Approved by Faculty Senate

HUMANITIES: ART 224 American Art

Requirements and learning activities that promote students' abilities to

A. Identify and understand specific elements and assumptions of Art History as a Humanistic discipline:

ART 224 is a broad survey of the visual arts of the United States, from their modest beginnings in the colonial and revolutionary eras through the Great Depression. It is intended for the general student, but may be used as an elective for the Art Major and is required for the Art History Minor.

The class provides a knowledge base in the History of American Art fostering an understanding of

1. art as a non-verbal means of communication (as a language of visual forms having its own vocabulary and structure);

2. the interaction between the content of a work and its visual style;

3. the processes of art-historical changes over time and across the space of the American cultural landscape;

hence students must be able

4. to identify period styles and works of individual artists and their styles

Performance in examinations determine the degree to which students have been able to understand this fundamental basis for the study of art in America.

B. Understand how historical context, cultural values, and gender influence perceptions and interpretations:

Students learn via lectures, videos, and their reading assignments, of the means by which these factors fundamentally affect the creation of art in the United States: how the visual arts serve as both individual and cultural expression informed by religious, political, social, and economic conditions, as well as artistic traditions; how the American artist perceives and processes his/her world at a given time and region of the country; the circumstances of patronage and audience response, of politics, art politics, and economics; the social purposes of a given work; the intentions of the artist; the impact of prevailing and changing art theories, etc.

More specifically, students in ART 224 are expected to demonstrate their understanding of

1. the expression of American culture and values through works of art

2. the influence of the natural and built environment in America as a factor in cultural expression;

3. the impact of European, especially British, traditions in art during the Colonial period and beyond;

4. the impact of European modernism during later 19th and early 20th centuries;

5. the efforts of American artists to forge a national identity in art; and

6. the role of women in American society and the contributions of women artists.

Performance in examinations determine the degree to which students have understood how contexts and values inform the creation and interpretation of works of art.

C. Understand the role of critical analysis in interpreting and evaluating works of art:

Iconographic and formal analyses of works of art in class and in the text, and reading assignments enable the student in ART 221 to critically evaluate works of art and architecture. To test their knowledge students are given a short paper assignment in which they engage in a stylistic analysis of a Winona building of historical significance or one in their home towns.

 

 

COURSE OBJECTIVES AND CONTENT

a. Identify and understand specific elements and assumptions of Art History as a Humanistic discipline:

ART 224 is a broad survey of the visual arts of the United States, from their modest beginnings in the colonial and revolutionary eras through the Great Depression. It is intended for the general student, but may be used as an elective for the Art Major and is required for the Art History Minor.

The class provides a knowledge base in the History of American Art fostering an understanding of

1. art as a non-verbal means of communication (as a language of visual forms having its own vocabulary and structure);

2. the interaction between the content of a work and its visual style;

3. the processes of art-historical changes over time and across the space of the American cultural landscape;

hence students must be able

4. to identify style periods and works of individual artists and their styles

Performance in examinations determine the degree to which students have been able to understand this fundamental basis for the study of art in America.

b. Understand how historical context, cultural values, and gender influence perceptions and interpretations of the world and human experience:

Students learn via lectures, videos, and their reading assignments, of the means by which these factors fundamentally affect the creation of art in the United States: how the visual arts serve as both individual and cultural expression informed by religious, political, social, and economic conditions, as well as artistic traditions; how the American artist perceives and processes his/her world at a given time and region of the country; the circumstances of patronage and audience response, of politics, art politics, and economics; the social purposes of a given work; the intentions of the artist; the impact of prevailing and changing art theories, etc.

More specifically, students in ART 224 are expected to demonstrate their understanding of

1. the expression of American culture and values through works of art

2. the influence of the natural and built environment in America as a factor in cultural expression;

3. the impact of European, especially British, traditions in art during the Colonial period and beyond;

4. the impact of European modernism during later 19th and early 20th centuries;

5. the efforts of American artists to forge a national identity in art; and

6. the role of women in American society and the contributions of women artists;

Performance in examinations determine the degree to which students have understood how contexts and values inform the creation and interpretation of works of art.

c. Understand the role of critical analysis in interpreting and evaluating works of art:

Iconographic and formal analyses of works of art in class and in the text, and reading assignments enable the student in ART 224 to critically evaluate works of art and architecture. To test their knowledge students are given a short paper assignment in which they engage in a stylistic analysis of a Winona building of historical significance or one in their home towns.