2017-2018 University Catalog 
    
    Apr 29, 2024  
2017-2018 University Catalog archived

Art and Art History (ARTH, ARTS)


HONORS: Honors Programs in art history and studio art are offered for qualified students; see department head for details.

Department Head: Kathleen Olson-Janjic

Faculty

First date is the year in which the faculty member began service as regular faculty at the University. Second date is the year of appointment to the present rank.

George R. Bent, Ph.D.—(1993)-2007
Sidney Gause Childress Professor of Art History
Ph.D., Stanford University

Christa Kreeger Bowden, M.F.A.—(2006)-2011
Professor of Art
M.F.A., University of Georgia

Melissa Robin Kerin, Ph.D.—(2011)-2011
Associate Professor of Art History
Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania

Elliott Haigh King, Ph.D.—(2012)-2012
Assistant Professor of Art History
Ph.D., University of Essex

Andrea Lepage, Ph.D.—(2008)-2014
Associate Professor of Art History
Ph.D., Brown University

Kathleen Olson-Janjic, M.F.A.—(1987)-2007
Pamela H. Simpson Professor of Art and Art History
M.F.A., Yale University


NOTE: The studio art and art history courses are numbered according to the following schemes.

level

subject

ARTH scheme

100, survey

0, General/Ancient

200, period lecture

4, Asia

300, seminar (adv)

5, Europe to 1800

400, dir/indep work

6, Modern/America

 

7, Latin America

level

subject

ARTS scheme

100, beginning

0, Criticism

200, middle

1, drawing & painting

300, advanced

2, photo & printing

400, dir/indep work

3, design & sculpture

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Degrees/Majors/Minors

Major

Minor

Courses

  • ARTH 101 - Survey of Western Art: Ancient to Medieval


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    First-year and sophomore standing or instructor consent. Chronological survey of Western art from the Paleolithic Age through the Middle Ages in Italy and Northern Europe. Examination of cultural and stylistic influences in the art and architecture of ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome. Consideration of distinct interests of Early Christian, Byzantine, and Medieval Europe. Focus on major monuments and influential images produced up to circa 1400. Bent.


  • ARTH 102 - Survey of Western Art: Renaissance to the Present


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    Chronological survey of Western art from the Renaissance through the present. Topics include the Renaissance, from its cultural and stylistic origins through the Mannerist movement; the Baroque and Rococo; the Neoclassical reaction; Romanticism and Naturalism; the Barbizon School and Realism; Impressionism and its aftermath; Fauvism, Cubism, Dada, Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism, Pop, Minimalism, and the Postmodern reaction to Modernism. King, Lepage.


  • ARTH 125 - The Business of Contemporary Art


    (BUS 125) FDR: HA
    Credits: 4

    This course combines finance, tax policy, marketing, economics, and art history to provide a ‘nuts-and-bolts’ view of how the contemporary art world operates. Appropriate for business students with an interest in contemporary art as well as museum studies and art history majors who wish to gain an understanding of business concepts in the art world, the course serves as preparation for students who may anticipate acquiring art for personal or business investment/use, serving on a museum board, pursuing employment in the art world, or advising high wealth clients on business matters related to art. Each topic begins with an overview of general principles before reviewing applications to the art world. For example, discussion of charitable giving covers the general tax rules of charitable deductions before discussing the specific rules related to art and museums. Additional course fee; see details link at http://go.wlu.edu/CourseOfferings. Alexander, King


  • ARTH 140 - Asian Art


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    A survey of artistic traditions from South (including the Himalayan region), East, and Southeast Asia from roughly the 1st to the 18th centuries CE. The course focuses on a wide range of media - including architecture, sculpture, painting, textiles, and book arts - that serve a spectrum of religious and secular functions. The broad temporal, geographic, and topical scope of this course is meant to provide students with a basic understanding of not only the greatest artistic achievements and movements in Asia, but also the historical and political contexts that gave rise to these extraordinary pieces of art. Kerin.


  • ARTH 141 - Buddhist Art of South and Central Asia


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    This course investigates the multivalent world of Buddhist art from South and Central Asia, particularly areas that now fall within the modern-day boundaries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, China, Tibet, and Nepal. We study the nascent forms of Buddhist imagery and its ritual functions from the Indo-Pak subcontinent, focus on monumental sculpture and cave architecture of Central Asia (Afghanistan and the Tarim Basin)and issues of iconoclasm, and study the art and iconography of the Himalayas, as well as current-day production and restoration practices of Tantric Buddhist art. Kerin.


  • ARTH 170 - Arts of Mesoamerica and the Andes


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    Survey of the art and architecture of Mesoamerica and the Andes before the arrival of the Europeans, with a focus on indigenous civilizations including the Olmec, Maya, Aztec, and Inca. Art is contextualized in terms of religious, social, political, and economic developments in each region under discussion. The class includes a trip to the Virginia Museum of fine Arts in Richmond. Lepage.


  • ARTH 180 - FS: First-Year Seminar


    Credits: 3

    First-year seminar. Prerequisite: First-year standing. Topics vary by term.


  • ARTH 195 - Special Topics in Art History


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3 credits in fall or winter, 4 in spring

    Selected topics in art history with written and oral  reports. May be repeated if topics are different.


  • ARTH 200 - Greek Art & Archaeology


    (CLAS 200) FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    An introduction to ancient Greek art and archaeology. We encounter some of the greatest works of art in human history, as we survey the development of painting, sculpture, architecture, and town planning of the ancient Greeks. We encounter the history of the people behind the objects that they left behind, from the material remains of the Bronze Age palaces and Classical Athenian Acropolis to the world created in the wake of Alexander the Great’s conquests. We also consider how we experience the ancient Greek world today through archaeological practice, cultural heritage, and the antiquities trade. Laughy.


