Instructor Bonnie Kuo (Bonnie Kuo <bkuo@ohlone.edu>)

Syllabus

Getting Started

Before you do anything, read the following links:

• Syllabus
• Who is your professor?
• Emailing me
• Textbook you will need
• Frequently asked questions and hints on how to take this class.
• What is cheating?

• The Academic Calendar (Please make sure you look this over to know the drop and registration dates.)
• Ohlone Online Education

Basic Questions about Art (Weeks 1-3)

Week 1 (1/23 - 1/29)
Readings and Online Lectures for Week 1

• All links under Getting Started (above)
• Starter Kit
• Key Concepts, Form, Iconography and Context
• Read Sayre Student Toolkit, pages xvi-xx.
• Watch video Verbeeck's Battle: Restoring War in the Conservation Lab produced by the National Gallery of Art

Assignments for Week 1

Remember: If you miss or are late turning in ANY of the first 3 assignments you earn an automatic "F" in the course.  It will then be YOUR responsibility to drop the class.

Also: I do NOT always check my email on the weekends.   DO NOT expect me to answer emails that are sent a few hours before the assignment is due.  Please plan ahead!

ASSIGNMENTS #1 and #2  Due Sunday January 29 by 11:59 pm or earlier

If you miss or are late turning in ANY of the first 3 assignments you earn an automatic "F" in the course.  It will then be YOUR responsibility to drop the class.

Assignment #1:  INTRODUCTORY ASSIGNMENT  (Read the directions carefully!)

• Send me an email/message using the message center in Blackboard
• In the body of your message please put your name and answer the following questions:
   1.  Have you read the Syllabus and the links under "Stuff You Need to Know"?
   2.  What main topics are outlined and discussed in the syllabus?
   3.  Did you read and understand the List of Assignments and Due Dates found on the Syllabus, Blackboard, and the class website?
   4.  In general when are assignments due?  Which Sundays are no assignments due?
   5.  What is the policy on late work, make-ups, and extra credit in this class?
   6.  Reading assignments in this class come from what two sources?
   7.  If Blackboard is down, what can you do to still access the class readings, online lectures, and assignments? 
   8.  What is the username and password for our class website?
   9.  Explain how and where to submit a worksheet assignment.  How should you back-up your work?
   10. If you have trouble submitting any of the worksheet assignments, what should you do?
   11. Do I accept email attachments?
   12. What constitutes cheating/plagiarism?  What are the consequences if you plagiarize or cheat on your worksheets or discussion board postings?
   13. If you experience any problems with Blackboard or have any questions about Blackboard, who should you contact for help? (Hint: it is not your professor.)
   14. Do you have any questions for me?

Assignment #2:  INTRODUCTORY DISCUSSION BOARD POSTING

In complete sentences that are properly punctuated and capitalized, please post a message to the class discussion board in which you introduce yourself to the class.
Provide the following information:

   1.  What you would like to be called (your name or nickname).
   2.  How long have you been studying at Ohlone?
   3.  What is your major?
   4.  Why are you taking this class?
   5.  Something interesting about yourself.  (You can write anything here, except for something rude.)

Readings and Online Lectures for Week 2

• Read Sayre Chapter 1 A World of Art
• Read Sayre Chapter 2 Developing Visual Literacy
• An example of Green Architecture

Assignment for Week 2

Assignment #3     Due Sunday February 5 by 11:59 pm or earlier
DISCUSSION BOARD POSTING 1

Choose ONE of the following discussion topics and post your response on the discussion board in Blackboard.  Then read through your classmates' responses and respond to at least two of your classmates' postings.  Be sure to go back and read everyone's post.

(A REMINDER: When you respond to someone else's post, make sure your reply adds to the discussion. Explain why you agree or disagree with your classmate and provide factual evidence to back up your opinion.  If your reply does not add anything new to the discussion but simply restates another student's answer, it will not receive full credit.  Remember the point of the discussion board postings is to have a meaningful discussion and demonstrate to me that you have read and understood the material.)

(How to get an "A" while doing this.)

