ART IS NOT A MIRROR TO REFLECT REALITY, BUT A HAMMER WITH
WHICH TO SHAPE IT.
--Bertol Brecht
The Goal: This
course seeks to understand the complex relationship between image
and event in three separate scenarios of convulsive social and political
change. Augustan Rome (27 B.C.-14 A.D.), Revolutionary
France (1789-1804), and the Birth of the Soviet Union (1917-1934)
were defined and refined, tried
and tested, and established and betrayed in the multiple contests
between images and rhetorics which were waged in both public streets
and publications. We
will study images as both provocations and products of the competing
discourses (political, sociological, literary, musical, philosophical)
of each period and ask the following questions: how does an image
become a political symbol? What are the mechanisms through which images
are politically deployed? How is the role of the artist reconstructed in times of social
crisis? How does the public use images in political debate? What are
the intersections of text and image in a society (sometimes violently)
attempting to reinvent itself? What can we discern from this comparative
approach to art and revolution, and what are some of the ways in which
new revolutions evoke efforts of the past?
We will study original sources (emerging from the competing
discourses listed above) from each period as well as secondary critical
scholarship, and analyze the dynamic between art and revolution in
our continuing effort to understand the creation of new social and
political realities through images.
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The Classroom: This seminar will have the luxury and
dynamic of being guided by our curiosity.
I formulated this topic out of an insistent desire to understand
the machinations of visual culture in changing socio-political contexts. Every topic has its debate, whether it
is about the effectiveness or validity of ideas, the pertinence or
continuity of principles, or the applicability and appropriation of
programs. Let yourself be surprised, outraged, or
awed by the proposals of those who have come before us, and take a
stand. The expectation of class discussion here
is that of a seminar -i.e. this is a challenging grade to earn. Come to class with multiple notes and
opinions concerning the readings, which are available in BLACKBOARD,
under Course Documents in the E-Reserve folder.
(Some readings available in the folder titled "Readings"
are marked as such.) 3 books await
you at the Bookstore. back to top
The Revolution Dossier: As you scroll through the syllabus you will notice that some days
are graced by an essay question in red.
There are 15 of these throughout the syllabus/semester and
you are being asked to respond to 10 of them, 5 by the midterm. Of
these 10 essays, 3 are required of everyone: the Aeneid, David's Horatii
and Aelita Queen of Mars. The
essays should be 3-5 pages, delivered to my Digital Drop Box (under
Tools in BLACKBOARD), and titled YourName_Topic.doc, e.g. Easterday_AraPacis.doc
Ð please use Word format. The big goal here is specificity Ð try to make historical (not just comparative
arguments). In the classroom I'm interested in your opinion - on paper,
IÕm not interested in your opinion (!), I'm interested in how well
you wield evidence in making an argument.
Write for the most skeptical of readers and provide as much
specificity as possible. back
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Leading the revolution: Certain
topics have such an abundance of good scholarship that it becomes
more than an entire class can read for a day.
Consequently, each of you will have the opportunity to read
more once during the course of this semester and guide your colleagues
through to this new knowledge.
These days are entitled "Leading the revolution"
throughout the syllabus. You will sign up for a day/topic the first
day of class, be given the reading a couple of weeks before the due
date, and then fascinate your peers on the day on question. Choose something that interests you and that you feel comfortable
asking probing questions to the class about.
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The Visual Campaign: This
endeavor will be communal -you will self-select into three (3) groups
of four (4) and make, simply put, revolutionary web pages. The idea is to use the theories, concepts and visual languages
of the three Revolutions for the expression of a radical ideology. You need not go so far as to argue for
the upheaval of an entire society, but nor would I want to see a too-small
issue, like the (tired) legalization of marijuana. You want to present an ideology not an issue. You can think of this as on-line activism,
but it needs to be theoretical as well as practical, i.e. you need
to demonstrate that you know your sources, your history, and your
images. One last note: be aware of your culture
and your materials (21st century America, technology) and
use them for your ideology.
