To quote Craig Damrauer: "Modern Art = I could do that + yeah, but you didn't." The course will survey twentieth-century art from Europe and the U.S. and investigate its novelty, profundity, and humor. We will cover the names you know (Picasso, Matisse, O'Keefe, Pollock) as well as works that you might not be so sure about (drip paintings, urinals, a woman hanging from the ceiling by a rope), all while developing a series of questions about the nature of art and its relationship to the social and political context from which it emerged. Not only will this course provide an overview of the twentieth-century, Western art, it will equip you with the background necessary to begin to understand the art of the twenty-first.

Keywords: art history, contemporary

Estimated Cost of Materials: less than $50

HISTART Concentration Distributions: Modern and Contemporary, Europe and the US.

Textbooks/Other Materials: Available through the Fine Arts Library and Canvas.

Course Requirements: Engagement 20%, Mid-term test 20%, Book Review Project 30%, Final exam 30%

Intended Audience: All are welcome!

Class Format: Two one-and-a-half-hour lectures and a one-hour discussion section