• Sayre provides four possible roles of the artist.  Choose a work of art from the text and discuss which role(s) the artist is fulfilling in that work of art.  To receive full credit, you must discuss a work of art that is not one of the examples Sayre uses in his discussion on the role of the artist.  Also, chose an example that hasn't already been discussed by your classmates.  Be sure to first reference the work of art using the artist's name, title of the work, date, and the page or figure number from Sayre on which the work is reproduced.
• What is the role of beauty in art?  Do you think art must be beautiful?  Explain why or why not?  Choose a work of art from the book or from the National Gallery of Art website (http://www.nga.gov/collection/index.shtm) to support your answer.  To receive full credit, you must discuss a work of art that hasn't already been chosen by your classmates.  Be sure to first reference the work of art using the artist's name, title of the work, date, and the page or figure number from Sayre on which the work is reproduced or the specific National Gallery website address for the work of art.

Readings and Online Lectures for Week 3

• Christo and Jeanne-Claude
• Bierstadt
• Earth Works

Assignment for Week 3

ASSIGNMENT #4    Due Sunday February 12 by 11:59 pm or earlier
WORKSHEET 1

Worksheet 1

A note about the worksheet assignments: The questions on the worksheets draw from all the readings assigned for each section.  In this case, Worksheet 1 covers Weeks 1 through 3, which focused on Basic Questions about Art.  Be sure to reference the previous weeks' readings and online lectures to complete each worksheet fully.

I do not accept late work.  So make sure you turn it in on time!
Spelling and grammar do count.

Note: If you do not complete one of the worksheet assignments, it usually drops your final grade in the class by a full letter grade.  Each assignment is an important part of your grade in this class.

Note:  ALWAYS type your worksheet responses in a word processing program such as MS Word first.  That way your work is saved, can be spell-checkd, and you have a back up copy.  To submit your worksheet assignment, click on the Assignments tab in the left-hand menu in Blackboard.  Find the corresponding assignment and click on the link.  Then Then cut and paste your numbered answers into the submission box and hit the submit button.  Should you run into any troubles on Blackboard, you can always cut and paste your numbered answers into an email and send them to me at bkuo@ohlone.edu.  Remember, I do NOT accept email attachments or images. 

(Bonnie Kuo <bkuo@ohlone.edu>)

Reception of Art and Its Controversies (Weeks 4-6)

Week 4 (2/13 - 2/19)

Readings and Online Lectures for Week 4

• Read Sayre Chapter 3 Seeing the Value in Art
• Read Sayre Chapter 21 From 1900 to the Present

No assignment due this week.

Readings and Online Lectures for Week 5

• Picasso and Cubism
• African Art
• Overview of Dada and Surrealism
• Dada
• Dali

ASSIGNMENT #5   Due Sunday February 26 by 11:59 pm or earlier
DISCUSSION BOARD POSTING 2

I do not accept late work.  So make sure you turn it in on time!

Choose ONE of the following discussion topics and post your response on the discussion board in Blackboard.  Then read through your classmates' responses and respond to at least two of your classmates' postings.  Be sure to go back and read everyone's post.

(A REMINDER: When you respond to someone else's post, make sure your reply adds to the discussion. Explain why you agree or disagree with your classmate and provide factual evidence to back up your opinion.  If your reply does not add anything new to the discussion but simply restates another student's answer, it will not receive full credit.  Remember the point of the discussion board postings is to have a meaningful discussion and demonstrate to me that you have read and understood the material.)

(How to get an "A" while doing this.)

• After reading Sayre's discussion on the business of selling, collecting, and exhibiting art, what is your reaction?  Is it simply "very-high end shopping" as Sayre points out?  Discuss the complexities of the art market and areas of potential conflicts of interest.
• A work of art can be confusing or even offensive the first time we look at it, but after learning more we often come to a better understanding and appreciation of that same work.  Name a work of art from Chapters 3 or 21 of Sayre in which you experienced this.  Describe your initial reaction and then discuss your later understanding of the work once you learned more by reading the text and/or online lecture.   To receive full credit, you must discuss a work of art that hasn't already been chosen by your classmates.  Be sure to first reference the work of art using the artist's name, title of the work, date, and the page or figure number from Sayre on which the work is reproduced.

Readings and Online Lectures for Week 6

• Read Sayre Chapter 11 on Painting
• Read Sayre Chapter 13 on Sculpture

 

ASSIGNMENT #6    Due Sunday March 4 by 11:59 pm or earlier
WORKSHEET 2

Worksheet 2

I do not accept late work.  So make sure you turn it in on time!
Spelling and grammar do count.

