ARTH-140 Modern Art

Faculty:

Hilton, Alison

SPRING CLASS with Professor Hilton

“There’s no way of looking at a work of art by itself: it’s not self-evident – it needs a history, it needs a lot of talking about; it’s part of a whole man’s life.”
Willem de Kooning

This course will explore the notion of "modern" by tracing the development of visual art in Europe and America from its roots in the nineteenth century to the present. We will concentrate on the twentieth century, on Cubism, Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism, Pop and Conceptual Art and a variety of twenty-first-century trends. Relevant films and looking assignments at such institutions as the National Gallery of Art, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, and the Smithsonian Museum of American Art will complement lectures in class.

FALL CLASS with Professor Hilton
This course will explore the notion of "modern" by tracing the development of visual art in Europe and America from the innovations of Henri Matisse to the present. Following a brief mention of the nineteenth-century roots of modernism, the course will concentrate on the twentieth century, Fauvism, Cubism, Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, Minimalism, and a variety of twentieth-first-century trends. Relevant films and looking assignments at such institutions as the National Gallery of Art, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, The Phillips Collection and the Smithsonian Museum of American Art will complement lectures in class.

Students should not take American Art: Twentieth Century if they choose this course, as there will inevitably be significant overlap.

Credits: 3

Prerequisites: None

Course syllabi
The following syllabi may help you learn more about this course (login required):

Spring '12: Hilton A (description, file download)

Fall '11: Spivey, V. (file download)

Additional syllabi may be available in prior academic years.

Other academic years
There is information about this course number in other academic years:

• 2004-2005 Fall and Spring
• 2005-2006 Fall and Spring
• 2006-2007 Fall and Spring
• 2007-2008 Fall and Spring
• 2008-2009 Fall and Spring
• 2009-2010 Fall and Spring
• 2010-2011 Fall and Spring
• 2012-2013 Fall and Spring
• 2013-2014 Fall and Spring

More information
Look for this course in the schedule of classes.

The academic department web site for this program may provide other details about this course.