Art 222
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What induces you, oh man, to depart from your home in town, to leave parents and friends, and go to the country-side over mountains and valleys, if it is not the beauty of the world of nature which, on considering, you can only enjoy through the sense of sight? - Leonardo da Vinci
This course will examine various ways in which human society has imagined itself in relationship to nature. We will focus on several key historic periods, particularly those that established the conceptual frameworks ns that have been influential in the past and continue to affect us today. In this art history course, we will always focus on art monuments-primarily buildings and paintings-but we will illuminate them in a cultural context through an examination of literature, theology, and philosophy.
The course will begin with a look at the emergence of agriculture in the Fertile Crescent of the Near East approximately 10,000 years ago, and the profound relationships with the land that this revolution made possible. Yet even as society made a transition into "civilization," important ideas about wilderness were also preserved in the early epic narratives of Gilgamesh and the Bible. In our discontent with aspects of modern life, we consciously and unconsciously evoke these images of our beginnings. Some of our readings, particularly Daniel Quinn's popular novel Ishmael, are contemporary calls to return to Eden, revive the female-affirming religion of the Neolithic Goddess culture, or renounce our consumer relationship with the land. One of the questions we will try to answer is how the historical evidence supports these modern readings of the past.The ancient practice of building earth works represents a unique relationship to nature. Many of the early monuments, Stonehenge in particular, can be understood in reference to astronomical knowledge of the period. The monumental earthworks of the so-called Mound Builders were products of a culture that existed in Pennsylvania and the Midwest of America 1500-2000 years ago.
Once agriculture is established, the seasonal rhythms of the agricultural calendar underlie our visions of an essentially tamed and cultivated landscape. Illustrations of the calendar are preserved in cycles known as the Labors of the Months. Your first assignment will ask you to create your personal version of this time-honored format.
The ancient Romans developed a mode of literature and art known as the "pastoral," in which shepherds lead a harmonious and idyllic life in nature. In exploring this mode, we will use Ackerman's magisterial survey on The Villa, an architectural form that embodies the ideal life in the country. Our survey will trace developments from Rome, through Renaissance Italy, to the Palladian architecture that became the model for the English gentlemen farmers, culminating in the Jeffersonian building of America. Along with architecture, we will look at the landscape painting of this period, which became a primary genre of expression in western art. Ackerman ends his survey with modern villas of Frank Lloyd Wright and LeCorbusier. While the work of these two men provides dramatic contrasts between paradigms of nature and technology, both men evoke Nature to justify their architecture. The class will schedule a field trip to Wright's Fallingwater when that site opens for the season some time in mid-April.
The course will end with a unit that examines the significant tradition of landscape painting developed by Asian cultures. The Chinese have developed an important tradition of landscape painting, connecting their creation of art to the principles of Taoism that pervade the culture. We will examine a few masterpieces of the T'ang and Song dynasties in conjunction with the celebrated painters' manuals that discuss methods for depicting the life force ch'i. Zen Buddhist principles are particularly well known in Japanese painting and landscape gardening.
Evaluation
For the tests, you will be expected to be familiar with a limited number of artistic monuments that are either illustrated in your textbooks, or in slides on reserve at the Media Services desk in the basement of Pelletier Library. You will receive a list of slides to study before each exam.
Class participation is very important, particularly those days devoted to discussion of the assigned readings. A field trip to Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater, to be scheduled for the beginning of April, is required of all students.
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A number of books will also be placed on reserve in the Pelletier Library to serve as resources on topics covered in class but not in a formal textbook. You will be expected to be familiar with a limited number of artistic monuments that are either illustrated in your textbooks, or in slides on reserve at the Media Services desk in the basement of Pelletier Library.
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