Art in the Western World: From Renaissance to Present



Art in the Western World: From Renaissance to Present

Art 1B, Spring 2008

Kadema 145

Section 2: TuTh 10:30 -11:45 AM

Section 3: TuTh 3:00 - 4:15 PM

Professor Elaine O'Brien

Office: Kadema 190

Hours: TH 4:30-6 PM; M 4:30-6:00 PM

Email: eobrien@csus.edu

Website:

Teaching Assistant: Liv Moe livmoe@

Course Description:

This course provides a comprehensive introduction to the history of the art of the West (Europe and the United States) from the Renaissance to the present day. It begins with the transformation of culture that will characterize Western art for centuries: the shift from the sensibility of Europe’s Middle Ages, ideologically dominated by Catholicism, to the radical “re-birth” of humanist values known as the Renaissance, which began and remained centered in Italy. We shift to Paris in the 19th century as the capital of modern art, then to New York City after the Second World War at the end of the age of Europe. The course concludes in the 21st century with contemporary art and its multiple cultural centers.

Art 1B is a General Education course in Area C-2 (Introduction to the Arts). It is also a prerequisite for most upper division art history classes. There are no prerequisites, but it is recommended that Art 1A be taken before Art 1B.

Course Textbook: Kleiner, F., C. Mamiya. Gardners’s Art Through the Ages: The Western Perspective, Vol II, 12th edition only, with CD-ROM: ArtStudy 2.1

o Textbook website:

o "Art History Resources on the Web"

Objectives: This course offers you an opportunity to:

• Gain a body of knowledge of great monuments of post-Medieval Western art

• Gain worldliness, much needed in our era of globalization

• Develop an understanding that art is tied to historical contexts

• Develop skills and vocabulary for formal analysis

• Develop critical thinking skills by asking questions such as why an artwork work or artist is famous (canonical) and others are not

• Develop an appreciation for multiple interpretations of artworks and overcome the mistaken notion that there is one “right” interpretation

• Make visiting art museums and other art spaces a normal part of your life

• Develop confidence to evaluate artworks and a sense of the value of art in general outside the academic environment and the bachelor’s degree requirement

• Develop a sense of the role of the artist in society.

To help you achieve these objectives and earn an A in this and your other courses see:

• “Tips on Becoming a Successful student” by art history Professor Kathleen Cohen of San Jose State:

• Dartmouth College Academic Skills website:

• Another good academic skills website:

Basis of Grades:

10% participation: Good participation is how much you help others learn: a positive, questioning, engaged attitude toward the material the class. This is evident in attendance, being on time, attentiveness, and note taking.

• Note taking: Information presented in lecture contains the central concepts of the course and the material likely to be included on exams. According to research, listeners only recall 50% of what they hear and that 20-30% is incorrect. Therefore, taking good notes is crucial for success in college. Please review these directions on note taking:

o I may occasionally collect your notes and grade them with a check, check plus, or check minus.

• Participation during small-group discussion: several times during the semester you will be asked to participate in small-group and class discussion. It is during these discussions that your participation (how much you help others learn) is most evident. Exceptionally good and bad participation is recorded and affects your grade. Never leave your group to talk with me or take a break from the class.

• Attendance policy

• Two unexcused absences reduce your grade by half a letter grade; three reduce it by one letter grade; each subsequent absence reduces your grade by a whole letter. Five unexcused absences result in automatic failure. Chronic (more than 3 times) lateness or leaving early can reduce your grade by one letter.

Scheduled appointments, transportation problems, and job demands are not excused. Illness and family/childcare emergencies are excused. Absence due to illness requires a doctor’s note. You can get a medical excuse from the CSUS student health clinic. Inform me of family emergencies or any situation that will keep you from class or affect your ability to learn, whatever it is. Do not hesitate to come to see me during my office hours or make an appointment, and feel free to email me.

NOTE: Please see me during my office hours or by appointment (not before or after class) for discussions that will take time, such as your progress in class, or situations that are affecting your performance.

• NOTE: Use of cellphones, laptops, all electronic gadgets and communication equipment distracts other students. Please keep everything turned off and out of sight during class. Otherwise I will ask you to leave the class and count you as absent.

• NOTE: Sleeping in a dark art history lecture room can be a problem. Sleeping in class, however, means you aren’t learning; it brings down the class energy level and morale, including mine. Chances are, I will wake you up and ask you to leave class. Chronic falling sleeping (3 times) can reduce your course grade by half a letter.

• Note: No eating please. Drinks are okay.

If you have a disability and require accommodations, you need to provide disability documentation to SSWD, Lassen Hall 1008, (916) 278-6955. Please discuss your accommodation needs with me after class or during my office hours early in the semester.

