AHST 2331: Understanding Art

Professor Britten LaRue

Spring 2011
Email: larue@utdallas.edu (preferred), Phone: 214.478.1921 (no calls after 7 p.m.)
Office Hours: immediately following class or by appointment at our mutual convenience
Location: JO 4.102

Course Description
An investigation into the nature of the visual arts with an emphasis on the issues and ideas that artists
explore through their work and how these ideas translate into the artwork. Attention will be given to
the interpretation or reading of the artwork and how it may relate to society. Discussion, interaction,
and vibrant engagement are expected.

Required Texts
Henry M. Sayre, A World of Art, 6th edition, Prentice Hall
John Berger, Ways of Seeing, Penguin

The following readings are available online and through library course reserves:

-Susan Vogel, “Always True to the Object in Our Fashion,” in Karp and Lavine, Exhibiting Cultures.
-Excerpts from Barnet, A Short Guide to Writing about Art.
-Henri Zerner, “Classicism as Power,” reprinted in McEnroe and Pokinski, Critical Perspectives on
Art History.
-Kenneth Clark, “The Naked and the Nude,” in Critical Perspectives on Art History.
-Rudolf Wittkower, “Genius: Individualism in Art and Artists,” in Dictionary of the History of Ideas.
-Excerpt from Meyer Schapiro, Romanesque Art.
-Excerpt from Wu Hung, The Double Screen: Medium and Representation in Chinese Painting.
-Excerpts from Michael Baxandall, Painting and Experience in Fifteenth-Century Italy.
-Excerpt from Robert Rosenblum, Transformations in Late Eighteenth-Century Art.
-Linda Nochlin, “The Imaginary Orient,” in Schwartz and Przyblyski, The Nineteenth-Century
Visual Culture Reader.
-Carol Duncan, "The MoMA's Hot Mamas," in Broude and Garrard, The Expanding Discourse.
-Kenneth Silver, “Modes of Disclosure: The Construction of Gay Identity and the Rise of Pop” in De
Salvo, Schimmel, and Ferguson, eds., Hand-Painted Pop: American Art in Transition: 1955-1962.
-Excerpts from Grant Kester, Conversation Pieces: Community and Communication in Modern Art.
-Tom Finkelpearl, “Introduction: The City as Site,” in Dialogues in Public Art.
-Judith F. Baca, “Whose Monument Where? Public Art in a Many Cultured Society,” in Mapping the
Terrain: New Genre Public Art.
-Balsamo, Anne. (1992). "On the Cutting Edge: Cosmetic Surgery and the Technological Production
of the Gendered Body." Camera Obscura 28: 207-237.
-Diana Nyad, “The Rise of the Buff Bunny,” in The New York Times. August 15, 2004. (web)
-Excerpts from Sander L. Gilman, Making the Body Beautiful, Princeton.
-Pountain and Robins, “What is Cool?” from Cool Rules: Anatomy of An Attitude.
-David Brooks, “Nonconformity is Skin Deep,” New York Times. August 27, 2006 (web)
-Guy Trebay, “When the Going Gets Tough the Tough Put on Suits,” The New York Times, August
18, 2002. (web)

Objectives
1. To increase students’ knowledge of the makers, objects, processes, reception, social bases,
and historical contexts of art, Western and non-Western, past and present.
2. To acquire the basic vocabulary and skills essential to visual analysis.
3. To build analytical and critical thinking skills and practice discussing art in a group.
4. To distinguish between the ways a work of art communicated at the time it was created
and the ways it communicates to us now.
5. To develop insight into the profound and often hidden impact of commercial and
institutional culture.
6. To be more observant of life and to be more careful lookers at the images around us in the
world.

Grading
Quizzes 10%
Four short papers 40%
Career presentation 20%
Journal entries 20%
Bound Journal 10%

THERE WILL BE NO EXAMS. However, there will be an average of 3-4 hours a week of reading,
writing, and/or group work outside of the classroom. In addition, you will need to leave campus at
least twice to complete some of the larger assignments. Also note that regular and authentic
participation and engagement in class discussion will help your final grade.