Note:  ALWAYS type your worksheet responses in a word processing program such as MS Word first.  That way your work is saved, can be spell-checkd, and you have a back up copy.  To submit your worksheet assignment, click on the Assignments tab in the left-hand menu in Blackboard.  Find the corresponding assignment and click on the link.  Then Then cut and paste your numbered answers into the submission box and hit the submit button.  Should you run into any troubles on Blackboard, you can always cut and paste your numbered answers into an email and send them to me at bkuo@ohlone.edu.  Remember, I do NOT accept email attachments or images. 

(Bonnie Kuo <bkuo@ohlone.edu>)
 

Week 7 (3/5 - 3/11)

Readings and Online Lectures for Week 7

• Read Sayre Chapter 4 on Line
• Read Sayre Chapter 5 on Space
• Read Sayre Chapter 8 on The Principles of Design
• Formal Analysis
• The development of Perspective in Renaissance Art
• The psychology of Perspective
• An Interactive Site about Perspective
• Perspective in the North and South: Masaccio and Van Eyck
• Empire of the Eye: The Magic of Illusion Parts 1-7
• Click on the above link to access a video series on perspective that was created by the National Gallery of Art.  Go through and watch them sequentially, parts 1 through 7.

Assignment for Week 7

ASSIGNMENT #7   Due Sunday March 11 by 11:59 pm or earlier
DISCUSSION BOARD POSTING 3a

I do not accept late work.  So make sure you turn it in on time!

Choose ONE of the following discussion topics and post your response on the discussion board in Blackboard.  Then read through your classmates' responses and respond to at least two of your classmates' postings.  Be sure to go back and read everyone's post.

(A REMINDER: When you respond to someone else's post, make sure your reply adds to the discussion. Explain why you agree or disagree with your classmate and provide factual evidence to back up your opinion.  If your reply does not add anything new to the discussion but simply restates another student's answer, it will not receive full credit.  Remember the point of the discussion board postings is to have a meaningful discussion and demonstrate to me that you have read and understood the material.)

(How to get an "A" while doing this.)
 

• Choose a work of art reproduced in Sayre Chapters 4, 5, 11, or 13 and explain how to determine the symmetry of the work of art.  Is the work symmetrical or asymmetrical?  Explain how and why you came to your conclusion.  Finally, describe the difference between bilateral symmetry, absolute symmetry, and a work that is asymmetrically balanced.  (Be sure you cite the work of art with the artist, title, date, and figure number or page number on which it is found in the text.)
• When looking at a reproduction or photograph of a work of art, why is it important to examine the dimensions of a work of art in the caption information?  Use Do-Ho Suh's Public Figures, 1998-1999 (Sayre, Fig. 199) and Claes Oldenburg's Spoonbridge and Cherry, 1988 (Sayre, Fig. 200) as examples and discuss how the scale changed your understanding of each artwork.  Finally, choose a work of art reproduced in the textbook and without looking at the caption, briefly discuss your initial impression of the scale of the artwork.  Then look at the caption information and discuss your thoughts on the same artwork once you know its dimensions and can envision its true scale.  (Be sure you cite the work of art with the artist, title, date, and figure number or page number on which it is found in the text.)

Readings and Online Lectures for Week 8

• Read Sayre Chapter 6 on Light and Color
• Read Sayre Chapter 7 on Other Formal Elements
• Color Basics
• Impressionism- Degas and Renoir
• Impressionism- Cassatt and Degas
• Impressionism- Monet
• Seurat 

Assignment for Week 8

ASSIGNMENT #8   Due Sunday March 18 by 11:59 pm or earlier
DISCUSSION BOARD POSTING 3b

I do not accept late work.  So make sure you turn it in on time!

Choose ONE of the following discussion topics and post your response on the discussion board in Blackboard.  Then read through your classmates' responses and respond to at least two of your classmates' postings.  Be sure to go back and read everyone's post.

(A REMINDER: When you respond to someone else's post, make sure your reply adds to the discussion. Explain why you agree or disagree with your classmate and provide factual evidence to back up your opinion.  If your reply does not add anything new to the discussion but simply restates another student's answer, it will not receive full credit.  Remember the point of the discussion board postings is to have a meaningful discussion and demonstrate to me that you have read and understood the material.)

