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 with a different topic.
East Asian Gardens: China, Japan, Korea—and California?
What kinds of gardens have existed in East Asia, and what sorts of functions have they fulfilled? How have they engaged with broader visions of the cosmos, and how have they expressed such understandings? What happens to such gardens when they are translated into a cultural context very different from that in which they emerged? To answer these questions, this course, taught by a curator at the Huntington Library, will take a broad view of the history of East Asian garden-making, examining images, texts, films, and gardens from the 2nd century BCE to the present. We will investigate hunting parks constructed as microcosms of empires, holey rocks that inspired dream-journeys to immortal realms, Buddhist paradises accessible in this-worldly estates, and textual fantasies of gardens of the mind. Taking advantage of the Chinese and Japanese Gardens at the Huntington, this course will also explore how such concepts have been put into practice in the physical spaces of these gardens, where the course will be held each week. Moreover, we shall trace the very different histories of these two gardens in order to gain insights into California's shifting relationship to East Asia over the course of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. In taking this course, students will ultimately gain an understanding of the diversity of garden forms in East Asia; familiarity with key concepts used in garden-making; practice with the skills of visual and spatial analysis, as well as cultural and historical contextualization, necessary to discuss gardens meaningfully; and experience with curatorial strategies for making East Asian gardens accessible to diverse audiences. The final project will involve developing an interpretive program for one section of the Huntington’s gardens. Additional Core Requirement Met: Regional Focus and Pre-1800.
Chicana Art in LA: Historical/Contemporary Perspectives
During the fall of 2017, the Getty Foundation's "Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA" will explore the artistic connections between Latino and Latin American art, with numerous Chicano/Latino themed exhibitions to be held throughout Southern California. The only solo exhibition featuring the work of a Chicana artist will be "Laura Aguilar: Show and Tell" to be held at the Vincent Price Museum. This course will discuss the work of artist/photographer Laura Aguilar, with a focus on the solo exhibition of her work. The course will consider Aguilar's work within the context of local Chicana art history and will survey the historical, political, spiritual, and aesthetic antecedents that have nurtured the development of this visual culture. Content will also include explorations into current trends impacting and influencing the genre. Some of the topics covered throughout the semester will include: the politics and iconography of the Chicano movement, the public presentation of Chicana/o art in museums/galleries, and visualizing Chicana feminism. Students will be introduced to Chicana art history through readings, lectures, guest artist presentations, and class discussions. Topics will be augmented by field trips to the Vincent Price Museum to view the exhibition and programming related to "Laura Aguilar: Show and Tell." Additional Core Requirement Met: U.S. Diversity.
Modern Sculpture in LA
Taught by a curator at the Huntington, this course has two goals: 1.) to broadly introduce 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 goal 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 achieves the second goal 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 works of art in the 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.