FRS 002 — Sec. 024 —
(2 unit) — CRN 53987— W 2:10 – 4:00pm — 232 Art
Sense of Place in American Art
Instructor: Hearne Pardee, Department of Art & Art History, College
of Letters & Science
Description: This course examines a variety of approaches to
landscape in art, centered on the concept of place. It involves both the interpretation
of works of art, and of actual landscapes. By readings, slides lectures, and research
on sites in and around campus, students will be made aware of ways in which artists
have dealt with their immediate surroundings, whether in exotic or local settings.
Beginning with excerpts from the Travels of William Bartram, we will consider
the important place of natural landscape and exploration in American art. In the
modern era, Alfred Stieglitz and his circle responded to the advent of photography
and the influence of impressionism by introducing subjects such as the modern
city. Contemporary photographers such as Robert Adams and painters such as Rackstraw
Downes emphasize the interaction of built and natural environments, while visionary
artists such as Robert Smithson and James Turrell seek to reinterpret landscape
through direct intervention. Classes will occasionally be held in sites related
to our readings – at the Davis Commons, for example, when we consider theories
of everyday life and their origins in impressionism - and students will interpret
a site of their own choosing as an independent project.
Format: This course aims to make students more aware of American
art, and of the richness of their surroundings – visually, historically
and culturally. Much of our work will involve practice in observation and description,
which will lead to consideration of the ways in which art has shaped our perspective
on the world around us. Of central concern will be the ways in which changes in
the landscape since the nineteenth century, and changes in the technology of recording
them, have been interpreted, and how attitudes of past artists might apply to
the world today. While there is no studio component to the class, students will
be encouraged to use photography, drawing or video to document sites, and the
course will require visual analysis of works of art. These works will serve as
a springboard for fresh observations of our everyday environment. The course should
prepare students for creative work in art, literature or new media. There will
be a course reader, including artists’ journals, art historical texts, poetry,
and writings by contemporary cultural critics. Class sessions will involve writing
about art works shown, or about places where we meet; these will be collected
in a writing portfolio to be turned in with the final project. The final project
will require students to use ideas and art works discussed in class in the description
and interpretation of a local site. Grading: Participation in
class presentations and discussions will count for 30% of the final grade; the
writing portfolio will count for 30%, and the final project for 40%.
About the Instructor: