 13th week (Dec. 2). Presentations should be 10 to 15 minutes in length, and may be individual or group presentations. For presentations, arrange visual aids in advance. (See me about slides three weeks before your talk.) I will work with you individually, if you want help with the format or delivery of a presentation. Inexperienced public speakers should see me.
For group presentations, talks should be about 15 to 20 minutes long. You may use any format for delivery, including panel discussion, debate, lecture, performance. You may involve the audience in your presentation, if you wish, using the audience to vote, help create a work of art, criticize a work of art, etc. All members of the group must speak, but you may have a main speaker. All members of the group must participate in the development of the presentation, and the group should give me a list describing what each participant contributed. It should be signed by all members of the group. A single grade will be assigned to the group. This is an ideal format for a debate or discussion on a controversial topic. To encourage group presentations, there will be extra credit for approved topics for group presentations.
Both papers and presentations should be clear, concise, and constructed to make a major point or draw a conclusion. If you select an artist, for instance, put that artist in context and explain the importance of the artist. Go light on the biography or family history, unless it really tells us something about the artist’s works. Do NOT give a report; instead, your job is to interpret or analyze. If you select an issue, you will be expected to take a stand on that issue. If you use outside references, provide copies of your bibliography for the class. (See me if you need copies made.)
Topics and formats for your paper/presentation are due the third week of class. Students who do not report a topic/format selection by that date will be assigned to a topic in a group presentation by the instructor.
ATTENDANCE
AND LECTURES
Tests are
based on lectures. Attendance is
considered in grading and is necessary for attaining good grades. You are responsible for all material,
including handouts, presented in class. You are responsible for being
able to
identify all the works on the “List of Works” and being able to
discuss the general ideas presented for all works shown in class. If
you miss a
class, it is your responsibility to get notes and handouts. Read the text in conjunction with the
lectures.
TALK
TO YOUR ART HISTORY TEACHER ABOUT MODERN ART
Talk to
me before or after class, or by appointment.
See me with questions, concerns or ideas about your
paper/presentation
or final. Feel free to call me at home
(609-894-8070), but please identify yourself as a student. Or, use my
BCC number 609-894-9311, x 6252. If I am
not
available, leave a message and I will call you back. You may call my
home until
MISSED
EXAMS
Missing exams is discouraged.
If it is necessary to miss an exam, notify me before the exam and you may make it up. Students who miss one exam are not eligible for an “A” grade in this course. Students missing two exams are not eligible for a “B” grade in the course.
Students missing an exam must make arrangements with me before taking a makeup. All makeup exams are given in the test center. They consist of four (out of six) essay choices which are “culture” questions, relating works of art to the culture that produced them. They are more difficult than in-class test. Avoid them.
DEADLINES
Turn work
in on time. Late work receives a lowered
letter grade: Late presentations will make scheduling the classes
difficult for
everyone. Show up!
PRESENTATION TOPICS
Censorship in art (e.g., Mapplethorpe, Serrano, Eisenstaedt, Kokoschka, Klee and degenerates)
Problems/Advantages of new materials in art (e.g., fiber art, burlap, Rothko, Kiefer, Kline, etc.)
Women Artist (e.g., Guerrilla Girls, O’Keeffe, Sherman, Kruger, Frida, etc.)
Minority Artists: problems and successes?
(e.g.,Tanner,
Catlett,
American Art: Has it lost its leadership position, why/why not? How did it get it to begin with?
Is It Art? (Or, my three-year old could do that.) What is art, when something is no longer art
(e.g., Pollock, Koons, or anyone else whose works raise eyebrows)
Public Art (e.g., Serra, what are the rights and responsibilities of modern art on public display)
Public memorials: Who decides what’s
good? (e.g., the Wall, Rushmore, Rocky,
Rosenthal’s
Photography: What rights do subjects have? (Images of victims in war, etc.)
Photograph: Is it art? What makes a good photograph?
