Spring 2000 Courses

70000 - Methods of Research: Readings in 20th Century Art History and   Art Criticism 
GC: Wed, 4:15-6:15 P.M., 3 credits, Prof. Golan, Rm. 3416, [70326] 
In this course we will consider both foundational and fundamental texts in the history of art history, theory, and criticism. It will address a number of key questions rather than provide an overview of available methods; namely whether there is such a thing as pure formalism, the peculiarity of the art object, the politics of deconstruction, the frame and the parergon, allegory and postmodernism, the fallacy of expressionism. Authors will include Riegl, Wölfflin, Panofsky, Worringer, Adorno, Sedlmayr, Heidegger, Benjamin, Shapiro, Malraux, Baxandall, Derrida, Lebensztejn, Damisch, Krauss, Owens. The course will mostly consist of a close reading and discussion of individual texts and short bi-weekly summary papers. Four (4) auditors permitted.   

70100 - Topics In Non-Western Art: The Art of Africa 
GC: Mon., 9:30-11:30 A.M., 3 credits, Prof. Corbin, Rm. 3416, [70327] 
The lecture course will cover at least thirty of the major art styles and traditions in Sub-Sahara West and Central Africa. Emphasis will be on an art historical understanding of these art forms within their cultural context. Styles and traditions to be covered include (alphabetically): Afro-Portuguese ivories, Akan terra cottas, Asante, Baga, Bamana, Bamum,   Baule, Benin, Bwa, Chokwe, Dan, Djenne, Dogon, Fang, Ife, Igbo, Igbo-Ukwu, Kongo, Kota, Kuba, Luba, Mambila, Mende, Mossi, Mumuye, Nok, Senufo, and  Yoruba. Course requirements: Each student will be required to present a short in-class review of a selected text (article), catalog, or book) on a seminal work of African art history published in the past ten years. There will be a comprehensive Final Exam during Finals Week in May. In addition, each student will submit an end-term research paper - ca. 10 pages of double-spaced text with footnotes, bibliography, and illustrations - focusing on a specific work of West or Central African art on view in New York museums and/or collections. Three (3) auditors permitted.   

71600 - Topics In Italian and Mannerist Art: Italian 15th Century Art 
GC: Tues., 4:15-6:15 P.M., 3 credits, Prof. Adams, Rm. 3416, [70328] 
This course is basically a historical sequence of painting and sculpture in 15th century Italy. We begin with Giotto and the foundations of the Renaissance style, shift to 1400, and continue into the beginning of the High Renaissance. Because the Renaissance is an interdisciplinary period, we view its works of art from different methodological perspectives. These include the Marxist and Feminist approaches, Formalism, Iconography, Semiotics, Biography, and Psychoanalysis. Auditors by permission of   instructor.   

73200 - Topics in 19th Century Art: History Painting in France, 1775-1831 
GC: Thur., 11:45 A.M.-1:45 P.M., 3 credits, Prof. Kelder, Rm. 3416,   [70329] 
The course examines the evolution of History Painting from the last years of the ancien Régime to the advent of Louis Philippe. Particular emphasis will be placed on the importance of the various political and social agendas that emerged during the period and on their impact on the grand genre.   Auditors permitted.   

75500 - Topics In Modern Art: Futurism: Art, Literature, Gender Politics, and Cultural Theory 
GC: Tue., 11:45 A.M.-1:45 P.M., 3 credits, Prof. Braun, 3416, [70330] 
Futurism has long been neglected as both a style and as a manifestation of the European avant-garde; positioned as a mere derivative of French cubism, it has also suffered the taint of its affiliation with Fascism. Only by recognizing the essential interdisciplinary direction of Futurist art and theory, has new scholarship - primarily cultural studies - begun a more balanced interpretation of the movement. This course addresses problems in historiography and pursues recent avenues of inquiry based on cultural and political history, feminist scholarship and gender theory, and literary   and psychoanalytic criticism. Painting and sculpture will be studied alongside Futurist theatre, performance, fashion, film, photography, architecture, and the decorative arts. Literary production will also be covered in some detail, from the modernist genre of the manifesto, to the assault on traditional subjectivity and narrative represented by "words-in-freedom," and the work of women Futurist writers. Lectures will also cover Futurist gender theory, so-called Second Futurism of the period between the World Wars, and, in particular, the relationship of Futurism to politics and to mass culture. Reading knowledge of Italian will be advantageous, but the course bibliography will favor publications in English. There will be required weekly reading: time will be left at the end of each class for questions and discussion. The grade will be based on a comprehensive final exam. Auditors permitted.   

76000 - Topics in Contemporary Art: Art and Science in Contemporary   Art:   The CAA 2000 
GC: Wed., 11:45 A.M-1:45 P.M., 3 credits, Prof. Hadler, Rm. 3416, [70331] 
From February 23-26, the College Art Association meetings will be held in New York City. The theme of the artist sessions involves the relationship of art and science. Topics include discussions of synesthesia, picturing DNA, visual display as the intersection of science and art, the body and language after the emergence of new media and technology, and my own co-chaired session on art in the nuclear age. Students will be asked to attend an artist panel of his/her choice, research the subject and present   the material to the class. Together we will advance a picture of art and   science at this point in time while coming to terms with the historical   background of the issues presented. Auditors permitted.   

