Art & Art History Courses
ART 101 Line, Form, and Space: Studies in Drawing, Photography, and Sculpture
This course establishes the fundamentals of visual literacy and communication by considering the relations among line, form, and space. Students learn the essential technical and theoretical principles of design, structure, materials, and methods as they pertain to drawing, photography, and culture. Instruction proceeds through studio assignments, writing exercises, readings, discussions, and critiques. Together with Art 102, this course introduces students to the principles of artistic production while encouraging understanding of the relationships between form and content, personal expression and social experience. Prerequisite: Instructor’s permission. Required for all Art majors and minors. (Credit, full course.) Staff
ART 102 Color, Motion, and Time: Studies in Digital Art, Painting, and Video
This course establishes the fundamentals of visual literary and communication by considering the relations among color, motion, and time. Students learn the essential technical and theoretical principles of design, structure, materials, and methods as they pertain to digital art, painting, and video. Instruction proceeds through studio assignments, writing exercises, readings, discussions, and critiques. Together with Art 101, this course introduces students to the principles of artistic production while encouraging understanding of the relationships between form and content, personal expression and social experience. Prerequisite: Instructor’s permission. Required for all Art majors and minors. (Credit, full course.) Staff
ART 231 Topics in Electronic and Interactive Art
The course examines the broad range of electronic technologies and processes that are employed in contemporary art practice. Students meld traditional processes with software and hardware towards the production of physical, time-based and interactive projects. Assignments include consideration of the interplay between society, technology, and experience. (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 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. (Credit, full course.) Malde, Pond
ART 243 Cutting Time: Topics in Contemporary Video Production and the Moving Image
This course involves study of the theories and processes of video and audio production as well as other techniques for making moving images. It examines a variety of aesthetic, formal, thematic, and technical approaches to composition and artistic expression through moving images and sound. The evaluation and analysis of assignments involves group discussions and individual critiques. Examples from a spectrum of artists and filmmakers provide a context for understanding the potential of moving images in a variety forms. (Credit, full course.) Pond
ART 251 Topics in Contemporary Drawing
Using both traditional and non-traditional drawing media, this course investigates drawing and its role in the contemporary world. Students explore the relation between perception and conception, reinforcing basic skills and increasing their sophistication in the organization of space, surface, material, composition and design. Thorough exploration of contemporary artists working across media with a variety of themes is an essential part of the learning experience. Projects and student-led discussions address themes such as Space, the Figure, Narrative, Identity, or Abstraction. Emphasis is placed on challenging the notions of traditional drawing as it relates contextually to an ever-changing world. (Credit, full course.) Wohl
ART 253 Book Arts
Through studio practice and analysis of bindings, the class considers how contemporary artists use 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. (Credit, full course.) Staff
ART 255 Collage and Assemblage: Combinations of Contemporary Culture
Using found and self-generated imagery, this course explores collage and assemblage as means for developing artistic concepts. Through the understanding and juxtaposition of materials such as magazine clippings, wallpaper, texts, objects, photographs, and drawings, students establish a heightened sensitivity to the meaning of specific materials, explore various methods of combining them, and critically address how collage and assemblage have been used and created both in both past and present. Through studio assignments, writing exercises, readings, discussions, and critiques, students explore forms of both historical and contemporary collage processes. (Credit, full course.) Wohl
ART 257 Figure Drawing
This course investigates drawing the human form through the study of anatomy, observation of the live human form, and fundamental exercises in gesture, line, contour, and tonal modeling. Students explore the relationship between figures and their environments, as well as the proportions and forms of the body and how to depict dynamic three-dimensional forms on a two-dimensional surface. In class, students work predominately from the live model, and outside of class pursue a combination of advanced assigned and self-directed projects aimed toward an understanding of the body in space. (Credit, full course.) Wohl
ART 261 The Lens, Time and Space: Topics in Photography
This course introduces students to thematic approaches in photography using film-based methods, digital printing, and multi-media. 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 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 Material, Space, and Form: Topics in Contemporary Sculpture
This course explores both new and traditional media for the study and production of sculptural form. A series of assignments involve additive and reductive processes, mold making and casting, static and temporal composition, and a range of materials. Examples ranging from ancient to current sculptural practices are discussed and reviewed to provide historical and theoretical context for the assignments. The evaluation and analysis of assignments involves group discussions and individual critiques. Prerequisite: ARTS 181 or ARTS 104. (Credit, full course.) Pond
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 Topics in Contemporary Painting
Using both traditional and non-traditional painting media, this course investigates painting and its role in the contemporary world. Students explore the relation between perception and conception, reinforcing basic skills and increasing their sophistication in the organization of space, surface, material, composition, and design. Thorough exploration of contemporary artists working across media with a variety of themes is an essential part of the learning experience. Projects and student-led discussions revolve around themes such as Space, the Figure, Narrative, Identity, or Abstraction. Emphasis is placed on challenging the notions of traditional painting as it relates contextually to an ever-changing world. Prerequisite: ARTS 191 or permission of the instructor. (Credit, full course.) Wohl