  • ARTH 240 - Arts of China


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    This broad-based investigation of Chinese art from the Neolithic period to the present examines a wide spectrum of media: painting, illustrated scrolls, architecture, ceramics, and sculpture. This general survey will be paired with single-focused analyses of materials, issues, and genres particular to Chines art, such as the use of jade, development of ceramics, lore of calligraphy, and tradition of landscape painting. To this end, we use objects from the W&L Special Collections. Kerin.


  • ARTH 241 - The Arts of Japan


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    This survey of Japanese art, which includes material from protohistoric times to the 20th century, is structured chronologically with lectures addressing seminal artistic developments and movements throughout Japan’s history. Central to this course is an investigation of the ways in which Japan’s dynamic socio-political contexts shaped its religious and political artistic developments. Kerin.


  • ARTH 242 - Arts of India


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    This course explores the artistic traditions of India from the earliest extant material evidence of the Indus Valley Civilization (circa 2500 BCE) to the elaborate painting and architectural traditions of the Mughal period (circa 16th - 18th centuries). The course analyzes the religious and ritual uses of temples, paintings, and sculptures, as well as their political role in expressing imperial ideologies. Kerin.


  • ARTH 243 - Imaging Tibet


    (SOAN 243) FDR: HA
    Credits: 4

    An examination of images and imaging practices of the early 1900s to the present in order to define and analyze the ways in which both Western and Asian (particularly Tibetan and Chinese) artists have imagined Tibet and its people. Kerin.


  • ARTH 245 - Ancient Cultures, New Markets: Modern and Contemporary Asian Art


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    This course examines the art movements of the last one hundred years from India, China, Tibet, and Japan primarily through the lenses of the larger sociopolitical movements that informed much of Asia’s cultural discourses: Colonialism, Post-Colonialism, Socialism, Communism, and Feminism. We also address debates concerning “non-Western” 20th-century art as peripheral to the main canons of Modern and Contemporary art. By the end of the course, students have created a complex picture of Asian art/artists, and have engaged broader concepts of transnationalism, as well as examined the roles of galleries, museums, and auction houses in establishing market value and biases in acquisition practices. Kerin.


  • ARTH 246 - Questions of Ownership: Looting, Curating, and Destroying Cultural Heritage Objects


    FDR: HU
    Credits: 3

    Cultural heritage objects are powerful artifacts to own, display, and even destroy. But why? This courses explores the ways art and cultural heritage objects have been stolen, laundered, purchased, curated, and destroyed in order to express political, religious, and cultural messages. Case studies and current events are equally studied to shed light on practices of looting and iconoclasm. Some of the questions we consider: What is the relationship between art and war? Under what conditions should museums repatriate art from its collections? What nationalist agendas are at work when cultural heritage objects are claimed by modem nation states or terrorist groups? Kerin.


  • ARTH 253 - Medieval Art in Southern Europe


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    Examination of the art and culture of Italy and Greece from the rise of Christianity to the first appearance of bubonic plague in 1348. Topics include early Christian art and architecture; Byzantine imagery in Ravenna and Constantinople during the Age of Justinian; iconoclasm; mosaics in Greece, Venice and Sicily; sculpture in Pisa; and the development of panel and fresco painting in Rome, Florence, Siena and Assisi. Bent.


  • ARTH 254 - Medieval Art in Northern Europe


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    Survey of the art of France, Spain, Germany, and the British Isles from circa 700 to circa 1400. Discussions include Carolingian and Ottonian painting and architecture, Celtic and Anglo-Saxon manuscripts, and French cathedral design and decoration during the Romanesque and Gothic periods. Bent.


  • ARTH 255 - Northern Renaissance Art


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    A survey of Northern painting from 1300 to 1600, examined as symbols of political, religious, and social concerns of painters, patrons, and viewers. Among the artists covered are Campin, van Eyck, van der Weyden, Dürer, Holbein, and Brueghel. Emphasis placed on interpretation of meaning and visual analysis. Bent.


  • ARTH 256 - Italian Renaissance Art


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    Survey of the art and architecture of Italy during the 15th and 16th centuries. The course focuses on innovations of the Early, High, and Late Renaissance through the work of Brunelleschi, Donatello, Masaccio, Alberti, Leonardo, Bramante, Raphael, and Michelangelo. Images are considered as exponents of contemporary political, social, and religious events and perceptions. Bent.


  • ARTH 257 - Dutch Arts, Patrons, and Markets


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    During the 17th century, the practices of making and buying art boomed as never before in the Dutch Republic. With the creation of the first large-scale open art market, prosperous Dutch merchants, artisans, and civil servants bought paintings and prints in unprecedented numbers. Foreign visitors were astonished that even modest members of Dutch society such as farmers and bakers owned multiple works of art. Dutch 17th-century art saw the rise of new subjects, as landscapes, still lifes, and scenes of daily life replaced formerly dominant religious images and scenes from classical mythology. Portraiture also flourished in this prosperous atmosphere. Among the artists covered are Frans Hals, Judith Leyster, Jan Steen, Frans Post, Johannes Vermeer, and Rembrandt. Lepage.


  • ARTH 258 - Baroque and Rococo Art


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    A survey of the art and architecture of Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries. The course focuses on the stylistic and ideological issues shaping western art during the age of Religious Wars. This course considers the stylistic innovations of Caravaggio, Bernini, Rubens, Rembrandt, Velasquez, Poussin, Watteau, Boucher, and Fragonard, as well as the function of- and interest in-artistic production within the context of 17th- and 18th-century society. Lepage.


