syllabus

 

 

Art 6
Women Artists in History
Fall 2010
Tuesday & Thursday 11 am - 12:20 pm
section 62771
   
honors section 62772

Instructor Denise Johnson
  Office Hours: By appointment
  email: denise.johnson@chaffey.edu or djohnson@theslideprojector.com
  Voice mail: 909-652-7867
  Mailbox: CAA 302

Course Description

This course will explore the contributions of women artists to the western art tradition from the prehistoric era to the present day.  Visual language and art terminology will be used to examine a variety of artworks made by women from an assortment of historic, social, political and personal contexts.  Because women have been traditionally underrepresented and generally discouraged from participating in the visual arts, students will develop a critical eye and utilize writing to actively question and critique the art historical tradition.  Through this evaluation students will gain a general level of knowledge and appreciation for the contributions of women artists throughout history.


 

 

 

 

 

 

Required Text (Please choose one, or both.  You MUST read at least one!!)
Slatkin, Wendy. Women Artists in History: From Antiquity to the Present. Fourth edition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersery: Prentice Hall, 2001.

Slatkin cover
   
Chadwick, Whitney. Women, Art, and Society. Third edition. New York: Thames & Hudson Ltd., 2002.
Chadwick cover

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recommended Texts
Broude, Norma and Mary D. Garrard, ed.  Reclaiming Female Agency: Feminist Art History After Postmodernism.Berkeley: University of California Press, 2005.
Reclaiming Female Agency cover
   
Girls, Guerrilla. The Guerilla Girls' Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art. New York: Penguin Books, 1998.
Guerrilla Girls' Bedside Companion cover
   
Osborne, Richard and Dan Sturgis.  Art Theory For Beginners.  Second edition.  Danbury, Connecticut: For Beginners LLC. 2009.
Art Theory For Beginners
   
College Dictionary & Thesaurus
College Dictionary

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Instructional Website
This course will be taught from the instructional website: www.theslideprojector.com.   Lecture presentations, assignments, and other course materials will be available to students at this site, and you will need to access it regularly.  Please let the instructor know if you do not have internet access.
 
Attendance

Good attendance is essential to your success!  While you will not be graded directly on your attendance, numerous absences are sure to negatively affect your grade.

The deadline to add this course is September 7. If you wish to drop this course, it is your responsibility to formally drop via MyChaffey View by September 10 without record, or by November 19 with a "W" grade.

 
Special Accommodations
Please discuss any special accommodations you require with the instructor as soon as possible.  Any student having difficulty is strongly encouraged to contact the DPS office at 941-2379 for information regarding the valuable resources that are available.
 
Success Centers
Students are highly encouraged to make use of the resources and consultation services available at the Writing Center, located in the library (909) - 652 – 6820 and the Rancho Success Center in the Educational Excellence Building (909) 652 – 6932.  The Writing and Rancho Success Centers are open: Monday – Thursday from 8 am to 8 pm, Friday & Saturday from 9 am to 2 pm and are closed on Sunday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grading

There are 500 points possible in this class. Twenty Five percent of your grade will be earned with Community Assignments, 21% on the Research Paper, 18% on two exams, 18% on the Final Exam, 15% on worksheets and 3% on your effort. Honors students must additionally write a research paper that is at least 10 pages, attend at least one relevant event and conduct a 15 minute class presentation or similar speaking engagement to successfully complete their contracts.

The grading scale is as follows:
A
  100 - 90% 500 - 448 points  
   
A+
  500 - 483
   
A
  482 - 466
   
A-
  465 - 448
B
  89 - 80% 447 - 398  
   
B+
  447 - 433
   
B
  432 - 418
   
B-
  417 - 398
C
  79 - 70% 397 - 348  
   
C+
  397 - 373
   
C
  372 -348
D
  69 - 60% 347 - 297  
   
D+
  347 - 333
   
D
  332 - 318
   
D-
  317 - 297
F
  59% - or less 296 - 0 points  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Worksheets – 6 @ 10 = 60 points

Students are required to submit six worksheets of their choice worth up to 10 points each. Credit is earned for effort and completeness – incomplete assignments will NOT earn points. Worksheets are available at www.theslideprojector.com on the "Worksheets" page.