Take advantage of University student services:

o Writing center:

o Library instruction

60% Quizzes: Most Tuesday classes begin with a (timed) 15-minute quiz. Quiz cancellations and format changes are announced in class.

Two quiz formats:

• Identification of two artworks - one from the previous week’s lectures and one from any previous lecture: Identify 1) full name and nationality of artist, 2) title of artwork, and 3) date (the century until 1800; quarter century until 1900; for the 20th and 21st centuries, know the decade), 4) medium, and 5) historically significant points about the artwork.

• Several quizzes will be essays on a question given in the previous class.

Unless otherwise announced, each quiz will have two multiple choice questions taken from the Art through the Ages “Art Study” CD-ROM for the current chapter.

• Scoring is on a scale from 1-10 points based on how much mastery of the material is demonstrated. Write all the facts; display what you have learned.

• Points will be totaled and averaged at the end of the semester. Students with an overall average of 8 or higher are excused from the final exam.

▪ Keep your quizzes for possible discrepancies at the end of the semester.

▪ No makeup quizzes will be given, but one “free” quiz (missed or low score) is be subtracted from the total.

Suggestions on how to study for an art history quiz:

• Form a study group or get a study partner

• Review the description of the quizzes on the syllabus.

• Go to the PowerPoint lectures (Art 1B “Lectures”)

• Make flashcards – one for every artwork that was shown in lecture.

1) On the front of the card draw a thumbnail sketch of the artwork. On the back, write down the information you will need to know for the quiz.

2) Note what you have read or heard in lecture about this work or similar works. Write titles and names of related artists.

3) For the essay question, think about what question you would ask about this work if you were the professor. What are the main points of readings and lectures?

5% Final Exam Proposal: Due May 15, typed, 12-font, double spaced

Throughout the semester, as you study for quizzes, take notes for your final exam proposal. As if you were the professor, write a final exam for this class following the format below.

• Final exam proposal has two parts:

1. A list of the 10 most important works of art presented in lecture. Write a brief explanation of each work’s historical significance – why you selected it.

2. 2 essay questions, loosely 100 words each, on a theme that runs through the history of Western art from the Renaissance to the present.

• Proposal is NOT accepted late.

• For the in-class final review on May 15, small groups will collaboratively write one brilliant final exam question derived from individual proposals and be able to defend the collaborative one. Each group will list on the board the titles and artists of 10 most important artworks and be able to defend their choices.

• The final exam is written (by me) from the class review. Identification questions are drawn from student collaborative lists of most important artworks. I will email the exam essay question(s) to all students via “My Sac State” email.

15% Final Exam

Section 2: May 22, Thursday, 10:15 am - 12:15 pm

Section 3: May 20, Tuesday, 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm

A two-hour cumulative exam consisting of 6 identification questions (using the quiz format) and one or two essay questions.

o NOTE: If you have averaged 8 (B) on the quizzes the final is optional. But if you hope to get an “A” in the class, you may take the final exam to raise your course grade. The final will count 15% of the course grade in this case as well.

15% Research paper: Due May 1: 5-6 pages, 1500 words (may be up to 100 more, but no less), typed, double space, 12 font, no binder. Staple securely in the upper left corner. Use a cover page formatted in Chicago style.

Note: see sample student research paper by Vincent S. Stassi, available on the course website

1. Before you start your research paper, complete the Information Competence Assignment

• Due February 28:

• See the end of the syllabus for directions and the “FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions about the Information Competence Assignment”

2. Select a famous art work from the course textbook, Art through the Ages

• Using a minimum of three scholarly sources – 1 book by a specialist on the topic and 2 peer-reviewed articles – find three different interpretations of the artwork.

• Use Sacramento State University library art history research resources:

• Use full-text peer-reviewed articles only. Recommended databases: Art Full Text, JSTOR, EBSCOhost

• Grading rubric:

o Information Competence Assignment completion: 5 points

o Quality of scholarly sources (What are the authors’ credentials?): 15 points

o Clear and accurate presentation of the point of view of each of the three authors. Persuasiveness of the evidence (properly cited key quotations) that you are correct in your interpretation: 30 points

o Analysis and evaluation of each article (how persuasive are the authors’ arguments and why?) = 15 points

o Conclusion: concise restatement of three perspectives and your own view of the artwork after doing the research = 10 points

o Correct citation (footnote and bibliography) usage and format = 10 points

o Quality of writing (grammar, syntax, punctuation, spelling, etc.) and presentation = 15 points

o 100 total points: 100-90=A, 90-80=B, 80-70=C, 70-60=D

Format for footnotes and bibliographical citations:

▪ Use Chicago style. Useful writing guides:

❖ CSUS online Style Guide:

❖ Duke University citation guide:

❖ University of Wisconsin, Madison, writing handbook:

NOTE: This class adheres to CSUS policy on plagiarism. Quotations are necessary, but use quotation marks. Use footnotes for all information that is not general knowledge. Web sources must have full bibliographical information or they cannot be used in your paper.

