Courses of Study
Sections
Department of Fine Arts
Last updated: August 14, 2014 at 4:30 p.m.
The Department of Fine Arts offers programs in studio art and art history for the undergraduate student who wishes to study the visual arts as a creative artist or as a humanist.
Art History
Art is the visual record of human history (and the expression of our finest aspirations). The history of art is a discipline that critically examines that record and achievement in the broadest cultural and intellectual context. The art history program offers a wide array of courses. Some courses provide a survey of major developments in Western and Asian art, while others examine in greater detail major themes or movements in art (such as impressionism and post-impressionism, the age of cathedrals, and the history of photography). Students are able to complement these offerings by taking advantage of the proximity of the Rose Art Museum and the wealth of other art museums and cultural institutions in the surrounding area. This comprehensive program exemplifies the ideals of a liberal arts education and thereby enhances any individual course of study. It also prepares students to enter graduate programs in art history, museum studies, and arts administration, or to begin careers in the arts.
Studio Art
Art is a language of its own making and by studing it, a student is educated in visual thinking and creativity through the fundamental process of direct experience. The studio department offers diverse approaches in painting, sculpture, printmaking, design, and drawing. The studio program fosters a student's ability to make an informed judgment; it is supplemented through a distinguished visiting artist program, a strong pedagogical link with the Rose Art Museum, and trips to important museums and galleries in New York City, Washington, D.C., and the Boston area. Through the core of studio classes, the student is able to realize, with excellence, his or her potential for expression and informed vision. Studio is an appropriate vehicle for an intellectual experience within the liberal arts context, and students are assisted in the preparation for BFA and MFA graduate programs.
Postbaccalaureate Program in Studio Art
The Department of Fine Arts offers a postbaccalaureate certificate program for students with a bachelor's degree who are interested in extending their experience in studio art. The program's structure emphasizes independent work with assistance achieved through critical interaction with faculty and visiting artists. Students can prepare portfolios for admission to graduate school, or achieve the self-sufficiency necessary for continued studio work outside an academic environment.
Mortimer-Hays Brandeis Traveling Fellowship
The department administers the Mortimer-Hays Brandeis Traveling Fellowship, which provides support to students in the visual and fine arts, including art history, conservation, studio art, and photography for travel and living expenses outside the continental United States, Alaska, and Hawaii. Support is provided only in accordance with a program of study or other activities approved by the fellowship selection committee. Brandeis is one of ten colleges and universities that participate in this program.
Art History
Study of the History of Art cultivates a deep understanding of humanity’s fundamental impulse to create. The History of Art traces how artists across all time periods and regions confronted their environment, society, and religion, and thereby produced artifacts of lasting resonance and insight into the cultural practices of their age. Such acts of visual expression find diverse articulation as works of painting, sculpture, graphics, architecture, urbanism, garden design and spectacle, not to mention the stunning versatility of modern and contemporary media. Whereas Studio artists dedicate themselves to the making of Art and catalyzing the further evolution of these media, the History of Art promotes a retrospective analysis of the art of the past, while critically engaging the present. Though a separate major, our curriculum overlaps with the Studio side of the department. We jointly aim to imbue the studio artist with a rich historical perspective, and grant the historian a hands-on exposure to practice.
The History of Art faculty offers broad coverage of the major periods, not only of artistic production but also of scholarly focus since the founding of the discipline in the late nineteenth century: Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque, and Modern. Cross-listed courses from Classical Studies in Greek and Roman art and archeology offer students full exposure to these cultures, whose systematic study since the Enlightenment both foreshadowed and complemented the development of the discipline. A global perspective is fundamental to our curriculum, as our faculty specializations in the art and architecture of Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East testify. In association with the Rose Art Museum, the department provides extraordinary resources for the study of twentieth-century and contemporary art.
In additional to its temporal and geographic scope, the History of Art major emphasizes the modes of inquiry it shares with other fields that analyze cultural activity, such as semiotics, social history, psychoanalysis, and gender studies, as inflected through its unique competency in visual analysis and iconography. Like literature, film, music and drama, art served as a platform for narration and manifesting cultural prerogatives throughout its history. Unlike the focus of other disciplines on texts and ideas, the history of art is also the study of objects, which had and have value as icons and commodities. In the realms of architecture and urban development, the objects of our inquiry were often the major economic enterprises of their time, in addition to their religious, aesthetic and social significance. As such, the critical study of art cultivates knowledge in the history, principles, and social dynamics of economics and material culture.
The major is structured to provide a foundation in the art history of a variety of historical periods and geographic regions, as well as in the field’s most important methodologies. Through the range of courses undertaken, the student is further encouraged to develop a focus that reflects his or her own interests.
Core Skills:
A major in the history of art will cultivate the following skills:
* Master visual literacy, thereby developing an astute capacity for analyzing the formal principles of architecture, sculpture, painting, photography, and graphic arts, as well as contemporary media such as film, performance and video.
* Master the terminology of the discipline, so that visual analysis can be accurately and engagingly conveyed in both oral and written form.
* Hone the critical tools for identifying and classifying works of art according to period, geographic origin, school, artist, and/or stage in an artist’s artistic development.
* Refine the capacity to think critically, both in the process of visual analysis and in the evaluation of contemporary sources and scholarly literature.
* Systematically gather evidence and present findings clearly and compellingly as a persuasive argument in both written and oral form.
* Identify and develop research topics, and then craft them into cogent, well-written essays that incorporate the scholarly discourse of the field according to professional standards of research.
* Through courses devoted to a single artist, a precisely delimited time period or region, and/ or the optional honors thesis, the major will master a specialized body of scholarship, formulate key issues to investigate, and arrive at reasoned conclusions.
* Cultivate self-expression and basic proficiency in some aspect of Studio Art – painting, sculpture, printmaking, architectural design and/or photography – to enhance one’s comprehension of the techniques and ingenuity of the artists studied.
Knowledge:
The History of Art major will acquire the following types of knowledge:
* Achieve a solid familiarity with the core monuments and major artists and trends from each of the principal subfields: Ancient and Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque, Modern and Contemporary, and Non-Western.
* An understanding of the varied techniques, styles, and media of artistic production throughout human history.
* The major inevitably creates a specialized focus in at least one of the subfields by taking multiple courses therein. This will provide a deeper understanding of the social, cultural, economic, political and religious factors that motivated artistic production and aesthetic expression.
* The major will undertake an interdisciplinary approach to learning through the intersections of the history of art and architecture with literature, rhetoric, music, religion, politics, etc., and thereby achieve some basic knowledge of these fields as well.
* The major will develop a critical understanding of how primary cultural documents and secondary scholarly literature shape the reception and evaluation of the art of the past and present.
* The major will learn and actively implement the various methodological approaches that define art history as a discipline and have expanded its parameters in recent decades.
* Through elective courses in Museum Studies and the Economics of Art, or Internships at museums, galleries, or auction houses, a major can develop a basic understanding of curatorial stewardship, exhibition design, cataloguing, the art market, collections management, and preservation.
Social Justice:
* Art is the expression of societal values, whether promoted by political and religious elites or demanded by oppressed and marginalized classes. Through reflection and inquiry, the History of Art major will analyze how various artistic media throughout the ages both broadcast official ideologies and provided platforms to articulate protest and demands for social change according to evolving, culturally informed, notions of Justice.
* The critical and historical study of architecture, in particular, focuses on how the built environment conditions human behavior, facilitates ideological manipulation, comes to epitomize the power of political and religious elites, and, at times, galvanize resistance.
* The global expanse of the discipline will instill a deep admiration and respect for the varied forms of artistic expression among diverse communities throughout human history.
Upon Graduating:
A Brandeis History of Art major will be prepared to:
* Pursue graduate study of Art History as an academic discipline.
* Embark upon professional training in Museum work, whether through entry-level jobs at institutions or specialized graduate training.
* Employ one’s capacity for judging periods, styles, and aesthetic quality though a career in the art market, whether in auction houses or private galleries.
* Apply the mastery of visual analysis and verbal self-expression to any numbers of fields, including law, journalism, urban planning, design, education, library science and archives.
* Along with some work in design (that Brandeis Studio Art courses can provide) and physics, a mastery of art and architectural history is a fundamental prerequisite for professional training in architecture.
* Knowledge of artistic techniques and styles that results from the Major is essential for professional training in art restoration and conservation.
Studio Art
Making art is a process fundamental to human beings, where skill and imagination are employed to make objects, environments or experiential phenomena that can be shared with others. These artistic manifestations have served throughout history as powerful documents of human thought and feeling. They do not only reflect the vision of the artist, but also transcend it, and become evidence of the values of an entire culture.
The Studio Art program cultivates and nurtures the student’s personal vision through the practice of various creative disciplines, such as painting, sculpture and printmaking. This complex practice is informed both by an awareness of the history of art and also one’s own experience as a vehicle for expression. For this reason, art making is as varied as the individuals who dedicate themselves to it. Brandeis students regard their studio work as a challenging mode of intellectual inquiry. Into their creative process they bring ideas and insights garnered in their broad academic studies of the sciences, social sciences, humanities as well as the other creative arts, such as music and performance.
The Studio Art faculty offers courses in drawing, printmaking, painting, sculpture, and digital media. Within these disciplines, intermediate and or advanced courses offer the opportunity to build on the core fundamental skills taught in the introductory courses. Topic themed courses at the introductory level are designed to provide greater focus on specific subjects, such as Architectural drawing or Life Painting. Studio Majors take four courses in the history of art, and culminate their curricular experience in a full year Senior Studio class where they pursue in depth creative projects.
Core Skills:
Studio Art majors build experience though course work, aiming to develop skills in the following:
~ The discipline of drawing: from perception and imagination, and in response to the needs of their creative work in other media.
~ The knowledge about materials and processes in a range of two and three-dimensional media.
~ An understanding of the critical process as it relates to studio practice, and the ability to engage in critical discussion about one’s own work and that of other artists.
~ A developing ability to visually articulate content and meaning through form.
~ An understanding of self in the context of the practice of art. An appreciation of how one builds relationships to both historical and contemporary art practices through ones own creative work. A realization of individual potential for expression and through informed vision.
Knowledge
The Studio Art major will acquire the following types of knowledge:
~ Familiarity with materials and methods employed in the practice of art. The ability to apply techniques of various media in order to serve personal vision.
~ An in-depth study of one discipline/medium, in which to pursue advanced research during Senior year. Students should also be versed in various mediums beyond the chosen area of specialization, such as printmaking, drawing, or photography.
~ A broad understanding of the scope of art history from Ancient to Medieval, Renaissance to Impressionism, Modern and Contemporary, and Non-Western art. The ability to direct studio practice in an informed manner, stemming from a growing understanding of the history of art, theoretical and aesthetic concepts.