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, Pond
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.) Pond Backlund
ART 343 Advanced Seminar in the Production of Video and the Moving Image (also Theatre 343)
This seminar course involves the production of video, sound, and the moving image. Students pursue a combination of advanced assignments and self-directed projects aimed towards furthering the study of these art forms through a focused set of methods and technologies. Prerequisite, one of the following: Art 102, Art 104, Art 202, Art 231, Art 243, Art 331. (Credit, full course.) Pond
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.) Pond 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.) Pond 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.) Pond Backlund
ART 351 Advanced Studio Seminar in Drawing
In this drawing seminar, students engage in a combination of advanced assignments and self-directed projects aimed towards furthering the study of the drawing in both traditional and non-traditional materials. Prerequisite, one of the following: Art 101, Art 105, Art 251, Art 255, Art 257, Art 291. (Credit, full course.) Wohl
ART 361 Advanced Photography
The course builds on prior experience and concentrates on small and large format photography, color and alternative photographic processes. Class projects and discussions are shaped around self-defined projects. Prerequisite, one of the following: Art 101, Art 103, Art 261 or Art 263. (Credit, full course.) Malde, Pond
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, Pond
ART 381 Advanced Studio Seminar in Sculpture
In this sculpture seminar, students engage in a combination of advanced assignments and self-directed projects aimed towards furthering the study of the art involved in three-dimensional media and methods. Prerequisite, one of the following: Art 101, Art 104, Art 281, Art 282, Art 287. (Credit, full course.) Pond
ART 391 Properties of Painting
This seminar course explores the properties and applications of acrylic and oil paints as they relate conceptually to our contemporary world. Working both observationally and abstractly, students experiment with traditional techniques such as glazing and under painting. They also investigate paint as a sculptural and textural material. Prerequisite, one of the following: Art 102, Art 105, Art 251, Art 255, Art 257, Art 291. (Credit, full course.) Wohl
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, Pond
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, Pond
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 Pond
ART 444 Independent Study in Studio Art
Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor. (Credit, full course.) Staff Malde, Pond
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 Pond
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 Pond
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.) Staff
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.) Pond, 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.) Pond, 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 Pond
ARTH 210 Islamic Art and Architecture
A survey of the origins, characteristics, and development of Islamic art, approached by considering productions ranging from architecture to sumptuary arts. This course covers the early formation and definition of Islamic art during the Ummayad and Abbasid periods and later phases of splendor in late Medieval and Modern eras. It includes the art and architecture of Fatimids, Mamluks, Saljuks, Ottomans, Ilkhanids, Timurids, and Safavids, in areas stretching from the Iberian Peninsula and northern Africa to India. (Credit, full course.)
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, Pond
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.) Pond
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, Pond
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 Pond
ARTH 317 Approaches to Art History
This writing-intensive 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.) (Credit, full course.) Staff Pond
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 Pond
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, Pond
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, Pond
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, Pond
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, Pond
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 Pond
ARTH 333 French Art
A survey of French painting, sculpture, and architecture from the early seventeenth century to the end of the eighteenth century. Emphasis is placed on the founding of the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture, the artistic program of Louis XIV, the development of the rococo style, and the emergence of sensibilité and a new moralizing art in the years leading to the French Revolution. Prerequisite: ArtH 104 or Humanities 201. (Credit, full course.) Brennecke
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, Pond
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, Pond
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, Pond
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 Pond
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.) Pond, 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.) Pond, Thompson
ARTH 365 Modern and Postmodern Architecture
This survey of architecture and urban planning begins with the revivalist architecture of the nineteenth century and concludes with global contemporary practice, exploring along the way efforts to formulate a “modern” architecture and subsequent postmodern critiques. Students are introduced to significant figures like Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier, Jane Jacobs, Frank Gehry, Michael Graves, and Zaha Hadid, and to significant themes in modern and postmodern architectural practice, like the archetype of architect as hero, architecture as social engineering, and architecture as spectacle. Students thus learn of essential reference points for understanding our built environment and its discourse. (Credit, full course.) MacLaren
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.) Pond, Thompson
ARTH 440 Independent Study in Art History
Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor. (Credit, variable from half to full course.) Staff Pond
