Class Schedule: Weeks 3 and 4

Week 3: (finish African Figurative Sculpture & begin Representations of the Buddha)

M: Dogon Ancestor Couple (11-9) -- close study

W: Akuaba (11-12) -- review

F:  Quiz Assignment for African Figurative Sculpture; first look at Buddhas

Week 4:  Representations of the Buddha

M:  Gandhara Buddha (1-10) and Buddhist Iconography
W: Buddhas from Mathura (1-12), Sarnath (1-15) Sukothai (2-11),
F:  Buddhas from China (3-11; 3-14), Tibet, Japan

Akuaba

Osei Bonsu. Akuaba. Ashante (Ghana). c. 1935

And lots of others -- one at the Metropolitan Museum of Art -- one at the British Museum -- another one by Osei Bonsu at the National Museum of African Art (part of the Smithsonian) -- one at the Indianapolis Museum of Art.

One for sale at amazon.com -- some made of chocolate -- and a line of maternity and baby clothes.

You'll notice that these are often labelled "Fertility Dolls" or Fertility Figures." Do you think this is an accurate / fair description?

Dogon Ancestor Couple

This example of the Dogon Seated Couple is from the Metropolitan Museum in New York. The page at the Timeline of Art History is very good, and so is the page from the "Search the Collection" site.  The TOAH also has an essay on the subject of "Couples in Art" which might be interesting.  And of course the textbook has a paragraph or so.  

One advantage to visiting museums is that you can walk all around the figure and study it from other angles. Since I don't have a Magic School Bus, here's a video that slowly rotates around an example of a similar sculpture. You can ignore the music and descriptive words -- it's from a commercial gallery that sells Dogon art -- but the video is useful.

Kongo Nail Figure (nkisi nkondi

Mangaaka Power Figure (nkisi nkondi) at the Metropolitan Museum of Art w/ a good article explaining its purpose

Another one, also at the Met, w/ more information

One called "Mavungu" at the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford -- also a good article describing this figure's history, purpose, features, and meaning.

Several more at the Brooklyn Museum

One in Dallas -- with another good article.

(If you read all these, plus the paragraph in the book, you'll know a great deal.)

Three at Home (one, two-headed dog form nkisi kozo)

One in the Met

Please be ready to answer the Key Questions for Information ("What is It?") and for the Key Questions for Discussion ("What Does it Mean?").

Q: Warren, does that mean there's going to be a quiz? A: Well, if people know can answer my first verbal questions with accuracy & confidence, then why bother? On the other hand . . . 

Eddie Izzard's "No Flag, No Country"

Fang Reliquary Figures

This is a Fang Reliquary Guardian Figure (Eyema-O-Byeri) from the Arts of Africa collection at the Brooklyn Museum.

Here's another one, also from Brooklyn, with a brief descriptive essay.

And another one, at the New Orleans Museum of Art

This different style of Fang Guardian figure (Mbulu Ngulu) is more abstract. This one's also from Brooklyn.

And here's one at the Herbert F. Johnson Museum at Cornell University

In 2007 the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC presented an exhibition called "Eternal Ancestors: The Art of the Central African Reliquary." Unfortunately it's not been preserved on the web. However, you can read a NYTimes review of it, and you can also watch a good 6-part set of lectures from the Met on Youtube.

The Metropolitan Museum's TOAH article "African Influences on Modern Art" is also very useful in explaining the impact such works had on artists like Picasso, Cezanne, Matisse, Modigliani and others.











Oh, and you can totally buy these on EBay, right?

OH, and I was wrong about African artists using lost wax casting. So there.

Nok Heads

Nok Terracottas (Metropolitan Museum of Art)


A lot of Nok artifacts have ended up in Western museums and personal collections, but the business of selling Nok artifacts to collectors is really controversial. 


Here are a couple links that show what I mean.
The Rape of Nok and Kwatakwashi: the crisis in Nigerian Antiquities (University of Cambridge)
UNESCO, Nok terracotta and the Met (Elginism blog)
Nok Heads for Sale (Hamill Gallery)

Bronzes from Ife

Ife (Metropolitan Museum)

Another example at the British Museum

Another one at the Brooklyn Museum

ALSO: don't neglect the side material in your book:  read the three boxes on "Dating African Art and Identifying African Artists" (p. 187); the one on p. 189 about "Art and Leadership in Africa" and (very important) the one on "Idealized Naturalism at Ife-Ife" on page 190.

Ta Moko

Ta Moko is the traditional form of skin marking (or tattooing) practiced in New Zealand.

Source

Warning: Blood

Haka : O Pango & Kamate

Here, the All Blacks (New Zealand's national rugby team) perform the haka -- a traditional form of dance that is used by them as a ceremonial preparation for difficult activities. The All Blacks haka has become the signature of their team -- which has one of the most impressive records in all sport. 

Here's another video example of "O Pango," and another. 

O Pango is a recent haka performed by the All Blacks; their previous and more famous haka "Kamate" is the one most people associate with the team. 

Schedule for Weeks 2 & 3

African Figurative Sculpture: Images of Spiritual Power
Textbook: Chapters 10 and 11

Week 2:

M: Nok Heads (10-3) & Bronzes from Ife (10-6) -- general ideas

W: Fang Guardian Figures (11-3 and 11-4) -- general ideas

F: Kongo Nkisi Nkondi (11-8) -- close study

Week 3:

M: Dogon Ancestor Couple (11-9) -- close study

W: Akuaba (11-12) -- review

F:  Next Unit Starts: Buddhas 

Key Course Questions

INFORMATION for IDENTIFICATION = WHAT IS IT?