  • ARTH 261 - History of Photography


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    An art-historical introduction to the history of photography, from its origins in the 19th century to the present day. Lectures and discussions examine photography’s aesthetic, documentary, and “scientific” purposes; important contributors to photography and its history; the evolution of the camera and related technical processes; and issues of photographic theory and criticism. Photography is considered as a medium with its own rich history - bearing in mind stylistic shifts and changes in subject matter related to aesthetic, social, and cultural concerns - but also as a key component in the wider narrative of modern art. King.


  • ARTH 262 - 19th-Century European Art


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    This course begins in the late 18th century and covers major European art movements and criticism up to c.1900. Topics include the art of the French Revolution as an instrument of propaganda; the rise of Romanticism; the advent and impact of early photography; and the aesthetic and ideological origins of Modern Art. King.


  • ARTH 263 - 20th-Century European Art


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    This course covers major European art movements and criticism from the late 19th century through the 20th century. Lectures and discussions explore the implications of what it means for art to be/appear “modern,” the social and aesthetic goals of the early avant-garde, the “rise and fall” of abstraction, and artistic responses to post-war mass culture. Movements discussed include Fauvism, Cubism, Futurism, Dada, Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism, and New Realism. King.


  • ARTH 266 - American Art to 1945


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    A survey of painting and sculpture in the United States from its earliest settlement to about 1945. Lectures and discussions emphasize the English eastern seaboard development in the 17th and 18th centuries, though other geographical areas are included in the 19th and 20th centuries. Topics include art of the early colonies, the Hudson River School, Realism and Regionalism, and the reception of abstract art in the United States. King.


  • ARTH 267 - Art Since 1945


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    This course introduces students to art and art theory from 1945 to the present. The objectives of the course are: (1) to enhance student knowledge of the major works, artists, and movements of art in Europe and the United States since 1945; (2) to integrate these works of art within the broader social and intellectual history of the period; and  (3) to help students develop their skills in visual analysis and historical interpretation. Among the issues we examine are the politics of abstract art; the ongoing dialogue between art and mass culture; the differences between modernism and postmodernism; and contemporary critiques of art history’s prevailing narratives. This is a lecture course with a heavy emphasis on in-class discussion. King.


  • ARTH 271 - Arts of Colonial Latin America


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    A survey of the art and architecture of Latin America from the 16th through early-18th centuries, this course begins with an exploration of the art of Aztec and Inca before the arrival of Europeans. Classes then explore the cultural convergence that resulted from the conquest in the 16th century, focusing on the role of indigenous artists and traditions in the formation of early colonial culture. Later lectures consider the rise of nationalism and its effect on the arts. Lepage.


  • ARTH 273 - Arts of Modern Latin America


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    This lecture course surveys the art and architecture of Latin America from circa 1900 to the present. Students explore the relationship between the arts in Europe and Latin America, trace the development of modern art in Latin America, and consider topics such as the rise of modernismo in Latin America, art in service of nationalism, indigenismo, and the growing Chicana/o movement in the United States. Among the artists covered are Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, Tarsila do Amaral, Joaquin Torres-Garcia, Wilfredo Lam, Lygia Clark, and Francisco Botero. Lepage.


  • ARTH 274 - Art and Revolution: Mexican Muralism


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 4

    This course fulfills the Arts and Humanities requirement for the LACS minor. This lecture course surveys public monumental art produced by Mexican artists Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco, and David Alfaro Siqueiros in Mexico and the United States from 1910 to the 1970s. These artists used art to promote the social ideals of the Mexican Revolution (1911-1920). Through this muralist movement, they attempted to build a new national consciousness by celebrating the cultural heritage of the Mexican people. Quickly, the muralists and their patrons came into conflict with one another concerning how to best achieve their utopian goal of equality for all Mexicans. This course examines the various ideologies of the Mexican muralists and considers reactions to muralism by other artists as well as the public. The class also examines the impact of muralism throughout Latin America and the United States. Lepage.


  • ARTH 275 - Community Muralism: The Art of Public Engagement


    (ARTS 275) FDR: HA
    Experiential Learning (EXP): Yes
    Credits: 4

    Our nation is currently witnessing a community mural renaissance. Public murals help to create welcoming and inclusive public spaces, build and solidify community identity, commemorate individuals or events, arouse social consciousness or impact social change, and recognize the voices of traditionally disempowered groups. During the term, we trace the historical development of community murals. Students participate in studio exercises that give them experience with a variety of methods, materials, and techniques necessary to plan, design, and produce a largescale community mural. We produce and document a mural in collaboration with a local community partner. Lepage, Olson-Janjic.


  • ARTH 276 - Chicana/o Art and Muralism: From the Street to the (Staniar) Gallery


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 4

    Open to all students. This class examines the process by which Chicana/o artists have garnered public attention and respect, and have taken their artworks from the peripheries of the art world to more traditional museum and gallery spaces. Using the Great Wall of Los Angeles as a connecting thread, this class considers the broad theme of identity creation and transformation as expressed by Chicana/o artists from the 1970s to the present. Lepage.


  • ARTH 288 - Chinese Export Porcelain and the China Trade, 1500 to 1900


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    This course covers the development and history of Chinese export porcelain made for the European and American markets and its role as a commodity in the China Trade. Students examine Chinese export porcelain from several different perspectives, including art history, material culture, and economic history. Fuchs.


  • ARTH 295 - Special Topics in Art History


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3 in fall or winter, 4 in spring


    Selected topics in art history with written and oral reports. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different.