Quizzes (10%)
Many classes will begin with a short quiz of one or two questions from the Sayre reading.
Since there is no midterm or final exam in this course, these quizzes are one of the most
important ways I evaluate the development of your art vocabulary, critical thinking, and
understanding of concepts, histories, and processes. NOTE: vocabulary terms are defined in the
glossary of A World of Art, and on the textbook website, but they will also be familiar to you
from lectures, videos, and class discussions.
Save your quizzes and include them in your bound art journal at the end of the semester.
Your lowest quiz grade will be dropped.

Four Short Papers (40%, or 10% each)

Paper #1 - “Art or Not Art?” (due January 25)
Go to the library when you have at least one hour of time to work on this assignment.
Browse through current issues of Art in America, Art News and Artforum. You may also use older
bound issues in the stacks filed alphabetically. If you don’t find them, ask a librarian at the reference
desk for assistance.
Write one page (300 words, 12-font double-spaced) that compares all three magazines. Give specific
information, such as titles of articles, brand names of products advertised, etc. Speculate about who
reads each of these magazines. Compare the articles. How are the audiences different and how can
you tell? Briefly describe the ads and the subjects of the articles. Who would be interested in buying
such products and reading such articles?
Photocopy two images from these magazines: 1) one reproduction of what you would call "Art" and
2) one of what you would not call "Art." NOTE: You will be writing a paper on your “not Art” artist,
so be sure to get his or her full name spelled accurately. See artist research paper assignment, below.
Check Google to see if there’s any information on this artist.
Write another page (250-300 words): Explain why you think the one work is “Art” and the other one
is not “Art.” Write down your criteria for aesthetic judgment. This isn’t easy, so don’t worry if you
find it hard to put it into words, and don’t worry about being “right.” Be ready to articulate your
criteria for aesthetic judgment in small group discussions in the next class.

Paper #2: NOT-Artist Research Paper (due February 8)

Using three different art information resources - articles, books, websites - research the NOT-artist
you selected from the art magazines in the library assignment.
Write a 4-5-page paper (1200 words, double-spaced, typed) proving the artist’s intentions and
viewers’ reception:
Cite researched evidence explaining the NOT-artist’s ideas and motivations (intentions).
Cite critics on their opinions of the work. How was the work “received” (evaluated, written about)
by art professionals overall? Was the critical reception similar to yours?
Conclude with a reevaluation of the artwork: Do you still think it is NOT art? Does knowing more
about the artist's intentions and the critical reception change your appreciation of the work? Why?

You may use either MLA or Chicago Style guides, available in the library or online. Include a “works
cited” bibliography of articles, books and web sites used. The minimum is one book, one scholarly
article (not an exhibition review), one web source. Web sources must have full bibliographical
information or they cannot be used in your paper.

NOTE: Give yourself twice as much time as you think you need for research and writing. Use
quotation marks and footnotes for all information that is not general knowledge, including
information that you paraphrase. This class adheres to the UTD policy on plagiarism.

Paper #3 – DMA paper/project (due March 3)

The Dallas Museum of Art is located at 1717 North Harwood in the Dallas Arts District downtown.
See website www.dallasmuseumofart.org for map, hours, and other information. Remember that they
are closed on Mondays.