~ An exposure to contemporary visual arts culture through visiting artist lectures, visits to the Rose Art museum and field trips to New England and New York museums and galleries.
~ A knowledge of how to take personal risks in the process of intensifying visual intuition. The ability to select and exhibit one’s work.
Social Justice:
Through the practice of art making and the study of art history students will come to understand the cultural significance of art in society and the importance of self-expression inside a community.
Understanding how to interpret and communicate visually enables our students to bridge cultural divides and nurtures empathy and increased awareness of global situations. The social commitment of our students is evident in the subject matter they embrace in creative work: environmental problems, political issues or ideas about sexual identity. Their work not only documents social issues, but also promotes social change in site-specific installations and performances intended to engage, provoke and inspire a community audience.
Through the continued creation of art, students will be engaged in a lifelong process of self-reflection and inquiry that will challenge convention at either the individual or social level, or both.
Upon Graduating:
A Brandeis Studio Art major will be prepared to:
~ Pursue graduate study of art, in order to sustain their practice outside of an academic structure and possibly pursue the teaching of their discipline.
~ Apply knowledge to work in other professional art fields: in museums, galleries, arts organizations, arts publications, business.
~ Use the creative process as a guiding principle in other disciplines. Studio art majors have not only gone on to careers in creative art, design, and art history, but also have pursued graduate degrees in medicine, elementary education, social work and art therapy.
~ Contribute to contemporary discourse on art and world issues through the making of art.
Students who are art history majors are offered a variety of courses in ancient to contemporary Western art and Asian art. The student may specialize in a given area and choose a faculty adviser who will guide his or her work. The honors program in art history requires the completion of a senior thesis written under the close supervision of an adviser and a faculty committee. Students may also receive academic credit for internships taken in off-campus museums and art galleries.
Minor in Art History
A minor in art history is offered in addition to the major. This gives the student majoring in another department the opportunity to flexibly construct a program of six art history courses that reflect his or her own personal or academic interests. Studio art majors may not minor in art history.
Studio Art
It is recommended that students considering a studio art major enroll in a beginning painting or sculpture course in their sophomore year to allow time to develop their work in a sequence of courses taken over a period of three years. Studio majors are expected to take art history classes as an important component of their major requirement and to deepen their creative experience. Majors are encouraged to extend their intellectual and creative involvement through summer art programs and participation in full studio faculty reviews of their work during sophomore, junior, and senior years.
Minor in Sculpture
A minor in sculpture is offered in addition to the studio art major. This gives the student majoring in another department the opportunity to flexibly construct a program of sculpture courses that reflect his or her own personal or academic interests.
Majoring in art history with a minor in sculpture is permitted. Two courses in studio art may be counted toward the major in art history and the minor in Sculpture.
Majoring in studio art with a minor in sculpture is not permitted.
Double Major in Art History and Studio Art
Students may also double major in studio art and art history by completing all the art history requirements of the Art History Major and all the studio requirements of the Studio Major. The total number of courses for the double major is eighteen.
Jonathan Unglaub, Chair
Renaissance and Baroque art.
Christopher Abrams
Sculpture/media.
Gannit Ankori
Israeli and Palestinian art, Modern and Contemporary art, Frida Kahlo, Gender and Art.
Graham Campbell
Painting.
Sean Downey, Postbaccalaureate Coordinator (on leave spring 2015)
Drawing and painting.
Tory Fair (on leave spring 2015)
Sculpture.
Christopher Frost
Sculpture.
Alfredo Gisholt
Printmaking.
Talinn Grigor, Undergraduate Advising Head for Art History (spring 2015)
History of architecture.
Peter Kalb, Undergraduate Advising Head for Art History (fall 2014) (on leave spring 2015)
Twentieth century/contemporary art.
Lucy Kim
Drawing. Printmaking.
Susan Lichtman, Undergraduate Advising Head for Studio Art
Painting.
Charles McClendon
Medieval art and architecture.
Nancy Scott (on leave fall 2014)
European and American art, from the French Revolution to World War II.
Joseph Wardwell, Director of Studio Art
Drawing and painting.
Scott Wiener
Digital photography.
Aida Yuen Wong
Asian art.
Affiliated Faculty (contributing to the curriculum, advising and administration of the department or program)
Ann Koloski-Ostrow (Classical Studies)
Art History
Six courses are required for the minor in art history:
B. Five additional art history courses.
All courses taken for the minor must receive a final grade of C- or better. No more than two courses taken in programs abroad, or as transfer credit, can be counted toward the minor. No course taken pass/fail may count toward the minor requirements.
Department majors in studio art cannot minor in art history, due to the overlapping core requirements of the major. In corollary manner, studio courses are not considered part of the art history minor.
Sculpture
Six courses are required for the minor in sculpture:
A. Four Beginning/Intermediate Level Sculpture Studio Courses
B. Two Senior Studio Courses
All courses taken for the minor must receive a final grade of C- or better. No more than two courses taken in programs abroad, as transfer credit, or as cross-listed credit, can be counted toward the minor. No course taken pass/fail may count toward the minor requirements.
Students may major in either studio art or art history. In courses fulfilling the requirements for the major, students must have received a C- or higher. All students are required to maintain a GPA of 2.0 or higher in course work taken in the major. A minimum of twelve semester courses is required to fulfill each major. Students may also double major in studio art and art history if the requirements of each major are fully met with a minimum of eighteen semester courses total. No course taken pass/fail may count toward either major requirements.
Studio Art
Studio majors are required to take:
A. Four semesters of beginning and intermediate courses in either painting or sculpture or a combination of beginning and intermediate courses in a combination of media, selected by students in consultation with their department adviser and completed by the end of the junior year.
B. Two semesters of studio electives in drawing, design, sculpture, painting, printmaking or new media.
C. Two semesters of Senior Studio (FA 110a and b) in painting or sculpture.
D. Four semesters of art history, from among the fine arts and cross-listed courses, consisting of one course in ancient or medieval art, one course in non-Western art history (art or architecture), and two courses in Renaissance to modern art. Studio majors may take either FA 61a or FILM 100a for an elective, but not both.
The studio faculty has developed the studio courses listed in the catalog in the belief that the artist-teacher stands at the center of the syllabus of the studio courses. Their presentation is structured through interaction with the individual student. In the best interest of the students' development it is advised that they utilize all the studio faculty, so as to enrich their educational experience through the diverse offerings of the department. In the event that a student wishes to enter a full-year course at mid-year and feels that work previously accomplished evidences a competency that is equivalent or superior to that course, the student may request that his or her work be viewed by the instructor. Enrollment prerequisite is the consent of the instructor.
Art History
Art history curriculum general requirements: ten required courses from among the FA and cross-listed course offerings, plus two electives.
B. One course each in the following subject areas:
Ancient/Medieval numbered FA 40-44, 140-145 and all cross-listed CLAS courses (except CLAS 149b and CLAS/FA 186a).
Renaissance/Baroque numbered FA 45-54, 145-154.
Modern/Contemporary numbered FA 55-69, 80, 85-86, 155-169, 180-181, 188-189.
Non-Western numbered FA 40a, 70-79, 170-179, 182.
FA 33b counts towards the survey requirement, but may count towards the Non-Western requirement with permission of the Art History Undergraduate Advising Head.
C. Two additional courses numbered FA 40-89, 140-198 or cross-listed courses.
D. One methods seminar FA 199a.
E. One research seminar numbered FA 190-198.
F. Two Studio Art courses.
Prospective graduate students in the history of art are advised to acquire skills in foreign languages, which are necessary for graduate study.
Art History/Studio Art Double Major
Double majors in Art History and Studio Art are required to take:
A. Two survey courses numbered FA 30-39. AP Art History credit may replace one course in this requirement.
B. One course each in the following subject areas:
Ancient/Medieval numbered FA 40-44, 140-145 and all cross-listed CLAS courses.
Renaissance/Baroque numbered FA 45-54, 145-154.
Modern/Contemporary numbered FA 55-69, 80, 85-86, 155-169, 180-181, 188-189.
Non-Western numbered FA 40a, 70-79, 170-179, 182.
FA 33b counts towards the survey requirement, but may count towards the Non-Western requirement with permission of the Art History Undergraduate Advising Head.
C. Two additional courses numbered FA 40-89, 140-198 or cross-listed courses.
D. One methods seminar FA 199a.
E. One research seminar numbered FA 190-198.
F. Four semesters of beginning and intermediate courses in either painting or sculpture or a combination of beginning and intermediate courses in a combination of media, selected by students in consultation with their department adviser and completed by the end of the junior year.
G. Two semesters of studio electives in drawing, design, sculpture, painting, printmaking or new media.
H. Two semesters of Senior Studio (FA 110a and b) in painting or sculpture.
A. Each semester students should enroll in FA 200a in the fall and FA 200b in the spring, a tutorial with an adviser from the studio faculty. Postbaccalaureate program faculty are available to meet each week with students for individual critiques. Participation in these studio visits, as well as group critiques, visiting artists' lectures, and field trips are considered part of the tutorial curriculum.
B. Students should enroll in three additional courses appropriate to their needs and interests. The courses are designed to cultivate independent studio work and to help build the student's portfolio. Courses recommended for postbaccalaureate students are:
- FA 104a or b Advanced Drawing
- FA 116a or b Intermediate Printmaking
- FA 110a or b Senior Studio in Sculpture
- FA 7b Life Painting
- FA 8a Sculpture in the Age of New Media
C. There is a one-year residency requirement that may be extended to an additional year with permission of the program chair.
Courses of Instruction
(1-99) Primarily for Undergraduate Students
ECON/FA
87a
Economics and the Arts
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Prerequisite: ECON 2a or 10a; FA 30a, 57a, 59a or 62a. The FA course may be taken concurrently with ECON/FA 87a.
Economics and art history provide dual lenses for studying the mechanics of art auctions and building collections. The course will focus on the intersection of history and patronage of specific artists and works of art with the marketplace. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Graddy and Ms. Scott
FA
1a
Basic Visual Concepts in Painting
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Beginning-level course. Preference to first-year students and sophomores. Studio fee: $75 per semester.
An exploration of two-dimensional visual concepts using oil paint. A semester-long course (intended for the beginner) in which students explore concepts of color, composition, drawing, and expression. Observations from still-life, models, and landscapes are translated into traditional and contemporary ideas as students learn the basic techniques of oil painting. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Downey
FA
3a
Introduction to Drawing I
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Beginning-level course. No previous drawing experience necessary. Preference to first-year students and sophomores. May be repeated once for credit if taught by different instructors. Studio fee: $75 per semester.