    Winter 2018, ARTH 295A-01: History of Islamic Art & Architecture (3). An introductory survey to the art and architecture of the Islamic world, from the founding of Islam in the 7th century to the present day. The course concentrates on selected moments and monuments in the central historic regions—the Middle East, North Africa, Spain, Iraq, Iran, Central Asia, India, Turkey—and considers the relationship of the visual arts to the history, geography, and traditions of each region. The class includes a trip to the Freer and Sackler Galleries of the Smithsonian in Washington, DC. (HA) Gustafson.

    Winter 2018, ARTH 295B-01: History of Western Architecture (3). This survey of Western architecture, which includes material from the ancient world to the 20th century, is structured chronologically with lectures addressing the major traditions of architectural visual culture and practice. Central to this course is an investigation of the ways in which architecture has been designed to frame the significant socio-religious and political contexts of historical cultures. (HA) Gustafson.


  • ARTH 342 - Love, Loyalty, and Lordship: Court Art of India, 1500s to1800s


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    During the 16th-19th centuries, India’s Hindu and Islamic courts, as well as British imperial forces, vied for political authority and control over the subcontinent. Despite the political and economic volatility of the time, the regional courts commissioned spectacular secular and religious arts in the form of illustrated narratives, miniature paintings, and architectural masterpieces. This course focuses on this rich artistic heritage. As we analyze the courts’ painted and built environments, we investigate three recurring themes: love (of court, God and, in some cases, an individual); loyalty (to courtly values, religious ideals, and ruler); and lordship (over land, animals, and people). Kerin.


  • ARTH 343 - Art and Material Culture of Tibet


    FDR: HU
    Credits: 3

    Through a chronological presentation of sites and objects, we study Tibet’s great artistic movements from the 7th-20th centuries. Our analyses of the art and material culture of Tibet, and its larger cultural zone, has an art historical and historiographic focus. This two-pronged approach encourages students to analyze not only the styles and movements of Tibetan art, but the methods by which this art world has been studied by and simultaneously presented to Western audiences. Kerin.


  • ARTH 347 - Forget Me Not: Visual Culture of Historic and Religious Memorials


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 4

    No prerequisites. Appropriate for students of all class years. This class analyzes the visual material of memorial sites that shape social identity. Whether simple or elaborate in their construction, these creations allow people the space to connect with and/or honor a person or event from the historic or even mythological past. This global and thematic examination of memorials considers three primary foci: the built environment of a memorial; the performative role of visitors; and the function of memory at these sites. Kerin.


  • ARTH 350 - Medieval Art in Italy


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    Prerequisite: ARTH 253 or 256 or instructor consent. Art and architecture of the Italian peninsula, from circa 1200 to 1400. This seminar addresses issues of patronage, artistic training and methods of production, iconography, and the function of religious and secular imagery. Topics of discussion include the construction of Tuscan cathedrals and civic buildings; sculpture in Siena, Pisa, and Rome; and painting in Assisi, Padua, and Florence. Bent.


  • ARTH 354 - The Early Renaissance in Italy


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    Examination of the intellectual, cultural, and artistic movements dominant in Florence between ca. 1400 and ca. 1440. Images and structures produced by Ghiberti, Brunelleschi, Masaccio, Donatello, and Fra Angelico are considered within the context of Florentine social traditions and political events. Bent.


  • ARTH 355 - The High Renaissance in Italy


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    Prerequisite: ARTH 256 or instructor consent. This seminar addresses issues of patronage, artistic production, criticism and art theory, and the uses and abuses of images during the High Renaissance. Works by Botticelli, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael and Bramante are considered as emblems of larger cultural movements popular in Italian courts between 1470 and 1520. Bent.


  • ARTH 356 - Science in Art: Technical Examination of 17th-Century Dutch Paintings


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 4

    Prerequisite: CHEM 156 in the preceding winter term. Spring Term Abroad course. A survey of 17th-century Dutch history, art history, politics, religion, economics, etc., which links the scientific analysis of art to the art and culture of the time. The course begins on campus and then history, etc., will occur for a few days in Lexington and then proceed to Center for European Studies, Universiteit Maastricht, The Netherlands. Students visit numerous museums, hear guest lectures from faculty at Universiteit Maastricht, and observe at conservation laboratories at some of the major Dutch art museums. Students are graded by their performance on two research projects involving presentations and journals. Though students are not required to learn a foreign language to participate in the program, they are expected to learn key phrases in Dutch as a matter of courtesy to citizens of the host country. Uffelman.


  • ARTH 357 - Caravaggio and Artemisia Gentileschi


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    This seminar focuses on the work of Baroque painters Caravaggio (1573-1610) and Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-ca. 1653). We explore Caravaggio’s intense naturalism and the controversy it caused, his sense of drama, and supernatural light. Gentileschi was deeply influenced by Caravaggio but developed her own unique style. Seminar themes include the 1612 rape trial and its impact on Gentileschi’s career, issues of attribution, and proto-feminism. Lepage.


  • ARTH 363 - Surrealism


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    Surrealism was one of the most multi-faceted and influential intellectual movements of the 20th century with a legacy and practice that continues today. This seminar examines the key writings and ideas that underlie surrealism with a focus on its artistic practice. We will consider works by artists including Salvador Dalí, René Magritte, and Max Ernst; watch surrealist films; discuss the significance of dreams; and play surrealist “games of chance.” King.


  • ARTH 364 - Seminar on Art of the 1960s


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    An exploration of the art produced during the decade of the 1960s. A seminal period, it includes Pop Art, Post-Painterly Abstraction, Minimalism, and socially conscious and politically oriented art reflecting feminism and black radicalism. Emphasis is placed not only on the major artistic currents of the period but also on the broader cultural reflections of these movements. . King.