To prepare for your visit: Review Sayre p. xx Dos-and-Don’ts Guide to Visiting Museums.
The day of your visit: Plan to spend at least one hour and 15 minutes at the DMA. Bring a friend or
family member if it would be more fun!
Bring $10 for parking or take the DART and bring $5 for admission with valid student ID.
Bring a camera and create a photo-diary of your visit - at least 4 photographs. Get someone to take
your picture inside the museum. You must include at least one photograph with you in it that is not
outside and not the lobby. You can ask the receptionist where photographs are permitted, which
should be the gift shop and the permanent collection galleries.
Pick up exhibition brochures and a museum map in the lobby to turn in with your photographs and
paper.
Stroll through all the galleries. On the museum map, write down the title of your favorite artwork in
each gallery, the name of the artist, and the year the work was made. You may write the information
on a separate sheet with numbers corresponding to the rooms on the map.
Draw a 15-minute sketch of your favorite painting. Write down the artist’s name, title, dimensions,
and medium of the artwork. This information is on the wall label.
Sit down in front of the painting and fill in Sayre’s “Worksheet Companion to Painting, Drawing, and
Printmaking” (handout in class).

At home: Using your museum notes, our practice in lecture, and the reading from A Short Guide to
Writing about Art, write a 2-page (600 words, double-spaced, 12 font, 1” margins) formal analysis.
Begin with a heading that includes the artist’s name, birth and death dates, title of the work, its date
and dimensions. Then imagine how you would describe this work to someone who cannot see.
Determine how the composition has been organized and how it can most lucidly be characterized.
Among the elements you will consider are scale, composition, attitude toward the human body, if
relevant (idealized, distorted, etc.), depiction of space, color, surface texture and brushwork, light and
shadow, patterns of repeated color and shape, subject type, and the relationship between the work
and its viewer. The point of the exercise is to learn to use your own eyeballs, to learn to look!, so
please do not do any research for this paper.

In terms of writing style, please avoid hyperbole and cliché, like “this is a masterpiece,” “the painting
is beautiful,” and “the artist is a genius.” Your organization should be logical, and your language
should be specific rather than general. There should be no typos, spelling errors, or grammatically
awkward phrases. The best essays are those written and rewritten several times.

Conclusion: write two paragraphs about the DMA from a critical perspective that characterizes the
collection and how the artwork is displayed.

You will turn in your museum map and exhibition brochures, 4+ photographs, sketch, worksheet,
formal analysis and conclusion.

Paper #4 – Dallas Public Art paper/project (due April 14)

To prepare for your project: Visit www.dallasculture.org and read about Dallas’s Office of Cultural
Affairs.
Write a one-page paper describing the organization and answering the following questions: what
kinds of projects does the Office support? Who makes up the committee? How are artists chosen for
the works they commission?
Then choose one sculpture or installation to visit from the list of works on the website.

The day of your visit: Photograph and/or draw your work of art from three points of view.
Survey two people nearby on their opinion of the work. Get their full names and quote them in your
journal. Ask them if they know who owns the artwork, what they think of it, and if they support
public art in general.
Write a description of your impression of the work and its relationship to its site. Is it site-specific?
Who commissioned it? Who owns it?

At home and at the library:

Do some research to find out the artist’s intentions for the artwork. Be sure to give full citations of
your sources. If you cannot find information about the particular work you are writing about,
extrapolate about the artist’s intentions from other works by the artist.
Conclude with speculations about what the work means and what public role the artist intends it to
play.
Visit www.dallasculture.org/publicArtContact.asp. Print and fill out the Public Art Feedback Form.
Turn in one copy with your project and send in the other to the Office of Cultural Affairs via mail,
email or fax.
You will turn in your one-page preparation paper, your photographs and/or drawings, your
description of the work, your survey information, your researched artistic intentions, your feedback
form and your conclusions.

All four papers will be turned in at the beginning of class and will be considered late after lecture. If
you do not have your paper on the due date, you may turn it in electronically. For each 24-hour
period the paper is late, 10 points will be deducted. That 24-hour period begins at 8:30 a.m. from the
start of class. So a paper turned in electronically at 8:31 a.m. on the due date is LATE. No exceptions.

Please note that the Writing Lab offers one-to-one assistance with writing assignments and general
writing skills.

