AH227 Modern Art: 1900-1945
T/Th 2:40-4:05
Myers
Adrian Duran
901.272.5129 [x 272]
Office Hours: Wed 2-5pm (Administration Building, unless otherwise notified)
http://theduranarthistoryblog.blogspot.com
Notice: Some of the content of this course may disturb the sensibilities of some students. If you need to discuss this situation, please contact me.
Notice: Students who are entitled to considerations under ADA guidelines are asked to contact me immediately. Every situation is unique and warrants specific consideration. Thus, notifications made in close proximity to exams and/or other due dates may cause complications. The greater the amount of available time, the more appropriately and successfully these matters can be addressed.
Goal: This course will introduce students to the major movements and artists of the Modern period, that is, art of the 20th century—primarily European—prior to the Second World War. In doing so, students will come to understand the fundamental tenets of Modernism and the various manifestations of Modernist avant-gardism, as well as those artists and movements that, though contemporary, cannot be neatly packaged within Modernism.
Attendance: Attendance is mandatory and will be monitored. Expecting to pass this course without constant, attentive attendance is not realistic. Missed classes will have a negative effect on your final grade. Upon your fourth absence, you will receive an F grade in the course. Punctuality is likewise expected. For every two late arrivals, you will be assessed one absence.
Communication: I can be contacted both by phone and e-mail. E-mail is preferred and, most likely, will result in a quicker response. As part of a larger, college-wide initiative, I insist that you use your MCA e-mail account [last_first@mcastudent.org]. If you are having any problems with your e-mail account, please contact Ian Sterling. Information may be disseminated via MCA e-mail. It is your responsibility to monitor these accounts.
Powerpoints: Class Powerpoints are available on the MCA server. Students should consult these as the class progresses and use them as study aids. These Powerpoints may differ slightly from their in-class format. Students are responsible for those images seen in class. Those images that are not shown in class may be used as supporting information, but will not be mandatory for exams.
Internet Resources: Students should be wary of internet resources. Art historical research, as is the case in many academic disciplines, is still primarily a paper-based endeavor. There are a number of online journals, but students must be diligent in recognizing the difference between a legitimate, academic journal and other, less rigorously prepared sites. Many websites are excellent (Web Gallery of Art, Met Museum of Art), while many are questionable (Wikipedia, blogs). If there is any doubt, please consult me.
Readings: Please complete ALL readings prior to class. They will provide important background and will be directly addressed in class. Some readings will be available only on reserve at the MCA library or through electronic resources. It is your responsibility to obtain these readings.
Books: Course books are available at at Davis-Kidd (in the Laurelwood Shopping Center on Poplar), though students are encouraged to consider alternate vendors and/or used copies. It is wise to consult amazon.com and other internet sites. DO NOT DELAY IN ACQUIRING THESE TEXTS. All texts are available on reserve at the MCA library.
The primary course textbook is:
Harrison, Charles and Paul Wood, eds. Art in Theory: 1900-2000 An Anthology of Changing Ideas. (AiT)
Exams: Exams will consist of a combination of slide identifications, slide discussions, compare/contrasts and essays. The distribution of these segments is at my discretion and may be changed at any point during the semester. Students will be notified of exam formats in advance of the exam. Exams WILL NOT be cumulative. Except in extreme, and documented, cases, there will be no make-up exams. You will be responsible for purchasing and bringing blue books to the exams. These can be bought in the MCA Supply Store.
Paper: Students will write a 6-9 page [double-spaced, 12 pt. font, 1” margins] paper on a topic of their choosing. This paper should include biographical information on the artist, formal analysis of the work(s) or topic(s) in question, and a discussion of how said work(s) or topic(s) fit into the movements, trajectories, and critical issues discussed in this course. Properly formatted footnotes and bibliography are expected. Please follow the format established by the Chicago Manual of Style, which is at the MCA Library.
Due dates are as follows:
Tuesday, September 21: 200 word proposal and preliminary bibliography due for approval.
Tuesday, November 23: final paper due
This schedule will enable students to search for and find a topic, as well as formulate their thoughts with ample time for consultation and revision. I am more than happy to discuss papers with you and/or read preliminary drafts, so do not hesitate to ask for assistance.
