Syllabus+08f



=Art 100 - Art Appreciation= (Fundamentals of Art) Section 101: Class No.12319 - T 6-8:50p - FA-225 toc =Staff / Contact=
 * Instructor:** Glenn Zucman
 * Office Hours:** T 9-10pm in FA-225
 * Class Wiki:** http://art100.wikispaces.com
 * Instructor Wiki Page:** http://art100.wikispaces.com/Zucman_Glenn/


 * Email:** gzucman@cypresscollege.edu

=Introduction= This introductory course investigates the visual elements and principles of design through lectures, reading, films, and hands-on experience. It also examines, in the same manner, historical styles and themes in art as well as materials and techniques.

This is a course in art and life. This is a course in art and human culture. This is a course in art and the mind of humankind.

Art & Life
When we make art we express our joys and our triumphs; our losses and our sorrows; our wildest inspired dreams, and our deepest secret fears. When we make art we discuss social ills and we reach for utopia. We consider what it means to be human philosophically, physically, and phenomenologically.

Art & Culture
Art and science are related in many ways. They often play off each other. The artist and the scientist are two members of human culture whose job it is to ask //why?// Yet there is one fundamental way in which art and science differ: science builds and evolves to higher forms. Copernicus was a genius, yet science today has surpassed him. By contrast, when Karen Finley covers herself in honey, she makes art that no Ancient Greek artist could have made, she makes art that no Ancient Greek citizen could have understood, indeed she makes art so modern that Ancient Greek culture would have had no way of comprehending it. Yet for all her powerful contemporariness, she is incapable of painting a Greek Vase any "better" than the Ancient ones. Neither Karen Finley nor anyone alive today nor any Renaissance master can paint a Greek Vase any better than the 2-1/2 thousand year-old ones we continue to marvel at in museums. Similarly Cindy Sherman is incapable of making a photograph with the tonal range and compositional genius of Ansel Adams, yet she is clearly the most important American photographer of the late 20th century.

Newer art doesn't //surpass// older art, it reflects its time. Art reflects the culture from which it comes. Art reflects our idiosyncrasies and our zeitgeist. Art is a current reflecting both the driving power of the river and the meandering waters all around the flood-plane.

Art & Consciousness
Art reflects our lives. Art reflects our culture. Art reflects the state of our minds and our ability to perceive. In 1660 Ruben de la Vialle //looked// at 13,000 year-old paintings of bison and ibex, yet because he had no concept of prehistory, he was ultimately incapable of //seeing// the paintings.

Beyond reflecting our consciousness, does art push back //onto// human consciousness? When Pablo Picasso painted the proto-cubist //Demoiselles d'Avignon// 101 years ago, yes, he was reflecting the cultural gestalt, but was he also pushing back on it? Was he redefining human consciousness and perception at the dawn of the 20th century just as artists today define them for the 21st century? Does art help to define the cognitive world in which we are able to conceive?

Art 100 then is a course in Art & Life, Art & Culture, Art & The Mind of Humankind. Yes, we will at times ask questions that can be answered with numbers like "1863" or with names like "Victorine Meurent," but ultimately we will not be as interested in the quantifiable "easy questions" as in the daunting "hard questions." The hard questions are so difficult to answer that they may seem unanswerable, and to try may seem like folly, hubris, or naivete. Yet, in considering one's life, it is rarely the answers to the "easy questions" that are the most important; it is insight on the "hard questions" that we truly, deeply crave. We will grapple with the biggest questions we can, find what we can, and not be embarrassed by the grandiosity of our questions. If we are lucky, this quest will continue not just for this semester, but for the rest of our lives.

Pre-Requisites
None.

Instructional Objectives
Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:
 * Define basic art terms, media & processes
 * Identify by artist, title, or style, major selected art works
 * Identify significant characteristics of selected artists, styles, and mediums
 * Analyze a painting in terms of form & content
 * Analyze a painting in terms of design, line, shape, value, texture, color, and space
 * Demonstrate in writing the workings of basic art materials and processes such as drawing, printmaking, sculpture, and painting
 * Explain historical or thematic connections between the major art forms and styles of the world.

Format of the Course
This is an interactive lecture course supported by readings, digital images, film clips, wikis, and interactive devices. As Captain Kirk so presciently noted in 1982, //"we learn by doing."// Art 100 will offer students a number of ways to //do and learn// through trips to Los Angeles area museums, photography, and audio projects.  =Textbooks=

Required
1. //[|Graffiti L.A.: Street Styles & Art]// by Steve Grody Harry N. Abrams, Inc, 2007, ISBN 978-0810992986 - $xx.xx new $xx.xx used

2. //[|At the Edge of Art]// by Blais & Ippolito Thames & Hudson Ltd, 2006, ISBN-13: 978-0-500-23822-7 - $xx.xx new $xx.xx used

Free Digital Supplement
3. //3 Million Years of Art History// by Glenn Zucman [|http://www.csulb.edu/~gzucman/Art101.zip] - $0.00 to use 3myAH you need the free //Freemind// software: http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Download

And, of course, you might look up an artist or art movement or cultural idea up on Wikipedia. Please see our note about wikipedia and Art 110.

=Projects 'n Grades= We will read //Living with Art// from cover to cover. Lectures will cover the text as well as additional topics. There are no "midterms," but there is a "quiz" every week - please bring 1 Blue-Book / week and we will have 2 essay questions / week. Typically 1 on the reading and 1 on the previous week's lecture.