Careers in Art Presentations (20%)

A curator, an art historian, an elementary school art teacher, an artist, a museum director of art
education, a gallery owner, a developer and marketer for a major collection, a studio art professor,
and an art critic. You will choose a contact (prearranged by me) from one of these professions and
work with a group of 3-4 other students to interview that person and then present an oral and
written report about your interview.

Each person in your group will need to be responsible for some area of the overall project:
communication with the contact, taking photographs and/or video of the interviewee as well as his or
her working environment with their permission, preparing a PowerPoint or video and/or handouts
for the presentation, composing the body of the written report, and proofing and editing the final
products.

Before the interview, you will need to meet as a group at least once to prepare what you would like to
discuss with your contact. You will only get one chance to ask your questions so make sure you have
thought of everything! You want to find out as much as you can about their profession, their day on
the job, what they like about their work, what they don’t like, how they got into their line of work,
what education they had to prepare them, what they love about art, future goals they may have, what
advice they would give to someone interested in their field, etc. Your team goal is to give as much
information about that particular field as possible to your classmates in manner that is lucid,
entertaining and relevant.

Presentations are limited to 15 minutes so they need to be straightforward and well-organized. There
will be 5 minutes for questions from your classmates. Feel free to be as creative as you would like
with for the form of your presentation and report.
You will each submit your own written report! The first part will be a one-page summary written by
you that describes your group dynamic, your working process, how the roles were delegated, and
what you might have done differently if you could do it again. This is not an opportunity to vent, but
a chance to process the experience in a positive and constructive manner. The larger part of the
report will be the “body” of the report that will be the same for everyone in the group. You will each
then write your own one-page conclusion concerning your individual response to the interview and
to the field of your contact.

Reading Journal entries (20%)

Throughout the syllabus you will notice various reading assignments that begin with “journal.” These
refer to readings for which you will respond with a journal entry. Each entry should be a two-page
(600-words, double-space, 12 font, 1” margins) response to assigned readings listed on the schedule.
I will return them to you as soon as I can with a grade of A, B, C, D or F.
Late responses will not be accepted. If you fail to turn in a response you will earn a ZERO, which is
significantly worse than an F.
IMPORTANT: Save all of your original journal entries.
Your lowest journal grade will be dropped.

List your name, the date, the name of the author(s), and the full title(s) of the reading(s) at the top of
the first page.
Write two pages (600 words, double-space, 12 font). This includes all readings assigned together, no
matter how many there are.
At the end of the semester you will bind your entries, so leave the left margin free for binding and
the right margin free for commentary.
Make your own hard copy of the articles on the website so that you can write on them. Read the
author’s entire essay slowly all the way through, underlining important passages as you read. Bring
the reading to class to aid discussion. You can look something up if there are various interpretations.
Go back through all the readings and reread the passages you underlined.
Turn in the entry after class. They are the basis of group discussion, so you will need them during the
class.

The format of a reading journal entry is a dialogue between the author and you.
Start the journal entry with a one-paragraph summary of all the readings. Why were they assigned
together?
After your introduction, proceed to a dialogue format: quote or paraphrase the most interesting of the
sentences you underlined from the entire reading: beginning, middle, and end. Show that you’ve
read it all. Give parenthetical citations after each quote with the page number.
About half the journal entry should be what the author says and half your responses. Reply to the
author with confidence and respect. Agree, disagree, question, but first listen to him or her fairly
before you answer. The quality of your dialogue depends upon the effort you make to understand the
author’s point. You must question the author’s point of view, but you should presuppose his or her
expertise and good will. Good critical thinking is open to new insights; it is skeptical and analytical,
but not cynical.