Price: Do prices for art objects make sense today? What drives price and why?
Collecting: How to buy modern art, what criteria to use, where to go
Sexuality in modern art (How is it used today, how was is used before?)
Shock value in contemporary art (Is this producing good art, is it “right”?)
Images of War in paintings and photos (How have these changed? Are the changes good?)
War as it impacts artists (Kollwitz, Futurists, Lembruck, Marc, Capa, Burrows, Kiefer, etc.)
The Hero in art (How
have images of the
hero changed? Do we even depict heroes any more?
Why/why not?)
*Picasso or Matisse
*Gauguin, Van Gogh, Munch, Goya, Gorky, Claudel, Rothko (Issue: “tormented artists”)
*William Johnson, Mapplethorpe, Close, Warhol, Kahlo, De Kooning, Arneson, Picasso in old age (physical health and art, impending death and art)
*Kahlo, Rivera (political statements in art, love and art)
*Neel
*Gehry and post-modern architecture (Can architecture be fun? Will this style last)
*Bacon
*Rauschenberg or Johns
*Beuys
*Warhol
*Kiefer or Baselitz
*Haring or Basquiat—Is graffiti art? How did they influence the art world? Are they good?
*Freud
*Witkin (Maybe you can get an interview with a working artist. This is the real thing. Ask me.)
*Reiss, Hine, Lange, Evans or any other photographer of social commentary
*Stieglitz or any other “art” photographer
*Neshat (fled
*Duchamp (great display in PMA, extremely
important though
heretical)
(*=focus on one period or work, put the
artist
in context)
Smithson, Christo or any artist who alters the appearance of the earth. Why are they real artists?
Is Andrew Wyeth any good? (Or, Jaime?) Who gets to decide?
Forgeries of modern art. How easy is it? What can we do? (Man Ray, O’Keeffe, Pollock, etc.)
Scandals in art—what do they do? Manet, Muybridge, Daumier (jailed), Brady (faked
pictures), Sargent
(fled
Or, your own topic with the Instructor’s
approval
Final
Your final exam will consist of a short presentation the night of the final exam. You will be asked to pick an artist you think will become a future modern master. Here are the rules:
1. You have $25,000 to invest in a modern work of art. So, you check galleries, art magazines, the internet, museum shops. Good choices of magazines are ART NEWS, ART IN AMERICA and ART AND AUCTION, all of which advertise art for sale through major galleries. There are other sources, for example, Penn offers tours of NY galleries and Philly galleries. Call 215-898-6479 to sign up. See also First Fridays, Old City Arts Assoc., web site www.oldcity.org.
Your artist must not already be in our text book. This artist represents a discovery by you--you are saying this artist is going to make it. And, you are willing to invest up to $25,000 because you believe that.
2. Gather information on your artist. Ask gallery owners, if possible. Try the internet or try writing the artist. (Galleries are probably the best bet. Galleries will forward your letters to the artist, if you ask them to. The annual August issue of ART IN AMERICA includes the addresses of most major galleries.) If your artist already has a work in a museum, contact the museum curator and ask for info.
3. Prepare your presentation. In the presentation, explain what your artist is doing, where he/she fits into the developments in modern art, and why you think this artist is going to make it. You will need an illustration of the artist’s work, because we will probably be unfamiliar with your artist. If you can, give the price of the work you are investing in. (Your limited to $25,000.)
4. Deliver your presentation, which should take about 5 stress-free minutes. Class size may limit time, so be considerate.
5. The class will vote on the top picks. The people who get the most votes receive extra credit for the final.
6. Wait to
see if
you were right. If your artist makes it,
he or she will probably appear in the next editions of future college
textbooks
on modern art or in Art History survey texts. Expect that to take 5 to
10
years, unless you get really lucky. You
can also call me and ask.
