American Art in the 20th Century

Course Title: American Art in the 20th Century

Catalog Description

Everyone has heard of Georgia O'Keeffe, but do you know about Florine Stettheimer? What about Joan Mitchell? Let's look at American art of the 20th century from a woman's point of view first. Then let's consider the major African-American artists. Finally we'll turn to the mainstream artists. You've probably heard of Edward Hopper, but what about Thomas Hart Benton and Arthur Dove? American art is so relevant to our lives, the images are so familiar, that the artists seem more like neighbors or friends than far away icons. Come and get to know the people who told America's story in the 20th century in paint.

Course Proposal

Students become familiar with the names of major American women artists: Gertrude Whitney, Florine Stettheimer, Georgia O'Keeffe, Agnes Pelton, Alice Neel, Joan Mitchell, Helen Frankenthaler, Louise Nevelson, Ruth Asawa.

Students learn the names of two of the foremost African American painters: W. H. Johnson, Jacob Lawrence.

Students become familiar with the stars of American art in the 20th century: Edward Hopper, George Bellows, Thomas Hart Benton, Joseph Stella, Arthur Dove, Marsden Hartley, Stuart Davis, Jackson Pollock, Roy Lictenstein, Ellsworth Kelly, Sol LeWitt, Jasper Johns, Wayne Thiebaud, Chuck Close.

Format

Course presentation will take the form of a narrated slide show using instructor's own photos, presented via computer-aided projection. Plenty of time will be allowed for discussion and interpretation. Review periods and exercises will be provided to help firm up learning. Materials provided by instructor, including ample online access to photos of paintings.

Course Material

20th Century American Art

Art of the 20th Century: What's Up with all those isms?

Course Title: Art of the 20th Century

Catalog Description

In the 20th century, artists tumbled from one theory to another: Fauvism, Cubism, Orphism, Abstractionism, Expressionism, New Objectivity, Surrealism, Minimalism, etc. It's enough to make your head spin, but it's not that hard to learn to tell them apart if you have a little guidance and abundant examples. Now's the time to learn the difference between Picasso and Matisse, between Salvador Dalí and Rene Magritte. Slideshow presentation combines masterpieces from the museums of modern art in New York, Amsterdam, The Hague, Paris, and Madrid.

Course Proposal

Students will learn broad, general definitions of each of the major art movements of the 20th century, as listed below. Students will develop basic ability to recognize various art movements by viewing many examples and playing guessing games. Students will become familiar with the names of the major painters of the 20th century by hearing them frequently. Detailed memorization is not the objective; the idea is develop curiosity about who is who, perhaps leading to increased attendance of local art museums.

Art Movements of the 20th century

Fauvism, Post-Impressionism, Cubism, Orphism, Abstractionism, Expressionism, Classicism, Primitivism, New Objectivity, Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, Minimalism, Op Art.

Major Artists of the 20th century

10 big names: Matisse, Picasso, Braque, Kandinsky, Mondrian, Paul Klee, Fernand Léger, Marc Chagall, René Magritte, Salvador Dalí.

Many other artists will also be introduced, with special emphasis on women artists when their work is available.

Format

Course presentation will take the form of a narrated slide show using instructor's own photos, presented via computer-aided projection. Plenty of time will be allowed for discussion and interpretation. Materials provided by instructor, including ample online access to photos of paintings.

Material

My photos are available at the following website:

20th Century Art