FALL 2007 HONORS COURSES

HONR 279C African American Art Theory: Exploration/Expressions of Identity
Monday/Wednesday, 3:00-4:15 p.m.
Professor Jefferson Pinder, Department of Art

Three hundred years of oppression is being fought in elite museums and sleek New York art galleries. Socially conscious Afro-American artists are defining what it means to be black in the 21st century. From Hip-Hop videos to images of Aunt Jemimas armed with machine guns, contemporary black artists are finding a variety of ways to express themselves. In this course, we will explore African American Art history as well as contemporary art making techniques. Through readings, lectures, group projects, artist presentations, studio visits, field trips, video and power point presentations, students will have the opportunity to get a multi-layered and interactive perspective of the ingenuity and complexity of this field of study.

Beyond assigned readings from texts, students will be asked to peruse current periodicals and journals on shows. The course content also centers on the issue of multiculturalism in the arts. Is there one correct way to view art? Is art racially biased? It is my hope that students will gain a clear understanding of the need for a multicultural perspective in the arts from the examination of the above issues.

Grading Method:
Three Papers (30%)
-four page paper gallery critique on a contemporary artist (10%)
-three page essay, comparing and contrasting, content, techniques and social elements of varying artists (10%)
-five page paper on the evolution of the Afro-American aesthetic in art (10%)
Mid-Term Examination on Afro-American Art History
(Multiple choice and short essay) (40%)
Final Group Project and class presentation utilizing video and slide presentations on selected contemporary artist (20%)
Attendance, Participation (10%)

Texts:
Sharon Patton, African American Art
Richard J. Powell, Black Art and Culture in the Twentieth Century

Reference Text:
James A. Porter, Modern Negro Art
David C. Driskell, Two Centuries of Black Art
David C. Driskell, David Lewis, and Deborah Willis, Harlem Renaissance: Art of Black America

CORE: History or Theory of the Arts [HA] and CORE Human Cultural Diversity [D]