Extra Credit
Anyone interested in doing an extra credit project can review a movie that focuses on modern art. Describe the story and explain how accurate the movie is. Has the film maker done anything to enhance the story, the characters or the drama? Do the stars accurately reflect the appearance and personality of the people they represent? Is the movie well filmed and is the dialogue good? These are some ideas to consider in your paper. You will need to research the lives of the artists depicted in the movie to do this project successfully. Paper length: about five pages.
There are many movies that deal with modern art. Here are a few that you should be able to rent or borrow from a library. Check the movie’s rating to be certain it is acceptable to you before you take it out. Here are a few suggestions. Let me know if you find others.
Bride of the Wind (about Kokoschka’s mistress) Basquiat (NYC graffiti artist makes it, ODs)
Goya in
Surviving Picasso (Picasso and his mistresses) Dirty Pictures (censorship, Mapplethorpe)
Frida (Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera) I Shot Andy Warhol (SCUM shoots Andy)
List of Works
The Prehistory of Modern Painting
4,
Piero, Flagellation,
** Manet, Execution of Maximillian, Fr., 1868
15, Goya, Self-Portrait with Dr., Sp., 1820
14, Goya, Ravages of War, 1810-11 (pub. 1863)
Pl. 2, Delacroix, Lion Hunt, Fr., 1861
21, Bouguereau, Spring, Fr., 1886
Chapter 2, Realism, Impressionism and
Early Photography
27,
Daguerre,
31, Anonymous, Frederick Douglas, Am., 1847
35, Brady, Dead Soldier, Am., 1863
38,
Daumier, Rue Tansnonain,
41, Courbet, Waves, Fr., c. 1879 (PMA)
Pl. 7, Hiroshige,
Oriental
Popular
**
Hiroshige,
43, Manet,
44, Manet, Emile Zola, 1868
49, Monet, Boulevard, Fr., 1873
Pl. 9,
Monet, Impression:
Pl. 10, Monet, Bridge at
55, Monet, Clouds, 1916-26
** Renoir, Luncheon, Fr., 1876 (DC)
51, Degas, Jockey, Fr., 1889 (In PMA)
52, Muybridge, Horse in Motion, Am., 1878
Pl. 13, Cassatt, Little Girl, Am., 1878 (In DC)
Chapter 3, Post-Impressionism
70, Seurat, Le Chahut, Fr., 1889-90
73, Cezanne, Card Players, Fr., 1890-92 (In the Met)
71, Cezanne, Uncle Dominic as a Monk, c. 1866
Pl. 25, Cezanne, Bathers, 1906, PMA
74, Moreau, The Apparition, Fr., c. 1876
Pl. 26, Redon, Roger and Angelica, Fr., 1910
Pl. 27, Rousseau, Carnival Evening, Fr., 1886 (In PMA)
Pl. 30, Gauguin, Where...?, Fr., 1897
Pl. 29, Gauguin, Vision After the Sermon, 1888
Pl. 32, Van Gogh, Starry Night, Dutch, 1889 (In MoMA)
Chapter 4, The
Origins of Modern
Architecture
87, Eiffel, Bridge, Fr., 1880-84
**
101, Roebling,
Chapter 5, Art Nouveau
103, Morris,
105, Beardsley,
**
Klimt, The Kiss,
Pl. 41, Tiffany, Table Lamp, Am., c. 1900
109, Gaudi,
Church of the
Nativity,
121, Munch, The
Sick
Pl. 43, Munch, Dance of Life, 1900
123, Ensor, Scandalized Masks, Bel., 1883
Pl. 44, Ensor,
Entry of christ
into
fig. 85,
Toulouse-Lautrec,
Pl. 37, Toulouse-Lautrec, La Goulue, 1891
Chapter 6, Origins of Modern Sculpture
131,
Rodin, Man with a Broken Nose, Fr., 1864 (
132,
Rodin, Age of Bronze, 1876 (
38,
Rodin, Balzac, 1897-98 (MoMA and
134, Rodin, Thought, (Camille Claudel) marble, 1886 (PMA)
136, Rodin, Iris, Messenger of the Gods, bronze, 1890-91 (Met)
139, Steichen, Balzac by Moonlight, 1908, photogravure
142, Maillol, The River, Fr., 193801943 (MoMA)
Chapter 7, Fauvism
Pl. 52, Matisse, Joy of Life, 1905 (The Barnes)
Pl. 54,
Matisse, Blue Nude, 1907 (
Pl. 63, Matisse, The Dance, 1909 (similar work in MoMA)
Pl. 57, Derain,
151, Rouault, Prostitute, Fr., 1906
Pl. 60, Rouault, The Old King, 1916-36
Chapter 8, Expressionism in
Pl. 67, Kirchener,
The Street,
Pl. 66,
Nolde,
162, Nolde, The Prophet, 1912
Pl. 71, Nolde, Female Dancer, 1913
166, Kandinsky,
Pl. 76, Kandinsky, Composition VII, 1913
Pl. 77. Marc, Blue Horses,
Pl. 78, Marc, Fighting Forms, 1914
Pl. 80, Kokoschka,
The Tempest,
Chapter 9, The Figure.