Up to two extra credit worksheets may be submitted for 10 points each. Worksheets requiring students to watch a movie are only worth extra credit points.

   
Community Assignments – 4 @ 20 + 1 @ 40 + 5 @ 5 = 145 points

Each student will be assigned to a "Learning Community" that will work together to complete writing assignments and activities designed to develop art writing skills that combined, are worth a maximum of 120 points for each participant. Communities will first develop descriptive strategies to effectively articulate what they are seeing when looking at a work of art and then will become familiar with art historical methodologies that are commonly used to interpret works. Next, each community will complete a scavenger hunt at the Wignall Museum of Contemporary Art and view an exhibition of relevant works made by women in order to write a review of one of the works seen in person. Specific exhibitions are recommended on this syllabus. Finally, community members will team up to edit each other's research paper rough drafts.

Group assignments function best when community members are accommodating with their time, interested in working together and open to feedback from their peers. Students will be encouraged to rely on their communities and to be responsible constituents themselves. Once each community assignment is completed, each student will be asked to submit a Community Assessment worth 5 points each. The instructor will only consider allowing individual students to submit independent assignments once a sincere attempt has been made at remedying any miscommunications within their group.

   
Research Paper – 3 @ 5 + 85 = 100 points

Students are required to write a Research Paper that adequately covers a topic relevant to this course. The paper should reflect extensive research as well a basic understanding and application of descriptive techniques and art historical methodologies. The paper must follow MLA guidelines, and at least three different, credible sources of information originating in print should be cited within the paper. In preparation, students will be required to submit a Topic Report, Source Report and Paper Plan, each worth 5 points. The paper itself is worth a maximum of 85 points.

   
Exams – 2 @ 45 + 1 @ 90 = 180 points

The first two exams will be worth 45 points each and will consist of image i.d.s, multiple choice, fill-in-the blank, matching and short-answer essay questions. The cumulative Final Exam will be worth 90 points, and will be taken with your community Jeopardy style.

Exams may NOT be made up. If you have extenuating circumstances that prevent you from being able to take an exam, you are required to discuss your options with the instructor BEFORE the exam takes place to be allowed to take the exam outside of class.

   
Effort - 15 points

Students may earn up to 15 points based on their active participation and general commitment to learning.

   
Extra Credit

Multiple opportunities to earn extra credit will be announced during class. However, students are limited to earning a maximum of 40 extra credit points.

 

 

Participation Scale
15 points
never absent and frequently talked
14
13
few absences and frequently talked
12
few absences and talked
11
10
few absences
9
few absences but didn't participate
8
7
sporadic attendance but talked
6
sporadic attendance
5
4
sporadic attendance and didn't participate
3
little attendance but participated
2
1
came to class to take the tests
0
never came to class and didn't take all tests

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Class Policies
I know, rules, rules, rules!  But in order for our community to function effectively we’ve gotta have ‘em. 
 
  Respect is Key
 

We will often consider provocative and challenging subject matter in this class and must therefore agree to respect each other’s views and identities.  Our diverse backgrounds and opinions are assets and no student shall be made to feel inferior or uncomfortable because of their race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs or physical/ intellectual abilities.

   
  Take a Break from Texting!
 

Please DO NOT text message during class.  If you need to attend to an important message, please leave the classroom and return when you can fully commit your attention to the class discussion.

   
  Late Assignments
 

You may turn one assignment in one class day late.  The late assignment will not be marked down, however any assignments turned in more than one class late, or in addition to the one accepted assignment, will NOT receive credit.

The instructor’s mailbox is located on the third floor of the Center for the Arts building A (a.k.a. “the new art building” and CAA) in the Art Department Office, CAA 302.  If you cannot attend a class when an assignment is due, but can deliver the assignment to my mailbox NO LATER than 12 hours before the next class begins, I will not consider your assignment late.