You are encouraged to use any and all written sources and many
images as well. I will arrange for a web design tutorial
from the good people at START to facilitate the project for you. There
will be a glorious final presentation of your visual campaigns at
the end of the semester. I
will also set up Groups folder in Blackboard for you all to communicate
about your campaigns.
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The Midterm and Final: There are two exams in this class, each of different nature. The midterm will be a synthetic exercise,
bringing together issues of the Augustan and the French Revolutions.
It will occur in class in response to essay questions and images,
without notes. The final will also be in the classroom,
but this time arrive in the form of one consequential existential
question, to be answered with the assistance of your class notes (i.e.,
an "open-notebook" final).
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Punch-Card Events:
Taking a class in the Art and Art History department avails you to
some of the many happenings in said department.
Throughout the course of the semester, you will be asked to
attend 3 or 4 (depending on how many total are offered) of these events. Attendance affects your class participation
grade, the punch-card events being an opportunity to participate in
art culture at large.
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Attendance and Grades: The seminar situation requests maximum
and continuous participation by all those engaged in the endeavor.
Life being what it is, two unexcused absences are granted - after
that, your final grade goes a third of a letter grade down.
Here is the final grade breakdown.
Class
participation: 20%
Revolution
dossier: 30%
Leading
the Revolution: 10%
Visual
Campaign: 10%
Midterm
and final: 30%
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Class
Schedule: Let's
enter the fray!
THE AUGUSTAN REVOLUTION
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Tuesday, January, 28 - Intro
The Big
Questions - The Syllabus - Signing up to lead the Revolution
Thursday, January 30 - Augustus
D'Ambra,
Eve. "From Republic
to Empire," from Roman Art.
Cambridge University Press, 1998: 25-31.
Galinksy,
Karl. "The Portraits
of Augustus," from Augustan Culture; An Interpretive Introduction.
Princeton University Press, 1996: 164-179.
Zanker,
Paul. "Rival Images: Octavian, Antony, and the Struggle for Sole
Power." from The Power of Images in the Age of Augustus. trans, Alan Shapiro.
Ann Arbor, MI:University of Michigan
Press, 1990: 33-65.
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/users/morford
Tuesday, February 4 - Urban Renewal
leading the revolution
Augustus, working with Agrippa,
restored the temples of Rome before he restored her sewers, an order
of things many students of history find surprising.
How would you explain the political logic of civic religious
restoration over necessary urban upkeep? Feel free to bring in contemporary examples of urban construction
to support your argument.
Zanker,
Paul. "The City
of Rome as a Reflection of State and Society," and "Architecture
Innovation and Competition,"from The Power of Images in the Age of Augustus. trans.Alan Shapiro. Ann Arbor,
MI: University of Michigan
Press, 1990: 18-25, 65-71.
Favro,
Diane. "Pater Urbis:
Augustus as City Father of Rome,"
Journal of the Society of Architectural
Historians
51 (March 1992): 61-84.
Galinksy,
Karl. "The Forum
of Augustus," from
Augustan Culture; An Interpretive Introduction.
Princeton University Press, 1996:
197-224.
Thursday, February 6 - Ara Pacis
leading the revolution
Many herald the Ara Pacis's
brilliance in its ability to contain so much history and promise such
a powerful future. How is the religious past used to communicate
a better political future in the Ara Pacis? N.B.:
Do not use any assumptions you may have about the operations of religion
and politics in Christian culture; you will need to unearth the ideologies
and mechanisms of Ancient Roman religion and politics. Be sure to use specific visual as well
as literary examples.
Galinsky,
Karl. "The Altar
of Augustan Peace (Ara Pacis Augustae),"
from Augustan Culture; An
Interpretive Introduction. Princeton University Press, 1996: 141-155,
288-322.
Holliday,
Peter James. "Time,
History and Ritual on the Ara Pacis Augustae,"
Art Bulletin 72 (December 1990): 542-57.
Rehak,
Paul. "Aenas or
Numa? Rethinking the Meaning of the Ara Pacis
Augustae,"Art Bulletin 83:2 (June 2001): 190-208.
Tuesday,
February 11 - Aeneid
A
vigorous and continuing debate surrounding the Aeneid concerns its sympathies or critiques
of war, and consequently of Augustus's war politics and policies.
From your reading of the Aeneid, would you argue that Virgil is pro- or anti-war, supportive or
critical of Augustus? Be sure to provide very
specific examples in your response.
Virgil.
Aeneid. Trans. David West. Penguin Books, 1990.
Book
Thursday, February 12 - Prima Porta
Galinksy,
Karl. "The Cuirass
of the Augustus Statue from Prima Porta," from Augustan Culture;
An Interpretive
Introduction. Princeton University Press, 1996: 155-164.
Pollini,
John. "The Augustus
from Prima Porta and the Transformation of the Polykleitan
Heroic Ideal: the Rhetoric
of Art," in Polykleitos,
the Doryphoros, and Tradition.
ed. Warren
G. Moon. Madison, WI:
University of Wisconsin Press, 1995: 262-282.
Nodelman,
Sheldon. "How to
Read a Roman Portrait,"Critical Perspectives on Art History. Ed.
John C. McEnroe and Deborah F. Pokinski.
Uppersaddle River, New Jersey: Prentice
Hall Press, 2002: 38-45.
THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
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Tuesday, February 18 - Prieur leading the revolution
Censer,
Jack R. and Lynn Hunt. "The
Revolution Begins," from Liberty, Equality, Fraternity;
Exploring
the French Revolution. Pennsylvania University Press, 2001: 50-66.
Dowd,
David L. "Art as
National Propaganda in the French Revolution"Ó Public Opinion
Quarterly 15:3 (Autumn 1951): 532-546. Readings Folder
Warren,
Roberts. "The Visual
Rhetoric of Jean-Louis Prieur," in Symbols, Myths, and Images
of the
French Revolution. Essays
in Honour of James A. Leith. ed. Germani and Swales. Canadian
Plains Research Center: University of Regina, 1998: 103-118.
Warren,
Roberts. "Jean-Louis Prieur and the Tableaux Historiques; Images of the Paris Insurrection," from Jacques-Louis David and Jean-Louis Prieur,
Revolutionary Artists: the Public, the Populace, and Images of the French Revolution. State University of New York,
2000: 59-110.
Thursday, February 20 - The Politics of the Nude Male leading the revolution
Before the nude female body
was the purview of the artistic experience, the nude male body held
this position. In the years leading up to and including
the French Revolution, the beauty and classicism of the nude male
body became a political experience.
What are the characteristics of the nude male body that
avail it to political use? You will
need to go far beyond the visually obvious here - use Crow to assist
you in your answer.
Crow,
Thomas. "Revolutionary
Activism and the Cult of Male Beauty in the Studio of David,"
in Fictions
of the French Revolution.
Ed. Bernadette Fort. Evanston,
IL: Northwestern University
Press, 1991:55-83.
Crow,
Thomas. "Family Affairs," and "The Wounded Warrior,"
in Emulation; Making Artists for
Revolutionary France.
Yale University Press, 1995: 5-30, 47-81.
Tuesday, February 25 - The Horatii
Corneille's
Horatii
restructured the conversation between the self and state by intersecting
morality, gender and heroicism.
In your carefully measured opinion, who is the true hero/heroine
in the Horatii and why? Please use specific quotes and
actions by specific characters in writing this essay. Follow your own logic as far as it will go and explain the
political repercussions of your choice (i.e., if X is the true
hero/heroine, what does this mean for the relationship between the
self and state?)
Corneille. Horace. trans. Alan Brownjohn. London: Angel Books, 1996. Book
Thursday, February 27 - The Oath of the Horatii leading the revolution
If
you study the process of David's Oath of the Horatii, you will see that he rejected
several earlier versions of the painting that were more closely tied
to the play by Corneille. Why
did David paint a moment that is completely unexplored in the play
in his painting of the Horatii? Feel free to engage in
a discussion weighing the merits of theater vs. visual art in communicating
philosophical and political messages.
Crow,
Thomas. "The Oath
of the Horatii
in 1785; Painting and pre-Revolutionary Radicalism in France,"
Art History
1:4 (December 1978): 424-471. Readings Folder
Crow,
Thomas. "Fatherland,"
and "The School of Athens," in Emulation; Making Artists
for Revolutionary
France. Yale University Press, 1995: 31-45, 83-114.
Leith,
James A. "The Idea
of Art as Propaganda during the French Revolution,"Canadian
Historical
Association
1959: 30-43. Readings Folder
Tuesday,
March 4 - Le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau
Dowd,
David Lloyd. "The Blood of the Martyr," from Pageant-master
of the Republic: Jacques-Louis
David and the French Revolution.
Freeport, NY: Books for Libraries Press, 1969: 98-
124.
Hunter,
Donna M. "Swordplay:
Jacques-Louis David"s Painting of Le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau
On His Deathbed,"
in Representing the French Revolution; Literature, Historiography,
and
Art. ed. James A.W. Heffernan. Hanover: University
Press, of New England, 1992: 169-191.
Thursday, March 6 - The Death of Marat
Aside
from the fact that The Death of Marat exists in painted form, whereas Le Peletier de
Saint-Fargeau
exists only in a drawing, The Death of Marat is nevertheless
a far more famous work of art than Le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau. To what do you ascribe The Death of Marat's greater
fame? You're trying to figure out how this painting might resonate
not just with its own time, but with ours as well.
Sheldon,
Libby. "Methods and Materials of David's Marat", in David's The Death of Marat. ed. William Vaughan. Cambridge University Press, 2000: 102-127.
Gretton,
Tom. "Marat,
l'Ami du Peuple, David: Love and Discipline
in the Summer of '93," in David's The Death of Marat.
ed. William Vaughan. Cambridge University Press, 2000: 34-55.
Vaughan,
William. "Terror
and the Tabula Rasa:
David's Marat and Its Pictorial Context," in David's
The Death of Marat. ed.
William Vaughan. Cambridge University Press, 2000:
77-101.
Tuesday,
March 11 - Rituals and Pageantry leading
the revolution
Dowd,
David Lloyd. "Festivals:
A Propaganda Technique," from Pageant-master of the Republic:
Jacques-Louis David and the French Revolution. Freeport, NY:
Books for Libraries
Press, 1969: 45-77.
Warren,
Roberts. "Robespierre,
David, and Revolutionary Festivals," from Jacques-Louis
David and Jean-Louis Prieur, Revolutionary Artists: the Public,
the Populace, and Images of the French
Revolution. State University of New York, 2000: 269-311.
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/caira.html
(& other lyrics/sound
files of Revolution songs)
Thursday, March 13 -Caricatures
Melot,
Michel. "Caricature
and the Revolution; the Situation in France in 1789," in French Caricature and the French Revolution, 1789-1799.
Los Angeles: University of
California, 1988: 25-32.
Boime,
Albert. "Jacques-Louis
David, Scatological Discourse in the French Revolution, and the
Art of Caricature,"
in French Caricature and the French Revolution, 1789-1799.
Los Angeles:
University of California, 1988: 67-82.
Tuesday, March 18 -The Politics of Being Female leading the revolution
As
we now know, the French Revolution sought to redefine everything from
space to time to government to the self.
How far does this process of redefinition and reconstruction
extend for women? These two articles offer multiple scenarios for your consideration
- be sure to include women in art as well as in society in your essay.
Kampen,
Natalie Boymel. "The
Muted Other; Gender and Morality in Augustan Rome and Eighteenth-century
Europe," Art Journal
47:1 (Spring 1988): 15-19
Doy,
Gen. "Women and the Bourgeois Revolution
of 1789: artists, mothers and makers of (art) history,"
in Femininity and Masculinity in eighteenth-century art and culture.
Ed. Gill Perry and
Michael Rossington. Manchester University Press, 1994: 184-203.
Grigsby,
Darcy Drimaldo. "Nudity
ˆ la grecque in 1799,"Art Bulletin 80:2 (June 1998): 311-
335.