Early 20th Century Sculpture
** Kollwitz, Rest in the Peace of His
Hands,
183, Kollwitz, Lamentation, 1938
180, Lembruck,
Seated Youth,
184, Brancusi, Sleep, Rumanian, 1908
187, Brancusi, Beginning of the World, c. 1920
Pl.6, Brancusi, Bird in Space, 1925
Chapter 10, Cubism
197, Picasso, Woman with Crow, Sp., 1904 (Blue period 1901-04)
Pl. 88, Picasso, Saltimbanques, 1905 (Rose Period 1905-06)
203, Picasso, Three Women (Early Cubism 1906-09)
Pl. 91, Braque, Houses, Fr., 1908 (Early cubism)
Pl. 93, Picasso, Portrait, 1910 (Analytic cubism 1909-12)
212, Picasso, Guitar, Sheet Music and Glass of Wine, 1912 (Synthetic cubism 1912-14)
Pl. 101, Delaunay, Simultaneous Contrasts, Fr., 1913 (MoMA)
Pl. 102, Leger, The City, Fr., 1919
Chapter 11, Towards Abstraction
Pl. 107, Balla, Street Light, It., 1909
Pl. 108, Severini, Dynamic Hieroglyph, It., 1912 (MoMA--with sequins)
Pl. 111, Boccioni, The City Rises, It., 1910 (MoMA)
245, Malevich,
Suprematist Composition,
Chapter 12, Early 20th Century
Architecture
Pl. 124, Rietveld, Schroder House Model, Dutch, 1923-24
Pl. 125, Rietveld, Schroder House Living/Dining Room
Chapter 13, From Fantasy to Dada...
Pl. 129, De Chirico, Melancholy and Mystery, It.-Gr., 1914
294, DeChirico, Soothsayer’s Recompense, 1913, (PMA)
298, Arp, Collage Arranged by Chance, Fr., 1916-17 (MoMA)
Pl. 133, Arp, Fleur Marteau, 1916
302, Duchamp, Bottle Rack and Fountain, Fr.-Am., 1917 (Rack in PMA)
306, Duchamp, Given, 1944-46 (PMA!)
Pl. 136, Duchamp, The Large Glass, 1915-23 (PMA)
309, Schamberg, God, Am., 1918 (PMA)
311, Man Ray, Rayograph, Gelatin silver Print, 922 (MoMA)
Pl. 127, Chagall, Birthday, Russian, 1923
Pl. 128, Chagall, Green Violinist, 1923, Guggenheim (related work in PMA)
Pl. 143, Beckmann, Departure, Ger., 1932-33 (MoMA)
Chapter 14, The
329, Modigliani, Soutine, It., 1916
328, Modigliani, Head, 1911-13
Pl. 144, Modigliani, Nude, 1917
Pl. 146, Soutine,
Side of
Pl. 151, Matisse, Reclining Nude, Fr.,
1935 (
Pl. 152, Matisse, Ivy, 1953 (cutout used as window design)
337, Matisse, The Cowboy (cutout used as book ill.)
