ARTHI 1002: Modern to Contemporary Art and Architecture

School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Spring 2017, Fridays 9am noon, Spertus 707

Instructor: Amanda A. Douberley, adoube@saic.edu

Teaching Assistants: Anastacia Bersch, abersch@saic.edu
Paulina Fedotova, pfedot@saic.edu

Office Hours by appointment.

This course addresses histories of modern art and architecture through a consideration of key
works produced from the mid 19th through the late 20th century. We begin with the break from
academic tradition by artists in 1860s France and the new relationship between modern art and
modern life evident in their work. We consider the anti-aesthetic strategies of the historical
avant-gardes, which aimed to reverse modernist claims to autonomy and imagine a different
relationship between art and life. In the second half of the course, we track contentions of late
modernist aesthetics and the transition to postmodernism in visual art as well as architecture.
Meetings are informed by readings from the textbook, supplemented with scholarly articles
that present a range of critical approaches to the study of art history. Class sessions combine a
lecture component and discussion, either in the classroom or in the galleries at the Art Institute
of Chicago.

Learning O utcomes: Upon completion of the course, students should possess (1) basic tools
of textual and formal analysis; (2) general knowledge of the key movements and philosophies
of modern and contemporary art and architecture, and how they relate to one another and
their historical contexts; (3) an understanding of the terms modernism and postmodernism as
they relate to the history of art and architecture.

Textbook: H. H. Arnason and Elizabeth C. Mansfield, History of Modern Art: Painting,

Sculpture, Architecture, Photography, 7th Edition (Boston: Pearson, 2013).

All other readings are available via CANVAS.

Assignments with Percentage of C ourse Grade:

Class Participation, Worksheets and Quizzes Dates vary (15%)
Reading Response Papers Dates vary (20%)
Formal Analysis Essay March 3 (15%)
Midterm Exam March 17 (25%)
Final Exam May 12 (25%)

Written assignments and exams are designed to improve your writing and critical thinking skills.
All assignments must be completed to receive a passing grade. Undergraduate and non-

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degree-seeking students must achieve at least average performance in the course (the
traditional grade equivalent of a C or 70%) in order to earn CR. If you are interested in
receiving a letter grade, please notify me at the beginning of the semester, provide a grade
request form, and a self-addressed, stamped envelope.

C lass Participation, Worksheets, and Quizzes: You should come to class every week
prepared to pose questions about the assigned readings. We will spend part of most classes in
the galleries at the Art Institute, where you will have an opportunity to evaluate works of art in
person and discuss them in relation to course readings with your SAIC colleagues, TA, and
instructor. Quizzes are designed to facilitate active learning and to help you improve your
reading retention and note taking skills.

Reading Response Papers: In addition to readings from the textbook, I have assigned 12
scholarly articles. You should submit short written response papers to 3 of them (minimum 500
words, maximum 1000 words). An excellent response paper will (1) briefly summarize key
points made by the author; (2) analyze an aspect of the article that you find interesting; and
(3) relate the article to the ideas we have discussed in class using key words. You will submit
your paper to CANVAS by the beginning of class on the day we discuss the article to which you
responded, and receive your graded paper the following week. These response papers are
spread out over the course of the semester so you can incorporate feedback on the
assignment into your work. Check the course schedule for deadlines.

Exams: Your comprehension of course material will be measured through two written in-class
exams. These exams cover important themes and concepts discussed in our class lectures,
museum visits, and assigned readings.

Essay: This course emphasizes the experience of actual works of art and the ability to translate
this experience into writing. As such, you will write a 1,250- to 1,500-word formal analysis of
one work of art on view at the Art Institute. This assignment will not require outside research
but should be based on your own observations of the works formal characteristics. Further
guidelines will be distributed in class.

For all course assignments, please write in complete sentences and use a 12-point font,
double-space sentences, and number your pages. At the top of the first page, include a single-
spaced header with your name, title of course, title of paper, and date of paper. Citations are
required when paraphrasing or quoting unique sources; the same citation method must be
used throughout the document. Unless otherwise indicated, you should submit your work via
CANVAS.

Assignments must be turned in on the due date to receive credit. Extensions will be granted
only if you have been sick or had a personal emergency, and can provide documentation from
a doctor or school authority attesting to this fact. Late papers will be docked ten points per day
and will not be accepted after five days have elapsed.

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Writing C enter: SAIC offers free, hour-long writing tutorials at the Writing Center, which is
located in the basement of MacLean. Tutors are available to assist all currently enrolled
students with any stage of the writing process. To schedule an appointment with a Writing
Center tutor, students first need to create an account through the online sign-up system:
www.supersaas.com/schedule/saic/writingcenter. Once students have set up their own
account, they may sign up for appointments. Weekly standing appointments are available upon
request. When students come to their tutoring appointments, they should make sure to bring
their assignments with them and have any work printed out. Online schedule instructions are
available outside of the Writing Center suite (in the hallway outside of the MacLean Center B1
03). Call 312.345.9131 for last-minute openings. Monday Thursday, 4:15pm 7:15pm are
designated as walk-in hours.