Bound Understanding Art Journal (10%)

For a letter grade, at the end of the semester, bind all your journal entries, 4 short papers, quizzes,
career report, and class notes.
Carefully re-read all your writings. Underline the most salient ideas to use in your introduction.
Create a cover page for the bound journal with identifying information.
Write a 2-page introduction. (600 words, typed double-spaced, 12 font). The introduction format: 1)
brief (one paragraph) summary of the overall content and 2) at least three points you underlined in
your writings, 3) conclusion paragraph about what you learned from the course readings. Which
were the best assignments and readings and why?
Paginate the journal and create a descriptive table of contents that gives titles and authors of every
entry: readings, subjects of quizzes, titles of papers, and so on.
Have the journal bound with front and back covers at a copy center like Kinkos.
For the cover, make a collage of art-related paper and light materials you have picked up at art
museums and galleries this semester, plus photographs, clippings from magazines, etc. that relate to
what you learned in AHST 2331.

Dropping Policy: Remember that the deadline to drop the course without a “W” is January 26. Please
refer to the university drop policy.

Attendance, Lateness, and Policy on Make-Ups

Roll will be taken every lecture. In this way, I can learn your names and track your involvement in
the class. If you are late, the only way for me to note your attendance is for you to see me after class.
Students are given three excused absences over the course of the semester. These absences are for
illness, court dates, family obligations, and other exceptional and/or understandable circumstances.
Students who miss more than three classes will be asked to meet with me in my office to discuss the
problem (or be dropped from the class). There is no formal penalty for attendance and lateness issues.
However, know that your grades will suffer for missed quizzes and papers or journal entries I cannot
accept.

The quizzes will begin promptly at the beginning of class. Students who are late will NOT be given
the opportunity to make up lost time. No exceptions.

There are no make-up quizzes unless you are a student participating in an officially sanctioned,
scheduled University extracurricular activity, for which I will need documentation. In such instances,
it is the responsibility of the student to make arrangements with the instructor prior to any missed
quiz or other missed assignment for making up the work.

Religiously observant students wishing to be absent on holidays that require missing class should
notify me in writing by January 26, and should discuss with me, in advance, acceptable ways of
making up any work missed because of the absence.

Students with Disabilities

Students needing academic accommodations for a disability must first contact the Disability Services
Coordinator, Kerry Tate at 972-883-2098. If you will need extended time for the exams, you must
provide the appropriate documentation by January 26.

Academic Integrity
It is the philosophy of UTD that academic dishonesty is a completely unacceptable mode of conduct
and will not be tolerated in any form. Please study the information on scholastic dishonesty on the
UTD website: http://www.utdallas.edu/judicialaffairs/UTDJudicialAffairs-HOPV.html.

Student Grievances
Students with grievances should first contact the faculty member in writing (not email) to set up a
meeting. The department can help with this step. If after the meeting the problem is not resolved,
both faculty and student can attend a meeting with the department chair together to resolve the
issue. Please consult the catalog online to review policies and procedures.
http://www.utdallas.edu/judicialaffairs/UTDJudicialAffairs-Grievances.html.

E-Culture Policy
Students are responsible for checking email regularly. Please know that I may need to contact you via
your utdallas.edu email for this class.
Due to the high volume of email our faculty and the art history office receive an important message
may be missed or response to your email may take time. If your email has not been responded to
within two days please contact me or stop by the office in person. In addition, weekend email
messages may not be received until Monday or Tuesday.

Classroom Etiquette
We all agree to respect one another’s ability to focus, learn and participate. Toward that end: we will
not bring laptops to class; we will turn and leave off our cell phones; and we will refrain from
walking in and out of the room during class unless it is an emergency .

I ask that students refrain from eating fresh, fragrant foods during class-time.
Upcoming Schedule
January 11 Introductions, syllabus…
Assignment: Read the Student Tool Kit in Sayre. Journal: create a form with
the “Seven Steps to Thinking Critically about Art” in your own words and
design. Prepare for first quiz.
Bring a photocopy of your favorite work of art.
Decide your first, second, and third choices for the presentations.

January 13 Discussion of assignment, Begin lecture “What is Art?” break into

presentation groups
Assignment: Sayre, chapter 1. Prepare for a quiz.