** Matisse, Faceless Christ and Stations of Cross, Vence Chapel, 1950s (see also 338)
Pl. 147, Valadon, Blue Room, Fr., 1923
343, Picasso, Three Women at the Spring, Sp., 1921
Chapter 15, Surrealism
Pl. 163, Ernst, Europe After the
Rain,
365, Miro, Lunar Bird, Sp., 1966 (also in PMA)
Pl. 165, Miro, Dog Barking at Moon, 1926 (PMA)
371, Dali, Soft Construction, Sp., 1936 (PMA)
Pl. 178, Magritte, The Dominion of Light, Bel., 1952 (sim. in MoMA)
Pl. 176, Magritte, The False Mirror, 1928
378, Oppenheim,
Luncheon in
381, Picasso,
387, Picasso, Man with Lamb (cast in PMA)
393, Giacometti, Woman with Her Throat cut, It., 1932 (MoMA)
395, Giacometti, Invisible Object, 1934 (MoMA)
397, Atget, Magasin (Shop), Fr., 1925
Chapter 16, Modern Architecture Between
the Wars
Pl. 189, Le Corbusier, Villa Savoye, Fr., 1928-30
417, Mies
van der Rohe,
Model for skyscraper,
Chapter 17, International Abstraction Between the Wars
Pl. 202, Mondrian, Broadway Boogie Woogie, Dutch, 1942-43 (MoMA)
455, Calder, Lobster Trap and Fish Tail, Am., 1939 (MoMA)
Chapter 18, American Art Before
World War II
Pl. 15, Rembrandt Peale, Rubens Peale with Geranium, 1801 (DC)
64, Eakins, Polevaulter, 1884-85, multiple-exposure Gelatin Silver Print
65, Eakins, Max Schmidt, Am., 1871
67, Ryder, Moonlight Marine, 1890s, (Met)
465, Sloan, Wake of the Ferry, 1907
Pl. 204, Sloan, hairdresser’s Window, 1907
467, Riis, “Five Cents for a Spot”, c. 1899
468, Hine, Child in Cotton Mill, 1908
469, Stieglitz,
471, Stieglitz, Equivalent, 1930
** Dove, Fog Horns, 1929
476, O’Keeffe, Cow’s Skull with Rose, 1931
Pl. 212, O’Keeffe, Music, 1919
478, Cunningham, Two Callas, Gelatin Silver Print, 1929
Pl. 209, Marin,
Pl. 222, Pipin, Domino Players, 1943
Pl. 226, Lawrence, No. 1, Migration
Series, 1940, Tempera,
Pl. 223, Shahn, Liberation, 1945
Pl. 227, Rivera, Flower Day,
Pl. 228, Kahlo,
Self-Portrait
with Thorn
484, Wood, American Gothic, 1930
Pl. 220, Wood, Young Corn, 1931
493, Evans, Miner’s Home, W.VA., 1935, Am., Gelatin Silver Print
494, Bourke-White, Dam, 1936
495, Eisenstaedt, The Kiss (Times Sq.), Ger-Am,1945
511, Lachaise, Standing Woman, Fr.-Am, 1912-27
Chapter 19, Abstract Expressionism
and...
517,
Pl. 238, Pollock, Lavender Mist, Am., 1950 (DC)
Pl. 239, Pollock, Portrait and a Dream, 1953
Pl. 236, Dekooning, Gatham News, Am., 1955
526, Kline, Mahoning, Am., 1956
Pl. 248, Rothko, White and Greens in Blue, Am., 1957
249, Rothko Chapel, 1965-66
Pl. 255, Motherwell,
Elegy to
537, Smith, Royal Bird, Am., 1947
540, Smith, Cubi, 1965
551,
Chapter 20, Postwar European Art
560, Picasso, Charnel House, 1944-45.
