Art & Art History Courses
ART 103 Introduction to Lens and Time-based Media
An introduction to lens and time-based media, which have a distinct and specific expressive and socio-political vernacular. The course incorporates the fundamental theoretical, technical and aesthetic principles of working with photography, digital and interactive art. Assignments include studio projects, papers, and presentations. (Credit, full course.) Malde
ART 104 Introduction to Three- and Four-Dimensional Media
An introduction to media involving spatial and temporal dimensions, including sculpture, video, sound, installation, architecture and performance art. The course incorporates the fundamental theoretical, technical and aesthetic principles of composition in space and time. Assignments involve design of sonic sculpture, video production and non-traditional sculpture techniques. (Credit, full course.) Staff
ART 105 Introduction to Painting and Drawing Processes and Theory
An introduction to drawing and painting techniques and theory. Studio activities include outline, contour, and shading drawing methods and brush and palette knife painting processes. The interrelationship between drawing and painting is studied in terms of composition, form, spatial configuration, genre, and aesthetics. Students reflect on symbolic, conceptual, and philosophical implications of their individual imagery through written essays and a class presentation using images of their studio artwork. (Credit, full course.)
ART 108 Foundations of Film and Video Production
Introduction to the theory and practice of film and video production. Students will learn standard techniques for narrative and cinematic structure, including mise-en-scène, documentary, experimental approaches, lighting, editing, and sound production. This course has the attribute of Film Studies. (Credit, full course.) Pond
ART 131 Introduction to Digital Arts
This course introduces various fields generally grouped together as the 'digital arts'. Course work directs students towards the use of digital technology as an expressive medium, and includes working with lens media (photography and video). Conceptual and architectonic methodologies, as well as fundamental interactive scripting techniques, are also introduced. Students prepare web sites. (Credit, full course.) Malde
ART 143 Beginning Video Production
Video techniques including primary use of camera, visual and auditory editors, visual and sound image coordination, cinematography, script planning, and basic directing. Videos are analyzed with written reviews and studied in terms of imagery and metaphor, narrative development, structural parentheses and patterns, picture rhythm, and film time and film space augmentation. (Credit, full course.) Staff
ART 151 Beginning Drawing
A series of studio problems introduces the student to drawing theory and techniques. A series of outside assignments is required. Group and individual critiques, viewing slides and original works of art are integral to the course. (Credit, full course.)
ART 161 Beginning Photography
The course introduces students to the fundamental technical, aesthetic and theoretical concepts of photography as an expressive medium. Class projects and discussions center around the cultural and socio-political impact of the medium, as well the deeply personal and expressive aspects of photographic art. (Credit, full course.) Malde
ART 181 Beginning Sculpture
A series of studio problems introduces the student to the basics of form and space within the context of contemporary and traditional thought. A series of outside assignments is required. Group and individual critiques, viewing slides and original works of art are integral to the course. (Credit, full course.) Staff
ART 191 Beginning Painting
The student is introduced to a variety of subjects, styles, and techniques in oil painting. A series of outside assignments accompanied by a statement of intent is required. Group and individual critiques and slide viewing are integral to the course. Prerequisite: ARTS 151 or permission of the instructor. (Credit, full course.)
ART 231 Intermediate Digital Arts
Students receive instruction in using software and hardware towards the production of time-based and interactive digital arts. Studio assignments are designed to synthesize concepts with technique; students are asked to participate in project critiques and write project papers. Contemporary theory and practice in digital arts is explored via lectures and student presentations. Prerequisite: ARTS 103 (Credit, full course.) Malde
ART 242 The Lens and the Landscape: Documentary Studies and the Environment
This course studies the human, ecological, and environmental histories of the region through the lens and practice of documentary video production. In collaboration with historians, archaeologists, and biologists, students develop individual and group projects to create short documentaries about a diverse range of topics focused on the past and present environmental conditions of the Domain and its surroundings. A Sewanee Environmental Institute summer course. (Credit, full course.) Pond
ART 243 Intermediate Video Production
Further study in video techniques and aesthetics emphasizing style, theme, and content through a variety assignments. Master cinematographers, auteur directors, and the history of video art are studied. Prerequisite: ARTS 143 or ARTS 104. (Credit, full course.) Staff
ART 251 Intermediate Drawing
Further study of the art of drawing through both assigned and independent projects executed in new and traditional media. Content is emphasized as well as larger scale and further exploration of methods. Instruction is through group studio presentations, discussions, and individual critiques. Prerequisite: ARTS 151 or permission of the instructor. (Credit, full course.)