• who made it?
• when and where?
• what is it for?
• what is it made of?
• how was it made?

DISCUSSION = WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

• why is it made like that?
• what does it say?
• what makes it beautiful? what is its beauty?
• what can we learn from it?

Class Schedule : tentative

Fa 210: Tentative Schedule of Topics

·         African Figurative Sculpture: images of spiritual power

·         Art from India, Southeast Asia, China & Japan: representations of the Buddha

·         Hindu art from India: representations of Shiva

·         Asian Religious Architecture

·         Chinese painting: Fan Kuan’s “Travellers”

·         Contemporary Chinese Art: Ai Weiwei

·         Japanese Art: the Zen Garden at Ryoan-ji

·         Japanese Art: ukyio-e woodblocks: Hokusai’s “Great Wave”

·         Islamic Art: the mosque

·         Islamic art in Mughal India: the Taj Mahal

For each topic I will assign, or we will identify, one or more works to serve as keyworks. These keyworks will be used  as the basis for the information portions of quizzes and exams.

Syllabus

Course: FA 210: ART OF THE WORLD (spring term 2012)
Instructor: Dr. Warren Olin-Ammentorp
Contact: 655-7102 wolin@cazcollege.edu
Office: 13 Nickerson St – 2nd floor middle office
Office Hrs: MWF 10.15-11.30 (and by appointment)

Course Description / Teaching & Learning Goals: This course presents a broad introductory survey of non-Western art and art-making, with particular emphasis on figurative sculpture, religious architecture, and decorative arts, from regions such as Africa, India, Southeast Asia, China, Japan, the Islamic world, and Oceania. Students in this course will learn to: a) identify and describe art works from various non-Western cultures in terms of their culture, type, materials, techniques, and cultural purpose, and b) to discuss these works in terms of broad themes about the purpose and function of art in human societies, and how cultural values are reflected and expressed through aesthetic principles. Students will also consider why and how an awareness of non-Western art and aesthetic principles informs Western notions of art and beauty.

All-College Competencies: This course addresses and will advance students’ mastery of the following competency areas: Visual Literacy; Cultural Literacy; Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving.

Teaching & Required Work: This course will be based on a key topic system. Each week or so the course will cover a broad topic through general lecture and discussion of specific examples of the topic. Usually there will be one, sometimes two, key works that will serve as central examples of the topic. These key works will be provide the base for assessment of student knowledge.  Students will demonstrate basic knowledge (identification, description) and an ability to discuss and compare (analysis) specific works through written exercises and examinations. In general, students will apply and answer the following key course questions to everything we study in the course:

• On the level of INFORMATION for IDENTIFICATION: What is it? (Who made it? When & where? What is it for? What is it made of, and how was it made?) 
• On the level of DISCUSSION: Why is it made like that? What does it say? What makes it beautiful? What can we learn from it? 

Grading: Final course grades will be assessed according to these percentages:

• QUIZZES – both in-class and take-home = 60% 
• FINAL EXAM = 30% 
• PARTICIPATION & COMPLIANCE = 10% 

Text: Gardner’s Art Through the Ages: Non-Western Perspectives

Course Blog (used for all assignments & study materials): http://fa210spring2012.blogspot.com/

GENERAL STATEMENTS &COLLEGE POLICIES:

Attendance & Basic Expectations [Ungraded but Essential]:  To pass this course you will need to meet certain basic expectations for attendance, behavior, and work.  You must attend class regularly, arriving on time, ready to participate in the class work, with the proper materials and with all previously-assigned work completed.  Also, when present at class meetings you must contribute positively to the course by ensuring that everyone present has an opportunity to work and learn.  Any behavior that disrupts the business of the class (by distracting me or anyone else) is unacceptable.  And finally, you must make a good-faith effort to do all the work listed on this syllabus as a course requirement.  Fulfilling these basic expectations does not guarantee a passing grade; it only means that you are qualified to receive a passing grade.  Failure to fulfill any of these expectations may lead to your expulsion from a class meeting, or from the course, or a failing grade.  I do not grade on attendance per se but attendance is essential to success in this course.  Excessive absences (more than six overall or more than two consecutive absences) for any reason will have a negative impact on performance and grade.  Students who must miss class, but who inform me and discuss how they plan to make up the missed work will have opportunities to succeed; students who fail to take responsibility for the problems caused by their absence will lack such opportunities. 

Statement on Academic Honesty:  Cazenovia College is committed to academic honesty, and so am I.  Your work must be your own, produced for this class and no other.  Your work must represent your thoughts; any representation of the thoughts of others must be documented according to appropriate standards and formats.  The committee on academic honesty reviews reported cases of alleged plagiarism, cheating on examinations, undocumented copying of art, and similar forms of academic dishonesty.  At the beginning of each full academic term all students receive a comprehensive orientation on the college’s expectation regarding academic honesty.

Statement for Special Needs Students:  Special needs students who require accommodations in classroom or outside work or test-taking procedures should notify the Office of Special Services.

Honors: This class may be taken at the Honors level by students in the Honors Program.  See the instructor for details.  

Welcome!

Welcome to FA 210: Art of the World (Spring Term 2012)