563, Picasso, Self-Portrait, 1972
Pl. 266, Giacometti, Man Pointing, 1947
Pl. 287, Freud,
595, Bacon, Head, 1949
460,
599,
Pl. 288,
Chapter 21, Pop and
604,
610. Rauschenberg, Bed, Am. 610
614, Johns, Painted Bronze, 1960
619,
630, Lichtenstein, Whamm! 1963
631, Lichtenstein, Big painting, 1965
638,
Pl. 311, Warhol, Camouflaged Self-Portrait, 1986
Pl. 310, Warhol, Marilyn , Am., 1962
Pl. 316, Kienholz,
Pl. 324, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Wrapped Reichstag, Bulgarian,1971-95
664,
Pl. 306, Samaras, Photo Transformation, 1973-74
Chapter 22, Sixties Abstraction
Pl. 329, Frankenthaler, Interior Landscape, Am., 1964
Pl. 337, Twombly, Hero and Leander, Am., 1981-84
Pl. 338, Kelly,
Pl. 343, Vasarely, Vega Per, Hungarian-Fr., 1969
Pl. 355, Andre, 37 Pieces, Am., 1969
Pl. 360, Marden, Am., 1988-91
694, Judd, Untitled, Am., 1965
Chapter 23, The
Second Wave
709, Wright, Guggenheim, Am., 1957-59
Pl. 363, Wright, Talison West, 1937-38
715, Corbusier,
720, Piano and
726, Utzon, et.
al.,
733, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Lever House, Am., 1951-52
735, Skidmore...Sears, 1966-69
748,
Pl. 369,
Chapter 24, The
Seventies
763, Beuys,
How to Explain...,
766,
768, Nauman, SP as Fountain, Am., 1966-70
770, Gilbert and George, Singing Sculpture, 1971
Pl. 388, Turrell, Afrum-Proto, 1967
Pl. 391, Picasso, Chicago Picasso, 1966
800, Serra, Tilted Arc, Am., 1981 (removed)
** Witkin, Bathers, Bronze, 1991 (Grounds for Sculpture)
805, Wyeth, Christina’s World, Am., 1948
806, Neel, Warhol, Am., 1970
Pl. 396, Close, SP, 1991
811, Estes, Double SP, Am., 1976
812, Flack, Wheel of Fortune, Am., 1977-78
Pl. 399, Hanson, Tourists, Am., 1970
Pl. 409, Rothenberg, Bucket of Water, Am., 1983-84
Pl. 412, Jenny, Meltdown Morning, Am., 1975 (PMA)
Pl. 419, Wegman, Blue Period, Am., 1981
838, Mapplethorpe, Ajito, Am., 1981
818, Uelsmann, Cloud Room, Toned Gelatin silver Print, 1975
Chapter 25, The
...Eighties
841, Bazelitz,
846, Kiefer,
852, Arneson, General nuke, Ceramic, bronze and graphite, Hirshhorn
862, Kruger, Your Gaze..., Am., 1981
864,
Pl. 438,
867 and 868, Haring, Drawings, Am., 1980s
869, Basquiat, Am., Grillo
Pl. 446, Skoglund, Radioactive Cats, 1980
Pl. 447, Holzer, Truisms, Installation, Am., 1989-90
Chapter 26, Postmodern Architecture
Pl. 463, Stern, Pool House, Am.,1981-82
Pl. 464, Stern, Disney Animation Bldg., 1995
Pl. 473, Gehry, Chiat/Day Bldg & Oldenburg Binoculars, Canadian, 1991
914, Gehry, Aerospace Museum, 1982-86
Chapter 27, Epilogue
Pl. 493, Serrano, Piss Christ, 1987
Pl. 503, Tansey, The Enunciation, Am.,1992
Pl. 485, Yasumura
Morimura, Self-Portrait as
919, Koons,
New Hoover, 1981-86