  • ARTH 365 - Women, Art, and Empowerment


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    This seminar explores female artists from the late 18th century through the present, whose depictions of women have directly challenged the value system in art history that has traditionally privileged white heterosexual male artists, audiences, collectors, historians, curators, etc. Lectures, discussions, and research projects address multicultural perspectives and provide a sense of feminism’s global import in a current and historical context. King.


  • ARTH 366 - African-American Art Seminar


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    An exploration of the art produced by African-Americans from the Colonial period to the present. Weekly lectures, readings, essays, films and discussion. King.


  • ARTH 376 - Visual Culture in the Hispanic World, c. 1500-1700


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    The 17th-century Golden Age was a period of unparalleled artistic achievement in the Hispanic world. This seminar investigates painting, sculpture and architecture of Spain and the Viceroyalties of New Spain and Peru from ca.1500 to the death of the last Spanish Habsburg king in 1700. Artists highlighted in this course include Titian, Juan de Herrera, El Greco, Velázquez, Guaman Poma, Miguel de Santiago, and Goya. Lepage.


  • ARTH 378 - Border Art: Contemporary Chicanx and U.S. Latinx Art


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    This seminar engages broad-ranging debates that have looked at the Mexico-US border as a fruitful site of identity formation. In this seminar, we examine artworks with an emphasis on location, critical standpoint, interrelatedness, and the geopolitics of identity. Through readings and class discussions, students investigate protest art and arts activism, and develop methods of “critical seeing” through image analysis, art historical analysis, and cultural critique. We explore how structures of creating, organizing, and explaining knowledge, discursive practices, and forms of representation have been employed to dismiss and delimit US Latinx art. We consider artworks produced by Chicanx, U.S. Latinx, and other transnational artists in a wide range of formats including printmaking, performance art, mural painting, photography, film and video, books, comics, public art projects, and an array of post-conceptual practices. Lepage.


  • ARTH 384 - Renaissance Art in Venice


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 4

    Prerequisite: ARTH 102 or 256. This course addresses issues of patronage, artistic production, uses of ancient themes and sources, criticism and art theory, and the uses and abuses of images during the High Renaissance. We focus our attention on the art and architecture of Northern Italy from about 1460 to 1575, with particular emphasis placed on images and structures produced in Venice and its territorial possessions (“The Veneto”) and by those who considered la serennissima their home. Bent.


  • ARTH 385 - Leonardo da Vinci: Art, Science and Innovation in Renaissance Europe


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 4

    Leonardo da Vinci has for years been considered the consummate “Renaissance Man,” equally skilled as a painter, anatomist, engineer, and military scientist. This course examines the contextual background from which this true genius was sprung, the works he produced, the people for whom he produced them, and the visions of the artist both realized and unrealized that have captured the imaginations of people around the world since Leonardo’s death in 1519. Bent.


  • ARTH 390 - Seminar in Asian Art


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    Prerequisite: Three credits in art history or instructor consent. Selected topics in Asian art. Includes guided research, reports, term paper, and possible visit to the Freer and Sackler Galleries in Washington, D.C. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different. Kerin.


  • ARTH 394 - Seminar in Art History


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3-4


    Prerequisites: Three credits in art history and instructor consent. Research in selected topics in art history with written and oral reports. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different.

    Winter 2018, ARTH 394-01: Whose Fault is the Renaissance? Medieval Rome and Modernity (3). Integral to the idea of the Renaissance is a rebirth of ancient culture, typically understood as a return of the majesty that was Rome. But which Rome was being revived? Was it the city of the emperors, august patrons of philosophy, rhetoric, and public art? Or was it the city of St. Peter and the apostles, founders of the Christian church and the papacy? Both of these Romes survived side by side in the physical fabric of medieval Rome. This seminar examines the different ways that elements of ancient Rome were referenced in the art and architecture of Rome and central Italy (including Assisi and Florence), from the 13th to the early 15th century. (HA) Gustafson.

    Spring 2018, ARTH 394-01: When Jesus was Zeus? From Pagan to Christian Art (4). An investigation of the development of Christian art out of pagan Late Antique culture. Students consider how early Christians adopted Greco-Roman art, tweaking and adapting those older traditions into images of Christian triumph and propaganda. As a colloquium driven by student conversation and participation, discussion is rooted in the historical complexities of Pagan and Christian relationships. We examine current scholarly debates on what has been called the Clash of the Gods: Christ as a magician, as Zeus or Asclepius, and even as feminine. (HA) Gustafson.


  • ARTH 395 - Senior Seminar: Approaches to Art History


    Credits: 3

    Prerequisite: Senior art history major. This capstone seminar studies the origins, applications, strengths, and weaknesses of various methodological approaches that art historians use to study art. Topics include Formalism; Iconography and Iconology; Social History and Marxism; Feminism; Psychoanalysis; Semiotics; Structuralism and Post-Structuralism; Deconstruction; Reception Theory; Post-Colonialism; and Critical Race/Ethnicity Theories. Staff.


  • ARTH 398 - Seminar in Museum Studies


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites: ARTH 102 or ARTH 140, or instructor’s consent; and sophomore, junior or senior standing. Additional course fee required, for which the student is responsible after Friday of the 7th week of winter term. An exploration of the history, philosophy and practical aspects of museums. Topics of discussion include governance and administration, collections, exhibitions and education. The course alternates weekly readings and class discussion with field trips to regional museums. Requires short papers and a major project. Hobbs.