Students are to be deeply suspicious of internet resources. Online databases and full-text journals are, of course, an important exception. Please speak with Leslie Holland, who will be able to guide you to MCA’s database and online resources. Wikipedia is not an acceptable source. Equivalent, and proofed, information can be found in The Dictionary of Art. If you are concerned about the quality or reliability of online information, please contact me.
Plagiarism is a serious offense. This class will abide the MCA policy on plagiarism, which can be found in the Student Handbook. If there are any questions, please ask.
Grading: My grading system works as follows. Please consider these numbers indisputable. Refer to the MCA Student Handbook for an understanding of grading policy. MCA policy on plagiarism can be found on page 66 of the Student Handbook.
A 93 and above
A- 90-92
B+ 88-89
B 83-87
B- 80-82
C+ 78-79
C 73-77
C- 70-72
D 65-69
F Below 65
Grade Breakdown:
Exam 1: 25%
Exam 2: 25%
Exam 3: 25%
Paper: 25%
n.b.: attendance and lateness will be factored into the final grade
Course Schedule w/ Readings:
Week 1 (Aug 24-26)
Day 1: Syllabus
Day 2: MCA Library + Review of 19th century art
Week 2 (Aug 31-Sep 2)
Day 1: Review of 19th century art cot’d + Framing Modernism
Read:
Georg Lukacs “The Ideology of Modernism” AiT 683-88
Clement Greenberg “Modernist Painting” AiT 773-79
Rosalind Krauss “A View of Modernism” AiT 976-78
Raymond Williams “When was Modernism?” AiT 1085-88
Day 2: Fauvism
Read: Henri Matisse “Notes of a Painter” AiT 69-75 [Art in Theory: 1900-2000]
Week 3 (Sep 7-9)
Day 1: Fauvism, Die Brücke
Read;
Rosalyn Deutsche “Alienation in Berlin: Kirchner’s Street Scenes” in Art in America (January 1983): 65-72
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner “Programme of Die Brücke” AiT 65-66
Emil Nolde “On Primitive Art” AiT 96-97
Georg Simmel “The Metropolis and Mental Life” 132-36
Day 2: Die Brücke continued
Week 4 (Sep 14-16)
Day 1: Cubism
Read:
Lisa Florman “The Flattening of ‘Collage’” in October 102 (Fall 2002): 59-86
Guillaume Apolinaire “The Cubists” + “On the Subject in Modern Painting” + The New Painting: Art Notes” + “from The Cubist Painters” AiT 185-90
Albert Gleizes and Jean Metzinger “from Cubism” AiT 194-201
Daniel Henry Kahnweiler “from The Rise of Cubism” AiT 208-213
Day 2: Cubism continued + Vorticism + Orphism
Read:
Percy Wyndham Lewis “Our Vortex” AiT 162-63
Henri Gaudier-Brzeska “Gaudier-Brzeska Vortex” and “Vortex Gaudier-Brzeska” AiT 163-67
Robert Delaunay “On the Construction of Reality in Pure Painting” AiT 152-54
Week 5 (Sep 21-23)
Day 1: Brancusi + Purism + De Stijl
Read:
Charles Edouard Jeanneret (Le Courbusier) and Amédée Ozenfant “Purism” AiT 239-42
De Stijl “Manifesto I” AiT 281
Theo van Doesburg “from Principles of Neo-Plastic Art” AiT 281-84
Piet Mondrian “Dialogue on the New Plastic” AiT 284-89
Piet Mondrian “Neo-Plasticism: the General Principle of Plastic Equivalence” AiT 289-92
Amédée Ozenfant “from Foundations of Modern Art” AiT 369-71
Piet Mondrian “Plastic Art and Pure Plastic Art” AiT 387-93
PAPER PROPOSAL AND BIBLIOGRAPHY DUE
Day 2: Overflow Day
Week 6 (Sept 28-30)
Day 1: Exam #1
Day 2: NO CLASS
Week 7 (Oct 5-7)
Day 1: Futurism
Read:
Ester Coen “The Violent Urge Towards Modernity: Futurism and the International Avant-Garde” in Emily Braun, ed. Italian Art in the 20th Century, 49-56.