10% Crocker Art Museum assignment: Due April 10

You may substitute an art museum in another city, but you must get my approval first. You are highly encouraged to visit museums in the Bay Area.

Note: If you are interested in contemporary art, see the last page of this syllabus for a list of temporary exhibitions on view this semester.

• Asian Art Museum of San Francisco - San Francisco

• Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco - San Francisco

• M. H. de Young Museum, Golden Gate Park

• California Palace of the Legion of Honor, Lincoln Park

• The Mexican Museum - San Francisco

• The Oakland Museum of California - Oakland

• San Francisco Museum of Modern Art - San Francisco

• University of California, Berkeley Art Museum – Berkeley

• CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts

• Yerba Buena Center for the Arts:

The Crocker is located at 216 O Street, between 2nd and 3rd Streets. See website for map, hours, and other information. Bring quarters for parking meters and $3.00 for admission with valid student ID.

1. Review pp XL –XLV of Gardner on “The Words Art Historians Use” for two-dimensional art.

2. Print out a copy of the “Worksheet Companion to Painting, Drawing, and Printmaking,” available on the course website. Read it before you go to be sure you understand the terms. Look up all terms you do not know.

3. Take a friend or family member only if they are interested in the art and the museum. Otherwise it’s much better to go alone. Take a pencil (not pen) for notes and an unlined drawing pad. You will have to check big bags or backpacks. Don’t worry if the guards watch you or ask you to step away from the art works. That’s what they are paid to do and they do it to everybody.

4. BRING a CAMERA and create a photo-diary of your visit - at least 4 photographs. Important: Get someone to take your picture inside the museum. You must include at least one photograph with you in it that is in a gallery and not the lobby). Ask the receptionist where photographs are permitted, which should be the gift shop and the permanent collection galleries. Photographs are generally not allowed in traveling exhibitions.

5. Pick up a museum map in the lobby.

6. Stroll through all the galleries. On the museum map, write down the title of your favorite artwork in each gallery, the name of the artist, and the year the work was made.

7. Draw a 15-minute sketch of your favorite European or American painting dated after 1500 in the entire museum. Do not use children’s art or non-Western art. Start by drawing the outside dimensions. Write down the artist’s name, title, and medium of the artwork. This information is on the wall label.

8. For the same painting as you sketched, fill in “Worksheet Companion to Painting, Drawing, and Printmaking.” See #2, above.

9. Conclusion: This is a very important part of this assignment. Write a minimum of 200 words about your visit to the Crocker museum from a critical (questioning) perspective that characterizes the collection and how the artwork is displayed.

10. Put all the parts of your museum visit assignment into a 2-pocket flat folder with your name on all parts, including photographs.

Extra Credit:

o Extra credit opportunities are activities that will enrich your understanding of art and visual culture, such as attending artist lectures, additional museum reports, reports on art documentaries and artist biography films available in the campus library, etc. You can think up your activity, but see me if you aren’t sure it qualifies.

o Extra credit points (5 or 10) are recorded right next to your name in the grade book.

o Extra credit points are not averaged into quiz or other scores for required assignments, but they can make a significant difference at the end of the semester. If your grade is on the border – between a B+ and an A, for example – extra credit points can move you to the higher grade. They can also make up for an unexcused absence, but you must discuss this intention with me first.

❖ Extra Credit Opportunity: Write an exhibition review of an exhibition in the Witt, Else, Design, and Library art galleries for the Vanishing Point, the student art paper. See exhibition schedule at the end of the syllabus. 10 points for each published review.

How to Write an Art Review for The Vanishing Point

1. Choose an exhibition that produces a strong enough reaction in you to write about.

2. Begin the review by giving the reader a concise summary of the content.

3. Write an assessment of the content. This involves your reactions to the work: what strikes you as noteworthy, whether or not it is effective or persuasive.

4. Conclude the review by suggesting whether or not the audience would appreciate it.

5. Before emailing your review to the editors of The Vanishing Point, make sure your spelling and grammar are correct.  Read your review out loud to yourself to find errors.  Give your full, real name and major.