A studio class that introduces a range of drawing materials and methods, intended for both studio majors and non-majors. Students will draw from direct observation of still-life, landscape, and the human figure. Drawing media may include graphite, charcoal, ink, and collage, as well as watercolor and pastel. The drawings of great artists throughout history will be studied to provide examples of what is possible within this broad and expressive visual language.
Mr. Downey, Ms. Lichtman, and Mr. Wardwell
FA
3b
Introduction to Drawing II
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Beginning-level course. No previous drawing experience necessary. Preference to first-year students and sophomores. May be repeated once for credit if taught by different instructors. Studio fee: $75 per semester.
An introduction to the materials and methods of drawing, intended for both studio majors and non-majors. A topics-based course. Each section will offer basic drawing instruction through focus on a particular theme, such as figure drawing, watercolor, or printmaking.
Mr. Downey, Ms. Kim, and Mr. Wardwell
FA
4a
Sculpture Foundation: 3-D Design I
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Beginning-level course. Preference to first-year students and sophomores. May be repeated once for credit if taught by different instructors. Studio fee: $75 per semester.
Exploration of three-dimensional aspects of form, space, and composition utilizing a variety of materials and sculptural techniques. Emphasizes students' inventing of images through the use of modern materials and contemporary ideas about sculpture. Assignments are based on abstract thought and problem solving. The intent of this course is to give students a rich studio experience and promote a fresh and meaningful approach to visual concepts. Usually offered every semester.
Mr. Abrams, Ms. Fair, and Staff
FA
4b
Sculpture Foundation: 3-D Design II
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Beginning-level course. Preference to first-year students and sophomores. May be repeated once for credit if taught by different instructors. Studio fee: $75 per semester.
See FA 4a for course description. Usually offered every semester.
Mr. Abrams, Ms. Fair, and Staff
FA
5b
Sculpture: Blurring the Boundaries
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Studio fee: $75 per semester.
This studio course is an opportunity to work both in painting and in sculpture. Students are expected to create a dialogue between methods of collage, drawing, monotype, painting, and methods of constructing three-dimensional objects, including mixed media and installation. We use paintings as a source for sculpture, and sculpture as a source for painting. There will be an additional two hours of monitored shop time that students are required to attend weekly outside of scheduled class time. Usually offered every year.
Staff
FA
6a
Sculpture: Body as Source
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Studio fee: $75 per semester.
Explores how the body can be involved in the subject of making sculpture. Examines different ways in which the body is used as a source, including observation, process, fragmentation, narrative, and performance. Projects are introduced through slides from contemporary artists implementing the concepts put forth. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Fair
FA
7b
Life Painting
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Prerequisite: Any studio art course. Studio fee: $75 per semester.
A semester-long course dedicated to the practice and study of the human form. Students work in oil paint from live models for the duration of the course. Students explore historical and contemporary painting issues surrounding art making from the model. Usually offered every spring.
Mr. Downey
FA
8a
Sculpture in the Age of New Media
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Studio fee: $75 per semester.
This course explores sculptural practices through new media techniques and materials, with an emphasis on projects inspired by science and technology. The course is organized to introduce the student to the very basics of 3D modeling with Cinema4D, rapid prototyping (3D printing with the Zcorp plaster printer), digital video with Final Cut Pro, basic electronics (soldering, motors, sensors) and some welding. Students will create projects that combine these media to produce performative sculptures and installations that draw from current developments in Alife, AI, biotechnology, and robotics. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Abrams
FA
9a
Introduction to Digital Photography
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Prerequisite: One Brandeis studio art course. May be repeated for credit with permission of the instructor. Studio fee: $75. per semester.
An introduction to the visual forms and concepts of the photographic image. A range of digital techniques is covered along with aspects of the history of photography. Students must provide their own digital camera. Field trips and image presentations supplement the studio aspect of the course. Usually offered every semester.
Staff
FA
10a
Intermediate Digital Media and Installation: Image/Object/Place
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Prerequisite: FA 4a or 9a. Studio fee: $75 per semester.
Studies the installation of objects in 3-dimensional space as a common art practice and refers generally to an artist's arrangement of aesthetic material to create a theatrical experience for its viewing subject. The goal of this class is to produce installations using image-based and sculptural practices. Field trips and image presentations supplement the studio aspect of the course. Usually offered every year.
Staff
FA
10b
Memory and Photography: The Past in the Present
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Prerequisite: FA 9a or permission of the instructor. Studio fee: $75 per semester.
Photographs are transformative objects - they alter the past for renewed comprehension of the present. This goal of this class is to examine through readings and photographic exercises the ways pictures are used to preserve and capture memories. Usually offered every year.
Staff
FA
23b
Architectural Drawing and Design
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Studio fee: $75 per semester.
Teaches basic architectural drawing, drafting, and modeling skills under the umbrella of a unifying theory and/or theme. It is structured as an introductory studio course requiring no previous knowledge or background in architectural design. Students learn how to build models, execute architectural drawings, and to approach architectural design problems. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Abrams
FA
23bj
Architectural Drawing and Design
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Studio fee: $75 per semester.
Teaches basic architectural drawing, drafting, and modeling skills under the umbrella of a unifying theory and/or theme. It is structured as an introductory studio course requiring no previous knowledge or background in architectural design. Students learn how to build models, execute architectural drawings, and to approach architectural design problems. Offered as part of JBS program.
Staff
FA
24aj
Architectural Design Studies: Architectural Survey / Field Study
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Introduces students to broad themes of architectural design. Students will learn to analyze and interpret aesthetic concepts by examining properties of existing buildings, and to apply findings in their own design. Offered as part of JBS program.
Mr. Abrams
FA
24bj
Architectural Design Studies: Design and Build
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Teaches students the fundamental concepts and skills required to build modest structures. Students will work from designs introduced and refined in two related JBS courses to build structures on the Brandeis campus. Offered as part of JBS program.
Mr. Abrams
FA
28a
Painting Siena
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Prerequisite: One Fine Arts studio course. One painting course is recommended.
Explores the unique cultural and artistic contributions of Siena, Italy. Students will study and practice traditional and contemporary painting techniques with excursions to visit masterworks and experience the cultural life of the medieval city. Offered as part of Brandeis Siena Study Abroad program.
Mr. Wardwell
FA
29a
Life into Art: A History of Contemporary Art
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Does not meet the requirements for the major in Art History. May not be taken for credit by students after they have taken FA 164a or FA 165a.
Introduces art from the mid-20th century to the early 21st century with attention to the intersections of aesthetics, politics, history and the economy. One-time special offering, summer 2014.
Mr. Kalb
FA
30a
History of Art I: From Antiquity to the Middle Ages
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Open to all students; first-year students and sophomores are encouraged to enroll. May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 17a in prior years.
A survey of major styles in architecture, sculpture, and painting from prehistoric times to the Gothic cathedral. Usually offered every year.
Mr. McClendon
FA
30b
History of Art II: From the Renaissance to the Modern Age
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Open to all students; first-year students and sophomores are encouraged to enroll. May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 18b in prior years.
A study of the major styles in architecture, painting, and sculpture of the West from the Renaissance to the early twentieth century. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Unglaub
FA
33b
Islamic Art and Architecture
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May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 39b in prior years.
Introduces architecture and arts of the Islamic lands from seventh-century Levant to post-modernism in Iran, India, and the Gulf states. Provides an overview of major themes and regional variations, and their socio-political and historical context. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Grigor
FA
34a
History of Asian Art
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May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 12a in prior years.
A selective survey of the art of the three major Asian areas: India, China, and Japan. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Wong
FA
40a
The Gift of the Nile: Egyptian Art and Archaeology
[
ca
nw
]
Surveys the art, archaeology, and architecture of ancient Egypt and how various traditions to the present have approached its study. The course will discuss the unique setting of northeast Africa, the achievements of Pharonic Egypt, the periods when outsiders co-opted its glorious past, and recent issues of cultural heritage. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Koh
FA
42b
The Age of Cathedrals
[
ca
]
Architecture, sculpture, and painting (including stained glass) in Western Europe from the twelfth to the fifteenth century, with particular attention to the great churches of medieval France. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. McClendon
FA
45b
Art of the Early Renaissance in Italy
[
ca
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 51a in prior years.
Examines major painters, sculptors, and architects in Florence, Rome, and Venice from Giotto to Bellini (1290-1500). Important themes include the revival of Antiquity, the visual arts and the culture of Humanism, the Rise of the Medici, art and the ideal of the Republic, the development of art theory and criticism, Naturalism and the Sacred image, and the relation of artists and patrons during times of crisis (black death, Pazzi Conspiracy, and Savonarola). Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Unglaub
FA
46b
High and Late Renaissance in Italy
[
ca
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 58b in prior years.
Examines the major works of art produced in Italy in the sixteenth century. It focuses on the principal centers of Florence, Rome, and Venice. The foremost artists of the age, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Titian, receive in-depth coverage. The course also considers the social institutions, ecclesiastical, courtly and civic, that furnished the patronage opportunities and promoted the ideas that occasioned, even demanded, new artistic forms of grace and harmony, energy and torsion. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Unglaub
FA
47b
Renaissance Art in Northern Europe
[
ca
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 54b in prior years.
A survey of the art of the Netherlands, Germany, and France in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Cultural developments such as the invention of printing, the Protestant Reformation, and the practices of alchemy and witchcraft will be considered through the work of major artists. Usually offered every fourth year.
Mr. Unglaub
FA
56a
American Art
[
ca
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 123a in prior years.
A survey of American painting from the colonial period to the present. Usually offered every third year.
Mr. Kalb
FA
57a
Paris/New York: Revolutions of Modernism
[
ca
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 70a in prior years.
A chronological survey of painting and sculpture from the French Revolution
to the emergence of Pop Art and Minimalism. Principal periods: Manet and the
impressionists, Picasso and Cubism, Matisse, expressionism, Dada and Surrealism, abstract expressionism and Pop avant-garde in America. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Scott
FA
58a
Modern Sculpture As Public Art
[
ca
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 172a in prior years.
Focuses on multiple definitions of three-dimensional art in the public realm, from statue to structure. This course charts the development of sculpture for nineteenth-century practice, (Rodin) to abstraction (Brancusi, Calder), and considers the conceptual and installation art projects of contemporary times (Oldenburg, Maya Lin, Shimon Attie, Sarah Sze). Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Scott
FA
59a
Modern Art and Modern Culture
[
ca
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 71a in prior years.
A thematic study of modernism in twentieth-century painting and sculpture, emphasizing three trends: primitivism, spiritualism, and the redefinition of reality. Individual artists and art movements will be examined in the context of literature, politics, and aesthetic theory. Artists include Picasso, Matisse, Kandinsky, and Duchamp. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Kalb
FA
61a
History of Photography
[
ca
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 76b in prior years.
