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Course Catalog

EARLY 20TH CENTURY ART (AH3061)

“Every act of creation,” said Pablo Picasso, “is first of all an act of destruction.” In the field of art, the early 20th century is undoubtedly a time of accelerated collapse for the artistic vocabulary, the values and the canon identified with the great Western tradition inherited from the Renaissance. What are the motivations of this breakdown and what kind of creation did it give rise to? This class examines the drastic transformations occurring in the field of visual arts (concentrating on painting and sculpture) from the late 19th century (impressionism, post-impressionism) to the radical passage to abstraction in the mid-1910s. This panorama of a rapidly changing art scene will end on the emergence of post–World War I avant-garde movements such as Dada and Surrealism. Major figures, such as Cézanne, Picasso or Kandinsky will be studied with particular attention, while major movements—including Cubism, Fauvism—will be given specific attention. Readings of related literature, including the critical reception of the art of the time and artists’ writings, will contribute to the understanding of this crucial period.

TOPICS: ART SINCE 1945 (AH3064)

This course presents the basic stylistic, thematic and theoritical concerns of the major movements in Western art, from WWII to the 1980's. Investigating the diversity of artistic responses to the challenges posed by both aesthetics legacy of the past and the new political, social and economic climate of the post-war period, this course will focus on the relationship between aesthetic theory and artistic practice.

POP ART AND POP CULTURE (AH3065)

Aesthetic autonomy is the notion that culture is a sphere apart, with each art distinct, and it is a bad word for most of us raised on postmodernist interdisciplinarity. We tend to forget that autonomy is always provisional, always defined diacritically and situated politically, always semi. …” Hal Foster (2002) Pop Art and Pop Culture investigates the relationships between arts (painting, architecture, design, film, music…) and the mass media, with a particular focus on the 1960s. Rather than relying on practical distinctions between high and low, fine arts and applied arts, serious experiment versus entertaining commercial product, the course will consider the intersections and links between the most advanced artistic endeavors and the aesthetics of the commercial and corporate environment.

CONTEMPORARY ART IN EUROPE & AMERICA (AH3068)

Topics change each semester

PHILOSOPHY OF AESTHETICS (AH3074)

What is Art? What is Beauty? How can I know what is beautiful? And what does it mean to me? These are some of Aesthetics’ main questions as it is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature and value of art and the criteria of artistic judgment and experience. Various answers have been given throughout the history of philosophy, from Plato and Aristotle to Kant and today’s analytical or postmodern philosophy, making of aesthetics a vibrant and dynamic discipline, constantly revitalised by new art forms and critical concepts. Through a thorough historical survey of the notion students learn to discuss art and beauty in a time when these classical notions are undergoing very important changes. Everyone is encouraged to bring in his or her own experience of art.

*Due to its cross listing with PL3074, this 3000 level Art History does not have a pre-requisite in Art History

JUNIOR SEMINAR (AH3090)

Introduces the methodologies of the discipline. Develops skills in research and analysis by stressing the close, critical reading of art historical texts and investigating the assumptions and perspectives of major art historians. Provides the opportunity to explore different methods and approaches.

TOPICS IN ART HISTORY (AH3091)

Topics vary every semester.
“For the course description, please find this course in the respective semester on the public course browser: https://www.aup.edu/academics/course-catalog/by-term.”

INTERNSHIP (AH3098)

Internships are commonly pursued in galleries, museums, art auction houses or cultural institutions, but can also be completed in a variety of other institutions depending on students’ interests and initiative. The University cannot guarantee placement in an internship, but will provide assistance with the internship search. Junior standing is recommended as well as early contact with the Internship Office for registration purposes. Internships may be taken for 0, 1 or 4 credits. Students may do more than one internship, but internship credit cannot cumulatively total more than 4 credits.