6. Be creative and most importantly have fun!  (See what others wrote last semester at ).

Format:

a. List the exhibition title, artist(s)' names, media, location, and exhibition dates on top.

b. If you discuss a work of art that is not in the show send in a photo of it with your review.

c. Use 12pt Times New Roman, single spaced, no indentations

d. 100-150 words. Anything over 150 will be published online. In that case, your name will be listed in the hard copy under "More Reviews."

e. e. Reviews should be in the body of the email. Do not send attachments. Send in the review by 11:59pm Monday to art.historians@

Schedule: subject to changes announced in class

GENERAL NOTES ABOUT ASSIGNMENTS:

o Lectures are available on the course website after I give them in class.

o Note that you have a Crocker art museum assignment due on April 10. You may want to visit the museum and write the assignment prior to that date.

Jan 29: Introduction

Assignment: For each chapter of Gardner, count the reproductions and count how many are artworks by women. Total the count for the entire book. On the first quiz, I will ask you to give the numbers and the main reason given for the discrepancy by Linda Nochlin in the article, “Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?”

Read: Gardner’s “Introduction” and “Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?” by Linda Nochlin. Print it out and bring to class for discussion of main points.

Jan 31: Discuss Nochlin // Library research information // view video Guns,

Germs, and Steel – Question: What is the “canon” and why is it

Western (up to the end of the 20th century)?

Feb 5: Quiz on 1) Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists,” 2) Why did Europe become so powerful? 3) a question on the syllabus // Renaissance

Read: Gardner Chapter 14

Feb 7: Renaissance

Read: Gardner Chapter 15

Feb 12: Quiz // Renaissance

Feb 14: Renaissance

Read: Gardner Chapter 16

Feb 19: Quiz //

Feb 21: O’Brien at conference // Guest Lecture

Read: Chapter 17

Feb 26: Quiz / 16th Century

Read Chapter 18

Feb 28: Information Competence Assignment due

17th Century // Baroque

Mar 4: Quiz // Baroque

Read: Chapter 19

Mar 6: Baroque

Mar 11: Quiz / Late Baroque

Read: Chapter 20

Mar 13: Rococo// Naturalism & Enlightenment

March 13 (7-9 pm), Mariposa 1000: Lecture by Festival of the Arts visiting artist, Richard Jackson. Extra credit opportunity: write one good question for the artist

Mar 18: Quiz // Neoclassicism

Mar 20: Romanticism

Mar 25: Quiz // Romanticism

Mar 27: 19th Century Modernism

Read: Chapter 21

❖ March 31 – April 6: Spring Recess

April 8: Quiz // 19th Century Modernism

Read: Chapter 22

April 10: O’Brien at art history conference

Crocker museum paper due // Video

April 15: Quiz// 19th Century Modernism

April 17: 20th Century Modernism

April 22: Quiz // 20th Century Modernism

April 24: 20th Century Modernism

Read: Chapter 23

April 29: Quiz Contemporary Art

May 1: Research paper due // Contemporary Art

May 6: Quiz // Contemporary

May 8: // Contemporary

May 13: Quiz // Contemporary

May 15: Final Exam Proposal Due // Class creates exam from proposals

Final Exam:

Section 2: May 22, Thursday, 10:15 am - 12:15 pm

Section 3: May 20, Tuesday, 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Exhibitions of contemporary art in the Bay Area this semester:

Asian Art Museum of San Francisco: On Gold Mountain: Sculptures from the Sierra by Zhan Wang, February 15 - May 4, 2008

CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts: Paul McCarthy’s Low Life Slow Life: Part 1, Logan Galleries, February 8-April 5

Lecture by Paul McCarthy: (free, public) Tuesday, Feb. 12, 7pm, Timken hall, CCA, 1111 Eighth Street (at 16th and Wisconsin) San Francisco. Required for graduate students

M. H. de Young Museum, Golden Gate Park: Gilbert & George, February 16 - May 18, 2008

California Palace of the Legion of Honor, Lincoln Park: Annie Leibovitz: A Photographer’s Life, 1990–2005, March 1- May 25, 2008

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (across the street from Yerba Buena, below)

• Take your time: Olafur Eliasson, through February 24

• Douglas Gordon: Pretty Much Every Film and Video Work from about 1992 until Now, through February 24

• An-my Lê: Small Wars, January 26 - May 04

• Gabriele Basilico, January 26-June 15

• Friedlander, February 23 - May 18

University of California, Berkeley Art Museum

• Joan Jonas: The Shape, the Scent, the Feel of Things, through July 20 New video work by pioneer of performance and video art

• Tomás Saraceno: Microscale, Macroscale, and Beyond: Large-Scale Implications of Small-Scale Experiments, through February 17

• Enrique Chagoya: Borderlandia, February 13-May 18.

▪ Artist’s Lecture, Sunday, February 17, 3 pm, Museum Theater

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts:

• The Missing Peace: Artists Consider the Dalai Lama

Dec 1, 2007–Mar 16, 2008

• The Way That We Rhyme: Women, Art, and Politics, features collaborative practices of younger women artists, March 29-June 29

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