Lecture Topics, Class-By-Class

*Specific subject matter focus, artwork, and artists subject to change

PART ONE: 19th CENTURY’S MANY PATHS TO MODERN ART

#1 Lecture: Romanticism, Impressionism, and Expressions of Color and Brushstroke

Wednesday, October 6, 2021. 12-1:30 pm (Central). Zoom.

Selection of possible artists considered: Eugène Delacroix vis-a-vis Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres (Neoclassicist), Théodore Géricault, J.M.W. Turner, Berthe Morisot, Mary Cassatt

#2 Lecture: Post-Impressionism, Symbolism and Inner Visions

Wednesday, October 13, 2021. 12-1:30 pm (Central). Zoom.

Selection of possible artists considered: Paul Cézanne, Gauguin, Gustav Moreau, Odilon Redon, Henri Rousseau, Henry Ossawa Tanner

#3 Lecture: Auguste Rodin & The Beginnings of Modern Sculpture

Wednesday, October 20, 2021. 12-1:30 pm (Central). Zoom.

#4 ART LABS: Figurative Vs. Abstract Storytelling

2 Art Lab Options:

Saturday, October 23, 2021. 10:30 am-12:00 pm (Central). In-Person, Outdoor.
OR
Wednesday, October 27, 2021. 12-1:30 pm (Central). Zoom.

Part-One-only subscribers may choose one Art Lab option. Full course subscribers are entitled to attend both 10/23/21 and 10/27/21 Art Labs, which differ in skill-building focus.

• In-Person & Outdoor Art Lab: Saturday, October 23, 2021. 10:30 am-12 pm (Central).
  We’ll examine two twentieth-century sculptures on the University of Texas campus. Requires about 1/2 mile of walking. Join us as we compare our experience of an abstract sculpture versus a naturalistic (or “realistic”) one depicting the human figure. What does each evoke mentally, physically, and emotionally? Why? How do these artworks tell a story, if they do at all?

OR

• Online/Accessible/Distance-Learning/Rained Out Option: Wednesday, October 27, 2021. 12-1:30 pm (Central). Zoom.
  ZOOM conversation comparing an abstract and “realistic” painting and considering the questions above but with a more conscious focus on the formal analysis process. (Formal analysis will be addressed more extensively in our #8 class.)

PART TWO: 20th CENTURY & EARLY MOVES INTO COMPLETE ABSTRACTION

#5 Lecture: Expressionism and the “Spiritual in Art”

WEDNESDAY, november 10, 2021. 12-1:30 PM (CENTRAL). ZOOM.

A selection of possible artists considered: Wassily Kandinsky, Paula Modersohn-Becker, Ernst Kirchner, Käthe Kollwitz, Edvard Munch

#6 Lecture: The Role of Chance in Dada, Surrealism and Early Abstract Expressionism

Wednesday, November 17, 2021. 12-1:30 pm (Central). Zoom.

A selection of possible artists considered: Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray, Arshile Gorky, Jackson Pollock, Lee Krasner

#7 Lecture: Comparing the Square in De Stilj, Suprematism, Minimalism, and More

Wednesday, December 1, 2021. 12-1:30 pm (Central). Zoom.

A selection of possible artists considered: Kazamir Malevich, Olga Vladimirova Rozanova, Piet Mondrian, Josef Albers, Donald Judd

#8 ART LAB: Shaping Your Own Interpretation

Wednesday, December 8, 2021. 12-1:30 pm (Central). Zoom.

Level up your skills with this Art Lab created for the novice and connoisseur alike! After an introductory lecture, students will practice a foundational skill for visual art interpretation: formal analysis. This tool is the key to developing a nuanced interpretation of any visual work, especially abstract art. We’ll begin the formal analysis process on at least one modern abstract artwork and exercise this skill in real time as a class and in small groups. (Students will also have an optional opportunity to prepare ahead of time.)