The history of photography from its invention in 1839 to the present, with an emphasis on developments in America. Photography is studied as a documentary and an artistic medium. Topics include Alfred Stieglitz and the photo-secession, Depression-era documentary, Robert Frank and street photography, and postmodern photography. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Kalb
FA
62a
Art since 1945
[
ca
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 74a in prior years.
Survey of developments in painting and sculpture since World War II. Consideration of major trends of the period, including abstract expressionism, pop art, minimalism, color field painting, and realism. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Kalb
FA
68a
Israeli Art and Visual Culture: Forging Identities Between East and West
[
ca
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 153a in prior years.
An examination of the visual arts created in Israel since the beginning of the twentieth century. Combines a chronological overview of major trends with an in-depth examination of select case studies of individual artists and specific themes.
Ms. Ankori
FA
69b
Inventing Tradition: Women as Artists, Women as Art
[
ca
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 61b in prior years.
Provides an art-historical overview and a feminist critique of gender and representation followed by select case studies of the art and life of women artists. Examples include non-Western art. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Ankori
FA
70b
The Art of China
[
ca
nw
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 182a in prior years.
A survey of Chinese art from antiquity to the Ch'ing dynasty. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Wong
FA
71b
The Art of Japan
[
ca
nw
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 181b in prior years.
A survey of Japanese art from antiquity to the modern period. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Wong
FA
76a
Palestinian and Israeli Art, Film and Visual Culture: Intersecting Visions
[
ca
]
Israelis and Palestinians have been creating vibrant and bold works of art that both reflect and transcend the region's conflict-ridden history. This course offers a critical comparative study of Israeli and Palestinian art, exploring contentious expressions of pain and trauma as well as shared visions of hope and peace. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Ankori
FA
77b
Twentieth-Century and Contemporary Latin American Art
[
ca
nw
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 24b in prior years.
This course is a selective survey of the outstanding figures and movements that have made significant contributions to the history of Latin American art. Special focus will be on Mexican, Argentinean, Brazilian, Venezuelan and Cuban artists. Usually offered every third year.
Staff
FA
79a
Modernism Elsewhere
[
ca
nw
]
Explores major architectural developments from the late 19th to the 21st century outside the West. While focused on the territories between the India Subcontinent and North Africa, it examines Western colonial politics of center-periphery in creating architectural forms, discourses, and practices in the postcolonial world. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Grigor
FA
80a
Modern Architecture
[
ca
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 122a in prior years.
Explores major architectural developments from the 19th and to the 21st century. While tracing European and American movements, links are made to the architectural implications of Western ambitions worldwide and the role architecture played in the politics of colonialism. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Grigor
FA
84a
Sex and Space
[
ca
]
For students 18 years of age and above.
Explores the multidimensional aspects of sex in shaping architectural myths, designs, discourses and critical theories through lectures, class discussions, student presentation of case studies, student building of architectural models, viewing of short films, and field trips in Greater Boston. Active student engagement with and participation in this course is a must. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Grigor
FA
85a
History of Boston Architecture
[
ca
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 22b in prior years.
A survey of the history of modern and contemporary Boston architecture and urban planning from the immigration of great European modernist architects to the contemporary city. The presentation will be chronological and focused on the last two centuries. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Grigor
FA
86b
Museum Studies
[
ca
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 85b in prior years.
An experiential learning seminar focused on the art object in the context of the museum; the history of museums (architecture, educational mission, curatorial presentation); museum ethics and provenance studies; new theories of museums and their expanded role in the community. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Scott
FA
92a
Internship and Analysis in Studio Art
Usually offered every year.
Staff
FA
92b
Internship and Analysis in Art History
Students may petition to receive credit for internships completed in museums, galleries and arts institutions. Student must get a faculty sponsor with whom they will agree in advance on the internship and requirements for receiving credit. Art history credit can also be earned by completing one of several internships offered at the Rose Art Museum for which students apply in the spring semester for the following academic year. At the Rose, focus may center in the areas of education, registrar, exhibition installation, or curatorial work. All student applications to the Rose, with preference given to upperclassmen, must be endorsed by a faculty recommendation. Usually offered every semester.
Staff
FA
96a
Senior Research in Art History
Prerequisite: A minimum GPA in fine arts courses of 3.00. Art history students consult with faculty the second semester of their junior year and petition to enroll at the beginning of their senior year.
Usually offered every year.
FA
96b
Senior Research in Art History
Prerequisite: A minimum GPA in fine arts courses of 3.00. Art history students consult with faculty the second semester of their junior year and petition to enroll at the beginning of their senior year.
Usually offered every year.
Staff
FA
98a
Independent Study in Studio Art
Prerequisites: Normally open only to studio majors in their junior and senior years. As the number of times FA 98a may be taken is limited by department regulations, the interested student should consult the department studio advising head and his or her adviser.
Usually offered every year.
Staff
FA
98b
Independent Study in Art History
Prerequisites: Normally open only to art history majors in their junior and senior years. As the number of times FA 98b may be taken is limited by department regulations, the interested student should consult the art history advising head and his or her adviser.
Usually offered every year.
Staff
FA
99a
Senior Research in Studio Art
Prerequisites: A GPA in fine arts courses of 3.00.
Usually offered every year.
Staff
FA
99b
Senior Research in Studio Art
Prerequisites: A GPA in fine arts courses of 3.00. Interested studio students must take FA 99a in the fall semester of their senior year, in addition to FA 110a and 110b. At the beginning of the spring semester, students wishing to pursue honors will have their artwork reviewed by studio faculty. Based on this review, eligible students will be given permission to enroll in FA 99b for the spring semester.
Usually offered every year.
Staff
(100-199) For Both Undergraduate and Graduate Students
CLAS/FA
186a
The Art and Archaeology of Korea
[
ca
hum
nw
]
Surveys the art, archaeology, and architecture of Korea from the Prehistoric period to the twentieth century. We will conceptualize the study of Korean material culture by highlighting striking parallels with ancient Greece. This course emphasizes the Korean peninsula's unique geographic placement in East Asia. Usually offered every third year.
Mr. Koh
FA
103a
Intermediate Drawing I
[
ca
]
Recommended for students who have had previous drawing experience. Studio fee: $75 per semester.
Intended for students seeking drawing experience beyond FA 3a and for studio art majors. Various materials and methods of drawing are used, as historical and contemporary works are studied through slides and museum strips. Students hone basic skills and use drawing as an increasingly personal language.
Mr. Gisholt
FA
103b
Intermediate Drawing II
[
ca
]
Recommended for students who have had previous drawing experience. Studio fee: $75 per semester.
See FA 103a.
Mr. Gisholt
FA
104a
Advanced Drawing I
[
ca
]
Prerequisites: FA 103a and FA 103b or permission of the instructor. Studio fee: $75 per semester. May be repeated once for credit.
Offers a wide range of experience in drawing. Perceptual and conceptual issues will be pursued, and students will be encouraged to concentrate on the more complex personal and creative aspects of drawing. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Campbell
FA
104b
Advanced Drawing II
[
ca
]
Prerequisites: FA 103a and FA 103b or permission of the instructor. Studio fee: $75 per semester. May be repeated once for credit.
See FA 104a for course description. A continuation of FA 104a. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Campbell
FA
105a
Introduction to Printmaking: Intaglio
[
ca
]
Prerequisite: Experience in drawing is strongly recommended. Studio fee: $75 per semester.
Using the etching press in the Printmaking Studio, this course is an introduction to basic intaglio processes of drypoint and etching as well as monotype, carborundum prints and collograph. Students will work on metal, plastic or cardboard plates and make experimental, painterly images in both black and white, and color. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Gisholt
FA
105b
Introduction to Printmaking: Woodcut and Relief
[
ca
]
Prerequisite: Previous drawing experience. Studio fee: $75 per semester.
Introduction to relief printmaking using linoleum and woodblock. Students become familiar with working in a print shop, how to use color in printmaking, planning images, direct drawing on wood, and how to critique printmaking in a group setting. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Gisholt
FA
107a
Beginning Painting
[
ca
]
Prerequisite: Previous drawing experience. Studio fee: $75 per semester.
FA 107a and FA 107b are two parts of a year-long experience, intended to begin in the fall and continue in the spring. This is a six-hour per week studio class recommended for sophomore studio art majors or other students desiring an in-depth painting course. Color theory and various methods of oil painting will be introduced while working from landscape, still life, and the figure. Museum trips and slide lectures will augment studio work.
Ms. Lichtman
FA
107b
Beginning Painting II
[
ca
]
Prerequisite: FA 107a or permission of the instructor. Studio fee: $75 per semester.
FA 107a and FA 107b are two parts of a year-long experience, intended to begin in the fall and continue in the spring. This is a six-hour per week studio class recommended for sophomore studio art majors or other students desiring an in-depth painting course. Color theory and various methods of oil painting will be introduced while working from landscape, still life, and the figure. Museum trips and slide lectures will augment studio work.
Ms. Lichtman
FA
108a
Intermediate Painting
[
ca
]
Prerequisites: FA 107a and FA 107b or permission of the instructor. Studio fee: $75 per semester.
An intermediate-level painting course emphasizing the plastic and formal means necessary to create work that will become an increasingly personal statement. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Campbell
FA
108b
Intermediate Painting II
[
ca
]
Prerequisite: FA 108a or permission of the instructor. Studio fee: $75 per semester.
An intermediate-level painting course emphasizing the plastic and formal means necessary to create work that will become an increasingly personal statement. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Campbell
FA
109b
Introduction to Printmaking: Silkscreen
[
ca
]
Prerequisite: Previous drawing experience. Studio fee: $75 per semester.
Explores silkscreen using photographic stencil techniques. Students learn how to create stencils that are handmade and computer-generated. The relationship between fine art and commercial printing is discussed. Usually offered every second year.
Staff
FA
110a
Senior Studio
[
ca
]
Prerequisites: FA 108a and b, FA 112a and b, or permission of the instructor. Studio fee: $75 per semester.
FA 110a and FA 110b are considered two halves of a full-year experience required for studio art majors. Heuristic in nature, this course culminates in a final studio faculty review of the work produced. Review will take the form of an exhibition. Student work can be undertaken in sculpture or painting or a combination of both. Usually offered every year.
Staff (Sculpture) and Mr. Wardwell (Painting)
FA
110b
Senior Studio II
[
ca
]
Prerequisites: FA 108a and b, FA 112a and b, or permission of the instructor. Studio fee: $75 per semester.