ART 253 Book Arts
This course is a hands-on introduction to contemporary book arts practice — and an exploration of the visual and textual interrelationships between form and content in contemporary artists' books. Students learn to build a variety of bindings and boxes, using traditional and experimental materials appropriate to their projects. The class considers how contemporary arts have used books to disseminate, contain, sequence, and even subvert visual and/or textual information. Study of artists‚ books in the University’s Permanent Collection and readings from book arts theorists complement class discussions. The course culminates in the production of limited-edition artists’ books. Prerequisite: Any 200-level Studio Art course, or permission of the instructor. (Credit, full course.)
ART 261 Intermediate Photography
A continuation of ARTS 161, this course also introduces students to large format photography, color and alternative photographic processes. Class projects and discussions center around the cultural and socio-political impact of the medium, as well the deeply personal and expressive aspects of photographic art. Prerequisite: ARTS 103 or 161. (Credit, full course.) Malde
ART 263 Intermediate Documentary Projects in Photography
The course introduces students to documentary methods and issues pertaining to photography and related media used in the making of photo-documentaries. Class projects and discussions examine the cultural and socio-political impact of this genre, as well as the genre’s core triangulation points of subjectivity, objectivity and truth. Community engagement. (Credit, full course.) Malde
ART 281 Intermediate Sculpture
A continuation of ARTS 181 with further study of the art of sculpture through both assigned and independent projects executed in new and traditional media. Instruction through group discussions and individual critiques. Prerequisite: ARTS 181 or ARTS 104. (Credit, full course.) Staff
ART 282 Sustainable Structures
Through the study and application of sustainable materials as media for sculpture, design, and architecture, this course examines relationships among landscape, physical culture, and the built environment. With the benefit of various locally grown and recycled materials used to build a series of projects, the course employs new technologies and discusses issues related to the practical integration of ecologically sound aesthetics into contemporary culture. (Credit, full course.) Pond
ART 287 Electronic Sculpture
This course employs new media technologies in sculpture and installation projects. Students translate digital and analog input from a variety of sensors and sources into creative output through the use of programming, circuits, sound, video, motors, and traditional sculptural media. Prerequisite: One course from ARTS 104, CSCI 157, CSCI 276, or PHYS 203. (Credit, full course.) Pond
ART 291 Intermediate Painting
Oil painting is explored through assigned and independent projects executed in new and traditional media. Through group and individual critiques and ongoing studio painting, students experience diversity in method through a related series of paintings, an emphasis on content, and a comparative approach to representational forms and abstract concepts. Prerequisite: ARTS 191 or permission of the instructor. (Credit, full course.)
ART 331 Advanced Projects in Digital Arts
This course builds on experience gained from courses such as ARTS 103, 104, 131, and 231. Students continue to receive specific instruction in using the main imaging and design software and are assigned projects to help consolidate expressive and conceptual skills. Prerequisite: ARTS 231. (Credit, full course.) Malde
ART 342 Scene Design (also Theatre 342)
Deals with script analysis; scene research techniques; periods and styles of production; exercises in scale, proportion, volume and color. The student is expected to complete a series of projects culminating in the complete design for a classic or contemporary play. Prerequisite: THEA 241 or permission of instructor. (Credit, full course.) Backlund
ART 343 Advanced Video Production (also Theatre 343)
Further study in video techniques and aesthetics emphasizing style, theme, and content. Students develop a series of individual projects from personally selected themes and motifs. Prerequisite: ARTS 243. (Credit, full course.) Staff
ART 344 Lighting Design (also Theatre 344)
Exercises in script analysis, research options, styles of production, lighting theory, techniques, and equipment. Through journals and projects, students interpret and communicate with light. (Credit, full course.) Backlund
ART 347 Scene Painting (also Theatre 347)
A study of basic techniques, tools, and procedures employed by the scenic artist. Projects include exercises in color theory and mixing; problem solving; and common finishes on hard, soft, and three-dimensional scenic units. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. (Credit, full course.) Backlund
ART 348 Advanced Scenography (also Theatre 348)
A study of advanced problems in performing arts design. The student are introduced to the fundamentals of CADD (computer-aided drafting and design.) Scenic and lighting designers work together to create design solutions for different performance media. Prerequisite: THEA 342 or 345, ARTS 342 or 345, and permission of instructor. (Credit, full course.) Backlund
ART 351 Advanced Drawing
This continuation of ARTS 251 focuses on further study of the art of drawing through both assigned and independent projects executed in new and traditional media. Instruction through group discussions and individual critiques. Prerequisite: ARTS 251 or permission of the instructor. (Credit, full course.)
