Art History and Architecture   

Architectural history follows a canon of both traditional and eclectic styles from ancient to contemporary times. But what happens when a mix of whimsy, eccentricity, and humor—and sometimes the creator's genius—insert themselves into the mix? Occurring throughout time and in various parts of the world, these structures exist to serve the cultures they were created for, from ancient religious sites to modern car-culture merriment. This course will explore a myriad variety of structures throughout the world, the construction methods used, the patrons for whom these structures were constructed, and the notions of the builders and architects who created them.

This course explores the art and architecture of ancient Greece, from temples and tombs to pottery and paintings. Structured chronologically, illustrated lectures explore the visual arts of ancient Greece by period, from its beginning in the Bronze Age (ca. 3000-1200 BCE) to the end of the Hellenistic Period (ca. 323-31 BCE). The focus is key monuments and works of art and the artistic and technological developments that gave rise to them, an archaeological approach that considers the social function of Greek art in its wider Mediterranean context.

This course is an introduction to Western Modernism in the arts and its relationship to the visual culture of modernity from the mid-19th century through the 20th century. Weekly lectures and discussions will address developments in painting, sculpture, photography, and architecture from Europe, Russia, and the United States.

This course will explore a wide range of Medieval and Renaissance art in the collections of museums around the world. Members will learn about medieval manuscript illuminations and discuss Rembrandt, Caravaggio, and Vermeer. Of particular note are the paintings in the New York Metropolitan Museum's recent exhibition about the dawn of the Italian Renaissance, Siena: The Rise of Painting, (1300-1350). Understanding art in its cultural/historical context is centered in this course. Half of the course content is repeated from the prior course.

This course will introduce members to the genre of self-taught art and the artists who create it. Formerly called "outsider art," these artists paint, sculpt, sew, and decorate spaces with minimal to no influences from outside sources. Their materials are commonly what is at hand: found objects for sculpture, cardboard for canvases, and cast-off scrap for garden churches. We will look at the lives and work of a number of artists, many of whom had little to no education and lived in economically and socially challenging environments. The artists include Bill Traylor, the Quilters of Gee's Bend, Howard Finster, Nellie Mae Brown, and Australian aboriginal and Inuit artists, among others.