FA 110a and FA 110b are considered two halves of a full-year experience required for studio art majors. Heuristic in nature, this course culminates in a final studio faculty review of the work produced. Review will take the form of an exhibition. Student work can be undertaken in sculpture or painting or a combination of both. Usually offered every year.
Staff (Sculpture) and Mr. Wardwell (Painting)
FA
112a
Intermediate Sculpture
[
ca
]
Prerequisite: FA 4a or FA 4b or FA111a or FA 111b or permission of the instructor. Studio fee: $75 per semester. May be repeated once for credit.
Offers an in-depth examination of sculptural concepts ranging from objects to installations, site-specific works, and more. Students will be encouraged to develop their own visual vocabulary and to understand their ideas in the context of contemporary sculpture.
Ms. Fair
FA
112b
Intermediate Sculpture II
[
ca
]
Prerequisite: FA 112a. Studio fee: $75 per semester. May be repeated once for credit.
Exploration of diverse sculptural concepts utilizing various materials and techniques. Emphasis on personal motivation and development. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Fair
FA
116a
Drawing into Print
[
ca
]
Prerequisite: Previous drawing experience. Studio fee: $75 per semester.
Seeks to develop a contemporary attitude toward printmaking. Familiarizes the intermediate printmaker with a range of printmaking techniques, such as intaglio, collagraph, relief, and lithography. Traditional and digital techniques are discussed. Intended for students who have taken FA 105a or b, FA 109a or b or postbaccalaureate students in studio art. Usually offered every semester.
Mr. Gisholt
FA
143a
The Art of Medieval England
[
ca
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 43a in prior years.
A survey of art and architecture from the end of the Roman Empire to the Renaissance. Particular concern for the synthesis of native and foreign cultures and their artistic styles, resulting from the barbarian invasions, the Norman conquest, and political rivalry with France. Usually offered every fourth year.
Mr. McClendon
FA
145a
St. Peter's and the Vatican
[
ca
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 45a in prior years.
The history, growth, and development of Christendom's most famous shrine, with particular concern for the relationship between the design and decoration of the Renaissance/baroque church and palace complex and their early Christian and medieval predecessors. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. McClendon
FA
149a
The Age of Rubens and Rembrandt
[
ca
wi
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 63a in prior years.
Explores the major figures of seventeenth-century painting in the Netherlands and Flanders: Rubens, Van Dyck, Rembrandt, and Vermeer. During this time, the ideal of Renaissance painter/courtier gives way to the birth of the modern artist in an open market, revolutionizing the subjects, themes, and styles of painting. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Unglaub
FA
155a
Impressionism: Avant-Garde Rebellion in Context
[
ca
wi
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 171a in prior years.
Focuses on the major artists from the period 1863 - 1886, from the time of Manet and the Salon des Refusés through the eight group exhibitions of Monet, Renoir, Degas, Cézanne, Pissarro, Morisot, and Cassatt and company. The antithesis of impressionism, its academic rivals, the backdrop of the sociopolitical context, the Second Empire, and the Third Republic will be provided, as well as the roots of the movement's dissolution. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Scott
FA
156b
Postimpressionism and Symbolism, 1880-1910
[
ca
wi
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 174b in prior years.
The course curriculum covers postimpressionist artists Seurat, Cézanne, Van Gogh, and Gauguin, and more broadly, symbolist trends, expressionism, and art nouveau at the end of the nineteenth century. These trends are followed through chronologically to the early twentieth century in the art of Matisse and the fauves, and in German expressionism. Usually offered every fourth year.
Ms. Scott
FA
157a
American Modernism: Painting & Photography 1900-1950
[
ca
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 173a in prior years.
The focus of this lecture course will be the art of Georgia O'Keeffe, her stylistic evolution, sources, and collaboration with contemporaries, especially Stieglitz, Strand, Dove, Demuth, Marin, and Hartley. Their collective aesthetic aspirations will be set against early twentieth-century modernism and important recent trends from Europe. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Scott
FA
158b
Picasso and Matisse
[
ca
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 173b in prior years.
Examines the major contributions of all periods of Picasso's career, with special focus on the development of Cubism, counterbalanced with the color expression of Matisse and the Fauves. The larger circle of artists, poets, and patrons associated with both these masters--from Juan Gris, Fernand Leger, and especially Georges Braque, to Gertrude Stein and Guillaume Apollinaire--forms the core subject matter. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Scott
FA
164a
The Re-Invention of Art
[
ca
]
By the 1960s, the United States was the art-world capital. Radical art, however, appeared everywhere. Examines US art of the 1960's-1970s in light of artistic production in, among other places, Germany, England, Italy, Brazil, Argentina, Senegal, and Japan. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Kalb
FA
165a
Contemporary Art
[
ca
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 152a in prior years.
After theories of power and representation and art movements of pop, minimalism, and conceptual art were established by the 1970s, artists began to create what we see in galleries today. This course addresses art at the turn of the twentieth century with attention to intersections of art and identity, politics, economy, and history. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Kalb
FA
170a
Arts of the Ming Dynasty
[
ca
nw
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 15b in prior years.
Examines a broad array of arts from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The first half of the course focuses on activities in and around the Chinese court. The second half concentrates on monuments related to literati and popular cultures. Usually offered every three years.
Ms. Wong
FA
171b
Buddhist Art
[
ca
nw
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 13b in prior years.
The history of Buddhist art on the Silk Road. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Wong
FA
174a
Art and Trauma: Israeli, Palestinian, Latin American and United States Art
[
ca
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 154b in prior years.
A comparative and critical examination of the various ways in which personal traumas (illness, death, loss) and collective traumas (war, the Holocaust, exile) find meaningful expression in the work of modern and contemporary artists from diverse regions. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Ankori
FA
175a
Moving Images: Israeli Video Art in Context
[
ca
]
Studies Israeli video artists who have become world renowned for their innovative contributions to the genre. In this course, we will view, analyze, and interpret Israeli video art, tracing its historical and 'genealogical' trajectory, thematic foci, formal concerns, iconographical sources and the diverse regional, political, and art historical contexts within which it is being produced and exhibited. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Ankori
FA
178a
Frida Kahlo: Art, Life and Legacy
[
ca
nw
]
Mexican artist Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) has become an international cultural icon. Her innovative paintings brilliantly re-envision identity, gender and the female body, inspiring celebrities from Madonna to Salma Hayek. This course explores the art and life of Frida Kahlo, as well as her immense influence on contemporary art, film and popular culture. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Ankori
FA
180a
Contemporary Architecture
[
ca
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 121a in prior years.
A study of stylistic and technological developments in post-World War II architecture. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Grigor
FA
181a
Memory Architecture
[
ca
]
Explores the relationship between the politics of memory and architecture. How have architects and theoreticians dealt with questions related to commemoration, celebration, erasure, and preservation of collective identities since the 19th century. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Grigor
FA
182b
Politics of Public Space
[
ca
]
An exploration of the politics of public space primarily in the Middle East and North Africa in the 20th and 21st centuries. Examines architectural monuments, urban landscapes, urban fabrics and square, and the use of historical landmarks as contentions of modern identity politics and power. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Grigor
FA
191b
Studies in Renaissance and Baroque Art
[
ca
wi
]
Open to Fine Arts majors and minors, Italian Studies minors, and Medieval and Renaissance minors only. Topics may vary from year to year; the course may be repeated for credit as topics change.
Usually offered every third year.
Mr. Unglaub
FA
192a
Studies in Modern and Contemporary Art
[
ca
]
Topics may vary from year to year; the course may be repeated for credit.
Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Ankori, Mr. Kalb, or Ms. Scott
FA
193a
Studies in Modern and Contemporary Architecture
[
ca
]
Topics may vary from year to year; the course may be repeated for credit with permission of the instructor.
Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Grigor
FA
197a
Studies in Asian Art
[
ca
nw
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 184a in prior years.
Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Wong
FA
199a
Methods and Approaches in the History of Art
[
ca
wi
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 197b in prior years.
Explores various ways of analyzing works of art and provides an overview of the historical development of the discipline. Designed specifically for junior and senior art history majors. Usually offered every year.
Mr. McClendon
(200 and above) Primarily for Graduate Students
FA
200a
Postbaccalaureate Tutorial/Independent Study
Yields eight semester-hour credits.
Staff
FA
200b
Postbaccalaureate Tutorial/Independent Study
Yields eight semester-hour credits.
Staff
FA
298b
Postbaccalaureate Independent Study in Studio Art
Postbaccalaureate students may pursue an independent study project with a studio faculty member adviser. Usually offered every spring.
Staff
Studio Art Courses
FA
1a
Basic Visual Concepts in Painting
[
ca
]
Beginning-level course. Preference to first-year students and sophomores. Studio fee: $75 per semester.
An exploration of two-dimensional visual concepts using oil paint. A semester-long course (intended for the beginner) in which students explore concepts of color, composition, drawing, and expression. Observations from still-life, models, and landscapes are translated into traditional and contemporary ideas as students learn the basic techniques of oil painting. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Downey
FA
3a
Introduction to Drawing I
[
ca
]
Beginning-level course. No previous drawing experience necessary. Preference to first-year students and sophomores. May be repeated once for credit if taught by different instructors. Studio fee: $75 per semester.
A studio class that introduces a range of drawing materials and methods, intended for both studio majors and non-majors. Students will draw from direct observation of still-life, landscape, and the human figure. Drawing media may include graphite, charcoal, ink, and collage, as well as watercolor and pastel. The drawings of great artists throughout history will be studied to provide examples of what is possible within this broad and expressive visual language.
Mr. Downey, Ms. Lichtman, and Mr. Wardwell
FA
3b
Introduction to Drawing II
[
ca
]
Beginning-level course. No previous drawing experience necessary. Preference to first-year students and sophomores. May be repeated once for credit if taught by different instructors. Studio fee: $75 per semester.
An introduction to the materials and methods of drawing, intended for both studio majors and non-majors. A topics-based course. Each section will offer basic drawing instruction through focus on a particular theme, such as figure drawing, watercolor, or printmaking.
Mr. Downey, Ms. Kim, and Mr. Wardwell
FA
4a
Sculpture Foundation: 3-D Design I
[
ca
]
Beginning-level course. Preference to first-year students and sophomores. May be repeated once for credit if taught by different instructors. Studio fee: $75 per semester.
Exploration of three-dimensional aspects of form, space, and composition utilizing a variety of materials and sculptural techniques. Emphasizes students' inventing of images through the use of modern materials and contemporary ideas about sculpture. Assignments are based on abstract thought and problem solving. The intent of this course is to give students a rich studio experience and promote a fresh and meaningful approach to visual concepts. Usually offered every semester.