77100 - Topics In American Art: Homer, Eakins and Ryder and The Writing of American Art History 
GC: Mon, 4:15-6:15 P.M., 3 credits, Prof. Webster, Rm. 3416,   [Cross-listed with ASCP 81500], [70332] 
This course will examine the careers and canonical status of three late nineteenth-century painters--Winslow Homer, Thomas Eakins and Albert Pinkham   Ryder. Through lectures, readings and class discussions the following questions will be addressed: when were these artists promoted to the canon and who championed them; why were they elected and not others such as James A. M. Whistler, William Merritt Chase, John Singer Sargent, Henry O. Tanner, or Mary Cassatt; is their status still valid today; is a canon important or necessary? Five (5) auditors permitted.   

77100 - Topics In American Art: Border Crossings: Selected Themes in  the Art and Culture of the United States and Latin America from Colonial   Times to World War I 
GC: Wed., 9:30-11:30 A.M., 3 credits, Prof. Manthorne, Rm. 3416, [70333] 
This course provides students with a firm grounding in major themes of the art histories of both the United States and Latin America (c. 1750-1915). By crossing borders -- geographical and intellectual -- and examining these two traditions in a comparative context, we gain new perspectives and move toward a critical framework for Pan-Americanism. Topics include: Colonial art & society; portraits of revolution; national identity and nativism/indigenism; Modernism & modernization. Classes combine discussion and lecture, drawing upon collections in NYC where possible. Student papers may focus on issues of nature and culture in an intercultural context. Ten (10) auditors permitted.   

79000 - History of Photography: Women in Photography 
GC: Tue., 6:30-8:30 P.M., 3 credits, Prof. Handy, Rm. 3416, [70334] 
Women have been central and vital practitioners of photography since the medium's inception. In few areas of the history of Western art have women been so central, so little dispossessed or forgotten in history. This course is an exploration of the photographic production of women from about 1840 to the present, and of the complex construction and action of gender in the lives and work of these photographers, as well as in the responses of their audiences. Key arguments in feminist criticism and art theory are addressed in relation to the varied works of women in fine art photography, photojournalism and documentary photography, advertising photography, conceptual art, and other genres of photographic production. Exhibition and collection visits will be among other course requirements. No auditors allowed.   

79500 - History of the Motion Picture: History of Cinema I 
GC: Mon., 6:30-9:30 P.M., 3 credits, Prof. Rheuban, Rm. 3416,   [Cross-listed   with Theatre 71500], [70335] 
This is a course in the history and historiography of the silent cinema. Weekly screenings represent technological and artistic developments from 1895 through the transition to sound. Topics include the rise of the Hollywood studio system and the relation of modernist movements in the arts to German cinema, Soviet cinema, and French avant-grade cinema. Selected essays by Sergei Eisenstein, Noel Burch, Thomas Elsaesser, Tom Gunning, and others accompany films seen in class and focus upon   spectatorship and the emergence of "classical style." (Complete   description/syllabus will be available in Certificate Programs Office, Room 5109). Enrollment is limited to six (6). Auditors by permission of instructor. 

80100 - Seminar: Selected Topics In Non-Western Art: Pre-Columbian Art   in Post-Columbian Mexico 
GC: Wed., 2:00-4:00 P.M., 3 credits, Prof. Quiñones-Keber, Rm. 3416,   [70336] 
This seminar examines the reinterpretation of ancient Pre-Columbian art in Post-Columbian, and especially post-colonial Mexico. Introductory lectures will survey the survival of Pre-Columbian features in colonial Mexican art, then focus on the revival and reinvention of Pre-Columbian motifs and   themes from post-Independence (1821) Mexican painting, sculpture, and architecture to the work of Mexican muralists and other modernists (e.g. Herrán, Posada, Rivera, Siqueiros, and Kahlo). Seminar reports may explore topics within these areas or beyond, such as the use of Pre-Columbian architectural features by Frank Lloyd Wright. Requirements include critical reports and discussions of readings and a seminar report/paper. Readings are in English, although a reading knowledge of Spanish would be helpful for certain research topics. Auditors are permitted, but they will be expected to do the readings and contribute to discussions.   

 81600 - Seminar: Selected Topics in European Art and Architecture,   1300-1750: The Classical Tradition in Architecture, 1400-1750 
GC: Thur., 2:00-4:00 P.M., 3 credits, Prof. Saslow, Rm. 3416, [70337] 
The development of Western European architecture from the birth of the   classical revival in Brunelleschi's Florence through the Renaissance, Baroque, and Neoclassical phases. Buildings, cities, and gardens will be considered as expressions of cultural values and social structures and in relation to other media. The course will examine how and why a distinctive new architectural language arose in Italy, overlapping and competing with existing traditions; its gradual spread to Eastern Europe, France, England, and Spain; its influence outside Europe, in colonial North America and the Spanish empire; and its mutual interaction with India and China.     Each student will be responsible for brief introductory readings and will   present a slide lecture on a research topic to be determined with the professor. It is understood that most students will be seeking a general   introduction to the topic rather than advanced research opportunities; individual lecture topics will be selected to suit students' interests and experience. Three (3) auditors permitted.   