 * 300 points - 3 Midterms
 * 300 points - 3 Group Presentations on an Artist
 * 300 points - Weekly Projects
 * 100 points - PhotoCD due @ class 16
 * 0 points - Final


 * 1000 Total Course Points

You will have the opportunity to visit art museums in Southern California for extra credit. Details at Extra Credit

Out of the possible 1,000 (1,150) points, the following numbers will earn the following grades: A - 900 points and above B - 800 points and above C - 700 points and above D - 600 points and above F - 599 points and below

In order to earn a grade other than "F" in this course you must: 1. Earn the number of points needed for the grade you'd like as detailed above. 2. Submit a CD of your 20 best images (full-size camera images) from this semester during class 16. This should be a CD, not a memory stick. If you haven't learned how to burn a CD yet, now's the time! 3. Attend the final. 

Due Dates
Projects submitted on their due date will receive full credit. Projects submitted 1 week late will receive 50% of whatever grade they would have earned. Projects 2 weeks late and later will receive 0%.

Schedule
Consult the class wiki for the Schedule 08s and for Due Dates. //**Check often for updates!**// 

Zero Points Final
We will have a "zero points final." Please be aware that this is not a course that you can haphazardly attend to, skip class or be late or leave early at your leisure, and then expect with some hours of cramming the night before the final, to pull a passing grade out of. By the time we reach the final you should have read, heard, seen, thought, written, photographed, and learned a lot. In fact you've done enough already, you've earned your grade! So our "zero points final" will be a celebration, a party, bring food (being respectful of the theater/classroom and keeping it clean, of course!) and we'll look at about 1,000 of your photos. We'll read some of your great essays. Maybe someone will want to dance for us. This is a big day of integration. You will be amazed at the places and experiences you and so many of your classmates have been and have had this semester. This should be a fun celebration; this should be a sublime experience.

Inevitably one or two students will ask, "since the final doesn't actually count for anything," or "since the final doesn't really matter," and since, "I live far and it's such a hassle to drive down here just for this," or "my family's leaving on vacation and this is my last final and I have a plane ticket for before the final" etc... "Can I skip the final?" The answer is //**NO!**// To even ask this question is to imply that the crucial //art and life// concepts of this course have had no impact on you. So, when you earn your points, you actually earn half of your points. But like a $1,000 bill torn in half, or half of a ticket to a great concert, you need the second half to really have anything at all. You have to show up to the final to earn a grade in this course. The good news is, you won't have to cram for it! You've already done the work, now just come and try to integrate the people and the places and the art that have been a part of your life for the past four months.

=Bla Bla=

Attendance
required if you want to:
 * learn stuff
 * pass class

Food & Beverage Policy
Yes please, especially if you want to share. But pick up your mess, and for that matter, the mess that your neighbor forgot to pick up, so I don't, like, get fired.

Cell Phone Policy
Off would be great. If yours goes off in class I might make you sing a song or do a little dance.

Make-up Policy
Each class is a chance for you to earn points toward your final course grade. You never need a “note” or “excuse” for an absence - you are automatically excused. However, you won’t have earned any points on that day, so you’ll want to do well on other projects and perhaps do some extra credit. There are no “make-up sessions” per se, but regular attendance with some extra credit should enable you to earn whatever course grade you wish. If you expect to have an extended absence or multiple absences you should speak to me about the feasibility of completing the course.

Drop Deadline
6 Sep 08 - Deadline to drop without "W" 22 Nov 08 - Deadline to drop with "W"

Accommodation
Cypress College will make reasonable accommodations for any student who has a disability. It is the student’s responsibility to notify me in advance of the need for special accommodations. I want this class to be as friendly to all who seek knowledge as possible, so in the immortal words of Jerry McGuire, "help me help you." It can be difficult for me to know what everyone's situation is if you don't tell me. Never be embarrassed. Always let me know where you're at and what's going on with you.

For more information about services and accommodations for students with disabilities, please contact Disabled Students Programs & Services at (714) 484-7104 or TDD (714) 761-0961. DSP&S is located in the Cypress College Complex on the first floor. Hours of operation are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, & Friday from 8am to 5pm and Wednesday from 8am to 7pm.

Student Support Services
Ask me to recommend services, or check the [|Cypress website]

Cheating
Cheating is an extremely serious academic offense. By cheating you demonstrate a complete lack of respect for yourself, your classmates, me, and this college. By cheating you lower the value of every diploma granted to every student at this college. This will not be tolerated. Penalties for cheating include an “F” for the day, an “F” in the course, and being reported to your College Dean.

Technology
This class will use Websites, Wikis, Cameras, Audio Recorders, Nouns, Verbs, and even Paint! Announcements and messages from me to the class will be posted on the wiki home page.

Emergency Procedures
If we're required to evacuate our classroom or the building, proceed to a clear and safe area away from the building. Take all personal belongings with you.

=//**Fun!**//= In addition to reading the book, not cheating, not trying to withdraw halfway through the semester, etc... don’t forget to have fun! Art is a fun, interesting, exciting, and enjoyable subject. Art offers pleasure to the viewer, consolation to the distraught, and wisdom to the seeker. Art will enrich your leisure time, resonate with your life, and offer surprising relevance to almost any career field you choose!

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