DESCRIPTION:

What is art? What is it that artists do or create that is importantly different from the activity of other members of society? With the birth of the 20th century, the question became paramount as each artist seemed intent on undermining preceding conceptions of art. The work of artists such as Duchamps, Lichtenstein, Warhol, Mapplethorpe as well as many others, has caused the line between art and non-art to become rather blurred indeed.

In the course of 15 weeks, we will grapple with these issues in an attempt to come to a better understanding of what art is and where it might be going. The course is split into four parts (see syllabus). Initially, we will consider pre-20th century concepts of beauty and art, from the writings of Plato & Hume through Kant & Tolstoy to the early 20th century frameworks of Bell and Benjamin.

From this historical foundation, we will then turn to a number of 20th century problem cases: 1) should forgeries should be considered art? 2) Do modern comics (“graphic novels”) stand up to critical analysis? and 3) Why do we get such an aesthetic thrill from horror and violence?

In the third section of the course, we will return to theory, namely the late 20th century response to the challenges presented by contemporary artists, including the idea that art may be simply indefinable or perhaps exists as a socially-defined entity (art is what the curators of art museums say is “art”). In this section we will also consider the ideas of feminists and postmodern thinkers.

In the final section, we will make a case-study of the challenging photographic work of Robert Mapplethorpe, whose work allows us to ask whether photography is an art form at all, and to ponder where art ends and pornography begins.

REQUIRED TEXTS:

• Wartenberg, The Nature of Art
• Neill & Ridley, Arguing About Art, 2nd edition
• McCloud, Understanding Comics
• Neil Gaiman, Preludes & Nocturnes
• A number of supplemental readings will be made available on WebCT

RECOMMENDED TEXTS:

• Lucie-Smith, Movements in art since 1945, New Edition

ASSESSMENT:

The grade in the class will be based on four things: Two, take-home midterms (25% each), a 20th century art-history exam (20%), and a take-home, comprehensive final exam (30%). The two midterms will cover the material of the immediately preceding module of the course. The art-history exam will require that you be able to recognize the artist(s) responsible for characteristic works. (In other words, I will display a slide of a "drip-painting" and you should be able to write down "Jackson Pollock").

WARNING:

Some of the images and ideas addressed in this course may be disturbing and/or offensive to many people. Some of this artwork has been the target of censorship and legal action on the grounds of obscenity and depravity. Material in this class may involve the depiction of nudity (in both adults and minors), sexual acts (including acts which are illegal in many states), and violence. If you do not want to be exposed to such material—and there is nothing wrong if you do not!—then I strongly recommend that you drop this class. If you need help getting into another class or just wish to discuss the material of this class, please feel free to contact the instructor.

Intimidation-free classroom policy:

Although this probably doesn’t need mentioning at Pitzer, let it be explicitly stated that everybody in this class should be treated with respect. It is every student’s responsibility to endeavor to comport him/herself in a way that is respectful of others. It is possible to disagree about ideas and values without denigrating one’s intellectual opponents on the basis of their race, age, gender, creed, ethnicity or sexual orientation. Given the strong feelings art often invokes, maintaining civility in the classroom is all the more crucial.