83100 - Seminar: Selected Topics in 19th Century Art: Nineteenth-Century   Studio Practice 
GC: Tue., 2:00-4:00 P.M., 3 credits, Prof. Mainardi, Rm. 3416, [70338] 
This seminar will focus on the materials, techniques and practice of nineteenth-century art in Europe and America. Through lectures, field trips and student research and reports, we will look at paintings, drawings, sculpture, photography and prints as material objects. The seminar will focus both on materials and techniques which disappeared in the course of the century (e.g. engraving, toned grounds, bitumin) as well as on innovations that profoundly changed the course of art (e.g. the inventions   of paint in tubes, lithography, photography). In addition we will look at the interrelationship between studio practice and the larger, rapidly changing, nineteenth-century period. Through the course, students will gain a deeper understanding of works of art in both their historical and material context. Student research projects can focus on either some aspect of an individual artist's studio practice, or on a medium, material, or technique, or on institutional responses to shifting studio practice. Seminar participants   are expected to have a reading knowledge of whatever languages are pertinent to their research projects. Auditors by permission of instructor.   

85600 - Seminar: Selected Topics in Modern Architecture: Domesticity   and Architecture
GC: Wed., 6:30-8:30 P.M., 3 credits, Prof. Murphy , Rm. 3416, [70339] 
This seminar will focus on domestic architecture in the United States and Europe from the nineteenth century through the mid-twentieth century. Special attention will be given to those designers and theorists who took on the house, or housing, as a problem and whose work in some way(s) illuminates the development of domestic architecture in the modern period. Thus we will be concerned with theorists like Catherine Beecher who attempted to "reform" the middle-class home, and architects such as Le Corbusier who wanted to solve the housing crisis through large-scale projects. Other architects, whose work evidenced ambivalence toward reigning notions of what constituted the private home-Mies van der Rohe for example-will also be considered. Since the much-discussed "domestic sphere" became the purview of women in the nineteenth century, the seminar will also consider issues of gender in architectural practice, as well as related   fields such as interior decoration. The seminar will require a research paper presented to the group. For those whose main interests lie outside   of architecture it may be possible to focus on representations of domestic buildings or interiors, provided the architecture is addressed. Auditors permitted.   

89500- Seminar: Selected Topics in the History of the Motion Picture: Seminar in Film Studies: Animation as Art & Cultural Form 
GC: Thur., 6:30-9:30 P.M., 3 credits, Prof. Hendershot, Rm. TBA,   [Cross-listed with Theatre 81500], [70340] 
Historically, the study of animation has played second fiddle to the study of live-action films. In part this is due, no doubt, to the status of the theatrical cartoon as part of a larger film bill. Animation is thus dismissed as "just cartoons," and non-theatrical, more serious animated work rarely finds its way into the classroom. This class, conversely, presumes that animation is an important artistic and cultural form. The first third of the course focuses on animation techniques. Next, we will study animators and artists such as the independent filmmakers Hans Richter, Oskar Fischinger, Viking Eggeling, Jan Svankmajer, Caroline Leaf, Norman McLaren and others, and will address the wider industrial context  that independents work within. We will turn to the work of Fleischer and   Disney, who vied throughout the 30's and 40's to dominate American animation both financially and artistically. The final third of the course turns to animation as a cultural form, examining animated films as tools for nationalism, instruction, and propaganda. We will learn how animated films of the 30-50's exhibit racism and sexism that would be censored from live-action films, and we will look at how later films play with and against earlier stereotyping. Students are required to attend class regularly, arrive on time, do the reading, and contribute to discussion. There will be a single major assignment in three stages: a 2-3 page proposal and bibliography for a final project; a 10-15 page draft; and a final draft of 15-20 pages.   (Complete description/syllabus available in Certificate Programs Office,  Room 5109). Enrollment is limited to six (6). Auditors by permission of   instructor.   

89500 - Seminar: Special Topics in the History of the Motion Picture: Seminar in Film Theory: Theories of the Cinema 
GC: Thur., 4:15-6:15 P.M., 3 credits, Prof. Pipolo, Rm. 3416,[Cross-listed with Theatre 81600], [70341] 
This course will provide an overview of classical and contemporary film theory. Writers, whose contributions to the field will be examined, include Eisenstein, Arnheim, Epstein, Balazs, Bazin, Merleau-Ponty, and Kracauer, among the earlier figures, and such contemporary theorists as Metz, Mitry, Baudry, Mulvey, Heath, and Carroll. Questions about the structure and   function of the filmic "text," the nature of cinematic representation and film spectatorship raised by various schools of thought, including   phenomenology, Marxism, semiology, psychoanalysis, and feminism will be   considered. Although attention is largely on primary theoretical writings, secondary   texts and films that help to contextualize specific theories will be used as well. Requirements include class presentations and a final paper. Enrollment is limited to six (6). No auditors allowed.