(How to get an "A" while doing this.)
 

• What is atmospheric perspective (also known as aerial perspective)? Choose a work of art from Sayre Chapter 19 or 20 in which the artist used atmospheric perspective and describe how atmospheric perspective is created in the work of art and the effect it has on pictorial space.  (Make sure you cite your example by stating the artist, title, date, and figure number or page number in the text. 
• Nonlocal color is the opposite of local color.  Explain the concept of nonlocal color and the difference between perceptual color and arbitrary color.  Choose a work of Impressionist art from the textbook or online lecture and examine a specific example of how and where the artist used nonlocal color.  Also discuss whether the use of nonlocal color should be classified as perceptual color or arbitrary color.   (Be sure to reference the work of art using the artist's name, title of the work, date, and the page or figure number from Sayre on which the work is reproduced.) 
• Describe the concept of optical mixing.  Given an example of a work of art from the online lectures or textbook that relies on optical mixing, then explain how it is used and the overall effect it has on the work of art.  (Be sure to reference the work of art using the artist's name, title of the work, date, and the page or figure number from Sayre on which the work is reproduced.) 

No reading or assignments due.

Readings and Online Lectures for Week 10

• Read Sayre Chapter 9 on Drawing
• Read Sayre Chapter 10 on Printmaking
• Reread Sayre Chapter 11 on Painting

ASSIGNMENT #9    Due Sunday April 1 by 11:59 pm or earlier
WORKSHEET 3

Worksheet 3

I do not accept late work.  So make sure you turn it in on time!
Spelling and grammar do count.

Note:  ALWAYS type your worksheet responses in a word processing program such as MS Word first.  That way your work is saved, can be spell-checkd, and you have a back up copy.  To submit your worksheet assignment, click on the Assignments tab in the left-hand menu in Blackboard.  Find the corresponding assignment and click on the link.  Then Then cut and paste your numbered answers into the submission box and hit the submit button.  Should you run into any troubles on Blackboard, you can always cut and paste your numbered answers into an email and send them to me at bkuo@ohlone.edu.  Remember, I do NOT accept email attachments or images. 

(Bonnie Kuo <bkuo@ohlone.edu>)

Week 11 (4/2 - 4/8)

Readings and Online Lectures for Week 11

• Read Sayre Chapter 20 on The Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries
• Romanticism
• Caspar David Friederich

Assignment for Week 11

No Assignment due this week.

Readings and Online Lectures for Week 12

• Still Life Painting
• Reread Sayre Chapter 2 Developing Visual Literacy

ASSIGNMENT #10   Due Sunday April 15 by 11:59 pm or earlier
DISCUSSION BOARD POSTING 4

I do not accept late work.  So make sure you turn it in on time!

Choose ONE of the following discussion topics and post your response on the discussion board in Blackboard.  Then read through your classmates' responses and respond to at least two of your classmates' postings.  Be sure to go back and read everyone's post.

(A REMINDER: When you respond to someone else's post, make sure your reply adds to the discussion. Explain why you agree or disagree with your classmate and provide factual evidence to back up your opinion.  If your reply does not add anything new to the discussion but simply restates another student's answer, it will not receive full credit.  Remember the point of the discussion board postings is to have a meaningful discussion and demonstrate to me that you have read and understood the material.)

(How to get an "A" while doing this.)

• What is foreshortening?  Choose a work of still life painting from www.artyfactory.com/art_appreciation/still_life.htm by Kalf, Steenwyck, or Chardin to use as an example.  Be sure to identify an object within the painting that the artist foreshortened and explain how you came to your conclusion.  Make sure you reference the work of art by including the artist, title, date, and the website link, so your classmates can easily access the artwork.
• Discuss the subject matter and content of JMW Turner's The Slave Ship 1840 and your reaction to it.  Then explain how this work exemplifies the Romantic style.
• Describe the idea of the sublime.  Explain how Caspar David Friederich's Wanderer above the Sea of Fog (1817-1818) illustrates this concept.
• What is iconography?  Why is iconography dependent on culture and why does it change over time?  (To receive full credit, do not paraphrase what is written in the textbook.  Please do not discuss or use as an example Jan Van Eyck's The Marriage of Giovanni Arnolfini and Giovanna Cenami, 1434, Figure 34.  Remember to write entirely in your own words to demonstrate you understand this concept.)