ART 361 Advanced Photography
A continuation of ARTS 261. Prerequisite: ARTS 261. (Credit, full course.) Malde
ART 363 Advanced Documentary Projects in Photography
The course builds on ARTS 263 and consolidates methods and issues pertaining to the making of photographic documentaries. Class projects and discussions examine the cultural and socio-political impact of this genre, as well as the genre’s core triangulation points of subjectivity, objectivity, and truth. Prerequisite: ARTS 263 or permission of instructor. Community engagement. (Credit, full course.) Malde
ART 381 Advanced Sculpture
A continuation of ARTS 281 with further study of the art of sculpture through both assigned and independent projects executed in new and traditional media. Instruction through group discussions and individual critiques. Prerequisite: ARTS 281. (Credit, full course.) Staff
ART 391 Advanced Painting
A continuation of ARTS 291. Prerequisite: ARTS 291. (Credit, full course.)
ART 418 Junior Tutorial in Art I
Students are introduced to advanced studio methodology via critiques, oral presentation, papers, and exhibitions as well as practice. Participants have already developed basic skills in at least one of the five media offered (drawing, painting, photography, sculpture, video production). These tutorials further develop studio skills by encouraging a more detailed exploration of specific aspects of any given medium. Majors only. (Credit, full course.) Staff Malde
ART 419 Junior Tutorial in Art II
The course continues building on the objectives of ARTS 418. Research into the theory and practice of the visual arts is stressed. Via discussions, presentations and lectures, studies are initiated into the societal role of the artist, contemporary issues, and interdisciplinary approaches. Majors only. (Credit, full course.) Staff Malde
ART 420 Seminar in Creativity
This investigation of the creative process requires advanced studio skills and is based on discussion of works-in-progress. Selected readings, participation in critiques, and a semester-long studio project help establish a disciplined and systematic approach to creative practice. Senior majors only. (Credit, full course.) Staff Malde
ART 430 Senior Seminar
Participants have already developed advanced skills in at least one of the five media offered (drawing, painting, photography, sculpture, video production). This seminar further enhances studio skills by referencing individual, self-defined project work to readings that explore the theory and practice of the visual arts, the societal role of the artist, contemporary issues and interdisciplinary approaches. Majors only. (Credit, full course.) Staff Malde
ART 432 Directed Projects with Visiting Artists
This seminar places the work of each student in a broader context by allowing students to work closely with one or more visiting artists. Students are expected to meet with the instructor(s) outside of class times, and to write a thesis paper, present final projects, and prepare an exhibition. Students must have advanced skills in at least two of the six media offered in the Art curriculum. Prerequisite: classes in at least two studio art media at the upper level and permission of the instructor. (Credit, full course.) Staff
ART 444 Independent Study in Studio Art
Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor. (Credit, full course.) Staff Malde
ARTH 103 Survey of Western Art I
A survey of the architecture, sculpture, painting, and decorative arts of the West from prehistory to the end of the Middle Ages. (Credit, full course.) Staff
ARTH 104 Survey of Western Art II
A survey of the visual arts of the West from the Renaissance to today. (Credit, full course.) Staff
ARTH 107 The Films of Alfred Hitchcock
Rear Window serves as a model for Hitchcock’s persistent interest in climactic chases, claustrophobic locations, sexual voyeurism, ironic humor, and a sense of the inevitability of fate. Analysis of other Hitchcock films from the late twenties to the mid-sixties emphasizes the director’s treatment of editing, framing, sound, and mise en scene. Students become familiar with a variety of critical approaches and with cultural and historical influences on Hitchcock’s work. (Credit, full course.) L. Richardson
ARTH 108 History of Film: Invention to Mid-Century
A chronological survey of the most significant and influential developments in international cinema from the invention of moving pictures to mid-century. Emphasis is on pioneering directors and major films. This course also introduces the student to film theory along with the major aesthetic and technological developments of the medium. This course has the attribute of Film Studies. (Credit, full course.) Thompson
ARTH 202 History of Photography