Attendance: SAIC policy states that students are expected to attend all classes regularly and
on time.

Students should miss class only with reasonable cause. If a student needs to miss class with
reasonable cause, it is the students responsibility to contact the instructor to receive
instruction for how to make up for the missed class. It is the instructors responsibility to give
this information to the student as his/her/their schedule permits. Missing class for other than a
reasonable cause may jeopardize the students academic standing in the class.

Any MORE than two missed classes, whether or not for a reasonable cause, is grounds for No
Credit in all Art History courses. There are no excused absences.

Reasonable cause to miss a class might include:

Illness or hospitalization (the student should contact Health Services, who will relay
information to the faculty in whose class the student is enrolled)
Observation of a religious holiday
Family illness or death

Classes missed during the add/drop period are counted towards absences. The student is
responsible for assignments given during those missed days. Students officially enrolled in a
course will be given credit only if they have responded adequately to the standards and
requirements set by the instructor.

Please be on time! When you are late to class, you disrupt discussion and miss important
information. Be advised that, if you arrive more than twenty minutes after the start of class, you
will be marked absent. Tardies are cumulative and may be counted against attendance at the
instructors discretion.

You are required to ask for permission if you need to leave class early for any reason and
should avoid scheduling appointments during class time. You will not be permitted to make up

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in-class assignments that you miss.

Remember to power down. All electronic deviceslaptops, cellphones, tablets, e-readers,

and pagers includedmust be turned off and put away before class begins and remain off
during museum visits. Any student who ignores this policy will be asked to leave class and will
be marked absent.

Academic Misconduct: Academic misconduct includes both plagiarism and cheating, and may
consist of: the submission of the work of another as ones own; unauthorized assistance on a
test or assignment; submission of the same work for more than one class without the
knowledge and consent of all instructors; or the failure to properly cite texts or ideas from
other sources. Academic integrity is expected in all coursework, including online learning. It is
assumed that the person receiving the credit for the course is the person completing the work.
SAIC has processes in place that protect student privacy and uses LDAP authentication to verify
student identity. Specific procedures for faculty to follow in the case of academic misconduct
are detailed in the Student Handbook. Additional resources for students: Plagiarism: How to
Recognize It and Avoid It, a short guide prepared by the Faculty Senate Student Life
Subcommitee in 2004. http://www.artic.edu/webspaces/portal/library/plagiarism_packet.pdf
The Flaxman Librarys quick guide titled AVOID PLAGIARISM.
http://www.artic.edu/webspaces/portal/library/plagiarism_quickguide.pdf

Accommodations for Students with Disabilities: SAIC is committed to full compliance with all
laws regarding equal opportunities for students with disabilities. Students with known or
suspected disabilities, such as a Reading/Writing Disorder, ADD/ADHD, and/or a mental health
condition who think they would benefit from assistance or accommodations should first contact
the Disability and Learning Resource Center (DLRC) to schedule an appointment. DLRC staff
will review your disability documentation and work with you to determine reasonable
accommodations. They will then provide you with a letter outlining the approved
accommodations for you to deliver to your instructors. This letter must be presented before
any accommodations will be implemented. You should contact the DLRC as early in the
semester as possible. The DLRC is located within the Wellness Center on the 13th floor of 116
S Michigan Ave. and can be reached via phone at 312.499.4278 or email at dlrc@saic.edu.

C ourse Schedule*
January 27
Introduction Formal Analysis
Art Institute visit

February 3
Origins of Modern Art / Realism & Impressionism
Art Institute visit

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Textbook: Ch 1 pp. 1-13; Ch 2 pp. 14-36.

Article: Griselda Pollock, Modernity and the Spaces of Femininity, in Nicholas Mirzoeff, ed.,
The Visual Culture Reader (New York: Routledge, 1998), pp. 74-84 and Charles Baudelaire,
from The Painter of Modern Life, in Charles Harrison, Paul Wood, and Jason Gaiger, eds., Art
in Theory 1815-1900: An Anthology of Changing Ideas (Malde, Mass.: Blackwell Publishing,
1998), pp. 493-506.

February 8 End of Add/Drop

February 10
Postimpressionism
Art Institute visit

Textbook: Ch 3 pp. 42-69.