   
  Complete Assignments Before Class Begins
 

Please DO NOT complete assignments in class.  Assignments should be turned in at the beginning of class.  Any work done during class will NOT be given credit.

   
  Cheating & Plagiarism
 

Cheating and plagiarism will not be tolerated.  If the instructor finds evidence of cheating or plagiarism, the offending student will not receive credit on the assignment in question and further action may be considered.

   
  Study Time
 

Students should plan on spending three hours reading, fulfilling assignments and studying for class for every hour spent in the classroom.  That’s at least 135 hours of Art 6 study this semester! 

   
  Submission Deadline
 

All course work (except the Final Exam) must be submitted by the last day of lecture. NO COURSE WORK WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER 12:20 PM ON DECEMBER 9!!!

   
  Grades
 

Grades will be available online by January 4.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recommended Exhibitions
Venue
Dates
Country Music & Endless Summer
Blum & Poe Gallery
July 3 - August 21

Even Better Than The Real Thing

Wignall Museum

August 23 - September 25

Ginny Bishton

Pomona College Museum

August 31 - October 17

The Artist's Museum: LA Artists 1998 - 2010

MOCA Geffen

September 19 - January 24

Separation Anxiety

Wignall Museum

October 11 - November 13

Catherine Opie: Figure and Landscape

LACMA

through October 17

M.A. Peers

Pomona College Museum

October 30 - December 19

Selections from the Permanent Collection

UCLA Hammer Museum

through January 30

The Artist's Museum: LA Artists 1998 - 2010

MOCA Grand Ave

October 31 - January 31

Engaged Observers: Doc Photo Since 60s

The Getty Center

through November 14

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Your Fragility

Kate Kretz. Your Fragility. 2010.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_P3xccXhPlc8/S7Su3sb83DI/AAAAAAAAClM/teEZHPNFSms/s1600/Your+Fragililty....jpg

Separation Anxiety
Wignall Museum of Contemporary Art
October 11 - November 13, 2010
curated by Denise Johnson and Rebecca Trawick

As significant numbers of women have entered the work force since the 1970s in response to shifting economic needs and the influence of the Feminist movement, Jean-Jacques Rousseau's long honored notion of the "Good Mother" and the demand that she blithely sacrifice all for the good of her children and household has been challenged and re-evaluated. But as women have demanded a place within the domestic AND public realms, conservative groups have predictably lamented the decline of "family values." Within that cry, the child has often been portrayed as endangered and lost as mothers seek to redefine their roles and obligations. While far from being resolved, such debates are symptomatic of a cultural anxiety over the state of childhood and a realization that idealistic, largely unattainable notions of the family continue to be frankly reconsidered in the 21st century.

Drawing from the curator's own efforts to balance the demands of motherhood with creative and professional endeavors, Denise Johnson and Rebecca Trawick consider how contemporary artists have explored modern parenthood under the pressures of changing economies and evolving definitions of family. Artists in the exhibition explore the often unacknowledged angst and unease that all parents, traditional or not, must navigate. Through these investigations, cultural anxieties and debates over the definition of family, parenthood and childhood are explored in surprising and interesting ways.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Extra Credit Events
 
 
Venue
Date & Time
Even Better Curator's Walkthrough
Wignall Museum
September 22 @ 6 pm
Iranian Modern & Contemporary Art
MOCA Grand Ave Ahmanson Theatre
September 23 @ 6:30 pm
Ideas on Trial
MOCA Grand Ave Ahmanson Theatre
September 30 @ 6:30 pm
Art 21: Screening & Discussion
CAA 211
October 13 @12:30 - 2 pm
Separation Anxiety Artists Round Table
CAA 218
October 13 @ 5 - 6:30 pm
Defining Modern Family
CAA 218
November 3 @ 12:30 - 2 pm
Boundary Lines performance by Leslie Dick
CAA 211
November 10 @ 12:30 - 2 pm
Who Does She Think She Is? screening & talk
CAA 211
November 13 @ 1 - 4 pm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Class Schedule and Required Reading
Please complete and be prepared to discuss the assigned readings before the date they will be presented in class. This is a tentative schedule, and may be changed by the instructor at any point during the semester according to the needs of the class.
 