Thursday,
March 20 -
MIDTERM on the Augustan and French
Revolutions
SPRING
BREAK - ENJOY!!!
THE SOVIET REVOLUTION
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Tuesday,
April 2 - Kandinsky's On the Spiritual in Art leading the revolution
The
first essay in this section is in some ways the toughest, but jump
right into the fray, I say.
In Concerning the Spiritual in Art, Kandinsky establishes not just a program for art, but also one for
life. How is/can abstract
art be the source of revolution and political change? The challenge for us here is that we have become accustomed
to figurative art communicating a specific message and now we have
to think of how abstract art communicates and what it communicates.
Kandinsky,
Wassily. Concerning
the Spiritual in Art.
trans. M.T.H. Sadler. New
York: DoverPress,
1977. Book
Harrison,
Charles. Selections from
"Abstraction," in Primitivism, Cubism, Abstraction; the
Early Twentieth
Century. Yale University Press, 1993: 208-228.
Thursday, April 3 - Malevich as Teacher
Malevich was a prolific writer
as well as a dedicated teacher.
Having read his words (and quite possibly reread them - they're
not easy), what is Malevich's plan for art and society? As ever, be sure to work with specific
quotes and works of art.
Harrison,
Charles. Selections from
"Abstraction," in Primitivism, Cubism, Abstraction; the
Early Twentieth
Century. Yale University Press, 1993: 228-249.
Kramer,
Hilton. "Art, Revolution,
and Kasimir Malevich," The New Criterion 9:3 (1990): 7-9. Readings
Folder
Malevich,
K.S. "from Cubism and Futurism to Suprematism," from Essays
on Art, 1915-1933.
ed. T. Andersen, 1969: 19-41.
Railing,
Patricia. "The Cognitive
Line in Russian Avant-Garde Art,"
Leonardo 31:1 (1998): 67-73.
Tuesday,
April 8 - Malevich
and Victory Over the Sun
Kruchenikh. Victory Over the Sun [1913]. Readings
Folder
Milner,
John. "Victory Over
the Sun," from Kazimir Malevich and the Art of Geometry. New Haven:
Yale University Press, 1996: 87-119.
Thursday, April 10 - Constructivism
leading the revolution
Constructivism
sought to position the concept of art in entirely new venues, both
in terms of media and spaces.
What impact would Constructivist modes of art have on American
society today? Try to think of examples of Constructivist art forms and the
detail their effects.
Fer,
Briony. "The Language
of Construction," in
Realism, Rationalism, Surrealism; Art
between the Wars. Yale University Press, 1993: 87-138.
Railing,
Patricia. "'The
Machine is no more than a brush'; morphology of art and the machine
in Russian avant-garde theory and practice," The Structurist 35-36 (1995-96): 49-56.
Tuesday,
April 15 - Meyerhold and Avant-Garde Theater leading the
revolution
Meyerhold's
most innovative idea is now known as Biomechanics, a process of controlling
the expressive forms of the body.
How do you see the connection between Biomechanics and the
Soviet Revolution? You are here seeking to make the link between this dance form
and revolutionary politics.
Goldberg,
RoseLee. "Russian
Futurism and Constructivism,"
in Performance Art: from Futurism to the Present. London:
Thames and Hudson, 2001: 31-49.
Rudnitsky,
Konstantin."Theatrical Expansion," from Russian and Soviet
Theatre; Tradition and The
Avant-Garde. Thames and Hudson, 1988: 89-96.
Gordon,
Mel. "Meyerhold's
Biomechanics,"The Drama Review
18:3 (September 1974): 73-88.
Braun,
Edward. "Futurism
in the Russian Theater, 1913-1923,"
International Futurism in Arts and Literature.
Walter de Bruyter, 2000: 75-99.
Thursday, April 17 - Aelita Queen of Mars (1924)
The
Soviet blockbuster, Aelita Queen of Mars opened to much acclaim and criticism in 1924.
For all its sweeping tale of love and Communist insurrection,
its fantastic sets seemed at odds with its melodrama plot.
