Course Description:

In this lecture and discussion-based course, we will examine major developments in art history that are categorized under the category of modernism or modern art. Each week this semester, we will orient developments of modern art in time (chronologically) and space (geographically, regionally) as well as their social, political, and cultural contexts. We will prioritize the point of view of the artist and explore how and why they produced these distinct artistic ideas and objects during the 19th and 20th centuries. We will first examine how the ethos of ‘modern’ appears through art, and then pivot to major artistic movements of the first half of the 20th century that respond to and influence representations of industry, technology, nationalism, spirituality, and rebellion: Impressionism, Fauvism, Cubism, Futurism, Dada, Surrealism, European Expressionism, Abstract Expressionism, CoBrA, Spatialism, and Nouveau Réalisme. Assigned readings, homework assignments (to be completed on Dropbox), and scaffolded writing assignments throughout the course, encourage students to think about the ways that artists from these movements take on new, unexpected, and ‘modern’ directions in their artwork.

Learning Objectives

This course focuses on the development of visual literacy, close-looking, critical thinking, and precise, analytical writing.

Our goals for this course are to:

• Build a foundational art historical vocabulary
• Understand how to perform close looking and visual analysis
• Practice descriptive writing from close looking and visual analysis
• Practice analytic writing using a peer-reviewed scholarly source
• Understand modern art movements in their political and social context
• Incorporate descriptive writing with analytic writing to support strong thesis statements

Important Course Information:

• Instructor: Maura McCreight
• Class: Art History 3066 Section TR3 Modern Art
• Class Hours: Thursdays 6:05-8:30pm
• Class Location(s): Boylan Hall Room 5313
• Office Hours: 5:00pm – 6:00pm Adjunct Office (to the right of Room 5313)
• E-mail: maura.mccreight@brooklyn.cuny.edu