Umberto Boccioni “Futurist Painting: Technical Manifesto” AiT 150-52
Filippo Tommaso Marinetti “The Foundation and Manifesto of Futurism” AiT 146-50
Day 2: Suprematism + Constructivism
Read:
Kasimir Malevich “From Cubism and Futurism to Suprematism: The New Realism in Painting” AiT 173-83
Kasimir Malevich “Non-Objective Art and Suprematism” AiT 292-93
Kasimir Malevich “The Question of Imitative Art” AiT 293-98
Naum Gabo and Anton Pevsner “The Realistic Manifesto” AiT 298-300
UNOVIS “Programme of a United Audience in Painting of the Vitebsk State Free Workshop” AiT 300-02
El Lissitsky “A. and Pangeometry” AiT 317-21
Vladimir Tatlin “The Initiative Individual in the Collective” AiT 334-35
Nikolai Punin “The Monument to the Third International” AiT 336-39
Alexander Rodchenko “‘Slogans’ and ‘Organizational Programme’” AiT 339-41
Alexander Rodchenko and Varvara Stepanova “Programme of the First Working Group of Constructivists” AiT 341-43
Vladimir Tatlin “Report of the Section for Material Culture’s Research Work” AiT 352-57
Naum Gabo “The Constructive Idea in Art” AiT 384-87
Week 8 (Oct 12-14)
Day 1: Suprematism + Constructivism continued & The Bauhaus
Read:
Walter Gropius “Reply to Arbeitsrat für Kunst Questionnaire” AiT 269-70
Walter Gropius “The Theory and Organization of the Bauhaus” AiT 309-14
Day 2: Klee + Kandinsky
Read:
Paul Klee “from On Modern Art” AiT 362-69
Wassily Kandinsky “from Concerning the Spiritual in Art” AiT 82-89
Week 9 (Oct 19-21)
Day 1: NO CLASS—Fall Break
Day 2: NO CLASS
Week 10 (Oct 26-28)
Day 1: Overflow Day
Day 2: Exam #2
Week 11 (November 2-4)
Modernist Film Week
Week 12 (Nov 9-11)
Day 1: Dada
Read:
Hugo Ball “Dada Fragments” AiT 250-52
Tristan Tzara “Dada Manifesto” AiT 252-57
Richard Hülsenbeck “First German Dada Manifesto” AiT
Richard Hülsenbeck and Raoul Hausmann “What is Dadaism and what does it want in Germany?” AiT 259-60
Richard Heulsenbeck “from En Avant Dada” AiT 260-63
George Grosz “My New Pictures” AiT 272-74
Day 2: Dada continued
Week 13 (Nov 16-18)
Day 1: Duchamp
Read:
Marcel Duchamp “The Richard Mutt Case” AiT 252
Day 2: Metaphysical Painting + Surrealism
Read:
Giorgio De Chirico “Mystery and Creation” AiT 58
Sigmund Freud “from On Dreams” AiT 21-28
André Breton “from the First Manifesto of Surrealism” AiT 447-53
André Breton “Surrealism and Painting” AiT 457-63
André Breton “from the Second Manifesto of Surrealism” AiT 463-67
Georges Bataille “from ‘Critical Dictionary’” AiT 482-84
Georges Bataille “The Lugubrious Game” AiT 484-86
Salvador Dali “The Stinking Ass” AiT 486-89
Week 14 (Nov 23-25)
Day 1: Surrealism continued PAPER DUE
Day 2: NO CLASS--THANKSGIVING
Week 15 (Nov 30-Dec 2)
Day 1: Fascism + Nazism + Guernica
Read;
Philip V. Cannistraro “Fascism and Culture in Italy, 1919-1945” in Emily Braun, ed. Italian Art in the 20th Century, 147-54.
Jonathan Petropoulos “Degenerate Art and State Interventionism, 1936-1938” pp. 51-74 of art as politics in the Third Reich On Reserve
Carlo Carrà “Our Antiquity” AiT 232-34
Mario Sironi “Manifesto of Mural Painting” AiT 424-26
Adolf Hitler “Speech Inaugurating the ‘Great Exhibition of German Art’” AiT 439-42
Day 2: Fascism + Nazism + Guernica continued
Week 16 (Dec 7-9)
Day 1: Overflow Day
Day 2: Exam #3