Mr. Abrams, Ms. Fair, and Staff
FA
4b
Sculpture Foundation: 3-D Design II
[
ca
]
Beginning-level course. Preference to first-year students and sophomores. May be repeated once for credit if taught by different instructors. Studio fee: $75 per semester.
See FA 4a for course description. Usually offered every semester.
Mr. Abrams, Ms. Fair, and Staff
FA
5b
Sculpture: Blurring the Boundaries
[
ca
]
Studio fee: $75 per semester.
This studio course is an opportunity to work both in painting and in sculpture. Students are expected to create a dialogue between methods of collage, drawing, monotype, painting, and methods of constructing three-dimensional objects, including mixed media and installation. We use paintings as a source for sculpture, and sculpture as a source for painting. There will be an additional two hours of monitored shop time that students are required to attend weekly outside of scheduled class time. Usually offered every year.
Staff
FA
6a
Sculpture: Body as Source
[
ca
]
Studio fee: $75 per semester.
Explores how the body can be involved in the subject of making sculpture. Examines different ways in which the body is used as a source, including observation, process, fragmentation, narrative, and performance. Projects are introduced through slides from contemporary artists implementing the concepts put forth. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Fair
FA
7b
Life Painting
[
ca
]
Prerequisite: Any studio art course. Studio fee: $75 per semester.
A semester-long course dedicated to the practice and study of the human form. Students work in oil paint from live models for the duration of the course. Students explore historical and contemporary painting issues surrounding art making from the model. Usually offered every spring.
Mr. Downey
FA
8a
Sculpture in the Age of New Media
[
ca
]
Studio fee: $75 per semester.
This course explores sculptural practices through new media techniques and materials, with an emphasis on projects inspired by science and technology. The course is organized to introduce the student to the very basics of 3D modeling with Cinema4D, rapid prototyping (3D printing with the Zcorp plaster printer), digital video with Final Cut Pro, basic electronics (soldering, motors, sensors) and some welding. Students will create projects that combine these media to produce performative sculptures and installations that draw from current developments in Alife, AI, biotechnology, and robotics. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Abrams
FA
9a
Introduction to Digital Photography
[
ca
]
Prerequisite: One Brandeis studio art course. May be repeated for credit with permission of the instructor. Studio fee: $75. per semester.
An introduction to the visual forms and concepts of the photographic image. A range of digital techniques is covered along with aspects of the history of photography. Students must provide their own digital camera. Field trips and image presentations supplement the studio aspect of the course. Usually offered every semester.
Staff
FA
10b
Memory and Photography: The Past in the Present
[
ca
]
Prerequisite: FA 9a or permission of the instructor. Studio fee: $75 per semester.
Photographs are transformative objects - they alter the past for renewed comprehension of the present. This goal of this class is to examine through readings and photographic exercises the ways pictures are used to preserve and capture memories. Usually offered every year.
Staff
FA
23b
Architectural Drawing and Design
[
ca
]
Studio fee: $75 per semester.
Teaches basic architectural drawing, drafting, and modeling skills under the umbrella of a unifying theory and/or theme. It is structured as an introductory studio course requiring no previous knowledge or background in architectural design. Students learn how to build models, execute architectural drawings, and to approach architectural design problems. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Abrams
FA
23bj
Architectural Drawing and Design
[
ca
]
Studio fee: $75 per semester.
Teaches basic architectural drawing, drafting, and modeling skills under the umbrella of a unifying theory and/or theme. It is structured as an introductory studio course requiring no previous knowledge or background in architectural design. Students learn how to build models, execute architectural drawings, and to approach architectural design problems. Offered as part of JBS program.
Staff
FA
24aj
Architectural Design Studies: Architectural Survey / Field Study
[
ca
]
Introduces students to broad themes of architectural design. Students will learn to analyze and interpret aesthetic concepts by examining properties of existing buildings, and to apply findings in their own design. Offered as part of JBS program.
Mr. Abrams
FA
24bj
Architectural Design Studies: Design and Build
[
ca
]
Teaches students the fundamental concepts and skills required to build modest structures. Students will work from designs introduced and refined in two related JBS courses to build structures on the Brandeis campus. Offered as part of JBS program.
Mr. Abrams
FA
28a
Painting Siena
[
ca
]
Prerequisite: One Fine Arts studio course. One painting course is recommended.
Explores the unique cultural and artistic contributions of Siena, Italy. Students will study and practice traditional and contemporary painting techniques with excursions to visit masterworks and experience the cultural life of the medieval city. Offered as part of Brandeis Siena Study Abroad program.
Mr. Wardwell
FA
84a
Sex and Space
[
ca
]
For students 18 years of age and above.
Explores the multidimensional aspects of sex in shaping architectural myths, designs, discourses and critical theories through lectures, class discussions, student presentation of case studies, student building of architectural models, viewing of short films, and field trips in Greater Boston. Active student engagement with and participation in this course is a must. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Grigor
FA
92a
Internship and Analysis in Studio Art
Usually offered every year.
Staff
FA
98a
Independent Study in Studio Art
Prerequisites: Normally open only to studio majors in their junior and senior years. As the number of times FA 98a may be taken is limited by department regulations, the interested student should consult the department studio advising head and his or her adviser.
Usually offered every year.
Staff
FA
99a
Senior Research in Studio Art
Prerequisites: A GPA in fine arts courses of 3.00.
Usually offered every year.
Staff
FA
99b
Senior Research in Studio Art
Prerequisites: A GPA in fine arts courses of 3.00. Interested studio students must take FA 99a in the fall semester of their senior year, in addition to FA 110a and 110b. At the beginning of the spring semester, students wishing to pursue honors will have their artwork reviewed by studio faculty. Based on this review, eligible students will be given permission to enroll in FA 99b for the spring semester.
Usually offered every year.
Staff
FA
103a
Intermediate Drawing I
[
ca
]
Recommended for students who have had previous drawing experience. Studio fee: $75 per semester.
Intended for students seeking drawing experience beyond FA 3a and for studio art majors. Various materials and methods of drawing are used, as historical and contemporary works are studied through slides and museum strips. Students hone basic skills and use drawing as an increasingly personal language.
Mr. Gisholt
FA
103b
Intermediate Drawing II
[
ca
]
Recommended for students who have had previous drawing experience. Studio fee: $75 per semester.
See FA 103a.
Mr. Gisholt
FA
104a
Advanced Drawing I
[
ca
]
Prerequisites: FA 103a and FA 103b or permission of the instructor. Studio fee: $75 per semester. May be repeated once for credit.
Offers a wide range of experience in drawing. Perceptual and conceptual issues will be pursued, and students will be encouraged to concentrate on the more complex personal and creative aspects of drawing. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Campbell
FA
104b
Advanced Drawing II
[
ca
]
Prerequisites: FA 103a and FA 103b or permission of the instructor. Studio fee: $75 per semester. May be repeated once for credit.
See FA 104a for course description. A continuation of FA 104a. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Campbell
FA
105a
Introduction to Printmaking: Intaglio
[
ca
]
Prerequisite: Experience in drawing is strongly recommended. Studio fee: $75 per semester.
Using the etching press in the Printmaking Studio, this course is an introduction to basic intaglio processes of drypoint and etching as well as monotype, carborundum prints and collograph. Students will work on metal, plastic or cardboard plates and make experimental, painterly images in both black and white, and color. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Gisholt
FA
105b
Introduction to Printmaking: Woodcut and Relief
[
ca
]
Prerequisite: Previous drawing experience. Studio fee: $75 per semester.
Introduction to relief printmaking using linoleum and woodblock. Students become familiar with working in a print shop, how to use color in printmaking, planning images, direct drawing on wood, and how to critique printmaking in a group setting. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Gisholt
FA
107a
Beginning Painting
[
ca
]
Prerequisite: Previous drawing experience. Studio fee: $75 per semester.
FA 107a and FA 107b are two parts of a year-long experience, intended to begin in the fall and continue in the spring. This is a six-hour per week studio class recommended for sophomore studio art majors or other students desiring an in-depth painting course. Color theory and various methods of oil painting will be introduced while working from landscape, still life, and the figure. Museum trips and slide lectures will augment studio work.
Ms. Lichtman
FA
107b
Beginning Painting II
[
ca
]
Prerequisite: FA 107a or permission of the instructor. Studio fee: $75 per semester.
FA 107a and FA 107b are two parts of a year-long experience, intended to begin in the fall and continue in the spring. This is a six-hour per week studio class recommended for sophomore studio art majors or other students desiring an in-depth painting course. Color theory and various methods of oil painting will be introduced while working from landscape, still life, and the figure. Museum trips and slide lectures will augment studio work.
Ms. Lichtman
FA
108a
Intermediate Painting
[
ca
]
Prerequisites: FA 107a and FA 107b or permission of the instructor. Studio fee: $75 per semester.
An intermediate-level painting course emphasizing the plastic and formal means necessary to create work that will become an increasingly personal statement. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Campbell
FA
108b
Intermediate Painting II
[
ca
]
Prerequisite: FA 108a or permission of the instructor. Studio fee: $75 per semester.
An intermediate-level painting course emphasizing the plastic and formal means necessary to create work that will become an increasingly personal statement. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Campbell
FA
109b
Introduction to Printmaking: Silkscreen
[
ca
]
Prerequisite: Previous drawing experience. Studio fee: $75 per semester.
Explores silkscreen using photographic stencil techniques. Students learn how to create stencils that are handmade and computer-generated. The relationship between fine art and commercial printing is discussed. Usually offered every second year.
Staff
FA
110a
Senior Studio
[
ca
]
Prerequisites: FA 108a and b, FA 112a and b, or permission of the instructor. Studio fee: $75 per semester.
FA 110a and FA 110b are considered two halves of a full-year experience required for studio art majors. Heuristic in nature, this course culminates in a final studio faculty review of the work produced. Review will take the form of an exhibition. Student work can be undertaken in sculpture or painting or a combination of both. Usually offered every year.
Staff (Sculpture) and Mr. Wardwell (Painting)
FA
110b
Senior Studio II
[
ca
]
Prerequisites: FA 108a and b, FA 112a and b, or permission of the instructor. Studio fee: $75 per semester.
FA 110a and FA 110b are considered two halves of a full-year experience required for studio art majors. Heuristic in nature, this course culminates in a final studio faculty review of the work produced. Review will take the form of an exhibition. Student work can be undertaken in sculpture or painting or a combination of both. Usually offered every year.
Staff (Sculpture) and Mr. Wardwell (Painting)
FA
112a
Intermediate Sculpture
[
ca
]
Prerequisite: FA 4a or FA 4b or FA111a or FA 111b or permission of the instructor. Studio fee: $75 per semester. May be repeated once for credit.