How do you reconcile the grand political themes of the film
on Mars, including the Communist insurrection, with the melodramatic
love story that unfolds on Earth? Be sure to comment on the visuals of the film, not just its content
Ð part of the goal here is to understand how form (the sets) and content
(the story) were meant to work together.
Christie,
Ian. "Down to Earth:
Aelita Revisited," in Inside the Film Factory; new approaches
to Russian
and Soviet Cinema. Ed. Richard Taylor and Ian Christie.
Routledge, 1991: 80-102.
Tuesday, April 22 - Tatlin and Constructivist Architecture
Milner,
John. "The Monument to the Third International," in Vladimir
Tatlin and the Russian Avant-Garde. Yale University Press, 1983:
151-180.
Williams,
Beryl. "The Impact
of the French Revolutionary Tradition on the Propaganda of the
Bolshevik
Revolution, 1918-1921,Ó in Symbols,
Myths, and Images of the French Revolution.
Essays in Honour of James
A. Leith. ed. Ian Germani and Robin Swales. Canadian
Plains Research Center: University of Regina, 1998: 297-306.
Thursday, April 24 - Lenin's Monumental Propaganda leading the revoltuion
Lenin's support of the avant-garde
continues to surprise historians and students of the Soviet Union. He seems to have had both a fascination
and an aptitude with revolutionary images, trying his hand at his
own visual program in the form of Monumental Propaganda. What does Lenin take from the avant-garde and on what principles
does he depart from it? Be sure to include plenty of concrete
comparative examples.
Bowlt, John E.
"Russian Sculpture and Lenin's Plan of Monumental Propaganda," Art and Architecture
in the Service of Politics. Ed.
Henry A. Millon and Linda Nochlin.
MIT Press,1978: 182-193.
Lodder,
Christina. "Lenin's
Plan for Monumental Propaganda,"
in Art of the Soviets; Paintings,
Sculpture and Architecture in a One-Party State, 1917-1992. ed. Matthew Cullerne
Brown and Brandon Taylor. Manchester:
Manchester University Press, 1993: 16-32.
Holz,
Wolfgang. "Allegory
and Iconography in Socialist Realist Painting," in Art of
the Soviets; Paintings,
Sculpture and Architecture in a One-Party State, 1917-1992. ed. Matthew Cullerne
Brown and Brandon Taylor. Manchester:
Manchester University Press, 1993: 73-85.
Tuesday, April 29 - Trotsky leading the revolution
Trotsky,
Leon. "Manifesto:
towards a free revolutionary art,"
in Art and Revolution; Writings on Literature, Politics and Culture. Pathfinder Press, 1970: 122-129.
Greenberg,
Clement. "Avant-Garde
and Kitsch," in
Art Theory and Criticism; an Anthology of
Formalist, Avant-Garde,
Contextualist and Post-Modernist Thought.
ed. Sally Everett McFardlan
and Comp. 1991: 26-40.
Thursday, May 1 - Socialist Realism
Guest
lecture by Steve Harris, ABD at University of Chicago in Soviet History.
Groys,
Boris. "The Birth
of Socialist Realism from the Spirit of the Russian Avant-Garde,"
in Laboratory
of Dreams; the Russian Avant-Garde and Cultural Experiment. ed. John E. Bowlt
and Olga Matich. Stanford:
Stanford University Press, 1996: 193-218.
Tuesday, May 6 - Postscript: Komar and Melamid
Komar
and Melamid. "Blue
Landscapes, Bewitching Numbers, and the Double Life of Jokes: an Interview
with Komar and Melamid,"
in Painting by Numbers; Komar and Melamid's Scientific
Guide to Art. Ed. Joann Wypijewski. University of California Press, 1997:
14-49.
Danto,
Arthur C. "Can It
Be the 'Most Wanted Painting' Even if Nobody Wants It?" in Painting
by Numbers; Komar and MelamidÕs Scientific
Guide to Art. Ed. Joann Wypijewski. University
of California Press, 1997: 124-139.
Thursday, May 8 - Visual Campaigns