  • ARTH 401 - Directed Individual Study


    Credits: 1

    Prerequisite: Permission of the department. Individual or class study of special topics in art history. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different. Staff.


  • ARTH 402 - Directed Individual Study


    Credits: 2

    Prerequisite: Permission of the department. Individual or class study of special topics in art history. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different. Staff.


  • ARTH 403 - Directed Individual Study


    Credits: 3

    Prerequisite: Permission of the department. Individual or class study of special topics in art history. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different. Staff.


  • ARTH 453 - Internship in Arts Management


    Credits: 3

    Prerequisite: Instructor consent. Supervised experience in an art gallery, art dealership, museum, or auction house approved by the Art and Art History Department. Requires written exercises and readings, in addition to curatorial projects devised in advance by the instructor and student. May be carried out during the summer. Archer.


  • ARTH 473 - Senior Thesis


    Credits: 3

    Prerequisite: ARTH 395. An art history thesis. A thesis abstract with a written statement of objectives must be presented to the department for consideration by September 30. Staff.


  • ARTH 493 - Honors Thesis


    Credits: 3-3

    Prerequisites: ARTH 395, 3.500 cumulative grade-point average, honors candidacy and senior standing. An art history thesis. Application for the honors candidacy must be made by May 1 of the junior year. A thesis abstract with a written statement of the objective must be presented at this time. The culmination is an oral defense of the thesis project. Staff.


  • ARTS 111 - Drawing I


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    Prerequisite: Instructor consent. Development of skills and visual awareness through the study of the basic elements of drawing. Variety of media, including pencil, charcoal, ink and crayon. Lab fee required. Beavers, Olson-Janjic.


  • ARTS 112 - Drawing II


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    Prerequisites: ARTS 111 and instructor consent. Continuation of Drawing I. Lab fee required. Beavers, Olson-Janjic.


  • ARTS 120 - Photography I


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    Prerequisite: Instructor consent. An introduction to the methods and materials of black and white film photography, with an emphasis on composition, exposure, and darkroom technique. The course includes a combination of image presentations, technical demonstrations, studio instruction, and group critiques. Lab fee required; cameras are available for check-out. Archer, Bowden.


  • ARTS 131 - Design I


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    Prerequisite: Instructor consent. An introduction to the elements and concepts of two-dimensional design within the context of current digital technology, with an emphasis on contemporary computer software programs.


  • ARTS 180 - FS: First-Year Seminar


    Credits: 3

    First-year seminar. Prerequisite: First-year class standing. . Staff.


  • ARTS 211 - Figure Drawing I


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    Prerequisites: ARTS 111 and instructor consent. Drawing from the human figure using a variety of media. Lab fee required. Olson-Janjic.


  • ARTS 212 - Figure Drawing II


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    Prerequisites: ARTS 211 and instructor consent. Continuation of ARTS 211 with emphasis on the use of the human figure as a compositional element. Lab fee required. Olson-Janjic.


  • ARTS 213 - Drawing Italy


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites: ARTS 111 and instructor consent. Living and drawing on site in Rome, Florence, Umbria, and Tuscany and with day trips to Pompeii, Assisi, and other important art sites in Italy. Students explore Italy’s vast artistic heritage within its cultural context, then apply this experience to their own art while working in the distinctive Mediterranean light. Media include pen and ink, pastel and acrylic. Lab fee required. Olson-Janjic.


  • ARTS 214 - Drawing in Place


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 4

    Prerequisite: ARTS 111 and instructor consent. This drawing course is intended for intermediate drawing students. The goals of this intensive course are to practice drawing skills, learn about the tradition of art of place, and to produce a series of drawings based on a specific place. The first two weeks is spent brushing up on the basics of drawing while reading and discussing writings about place and site-oriented art. Image presentations and group discussion support the readings. Beavers.


  • ARTS 215 - Creating Comics


    (ENGL 215) FDR: HA
    Credits: 4

    Prerequisite: ARTS 111 or WRIT 100, and instructor consent. A course which is both a creative-writing and a studio-art course. Students study graphic narratives as an art form that combines image-making and storytelling, producing their own multi-page narratives through the “writing” of images. The course includes a theoretical overview of the comics form, using a range of works as practical models. Beavers, Gavaler.


  • ARTS 217 - Painting I


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    Prerequisites: Instructor consent. Emphasis on color, design and spatial relationships. Work from observation and imagination in oil and acrylic. Lab fee required. Olson-Janjic.


  • ARTS 218 - Painting II


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    Prerequisites: ARTS 217 and instructor consent. Continuation of ARTS 217. Lab fee required. Olson-Janjic.


  • ARTS 219 - Painted Light: Interpreting the Landscape


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 4

    Prerequisite: ARTS 217 or instructor consent. This course begins with the introduction of en plein air, a French expression which means “in the open air” and is used to describe the act of painting outdoors. We examine artists who have worked en plein air, past and present, study their work and methods, and then apply this knowledge to painting outdoors. Emphasis is on the way light and color define form and space. Students build on their knowledge of color theory through observation and implementation. Beginning with the concept of plein air, we quickly branch out to more interpretive and subjective uses of the landscape in painting, resulting in a cohesive body of work. Lab fee required. Olson-Janjic.


  • ARTS 220 - Photography II


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    Prerequisite: ARTS 120 and instructor consent. An introduction to digital photography, explored through a combination of technique and creative problem solving. Methods and approaches for editing, sequencing, and presentation are investigated. The course includes a combination of demonstrations, studio instruction, and group critiques, as well as image presentations, readings, and discussions related to historical and contemporary movements in the medium. Lab fee required; cameras are available for check-out. Bowden.