Offers an in-depth examination of sculptural concepts ranging from objects to installations, site-specific works, and more. Students will be encouraged to develop their own visual vocabulary and to understand their ideas in the context of contemporary sculpture.
Ms. Fair
FA
112b
Intermediate Sculpture II
[
ca
]
Prerequisite: FA 112a. Studio fee: $75 per semester. May be repeated once for credit.
Exploration of diverse sculptural concepts utilizing various materials and techniques. Emphasis on personal motivation and development. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Fair
FA
116a
Drawing into Print
[
ca
]
Prerequisite: Previous drawing experience. Studio fee: $75 per semester.
Seeks to develop a contemporary attitude toward printmaking. Familiarizes the intermediate printmaker with a range of printmaking techniques, such as intaglio, collagraph, relief, and lithography. Traditional and digital techniques are discussed. Intended for students who have taken FA 105a or b, FA 109a or b or postbaccalaureate students in studio art. Usually offered every semester.
Mr. Gisholt
FA
181a
Memory Architecture
[
ca
]
Explores the relationship between the politics of memory and architecture. How have architects and theoreticians dealt with questions related to commemoration, celebration, erasure, and preservation of collective identities since the 19th century. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Grigor
FA
200a
Postbaccalaureate Tutorial/Independent Study
Yields eight semester-hour credits.
Staff
FA
200b
Postbaccalaureate Tutorial/Independent Study
Yields eight semester-hour credits.
Staff
FA
298b
Postbaccalaureate Independent Study in Studio Art
Postbaccalaureate students may pursue an independent study project with a studio faculty member adviser. Usually offered every spring.
Staff
Art History Courses
CLAS/FA
186a
The Art and Archaeology of Korea
[
ca
hum
nw
]
Surveys the art, archaeology, and architecture of Korea from the Prehistoric period to the twentieth century. We will conceptualize the study of Korean material culture by highlighting striking parallels with ancient Greece. This course emphasizes the Korean peninsula's unique geographic placement in East Asia. Usually offered every third year.
Mr. Koh
ECON/FA
87a
Economics and the Arts
[
ca
ss
]
Prerequisite: ECON 2a or 10a; FA 30a, 57a, 59a or 62a. The FA course may be taken concurrently with ECON/FA 87a.
Economics and art history provide dual lenses for studying the mechanics of art auctions and building collections. The course will focus on the intersection of history and patronage of specific artists and works of art with the marketplace. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Graddy and Ms. Scott
FA
29a
Life into Art: A History of Contemporary Art
[
ca
]
Does not meet the requirements for the major in Art History. May not be taken for credit by students after they have taken FA 164a or FA 165a.
Introduces art from the mid-20th century to the early 21st century with attention to the intersections of aesthetics, politics, history and the economy. One-time special offering, summer 2014.
Mr. Kalb
FA
30a
History of Art I: From Antiquity to the Middle Ages
[
ca
]
Open to all students; first-year students and sophomores are encouraged to enroll. May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 17a in prior years.
A survey of major styles in architecture, sculpture, and painting from prehistoric times to the Gothic cathedral. Usually offered every year.
Mr. McClendon
FA
30b
History of Art II: From the Renaissance to the Modern Age
[
ca
]
Open to all students; first-year students and sophomores are encouraged to enroll. May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 18b in prior years.
A study of the major styles in architecture, painting, and sculpture of the West from the Renaissance to the early twentieth century. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Unglaub
FA
33b
Islamic Art and Architecture
[
ca
nw
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 39b in prior years.
Introduces architecture and arts of the Islamic lands from seventh-century Levant to post-modernism in Iran, India, and the Gulf states. Provides an overview of major themes and regional variations, and their socio-political and historical context. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Grigor
FA
34a
History of Asian Art
[
ca
nw
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 12a in prior years.
A selective survey of the art of the three major Asian areas: India, China, and Japan. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Wong
FA
40a
The Gift of the Nile: Egyptian Art and Archaeology
[
ca
nw
]
Surveys the art, archaeology, and architecture of ancient Egypt and how various traditions to the present have approached its study. The course will discuss the unique setting of northeast Africa, the achievements of Pharonic Egypt, the periods when outsiders co-opted its glorious past, and recent issues of cultural heritage. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Koh
FA
42b
The Age of Cathedrals
[
ca
]
Architecture, sculpture, and painting (including stained glass) in Western Europe from the twelfth to the fifteenth century, with particular attention to the great churches of medieval France. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. McClendon
FA
45b
Art of the Early Renaissance in Italy
[
ca
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 51a in prior years.
Examines major painters, sculptors, and architects in Florence, Rome, and Venice from Giotto to Bellini (1290-1500). Important themes include the revival of Antiquity, the visual arts and the culture of Humanism, the Rise of the Medici, art and the ideal of the Republic, the development of art theory and criticism, Naturalism and the Sacred image, and the relation of artists and patrons during times of crisis (black death, Pazzi Conspiracy, and Savonarola). Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Unglaub
FA
46b
High and Late Renaissance in Italy
[
ca
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 58b in prior years.
Examines the major works of art produced in Italy in the sixteenth century. It focuses on the principal centers of Florence, Rome, and Venice. The foremost artists of the age, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Titian, receive in-depth coverage. The course also considers the social institutions, ecclesiastical, courtly and civic, that furnished the patronage opportunities and promoted the ideas that occasioned, even demanded, new artistic forms of grace and harmony, energy and torsion. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Unglaub
FA
47b
Renaissance Art in Northern Europe
[
ca
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 54b in prior years.
A survey of the art of the Netherlands, Germany, and France in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Cultural developments such as the invention of printing, the Protestant Reformation, and the practices of alchemy and witchcraft will be considered through the work of major artists. Usually offered every fourth year.
Mr. Unglaub
FA
56a
American Art
[
ca
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 123a in prior years.
A survey of American painting from the colonial period to the present. Usually offered every third year.
Mr. Kalb
FA
57a
Paris/New York: Revolutions of Modernism
[
ca
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 70a in prior years.
A chronological survey of painting and sculpture from the French Revolution
to the emergence of Pop Art and Minimalism. Principal periods: Manet and the
impressionists, Picasso and Cubism, Matisse, expressionism, Dada and Surrealism, abstract expressionism and Pop avant-garde in America. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Scott
FA
58a
Modern Sculpture As Public Art
[
ca
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 172a in prior years.
Focuses on multiple definitions of three-dimensional art in the public realm, from statue to structure. This course charts the development of sculpture for nineteenth-century practice, (Rodin) to abstraction (Brancusi, Calder), and considers the conceptual and installation art projects of contemporary times (Oldenburg, Maya Lin, Shimon Attie, Sarah Sze). Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Scott
FA
59a
Modern Art and Modern Culture
[
ca
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 71a in prior years.
A thematic study of modernism in twentieth-century painting and sculpture, emphasizing three trends: primitivism, spiritualism, and the redefinition of reality. Individual artists and art movements will be examined in the context of literature, politics, and aesthetic theory. Artists include Picasso, Matisse, Kandinsky, and Duchamp. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Kalb
FA
61a
History of Photography
[
ca
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 76b in prior years.
The history of photography from its invention in 1839 to the present, with an emphasis on developments in America. Photography is studied as a documentary and an artistic medium. Topics include Alfred Stieglitz and the photo-secession, Depression-era documentary, Robert Frank and street photography, and postmodern photography. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Kalb
FA
62a
Art since 1945
[
ca
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 74a in prior years.
Survey of developments in painting and sculpture since World War II. Consideration of major trends of the period, including abstract expressionism, pop art, minimalism, color field painting, and realism. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Kalb
FA
68a
Israeli Art and Visual Culture: Forging Identities Between East and West
[
ca
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 153a in prior years.
An examination of the visual arts created in Israel since the beginning of the twentieth century. Combines a chronological overview of major trends with an in-depth examination of select case studies of individual artists and specific themes.
Ms. Ankori
FA
69b
Inventing Tradition: Women as Artists, Women as Art
[
ca
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 61b in prior years.
Provides an art-historical overview and a feminist critique of gender and representation followed by select case studies of the art and life of women artists. Examples include non-Western art. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Ankori
FA
70b
The Art of China
[
ca
nw
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 182a in prior years.
A survey of Chinese art from antiquity to the Ch'ing dynasty. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Wong
FA
71b
The Art of Japan
[
ca
nw
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 181b in prior years.
A survey of Japanese art from antiquity to the modern period. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Wong
FA
76a
Palestinian and Israeli Art, Film and Visual Culture: Intersecting Visions
[
ca
]
Israelis and Palestinians have been creating vibrant and bold works of art that both reflect and transcend the region's conflict-ridden history. This course offers a critical comparative study of Israeli and Palestinian art, exploring contentious expressions of pain and trauma as well as shared visions of hope and peace. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Ankori
FA
77b
Twentieth-Century and Contemporary Latin American Art
[
ca
nw
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 24b in prior years.
This course is a selective survey of the outstanding figures and movements that have made significant contributions to the history of Latin American art. Special focus will be on Mexican, Argentinean, Brazilian, Venezuelan and Cuban artists. Usually offered every third year.
Staff
FA
79a
Modernism Elsewhere
[
ca
nw
]
Explores major architectural developments from the late 19th to the 21st century outside the West. While focused on the territories between the India Subcontinent and North Africa, it examines Western colonial politics of center-periphery in creating architectural forms, discourses, and practices in the postcolonial world. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Grigor
FA
80a
Modern Architecture
[
ca
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 122a in prior years.
Explores major architectural developments from the 19th and to the 21st century. While tracing European and American movements, links are made to the architectural implications of Western ambitions worldwide and the role architecture played in the politics of colonialism. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Grigor
FA
85a
History of Boston Architecture
[
ca
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 22b in prior years.
A survey of the history of modern and contemporary Boston architecture and urban planning from the immigration of great European modernist architects to the contemporary city. The presentation will be chronological and focused on the last two centuries. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Grigor
FA
86b
Museum Studies
[
ca
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 85b in prior years.
An experiential learning seminar focused on the art object in the context of the museum; the history of museums (architecture, educational mission, curatorial presentation); museum ethics and provenance studies; new theories of museums and their expanded role in the community. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Scott
FA
92b
Internship and Analysis in Art History
Students may petition to receive credit for internships completed in museums, galleries and arts institutions. Student must get a faculty sponsor with whom they will agree in advance on the internship and requirements for receiving credit. Art history credit can also be earned by completing one of several internships offered at the Rose Art Museum for which students apply in the spring semester for the following academic year. At the Rose, focus may center in the areas of education, registrar, exhibition installation, or curatorial work. All student applications to the Rose, with preference given to upperclassmen, must be endorsed by a faculty recommendation. Usually offered every semester.
