American Art's Full Profile
This course surveys art of America from the colonial era through the post-war 20thcentury. We will consider broad stylistic tendencies in various regions and periods and examine specific artists and works of art in historical and social contexts, with emphasis on the congruent evolution of contemporary American multi-cultural identity. We will move chronologically, more or less, with many overlaps and cross-chronological, thematic diversions that will help shape this overview and offer different perspectives on the notion of an “American art,” per se.Overarching issues that have interested major scholars of American art and its purview include the landscape (wilderness, Manifest Destiny, rural settlement, and urban development); the family and gender roles; the founding rhetoric of freedom and antebellum slavery; and notions of artistic modernism through the 20thcentury. A background in the basic concepts and terms of art history and art practice, and/or American studies in other disciplines, will be helpful in fully engaging the course material.Note: The links in the drop-down instructional boxes below will direct you to short essays with images, unless otherwise noted. Please click on all images encountered, as they will often enlarge or show details; also note the size of the artworks in descriptions, crucial to their form and their functions. Viewing original works in person is important for any study of art. Please identify a museum, gallery, or venue where you may closely view a work of American art created before 1980. A self-evaluation essay based on your choice is assigned at the end of UNIT 3. Other assignments are based on the reading.At the end of this syllabus, you will find a worksheet for general reference in studying art and a list of web resources frequently noted below, as well as several additional sites you can use to look up terms (including those bold-faced below), images, artists, and styles. To comply with all copyright laws, do not save any downloads accessed for your personal viewing through websites assigned below.
Days of the Week:
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday
- Level of Difficulty: All Levels
- Size: One-on-One
- Cost: Free
- Institution: Saylor
- Topics: General Art, Art History, General History
The mission of the Saylor Foundation is to make education freely available to all. Guided by the belief that technology has the potential to circumvent barriers that prevent many individuals from participating in traditional schooling models, the Foundation is committed to developing and advancing inventive and effective ways of harnessing technology in order to drive the cost of education down to zero
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