*RFA = Reclaiming Female Agency
**italicized title = article provided on "Worksheets" page
 
Date
Discussion Topic
Assignment Due
August 17
Introduction
 
August 19
Evidence of Early Women Artists
Chadwick: Preface and Introduction
Slatkin:
Chapter 1
 
August 24
Women, Venus & Magic
August 26
Man Becomes the Measure
 
Slatkin: Chapters 2 - 6
 
August 31
The Middle Ages
Community #1 - Fine Art of Describing
Chadwick: Chapter 1
Slatkin: Chapter 7
September 2
The Virtuosa
 
Chadwick: Chapter 2
Slatkin:
Chapter 8
RFA: Here's Looking at Me
 
September 7
The Renaissance Ideal
Topic Report
RFA: The Antique Heroines of Sirani
September 9
The Bologna Connection
 
 
September 14
Arte Gentileschi
Worksheet #2
September 16
The Renaissance in the North
Community #2 - Methods Match

Chadwick: Chapter 4
Slatkin: Chapter 9

 
September 21
Exam #1
 
September 23
Hierarchies
 
Chadwick: Chapter 5
Slatkin:Chapter 10
 
September 28
The Good Mother
Research Paper Plan
 

Slatkin: Chapter 11

September 30
Art & Revolution
Worksheet #3
 

Slatkin: Chapter 12
RFA: The Portrait of the Queen & Depoliticizing Women

 
 
October 5
Sister Suffragette!
Community #3 - Scavenger Hunt

Chadwick: Chapters 6 & 7
Slatkin: Chapter 13

October 7
Strange Sisterhood
Worksheet #4
The Object at Hand


 
October 12
The Kodak Girl
 
Chadwick: Chapter 8
Slatkin: Chapter 14
October 14
The Avant-Garde
Worksheet #5

RFA: Mary Cassatt - Modern Woman or the Cult of True Womanhood?

 
October 19
Modernism and the New Woman
Source Report
Chadwick: Chapter 9
Slatkin: Chapter 15
RFA: New Encounters with Les Demoiselles D' Avignon
October 21
Healing the Madness
Worksheet #6
Chadwick: Chapter 10
Slatkin: Chapter 17
The Lives of Hannah Hoch
 
October 26
Exam #2
 
October 28
Women Outside the Isms

Worksheet #7
 
November 2
Everything's Rosie?
Community #4 - Exhibition Review
November 4
The New American Art
Worksheet #8
Exchange Rough Draft with Peer

Chadwick: Chapter 11
Slatkin: Chapter 17
RFA: Reconsidering the Stain

 
November 9
Women Figure
 
November 11
Mind & Matter
Worksheet #9
 
November 16
Sexual Politics
Community #5 - Peer Editing
Worksheet #10
Chadwick: Chapter 12
Slatkin: Chapter 18
RFA: The "Sexual Politics" of the Dinner Party
November 18
The Artist's Body

Worksheet #11

 
November 23
Postmodernism
 
Chadwick: Chapter 13
 
November 25
Holiday
 
 
November 30
Appropriation
Worksheet #12
December 2
Backlash
 
Chadwick: Chapter 14
 
December 7
Current Trends
Worksheet #13
 
Chadwick: Chapter 15
Slatkin: Chapter 19
 
December 9
Where Do We Go From Here?
Worksheet #14
 
December 14
Final Exam 11:30 am - 2 pm
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recommended Periodicals Regularly Featuring Women Artists
Art in America
Frieze
Artforum
Modern Painters
ArtNews
Make/ Shift
BITCH
Woman's Art Journal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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