1. Art V Craft:
The line between the arts and the crafts is a fine one. For many, a craft object is defined by the fact that it is functional, but many functional objects have artistic qualities.
How did Josiah Wedgwood distinguish between craft and art objects? Many artists have taken the craft media to innovative and new ends. How has Ann Hamilton done this? Fred Wilson? Others? How do you feel about this distinction?
2. Nationalism and national identities:
Nationalism is the belief that people who share the same language, historic experience, and very often ethnic identity make up a nation.
- What class distinctions are evident in Eugène Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People, and why was King Louis-Philippe of France wary of the painting?
- In the United States, the lure of the frontier created strong nationalist sentiments.
- How did Frederick Jackson Turner respond to the individualism that the frontier inspired?
- How did Native Americans define their own sense of self in response to this frontier individualism?
- Both China and Japan protected their sense of national identity by allowing foreigners only meager access to their countries.
- How did the Chinese react to control of their country by Mongol invaders during the Yuan dynasty?
- How did Yanagi Yukinori react to Japanese nationalism?
Final Project - Art Appreciation
Description and Instructions:
Students will be asked to create an artwork using any medium discussed in the course (i.e. drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, time-based media & sculpture, craft, NO CRAFTED IMAGE INCLUDED PLEASE etc.). The work can be any size - just make sure you can photograph it if it is too big to turn in. You will create an artwork inspired by an historical artwork we've studied in class. Using the language of art that we've been learning throughout the course, you will the write a short essay explaining your piece. Reference the following questions as guidance:
- Why did you choose this specific historical work?
- Why have you made certain artistic choices and how do these inform the composition, feeling, or concept of the drawings.
- What similarities and differences do you see between your work and its historical referent? Are these visually and/or conceptually relations effective? For example, do the works relate in theme, style and/or appearance?
- What works well? What are the strengths of your piece? How could you improve your work to make it stronger visually and/or conceptually?
Here's what you'll submit:
- An image (digital photo) of your work.
- A 400 word essay explaining your work and how it related to the art historical example you chose.
The purpose of this assignment is that you experience the creative process. It is not important whether your work is a masterpiece-only that you complete it and apply what you have learned throughout the course to effectively think and write about your work. You will engage in the creative process and demonstrate your awareness of the physical and intellectual demands of the arts. This project will fulfill the Communication (COM) and Critical Thinking (CT) requirement for the course. It will be worth 15% of your grade. At the completion of this project, students will:
- effectively express ideas in a written, oral, or visual form.
- demonstrate the development, interpretation, and expression of the chosen topic, thus showing their ability to synthesize information and to think critically.
Your paper should be free of grammatical errors and be written in a college-level but readable style. It must be logically organized. You should use your own voice but integrate vocabulary and terms used in lecture and the assigned readings. (Unnecessary wordiness, usually the result of using the synonym function in Word too much, weakens your paper).