Art of the "American Century" (1893-1968)
The 20th-century United States was the emblem of all things modern, but how would Americans make a modern art and design the future? This lecture/discussion class surveys art and the visual and material environment from the emergence of the United States as a world power in the 1890s to the questioning of the "American Way of Life" by Pop and activist artists during the era of the Civil Rights and Black Arts movements and the Vietnam War.. In the classroom and through original hands-on-research, we will examine the work of such celebrated figures as Frank Lloyd Wright, Jacob Lawrence, Georgia O'Keeffe, Isamu Noguchi, Edward Hopper, Walker Evans, Andy Warhol, and Diego Rivera, but also the culture of consumerism and emergent racial and ethnic identities—in media from painting to architecture to photography to graphic design and propaganda posters-- in which they worked. This class includes work with original art in the University of Michigan Museum of Art and a free, mandatory field trip to the Detroit Institute of Arts.
Estimated cost of materials: $60 or more, but less than $100
HISTART Concentration Distributions: Europe and the United States, Modern.
This course meets the humanities requirement.
Course requirements:
Intended audience: undergraduates at any level seeking a general introduction to 20th century art and culture; students who have studied modern music, literature, dance, architecture or history but would like to learn the American context. No prior background in art history or American studies required, though it is welcome.
Course Format: Lectures with some opportunity for questions and class discussion.
Textbooks:
Both these texts are readily available for sale and rental as used books.
Recommended for beginners who would like background reading:Copies of all of these books will be available on reserve in the Fine Arts Library.
