Art History-Master Of Arts

This course will explore the relationship between Black women and visual culture, putting particular emphasis on the fine arts, film, the music industry, mass media, and gaming culture. Each of these forms of visual culture depends on the construction of women as visual objects through "the gaze," which contributes to formulations of sexuality, gender, race and nation. We will explore several theories of "the gaze" and its means of producing modern identities. Various critical questions will be raised in the course during the semester: How does the visual differ from other forms of representation when it comes to portraying women and/or gendered "others"? Can women's bodies in visual culture function outside patriarchal discourse? Can "the male gaze" be disrupted or redirected when women themselves are creating their own images?

An overview of the description, interpretation, and evaluation of visual art as practiced in the discipline of art criticism. Both traditional and postmodern critical approaches to art will be considered with an emphasis on contemporary art criticism. Students will read a range of past and present art critics and write several examples of art criticism based on direct observation of contemporary art works.

This class is part of a group of courses intended to introduce the major monuments and themes of ancient and medieval art, architecture, and visual culture

This course seeks to introduce students to problems in art historiography and art criticism and to explore the issues of identity and culture through examination of the Harlem Renaissance and contemporary developments in African American Art.

Chinese brush painting, with its emphasis on the beauty of simplicity, flowing brush strokes and graceful designs, reflects time-honored principles of Chinese philosophy and culture. Practicing Chinese brush painting helps one quiet the mind and expand creative self-expression and discipline. In class, students will learn to handle Chinese brushes with ink and color, execute brush strokes correctly and artistically, and control the ink flow and load the brush correctly with five shades of inks. Students will learn the method of painting landscape, flower and bird with Chinese brush. The principle of composition in Chinese painting will be introduced through class practice. The class also introduces the basic knowledge of the philosophies and artistic intents associated with Chinese culture. Slide lecture on the development of Chinese art and culture will be provided during the class

In-depth history of the traditional arts of West Africa (Guinea, Mali, Togo, Ghana, and Nigeria).

This course introduces the art and architecture of Africa, beginning some 8,000 years ago and continuing into the 1990s. We will begin with an overview of Ancient Peoples and Sacred Sites in Africa (8,000 BCE - 800 CE). We then follow with consideration of African Art and World Religions (450 - 1450). African Art and Global Trade (1450 - 1860) is the third section. Then we will look at Africa, Colonialism and the Modern World (1860 - 1957). Lastly, we will consider The Art of African Nations (1957 - 1994). The first evidence of an aesthetic impulse is about 75,000 years ago at Blombos Cave in South Africa. We will end the course by considering contemporary art coming into the 21st Century. Thus, we will investigate a span of art-making longer than any you have looked at so far. Our exploration will look at art forms that developed on the continent as well as those that were inspired from outside sources.

The course examines the dynamic variety of form and imagery originating from a wide range of locations and ideologies. It identifies distinct stylistic qualities that define the visual idiom of each unique society, while searching for the artistic commonalities between them.

This course is meant as an introduction to the arts and architecture of the Islamic world, from the time of the Prophet to the present day. The course will concentrate on selected moments and monuments in the central historic regions—the Arab Middle East, North Africa, Spain, Iran, India, and Turkey—and consider the relationship of the visual arts to the history, geography, and traditions of each region. We will also consider contemporary arts, and problems of historic preservation. The Washington, DC area is particularly rich in museum collections of Islamic art, which this course will feature. Students will visit a local museum collection on their own during the semester as part of the course work.

Art in the Western world from the late 18th century to the present. Content includes neoclassicism and romanticism, realism, the impressionists, parallel developments in architecture, the new sculptural tradition of Rodin, postimpressionism to fauvism, expressionism, futurism, cubism, geometric abstraction in sculpture and painting, modernism in architecture in the 20th century, and Dadaism and surrealism.

Continuation of ARHU-285. Also covers developments since 1945, such as action painting, pop art, minimal art, and postmodernism. Study of the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim Museum, and the Whitney Museum of American Art is included.

This course addresses the distinctive paths taken by artists of African descent in the Americas. Some, like Henry Ossawa Tanner, trained in the Western tradition and others, like the Santeria practitioners of Cuba or the basket makers of the Sea Islands worked with received or reinvented African traditions.

This course addresses the distinctive paths taken by artists of African descent in the Americas. Some, like Henry Ossawa Tanner, trained in the Western tradition and others, like the Santeria practitioners of Cuba or the basket makers of the Sea Islands worked with received or reinvented African traditions.

An examination of the major aspects of Latin American and Caribbean art from the early 19th through the 20th century. Emphasis is placed on integrating the social and political background of the various cultures with the key artists, artistic issues and movements of particular countries and periods. Topics to be covered include: the influence of the major art academies in Mexico, Brazil and Ecuador, the strong links between art and politics, identity, woman as artist and subject, and the ongoing dialogue with the art of Europe and later the United States

This course examines the rich heritage of African arts and architecture as they shape and have been shaped by the histories and cultural values (social, political, religious, philosophical, and aesthetic) of African peoples, both past and present, on the continent where humanity — and art — began. Topics include: artists and creative process; an historical overview of five major traditions (26,000 BCE to 1900 CE); textiles, decorative, and body arts; architecture; and contemporary expressions. Museum visits, artists' demonstrations, and films supplement the course.

This course surveys the work of African American artists, from the nineteenth century to the present. We will use the artwork as a means of understanding the lived experiences of black Americans - that is Americans of African descent, whose origins are from across the diaspora.

The course will probe the destructive politics behind much of contemporary African Art, and it will include installation art, textile art and hangings. We will discuss whether contemporary African artists work in the Western art world or the African world or both, and which dominates each artist.

An overview of the description, interpretation, and evaluation of visual art as practiced in the discipline of art criticism. Both traditional and postmodern critical approaches to art will be considered with an emphasis on contemporary art criticism. Students will read a range of past and present art critics and write several examples of art criticism based on direct observation of contemporary art works.

A survey of challenges with African American Art from post-Civil War to present, linking with the Arts of the African continent.

By the end of this course, students gain a thorough knowledge of the Italian and European Renaissance Age, developing practical perception and a confident grasp of the material, understanding the relationship between both historical and artistic events and valuing the importance of patronage

Introduces the arts of South, Southeast, and east Asia. Examines aspects of the culture and history of Asia.

Research in art history under faculty guidance.

This course is a study of the development of the cult and iconography of death from early Christianity to the beginning of the Renaissance with an emphasis on Byzantine art.

An introduction to the language of visual expression, using studio projects to explore the fundamental principles of visual art. Students acquire a working knowledge of visual syntax applicable to the study of art history and popular culture, as well as art.

The major in art history introduces students to a broad range of issues, skills and practices in the field of visual studies with a focus on works of art and architecture. The curriculum is designed to familiarize students with some of the major periods in both Western and Non-Western art history as well as the compelling methodologies and questions of the art historian.

In this course, you'll consider this question through more than 70 works of art made between 1980 and the present, with a focus on art from the past decade. You'll hear directly from artists, architects, and designers from around the globe about their creative processes, materials, and inspiration.