Readings and Online Lectures for Week 13

• Watch video Vermeer: Master of Light produced by the National Gallery
• Review Sayre Chapters 4-8 on The Formal Elements and Their Design

Assignment for Week 13

ASSIGNMENT #11    Due Sunday April 22 by 11:59 pm or earlier
WORKSHEET 4

Worksheet 4

I do not accept late work.  So make sure you turn it in on time!
Spelling and grammar do count.

Note:  ALWAYS type your worksheet responses in a word processing program such as MS Word first.  That way your work is saved, can be spell-checkd, and you have a back up copy.  To submit your worksheet assignment, click on the Assignments tab in the left-hand menu in Blackboard.  Find the corresponding assignment and click on the link.  Then Then cut and paste your numbered answers into the submission box and hit the submit button.  Should you run into any troubles on Blackboard, you can always cut and paste your numbered answers into an email and send them to me at bkuo@ohlone.edu.  Remember, I do NOT accept email attachments or images. 

(Bonnie Kuo <bkuo@ohlone.edu>)

Week 14 (4/23 - 4/29)

Readings and Online Lectures for Week 14

• Read Chapter 19 The Renaissance through the Baroque
• Giotto's Arena Chapel
• Raphael "School of Athens"
• The School of Athens (An interactive Website)
• Farber's Visual Essay on the "School of Athens"
• Review the following online lectures from Week 6:
• The development of Perspective in Renaissance Art
• Perspective in the North and South: Masaccio and Van Eyck

ASSIGNMENT #12   Due Sunday April 29 by 11:59 pm or earlier
DISCUSSION BOARD POSTING 5

I do not accept late work.  So make sure you turn it in on time!

Choose ONE of the following discussion topics and post your response on the discussion board in Blackboard.  Then read through your classmates' responses and respond to at least two of your classmates' postings.  Be sure to go back and read everyone's post.

(A REMINDER: When you respond to someone else's post, make sure your reply adds to the discussion. Explain why you agree or disagree with your classmate and provide factual evidence to back up your opinion.  If your reply does not add anything new to the discussion but simply restates another student's answer, it will not receive full credit.  Remember the point of the discussion board postings is to have a meaningful discussion and demonstrate to me that you have read and understood the material.)

(How to get an "A" while doing this.)
 

• Choose your favorite work of Renaissance or Baroque art reproduced in Sayre Chapter 19 or from one of the online lectures and explain why you like it.  Use the concepts you have learned in this class to support your opinion.  To receive full credit, you must discuss a work of art that hasn't already been chosen by your classmates; OR if you choose the same work, you must add something new to the discussion by providing a critical response to your classmate's posting.  Be sure to reference the work of art using the artist's name, title of the work, date, and the page or figure number from Sayre on which the work is reproduced.
• Explain the art historical term style.  What factors determine the style of a work of art?  How does one determine the style of a work of art?

Week 15 (4/30 - 5/6)

Readings and Online Lectures for Week 15

• Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel
• Michelangelo's Last Judgment
• Sofonisba Anguissola
• Mannerism Painting

ASSIGNMENT #13    Due Sunday May 6 by 11:59 pm or earlier
WORKSHEET 5

Worksheet 5

I do not accept late work.  So make sure you turn it in on time!
Spelling and grammar do count.

Note:  ALWAYS type your worksheet responses in a word processing program such as MS Word first.  That way your work is saved, can be spell-checkd, and you have a back up copy.  To submit your worksheet assignment, click on the Assignments tab in the left-hand menu in Blackboard.  Find the corresponding assignment and click on the link.  Then Then cut and paste your numbered answers into the submission box and hit the submit button.  Should you run into any troubles on Blackboard, you can always cut and paste your numbered answers into an email and send them to me at bkuo@ohlone.edu.  Remember, I do NOT accept email attachments or images. 

(Bonnie Kuo <bkuo@ohlone.edu>)
 

This is your last assignment; there is no final exam in this class.
After you have finished Worksheet 5 you are free.  Have a great summer break!