January 18 A World of Art

Assignment: read chapter 2.

January 21 Developing Visual Literacy

January 25 “Art or Not Art?” paper due. Discussion of your individual criteria for
aesthetic judgment. Groups.
Assignment: read chapters 4 & 5.

January 27 Line and Space. Watch and discuss Masters of Illusion.

Assignment: Read chapter 9. Take pictures of examples of the terms given in
class, then print and bring to class. Bring in a photocopy of your face.

February 1 Drawing. Drawing Yourself exercise

Assignment: read chapter 6. Bring at least 3 magazines to class.

February 3 Light and Color. Value-scale collage exercise.

Assignment: Check out the Color Matters website www.colormatters.com
that explores color and how it affects our mind, our behavior, our visual
experience, and life in general. Go to links at upper left – How Color Affects
Us – write brief descriptions of four things that surprised you. Be prepared to
present them to the class. Attach the value scale collage and web assignment
together and turn them in at the end of class

February 8 NOT-Artist research paper due. Collage display and discussion of

colormatters.com. Groups.
Assignment: read chapters 7 & 8
February 10 Other Formal Elements and the Principles of Design
Assignment: reading from A Short Guide to Writing about Art and journal
except from Susan Vogel, Always True to the Object in Our Fashion

February 15 Discussion of reading, practice of formal analysis.

Assignment: read chapter 3

February 17 Seeing the Value in Art

Assignment: read Sayre chapters 10-11, 13-16. Take home quiz.

February 22 No class (time off for visiting DMA or interview)

February 24 Visit to studio of art on campus

Assignment: Read Sayre chapter 17 and journal reading online

March 1 Art History: The Ancient World

Assignment: Sayre chapters 18 and journal reading online

March 3 DMA paper/project due. Art History: The Age of Faith

Assignment: Sayre chapter 19 and journal reading online

March 8 Art History: The Renaissance through the Baroque

Assignment: Sayre chapter 20 and journal reading online

March 10 Art History: The Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries

Assignment: Sayre chapter 21 and journal reading online

March 15-17 spring break

March 22 Art History: From 1900 to the Present

Assignment

March 24 Careers in Art presentations

March 29 Careers in Art presentations

March 31 Careers in Art presentations

 Assignment: journal readings online

April 5 Public Art

Assignment: study the Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs website for the project
and plan your visit in advance

April 7 No class. Visit your public art work.

Assignment: read Sayre chapter 12.

April 12 Ways of Seeing, part 1

Assignment: journal Ways of Seeing, chapters 2-3

April 14 Dallas Public Art Walk paper/project due

Ways of Seeing, chapters 2-3
Assignment: journal readings on Identity and Stereotype

April 19 Identity and Stereotype

Assignment: Masculine/Feminine: collage and critical commentary
(considered a journal entry)

April 21 Presentation of gender stereotype collages and discussion

Assignment: journal Ways of Seeing, chapters 4-7

April 28 Ways of Seeing, chapters 4-7

Assignment: journal readings online

April 30 Aesthetic Standards of Cool, Good Taste, and Aesthetics

Thursday, May 5 Last day to turn in Understanding Art Journals. Due by 5 p.m.

Tuesday, May 10 8:00-10:45 a.m. Final exam period: journals will be available for pick-up in the
classroom during this time. If you do not pick up your journal, you will have 5 points deducted from
your final grade. If you would like to prearrange a time before this date to pick up your journal,
please let me know by April 19. You will be asked to turn in your journal four days before the date
you would like to pick up your journal.
 Course Awareness Form
AHST 2331
Prof. LaRue
Spring 2011

I have read and understand the syllabus for this class. Any questions I have regarding
this syllabus have been presented to and answered by the professor teaching this
course. I understand that the Department of Art History adheres to university policies
and I have read and understand university policies. It is the responsibility of the
student to obtain and read this information.

Name (print): _________________________________________

Signature: ___________________________________________

Date: ___________________________________