This course introduces students to the history of photography, from the invention of the medium in the 1830s to recent practices of photographers and artists working with a wide variety of photographic technologies. Emphasis is given to key artists, artistic movements, and theories of photography, as well as to visual literacy and familiarity with the multiple genres and social functions of photographic image production. (Credit, full course.) Thompson
ARTH 206 History of Architecture
A critical and historical survey of architecture from antiquity to the present day. This course focuses on major developments in the West, with consideration of Islamic influences. Representative monuments are used to introduce the student to construction techniques, architectural theory, and interpretation of the built environment. Prerequisite: ARTH 103. (Credit, full course.) Staff
ARTH 212 American Animation, 1910-1960 (also American Studies)
A chronological examination of the most significant and influential short and full-length animated features made in the United States between 1910 and 1960. This course begins with the experiments of Winsor McCay (“Little Nemo," 1911) and ends with the rise of the made-for-television cartoon in the early 1960s. Emphasis is placed both on major studios in New York, Kansas City, and Los Angeles and on pioneering directors and animators working in those studios. The course also situates the work of those studios, directors, and animators within the larger contexts of twentieth-century American history and popular culture. (Credit, full course.) Clark
ARTH 214 Spanish Art, Western Art, and the Road to Santiago
An approach to Western Art, particularly Spanish, in connection with the development of the pilgrimage road to Santiago, starting from its origins in early Christianity, focusing on medieval art, and discussing its persistence in the Modern Era. Special emphasis is given to the importance of multidisciplinary studies concerning the subject. (Credit, full course.) Thomas D. Spaccarelli
ARTH 312 Greek and Roman Art and Architecture
A chronological survey of the painting, sculpture, and architecture of the Greek and Hellenistic worlds, and Roman Empire from the eighth century B.C.E. to the fourth century C.E. While emphasizing stylistic developments, political and cultural contexts are also examined. Prerequisite: ARTH 103 or HUMN 102. (Credit, full course.) Clark
ARTH 315 Islamic Spain and Spanish Art
A survey of Spanish Muslim art from the Emirate to the Nasrid period (eighth to fifteenth centuries), including extensive discussion of the main monuments such as the mosque at Cordoba and the Alhambra palace of Granada. The course examines the presence and persistence of Islamic influence on Spanish Christian art of the late Middle Ages and the modern era. Special attention is given to mudéjar art. This course is part of the Sewanee Semester in Spain program. (Credit, full course.) Staff
ARTH 317 Junior Seminar
This seminar addresses the history and methods of art history by exploring its philosophical development. The current state of the discipline as it negotiates the theoretical challenges of poststructuralism and postmodernism is also explored. Written and oral assignments develop the students' research and communication skills. Prerequisite: ARTH 103 and ARTH 104. (Required of all majors and minors.) (Credit, full course.) Staff
ARTH 318 Spanish Medieval Art
A survey of Spanish art from the Visigothic period through the fifteenth century. Topics include pre-Romanesque, Romanesque, Gothic, and Mudéjar art in the Christian realms as well as the Spanish-Muslim art of Al Andalus. Special attention is given to medieval Iberia as the crucible of Christian, Muslim, and Jewish cultures. (Credit, full course.) Staff
ARTH 320 Medieval Art and Architecture
The art and architecture of Western Europe from the late Roman Empire to the dawn of the Renaissance. Emphasis is placed on the development of monumental architecture and the regional peculiarities of sculpture, painting, and the minor arts over the course of this thousand-year period. Prerequisite: ARTH 103 or HUMN 102. (Credit, full course.) Clark
ARTH 322 Art and Devotion in Late Medieval and Early Modern Northern Europe
This seminar explores the devotional art, literature, and thought of northern Europe in the late thirteenth, fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries. Manuscript illumination and female piety are especially emphasized. Prerequisite: ARTH 103, ARTH 104, or HUMN 102. (Credit, full course.) Clark
ARTH 325 Italian Renaissance Art and Architecture
A survey of painting, sculpture, and architecture in Italy from the late thirteenth to the close of the sixteenth century. While the artists and monuments of Florence, Rome, and Venice are the principal foci, important developments in other centers are also considered. Prerequisite: ARTH 103, ARTH 104, or HUMN 102. (Credit, full course.) Clark
ARTH 326 Northern Renaissance Art
