Syllabus
IDC 1002H Art in New York City (Fall 2012)
Professor Shelly Eversley, VC 7-249
shelly.eversley@baruch.cuny.edu; 646 312 3960
Office Hours: Tuesdays, 2-3:00PM and by appointment
Instructional Technology Fellow, Professor Kara Vancleaf
Office Hours: Tuesdays, 10-11:00AM, 12:30-2:00PM and by appointment, Virtual Office Hours: karamary@gmail.com, Mondays 9-11am
Course Description and Expectations:
By the early 20th Century, the center of the art world shifted from Paris to New York. Artists from the United States and from around the world settled, and continue to settle, in New York to take advantage of the creative opportunities that the City has to offer. In this context, we will sample some of the art, artists and movements that contribute to the notion of New York City as a cultural capital. We will study the history of art forms such as Abstract Expressionism, performance art, modern dance, photography, poetry, musical theater, jazz and opera. And in order to explore the ways in which art articulates our humanity, we will experience art first-hand. This means we will leave the classroom to see, to touch, to try, to listen and to feel art. We will have conversations with working artists; we will visit museums and galleries; we will attend a dance performance, we will go to the opera and we will visit the theater. Individually and in small groups, you are required to take advantage of your cultural passport to explore art in New York City.
During the course of the semester, students will post six exhibition or performance reviews on the course blog (300-500 words each); write a short history of an artist or art movement (4-5 pages); compose a short film screenplay (8-10 pages); produce New York City snapshot and participate in the annual Macaulay group exhibition; create a multimedia presentation (5-7minutes); and collaborate on a final smart history group project and presentation (3-5 minutes).
Your attendance, participation and active engagement with art is crucial to your final grade. It will be calculated as follows: class participation (25%); blog posts and comments (20%); art history paper (15%); screenplay (5%); multimedia presentation (15%); final group project (20%).
Required Texts:
John Berger, Ways of Seeing
Colm Toibin, Brooklyn
August Wilson, Piano Lesson
Aida, story and music
Supplemental readings will be available on the course blog:
http://eportfolios.macaulay.cuny.edu/eversleyarts
Follow the link, “Join this site”
Required Performances:
August Wilson’s Piano Lesson, Signature Theater, November 1.
Complexions Contemporary Ballet, The Joyce Theater, November 15.
Giuseppi Verdi’s Aida, Metropolitan Opera, December 3.
On your own time, you are required to visit the Museum of Modern Art, and two performances or exhibitions of your choice.
Course Schedule:
Please note this schedule and readings are subject to revision. Check the course blog for updates.
August 27: Night at the Museum
August 28: Introductions
August 30: Looking at Art. John Berger, Ways of Seeing, chapters 1-3.
September 4: Art and Politics. John Berger, Ways of Seeing, chapter 5.
September 6: Guest Artist: Kenneth Pietrobono
September 11: Abstract Expressionism. Jed Pearl, “The Painter and The City” and “Going to the Modern” (supplemental readings).
September 13: Abstract Expressionism continued.
Multimedia presentations
Jackson Pollock—Ryan M.
Mark Rothko—Larab K.
September 18: No Class.
September 20: The Elements of a Screenplay.
Guest Artist: Roberta Degnore
MoMA Abstract Exhibition Review #1 is due online.
September 25: No Class.
September 27: Short film screening.
Short film screenplay based on Colm Toibin’s Brooklyn is due.
October 2: Defiant Art.
Multimedia Presentations
Dada—Zoraiz A.
Graffiti—Salma M.
October 4: Defiant Art continued.
Multimedia Presentations
Yoko Ono—Polina S.
Guerilla Girls in New York (1980s)—Vanja S.
Exhibition/Performance Review #2 is due online.
October 9: Photography Studio Visit: Greg Broom
October 11: Photo Composition. Supplemental images will be posted on course blog.
Multimedia Presentations
Diane Arbus—Ben C.
Cindy Sherman—Damla B.
October 16: Poetry. Allen Ginsberg, “HOWL”. (supplemental reading)
Multimedia Presentations
Leroi Jones/Amiri Baraka—Jackie L.
Miguel Pinero—Susu A.
October 18: Hip Hop. Jeff Chang, “Making a Name: How DJ Kool Herc Lost His Accent and Started Hip Hop” and “1982: Rapture in Reagan’s America” (supplemental reading)
Multimedia Presentations
Afrika Bambaataa—Stephen E.
Run-DMC—Andrew D.
October 23: Jazz. Ralph Ellison, “Golden Age, Time Past” (supplemental reading)
October 25: Jazz listening and discussion.
Multimedia Presentations
Charlie Parker—Nate N.
John Coltrane—Eleni E.
Exhibition/Performance Review #3 is due online.
October 30: August Wilson’s Piano Lesson
November 1: Piano Lesson continued.
Required Performance: Piano Lesson, Signature Theater, 8PM
November 6: Tiziana Terranova, “Free Labor: Producing Culture for the Digital Economy” (supplemental reading)
Multimedia Presentations
Patti Smith
Bessie Smith—Derrick L.
Performance Review #4 on Piano Lesson is due online.
November 8: Guest Artist: Allyssa Lamb from “Las Rubias del Norte”
November 13: The Language of Modern Dance. Martha Graham, “I am a Dancer” and Julia L. Foulkes, “Primitive Moderns” (supplemental reading)
November 15: The language of modern dance continued.
Multimedia Presentations
Martha Graham/Isamu Noguchi—Suting C.
Merce Cunningham/John Cage—Selina L.
Required Performance: Complexions Contemporary Ballet, The Joyce Theater, 8PM
November 20: Smart History Group Project Check-in and Workshop.
Performance Review#5 on Complexions Contemporary Ballet is due online.
November 22: No Class.
November 27: Opera. Aida story by Leontyne Price.
November 29: Giuseppe Verdi, Aida (selected recordings).
December 3: Required Performance: Giuseppe Verdi, “Aida.” The Metropolitan Opera, 8PM
December 4: After the opera: a conversation.
Performance Review #6 on Aida is due online.
December 6: Smart History Project Workshop.
December 11: Smart History Group Project Screening.