Article: Linda Nochlin, Seurats Grande Jatte: An Anti-Utopian Allegory, in Mary Tompkins
Lewis, ed., Critical Readings in Impressionism and Post-Impressionism (Berkeley: Univ. of
California Press, 2007), pp. 253-269.

February 17
Arts and Crafts, Art Nouveau / Early Modern Architecture
Art Institute visit

Textbook: Ch 4 pp. 70-89; Ch 8 pp. 169-179.

Book Chapter: Joanna-Merwood Salisbury, Louis Sullivans Democratic Architecture and the
Labor Movement, in Chicago 1890: The Skyscraper and the Modern City (Chicago: Univ. of
Chicago Press, 2009), pp. 38-54.

February 24 Last day to submit Reading Response #1

Experiments in Color and Form, Expressionism in Germany and Austria
Art Institute visit

Textbook: Ch 5 pp. 90-100 and 103-110; Ch 6 pp. 111-130.

Article: Patricia Leighten, The White Peril and LArt ngre: Picasso, Primitivism, and
Anticolonialism, Art Bulletin 72:4 (December 1990): 609-630.

March 3 Formal Analysis due

Cubism, Futurism, The Avant-Garde in Russia
In-class writing: Practice comparison

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Textbook: Ch 7 pp. 136-168; Ch 9 189-207.

Article: Linda Henderson, The Image and Imagination of the Fourth Dimension in Twentieth-
Century Art and Culture, Configurations 17:1-2 (Winter 2009): 131-160.

March 10
Utopian Visions, Picturing the Waste Land
Art Institute/Ryerson & Burnham Libraries visit

Textbook: Ch 9 pp. 207-212; Ch 10 pp. 213-233.

Article: Emily Hage, The Magazine as Strategy: Tristan Tzaras Dada and the Seminal Role of
Dada Art Journals in the Dada Movement, The Journal of Modern Periodical Studies 2:1
(2011): 33-53.

March 17 Midterm Exam

March 24 SPRING BREAK No C lass

March 29 Last day to withdraw

March 31
De Stijl, Bauhaus, Modernism in Architecture
In-class screening: Avant-garde film

Textbook: Ch 11 pp. 259-261; Ch 12 pp. 262-274; Ch 13 pp. 275-296

(optional) Ch 8 pp. 179-185; Ch 21 pp. 527-541.

Article: Nancy Troy, Figures of the Dance in de Stijl, Art Bulletin 66:4 (December 1984): 645-
656.

April 7
Realisms Between the Wars Last day to submit Reading Response #2
Art Institute visit

Textbook: Ch 10 pp. 233-241; Ch 14 pp. 297-331; Ch 15 pp. 355-361 and 364-368.

Essay: Anthony W. Lee, Workers and Painters: Social Realism and Race in Diego Riveras
Detroit murals, in Alejandro Anreus, Diana L. Linden, and Jonathan Weinberg, eds., The
Social and the Real: Political Art of the 1930s in the Western Hemisphere (University Park,
Penn.: Pennsylvania State Univ. Press, 2006), pp. 201-220, 333-336.

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April 14
Abstract Expressionism and After, Postwar European Art
Art Institute visit

Textbook: Ch 16 pp. 377-407; Ch 17 pp. 411-417; Ch 19 pp. 466-470; Ch 20 pp. 490-496 and
498-503.

Article: Tom Folland, Robert Rauschenbergs Queer Modernism: The Early Combines and
Decoration, Art Bulletin 92:4 (December 2010): 348-365.

April 21
New Realism and Fluxus, Pop, Minimalism
Art Institute visit

Textbook: Ch 18 pp. 445-455; Ch 19 pp. 456-466 and 471-483; Ch 20 pp. 508-520.

Article: Anne M. Wagner, Warhol Paints History, or Race in America, Representations 55,
Special Issue on Race and Representation: Affirmative Action (Summer 1996): 98-119.

April 28
Conceptual and Activist Art, Postminimalism, Earth Art
In-class screening: Early video art

Textbook: Ch 22 pp. 558-586; Ch 23 pp. 587-605.

Article: Helen Molesworth, Cleaning up in the 1970s: The Work of Judy Chicago, Mary Kelly
and Mierle Laderman Ukeles, in Michael Newman and Jon Bird, eds., Rewriting Conceptual
Art (Reaktion Books, 1999), pp. 107-122.

May 5 Last day to submit Reading Response #3

Postmodernism
Final exam review

Textbook: Ch 24 pp. 629-645 and 658-665; Ch 25 pp. 687-692; Ch 26 pp. 695-700.

Article: Rosalind Krauss, The Originality of the Avant-Garde: A Postmodernist Repetition,

October 18 (Autumn 1981): 47-66.

May 12 Final Exam

*The instructor reserves the right to adjust the course schedule; announcements will be made
in class and via CANVAS.