Staff
FA
96a
Senior Research in Art History
Prerequisite: A minimum GPA in fine arts courses of 3.00. Art history students consult with faculty the second semester of their junior year and petition to enroll at the beginning of their senior year.
Usually offered every year.
FA
96b
Senior Research in Art History
Prerequisite: A minimum GPA in fine arts courses of 3.00. Art history students consult with faculty the second semester of their junior year and petition to enroll at the beginning of their senior year.
Usually offered every year.
Staff
FA
98b
Independent Study in Art History
Prerequisites: Normally open only to art history majors in their junior and senior years. As the number of times FA 98b may be taken is limited by department regulations, the interested student should consult the art history advising head and his or her adviser.
Usually offered every year.
Staff
FA
143a
The Art of Medieval England
[
ca
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 43a in prior years.
A survey of art and architecture from the end of the Roman Empire to the Renaissance. Particular concern for the synthesis of native and foreign cultures and their artistic styles, resulting from the barbarian invasions, the Norman conquest, and political rivalry with France. Usually offered every fourth year.
Mr. McClendon
FA
145a
St. Peter's and the Vatican
[
ca
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 45a in prior years.
The history, growth, and development of Christendom's most famous shrine, with particular concern for the relationship between the design and decoration of the Renaissance/baroque church and palace complex and their early Christian and medieval predecessors. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. McClendon
FA
149a
The Age of Rubens and Rembrandt
[
ca
wi
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 63a in prior years.
Explores the major figures of seventeenth-century painting in the Netherlands and Flanders: Rubens, Van Dyck, Rembrandt, and Vermeer. During this time, the ideal of Renaissance painter/courtier gives way to the birth of the modern artist in an open market, revolutionizing the subjects, themes, and styles of painting. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Unglaub
FA
155a
Impressionism: Avant-Garde Rebellion in Context
[
ca
wi
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 171a in prior years.
Focuses on the major artists from the period 1863 - 1886, from the time of Manet and the Salon des Refusés through the eight group exhibitions of Monet, Renoir, Degas, Cézanne, Pissarro, Morisot, and Cassatt and company. The antithesis of impressionism, its academic rivals, the backdrop of the sociopolitical context, the Second Empire, and the Third Republic will be provided, as well as the roots of the movement's dissolution. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Scott
FA
156b
Postimpressionism and Symbolism, 1880-1910
[
ca
wi
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 174b in prior years.
The course curriculum covers postimpressionist artists Seurat, Cézanne, Van Gogh, and Gauguin, and more broadly, symbolist trends, expressionism, and art nouveau at the end of the nineteenth century. These trends are followed through chronologically to the early twentieth century in the art of Matisse and the fauves, and in German expressionism. Usually offered every fourth year.
Ms. Scott
FA
157a
American Modernism: Painting & Photography 1900-1950
[
ca
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 173a in prior years.
The focus of this lecture course will be the art of Georgia O'Keeffe, her stylistic evolution, sources, and collaboration with contemporaries, especially Stieglitz, Strand, Dove, Demuth, Marin, and Hartley. Their collective aesthetic aspirations will be set against early twentieth-century modernism and important recent trends from Europe. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Scott
FA
158b
Picasso and Matisse
[
ca
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 173b in prior years.
Examines the major contributions of all periods of Picasso's career, with special focus on the development of Cubism, counterbalanced with the color expression of Matisse and the Fauves. The larger circle of artists, poets, and patrons associated with both these masters--from Juan Gris, Fernand Leger, and especially Georges Braque, to Gertrude Stein and Guillaume Apollinaire--forms the core subject matter. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Scott
FA
164a
The Re-Invention of Art
[
ca
]
By the 1960s, the United States was the art-world capital. Radical art, however, appeared everywhere. Examines US art of the 1960's-1970s in light of artistic production in, among other places, Germany, England, Italy, Brazil, Argentina, Senegal, and Japan. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Kalb
FA
165a
Contemporary Art
[
ca
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 152a in prior years.
After theories of power and representation and art movements of pop, minimalism, and conceptual art were established by the 1970s, artists began to create what we see in galleries today. This course addresses art at the turn of the twentieth century with attention to intersections of art and identity, politics, economy, and history. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Kalb
FA
170a
Arts of the Ming Dynasty
[
ca
nw
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 15b in prior years.
Examines a broad array of arts from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The first half of the course focuses on activities in and around the Chinese court. The second half concentrates on monuments related to literati and popular cultures. Usually offered every three years.
Ms. Wong
FA
171b
Buddhist Art
[
ca
nw
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 13b in prior years.
The history of Buddhist art on the Silk Road. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Wong
FA
174a
Art and Trauma: Israeli, Palestinian, Latin American and United States Art
[
ca
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 154b in prior years.
A comparative and critical examination of the various ways in which personal traumas (illness, death, loss) and collective traumas (war, the Holocaust, exile) find meaningful expression in the work of modern and contemporary artists from diverse regions. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Ankori
FA
175a
Moving Images: Israeli Video Art in Context
[
ca
]
Studies Israeli video artists who have become world renowned for their innovative contributions to the genre. In this course, we will view, analyze, and interpret Israeli video art, tracing its historical and 'genealogical' trajectory, thematic foci, formal concerns, iconographical sources and the diverse regional, political, and art historical contexts within which it is being produced and exhibited. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Ankori
FA
178a
Frida Kahlo: Art, Life and Legacy
[
ca
nw
]
Mexican artist Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) has become an international cultural icon. Her innovative paintings brilliantly re-envision identity, gender and the female body, inspiring celebrities from Madonna to Salma Hayek. This course explores the art and life of Frida Kahlo, as well as her immense influence on contemporary art, film and popular culture. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Ankori
FA
180a
Contemporary Architecture
[
ca
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 121a in prior years.
A study of stylistic and technological developments in post-World War II architecture. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Grigor
FA
182b
Politics of Public Space
[
ca
]
An exploration of the politics of public space primarily in the Middle East and North Africa in the 20th and 21st centuries. Examines architectural monuments, urban landscapes, urban fabrics and square, and the use of historical landmarks as contentions of modern identity politics and power. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Grigor
FA
191b
Studies in Renaissance and Baroque Art
[
ca
wi
]
Open to Fine Arts majors and minors, Italian Studies minors, and Medieval and Renaissance minors only. Topics may vary from year to year; the course may be repeated for credit as topics change.
Usually offered every third year.
Mr. Unglaub
FA
192a
Studies in Modern and Contemporary Art
[
ca
]
Topics may vary from year to year; the course may be repeated for credit.
Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Ankori, Mr. Kalb, or Ms. Scott
FA
193a
Studies in Modern and Contemporary Architecture
[
ca
]
Topics may vary from year to year; the course may be repeated for credit with permission of the instructor.
Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Grigor
FA
197a
Studies in Asian Art
[
ca
nw
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 184a in prior years.
Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Wong
FA
199a
Methods and Approaches in the History of Art
[
ca
wi
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 197b in prior years.
Explores various ways of analyzing works of art and provides an overview of the historical development of the discipline. Designed specifically for junior and senior art history majors. Usually offered every year.
Mr. McClendon
Cross-Listed in Fine Arts
CLAS
133a
The Art and Archaeology of Ancient Greece
[
ca
hum
]
Surveys the main forms and styles of Greek art and architecture from the Bronze Age through the Hellenistic period in mainland Greece and on the islands of the Aegean. Archaeological remains and ancient literary evidence help explore the relationships between culture, the visual arts, and society. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Koh
CLAS
134b
The Art and Archaeology of Ancient Rome
[
ca
hum
]
Surveys the art and architecture of the ancient Romans from the eighth century BCE to the end of the empire in Sicily, mainland Italy (with focus on Rome, Ostia, Pompeii, and Herculaneum), and in the Roman provinces. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Koloski-Ostrow
CLAS
136b
Roman Technology, Medicine, and Art
[
hum
]
Investigates a selection of the most famous monuments and cultural institutions of the Roman world in order to understand the technology and engineering that created them. The primary source is Elder Pliny. We also consider Roman medicine. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Koloski-Ostrow
CLAS
140a
Women, Gender, and Sexuality in Greek and Roman Art and Text
[
ca
hum
]
An exploration of women, gender, and sexuality in ancient Greece and Rome as the ideological bases of Western attitudes toward sex and gender. Includes, in some fashion, Greek and Roman myth, literature, art, architecture, and archaeological artifacts. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Koloski-Ostrow
CLAS
145b
Topics in Greek and Roman Art and Archaeology
[
ca
hum
]
Topics vary from year to year and the course may be repeated for credit. Topics include daily life in ancient Rome; ancient technology and art; and Athens and the golden age of Greece. See Schedule of Classes for the current topic and description. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Koloski-Ostrow or Mr. Koh
CLAS
149b
Sailing the Wine Dark Sea: Global Trade in the Ancient Mediterranean
[
hum
wi
]
Investigates the development of commodity production and global exchange in the ancient Mediterranean. Approached from multiple disciplinary perspectives and through both global and local lenses, this course will study commodity consumption as a social, cultural and material process. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Koh
CLAS
150b
Pompeii: Life in the Shadow of Vesuvius
[
ca
hum
]
Examines Pompeii and Herculaneum, buried by Vesuvius in 79 CE, using the ancient cities' art, architecture, and wall writings to understand the social, political, economic, and religious realities of Roman life on the Bay of Naples, especially in the first century CE. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Koloski-Ostrow
CLAS
187a
Art, Archaeology, and Society in the Holy Land
[
hum
]
Surveys the archaeological and social history of the southern Levant from the emergence of complex societies in the Chalcolithic to the hegenomy of the Romans, emphasizing developments after the Early Bronze Age such as the rise and fall of the Iron Age biblical states. Usually offered every third year.
Mr. Koh
HIST
156b
Copley's World: A Humanities Research Lab
[
hum
ss
wi
]
An interdisciplinary humanities lab centered on the life, work, and contexts of the artist John Singleton Copley (1738-1815). Explores Copley's complex life and revolutionary times through primary sources, using the questions and methods of history, art history, and biography. Students will publish an online exhibition of their research. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Kamensky
PHIL
113b
Aesthetics: Painting, Photography, and Film
[
ca
hum
wi
]
Explores representation in painting, photography, and film by studying painters Rembrandt, Velázquez, and Vermeer, as well as later works by Manet, Degas, Cézanne, and Picasso; photographers Ansel Adams, Dorothea Lange, Edward Weston, Walker Evans, Alfred Stieglitz, and Diane Arbus; and filmmakers Renoir and Hitchcock. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Teuber