ARTH 391 Curatorial Seminar in Art History

A seminar focusing on a topic in the history of art taught by a practicing Curator at a Los Angeles cultural institution. Course topic(s) change annually and will include off-campus hands-on work within the context of curatorial and exhibition practices. Course may be repeated for credit. 

Modern Sculpture in LA: 

Taught by a curator at the Huntington this course has two goals: 1.) to introduce broadly the medium of sculpture as it has been practiced in the West for the past two centuries and 2.) to take advantage of Los Angeles area collections and exhibitions. The course achieves the first through case studies including units on materials and techniques Greco-Roman sculpture neoclassical American sculpture Rodin Giacometti and Noguchi Minimalism and the Light and Space artists; and the second by visits to local museums including the Huntington LACMA the Norton Simon and perhaps commercial galleries. 

Appropriating Asia: The Depiction of the Exotic in Western Art: 

Using artworks in collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum this course analyzes the impact of Asia on Europe from the 15th to the 19th centuries. The examination of drawings paintings sculpture and tapestries from religious mercantile and political perspectives provides a nuanced understanding of appropriation and cultural translation. Readings and group discussions will address the inevitable misunderstandings that arose when European artists encountered Asian art and culture. Special attention will be given to notions of wonder and curiosity globalization and exoticism fact and fantasy. Taught by a Getty curator and Oxy alumnus this course allows for a first-hand analysis of art by Bellini Rubens Rembrandt Delacroix and Gauguin. It also provides insight into curatorial research exhibition display and the writing of didactic texts. Class will take place at the Getty Museum every other Friday.