  • ARTS 221 - Antique Photographic Processes


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 4

    Not open to students with credit for courses in alternative photographic processes. Prerequisite: ARTS 120. An exploration of 19th-century photographic processes within the context of the history of photography. Individual processes are learned through studio demonstration and intensive hands-on lab sessions. Processes covered in this course include salt printing, cyanotype, Van Dyke, kallitype, and platinum and palladium printing and toning, as well as wet plate collodion processes such as tintypes and ambrotypes. Students learn how to make enlarged digital negatives for contact printing from photographs that originate in either film or digital formats. In addition to technique, students learn the historical background of each process, as well as contemporary trends and artists working with these methods. Bowden.


  • ARTS 222 - Paris: History, Image, Myth, Part I


    FDR: HU
    Credits: 3

    Prerequisite: Instructor consent required. This course is the prerequisite for the spring course, ARTS 223. Students may not take this course and HIST 207. The history of Paris in the modern era is intimately linked to the history of photography, an artistic medium born out of the intellectual and cultural ferment of the nineteenth century. This interdisciplinary course, taught in conjunction with HIST 207, examines both the history of Paris and the city’s long photographic tradition. We cover how photography offers insight into the shaping of Paris in the 19th and 20th centuries, as well as how the medium has been transformed by the changing landscape of the city. Bowden.


  • ARTS 223 - Paris: History, Image, Myth, Part II


    FDR: HA
    Experiential Learning (EXP): YES
    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites: Prerequisite: ARTS 222 and instructor consent. Recommended: ARTS 120. Students may not take this course and HIST 210. Participants in this course spend four weeks in Paris asking the following questions: how can photography capture Parisian life and Parisian spaces to document a sense of place? How can we use photography to observe the city’s changing landscape as well as understand its rich past? Indeed, how has photography–the development of which is closely tied to Paris history–altered the fabric of the city? Topics include the social and political transformations of the 19th century, the shifting geography of artistic Paris, and contemporary trends such as immigration and gentrification. Numerous museum and gallery visits will also play an important role in our time in Paris. This course is taught in close collaboration with HIST 210, creating an interdisciplinary context for students to explore the relationship of photography to the modern history and contemporary issues of Paris. Bowden.


  • ARTS 224 - Color Photography


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    Prerequisite: ARTS 120 and instructor consent. An exploration of the visual and technical principles of color photography, as applied in the digital realm. Students learn the concepts of color photography through studio projects, as well as image presentations, readings, and discussions of methods and artists, historical and contemporary. Students photograph in digital format and learn the craft of fine color printing in the digital darkroom. Lab fee required; cameras are available for check-out. Bowden.


  • ARTS 226 - Introduction to the Book Arts


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    A creative exploration of the tradition of the handmade book. Students learn to make several styles of binding, including accordion books, pamphlets, and Japanese bindings, developing some skill in letterpress printing, paper decorating, and simple printmaking techniques to create original handmade books. Readings, discussions, and slide lectures introduce students to the ingenious history of books and printing. Besides constructing imaginative, individual book art projects, students create one collaborative project. Lab fee required. Staff.


  • ARTS 227 - Printmaking I


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    Prerequisite: ARTS 111 or instructor consent. A survey of fine art printmaking media, with emphasis on beginning techniques and the artistic potential of the print. Media include a selection of techniques from intaglio, relief, and planographic printmaking. Beavers.


  • ARTS 228 - Printmaking II


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    Prerequisite: ARTS 227 and instructor consent. Continuation of Printmaking I, with emphasis on one of the major media of printmaking (intaglio, relief, lithography). Students gain experience both with technique and the creative ability to solve visual problems and present compelling images in two dimensions. Beavers.


  • ARTS 231 - Sculpture I


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    Prerequisite: Instructor consent. An introduction to sculpture techniques, tools and materials. Developing skills in working with wood, metal, clay, as well as new media technologies. Lab fee required. Tamir.


  • ARTS 232 - Sculpture II


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    Prerequisites: ARTS 231 and instructor consent. Studio problems concentrate on one medium, e.g., stone, wood, clay, or metal. Contemporary concerns in sculpture are explored through readings and presentations by students. Lab fee required.


  • ARTS 235 - Art: Site and Situation


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 4

    Students design, construct, and install environmentally friendly site specific art. Design work is conducted in the computer lab, construction done in the art studios, and installation is on campus or at a selected site in the Lexington area.


  • ARTS 275 - Community Muralism: The Art of Public Engagement


    (ARTH 275) FDR: HA
    Experiential Learning (EXP): Yes
    Credits: 4

    Our nation is currently witnessing a community mural renaissance. Public murals help to create welcoming and inclusive public spaces, build and solidify community identity, commemorate individuals or events, arouse social consciousness or impact social change, and recognize the voices of traditionally disempowered groups. During the term, we trace the historical development of community murals. Students participate in studio exercises that give them experience with a variety of methods, materials, and techniques necessary to plan, design, and produce a largescale community mural. We produce and document a mural in collaboration with a local community partner. Lepage, Olson-Janjic.


  • ARTS 291 - Special Topics in Painting


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    Prerequisite: ARTS 111 or 217 or instructor consent. Intermediate and advanced study in painting with emphasis on specialized media and topics. Examples of media offered include acrylic, oil, mixed media, and encaustic with subject matter ranging from the figure and landscape to non-objective imagery. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different. Lab fee required. Olson-Janjic.


  • ARTS 292 - Special Topics in Photography


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3 in fall or winter; 4 in spring.


    Prerequisite: Instructor consent. Advanced study in photography, with an emphasis on a specialized topic within the medium. Course may be taught by visiting artists or faculty. Lab fee required.

     


  • ARTS 297 - Special Topics in Studio Art


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 1 or 3


    Prerequisite: ARTS 111 or instructor consent. In various years the topics and media change, given the interest of the faculty and presence of visiting artists. May be repeated when topics are different. Lab fee required.

    Winter 2018, ARTS 297-01: Eco Art (3). Prerequisite: Instructor consent. Eco art treads on the uncharted territory that lies between contemporary art practices and environmental activism, thus redefining cultural norms about the objectives and potential instrumental values of contemporary art. Eco artists replace conventional art-store supplies with living plants and microbes, mud and feathers, electronic transmissions and digital imagery, temperature and wind. Alongside supplemental activities such as readings, films, and discussions, students in this sculpture course learn about energy, waste, climate change, technology, sustainability, etc., as well as about creative ecological processes and the relationships between materials, tools, and ecosystems. (HA) Tamir.


  • ARTS 309 - Studio Seminar: Methods in Contemporary Art Practice


    Credits: 3

    Prerequisites: Studio art major and instructor consent. This course is a critique-based studio seminar designed to prepare students for the senior thesis in studio arts and built around a term-long visual arts project responding to current trends in contemporary art. This seminar introduces a theme or topic, supported by readings, films, and image presentations, as the focus of class discussions exploring and highlighting the work of relevant contemporary artists. Students develop and plan a body of work inspired by or in response to this theme. Group and individual critiques assess each student’s progress towards this goal. Lab fee required. Staff.


  • ARTS 317 - Painting III


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    Prerequisites: ARTS 218 and instructor consent. For studio art majors. Continuation of the formal structure of painting with emphasis on developing the expression and style of the individual student. Expand awareness of contemporary concerns in art. Lab fee required. Olson-Janjic.


  • ARTS 318 - Painting IV


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    Prerequisites: ARTS 317 and instructor consent. Continuation of ARTS 317. Lab fee required. Olson-Janjic.


  • ARTS 320 - Large Format Photography


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    Prerequisite: Arts 120 and instructor consent. An introduction to large format photography with the 4x5 camera. Topics covered in the course include advanced exposure techniques utilizing the zone system, the craft of fine printing in both the darkroom and digital studio, and the process for shooting, editing, and sequencing a body of work. Alternative process printing methods may also be explored. This course includes an emphasis on group critique, as well as presentations, readings, and discussions related to historical and contemporary movements in the medium. Lab fee required; cameras are available for check-out. Bowden.


  • ARTS 321 - Advanced Approaches in Photography


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    Prerequisite: ARTS 320 and instructor consent. Advanced studies in fine art photography and the photographic print, with an emphasis on creating a substantial term-long project. Students may work in traditional, digital, or alternative process techniques in either black-and-white or color and larger film and/or print formats are encouraged. Lab fee required; cameras available for check-out. Bowden.


  • ARTS 327 - Printmaking III


    Credits: 3

    Prerequisites: ARTS 228 and instructor consent. Students concentrate on producing a body of work through deeper exploration of one of the printmaking techniques. More emphasis on critical evaluation in the planning and execution stage. Seminar style discussion of contemporary issues in printmaking. Beavers.


  • ARTS 328 - Printmaking IV


    Credits: 3

    Prerequisites: ARTS 327 and instructor consent. Tutorial/critique course for advanced students in printmaking. Term project. Beavers.


  • ARTS 329 - Special Topics in Printmaking


    Credits: 3

    Prerequisites: ARTS 227 and instructor consent. This course focuses on a problem or theme in printmaking, such as sequential or series of images, production of large-scale prints, simple alternative technique, digital processes, image with text, etc. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different. Beavers.


  • ARTS 331 - Sculpture III


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    Prerequisites: ARTS 131 and instructor consent, with ARTS 211 highly recommended. Problems are designed to develop an awareness of form relationships in the human figure and to gain an understanding of how they relate to design principles and elements. Lab fee required.


  • ARTS 332 - Sculpture IV


    FDR: HA
    Credits: 3

    Prerequisites: ARTS 232 and instructor consent. A continuation of ARTS 331 with emphasis on in-depth studio problems. Further readings and presentations in contemporary sculpture. Lab fee required.


  • ARTS 421 - Directed Studio Projects


    Credits: 1

    Prerequisites for projects in sculpture: ARTS 231 and instructor consent, Stene. Prerequisites for projects in painting: ARTS 217 and instructor consent, Olson-Janjic. Prerequisites for projects in photography: ARTS 120 and instructor consent, Bowden. Prerequisites for projects in printmaking: ARTS 227 and instructor consent, Beavers. Guided studio work for the art major. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different. Staff.


  • ARTS 422 - Directed Studio Projects


    Credits: 2

    Prerequisites for projects in sculpture: ARTS 231 and instructor consent, Stene. Prerequisites for projects in painting: ARTS 217 and instructor consent, Olson-Janjic. Prerequisites for projects in photography: ARTS 120 and instructor consent, Bowden. Prerequisites for projects in printmaking: ARTS 227 and instructor consent, Beavers. Guided studio work for the art major. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different. Staff.


  • ARTS 423 - Directed Studio Projects


    Credits: 3

    Prerequisites for projects in sculpture: ARTS 231 and instructor consent, Stene. Prerequisites for projects in painting: ARTS 217 and instructor consent, Olson-Janjic. Prerequisites for projects in photography: ARTS 120 and instructor consent, Bowden. Prerequisites for projects in printmaking: ARTS 227 and instructor consent, Beavers. Guided studio work for the art major. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different. Staff.


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