The Modernist Project: Art in Europe and the United States, 1905-1980

This course surveys major tendencies in painting and sculpture, from Fauvism in France and Expressionism in Germany to the beginnings of Postmodernism in photo-based work in the United States. About two thirds of the course will treat European art, and about one third will treat American art. Photography, architecture, and work in other forms will be considered selectively when pertinent to the individual class topics. Within the lecture topics, emphasis is on avant-garde innovation; the tension in modernist art between idealism and critique; reaction by artists to current events; the relationship between art and linguistics, philosophy, literature, economics, and science; the role of geopolitics in art production; the intersections of art and society; the role of mass culture; issues of race and gender in the production and reception of art; and the challenge to the concept of authorship and creativity posed by Postmodernism at the end of this period. Prerequisite: One course in Art History at the 100 or 200 level.
Course Attributes: FA AH; EN H; BU Hum; AS HUM; GF AH; FA HUM; AR HUM; AH MEA

The Modernist Project: Art in Europe and the United States, 1905-1980

ART HISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY 3783

Section 01