A study of northern European art from the early fourteenth to the late sixteenth centuries. While the course concentrates on Flemish and German panel painting, attention is also paid to French and Flemish manuscript illumination as well as to Netherlandish sculpture. Prerequisite: ARTH 103, ARTH 104, or HUMN 102. (Credit, full course.) Clark
ARTH 332 Seventeenth- and Eighteenth-Century Art
This course addresses painting, sculpture, and architecture of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Europe within a variety of social, historical, stylistic, and theoretical contexts in order to better understand the role and meaning of the visual arts in this period. Prerequisite: ARTH 104 or Interdisciplinary Humanities sequence. (Credit, full course.) Staff
ARTH 335 Nineteenth-Century Art
A survey of European painting and sculpture from the 1780s to 1900, with an emphasis on the social and political contexts in which the works were created. While the focus is on the art of France, that of Germany, Spain, and England is also discussed. Prerequisite: ARTH 104 or Interdisciplinary Humanities sequence. (Credit, full course.) Brennecke
ARTH 338 British Art
A survey of British art from the late seventeenth to the close of the nineteenth century. Emphasis is on painting; sculpture, architecture, and landscape design are considered as well. Prerequisite: ARTH 104. (Credit, full course.) Brennecke
ARTH 340 American Art
A survey of painting, sculpture, and architecture in the United States from the Colonial period to 1913, with an emphasis on the relationship between American and European art and artists. Other topics considered include the development of art institutions in this country, in particular art museums and academies. Prerequisite: ARTH 104 or Interdisciplinary Humanities sequence. (Credit, full course.) Brennecke
ARTH 345 Modern Art
This course examines various trends in Western art from the 1860s through the 1950s. The role of the visual arts and the means of their production and reception underwent tremendous change during this period. Critics and historians have long referred to this century as the era of modernism. Understood variously as a stylistic, philosophic, social, political, or economic category, the notion of modernism and the significance of this concept for the visual arts provides a guiding theme for lectures and in-class discussions. (Credit, full course.) Staff Thompson
ARTH 346 Contemporary Art
An examination of the critical and thematic issues raised by visual artists working during the second half of the twentieth century. The changing definition of modernism and its relationship to contemporary artistic practice is analyzed. Toward this end, the class seeks to define "modernism" and "postmodernism" as well as some of the myriad other "isms" that have emerged in art and critical theory over the past 50 years. (Credit, full course.) Staff Thompson
ARTH 350 Spanish Painting from El Greco to Picasso
A critical and historical survey of Spanish painting from the sixteenth through twentieth century, this course focuses on major artists against the backdrop of Spain's unique cultural traditions. (Credit, full course.) Staff
ARTH 351 Conceptual Art
A critical and historical approach to Conceptual Art from its origins in the mid-1960s to the present. Lectures and discussions explore aesthetic, social, and political issues raised by Conceptualism as well as strategies these artists have in common including the use of readymade imagery, documentary photography, language, and performance. Artist writings and critical reception to the works of art are emphasized. Prerequisite: HUMN 202 or ARTH 104. (Credit, full course.) Thompson
ARTH 360 Pop Art
This seminar charts the development of Pop Art in North America and Europe between 1960 and 1973, investigating why art made by a diverse group of artists, using a variety of aesthetic techniques, is labeled “Pop.” Lectures and discussions explore stylistic, social, and political issues raised by Pop as well as features that diverse Pop practices show in common — including the use of readymade imagery, photography, text, and performance. The seminar concludes by tracing Pop Art’s influence on work from the late 1970s to the present. Prerequisite: ARTH 104 or HUMN 202. (Credit, full course.) Thompson
ARTH 370 Art in Germany: 1919–1933
This course examines artistic production in Germany within the social and political context of the Weimar Republic between 1919 and 1933. The course investigates Expressionism, the “anti-art” theories espoused by Dada artists, and the formal characteristics of New Objectivity painting under the influence of photography. The art and politics of the Bauhaus are explored in detail, including the practices of painting, architecture, and industrial design. The course concludes with consideration of the rapid change in leadership and direction at the Bauhaus and its closing at the hands of the Nazis. (Credit, full course.) Thompson
ARTH 440 Independent Study in Art History
Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor. (Credit, variable from half to full course.) Staff
