![[Department]](art.hdr.gif)
Professor Lent (on leave, winter semester and Short Term); Associate Professors
Harwood, Chair, Corrie (on leave,
winter semester and Short Term), and Rand; Mr. Feintuch (on leave, winter semester and
Short Term), Mr. Nicoletti, Mr.
Heroux (on leave, fall semester), Ms. Morris, and Ms. Jones
The department offers courses in the history of art and in studio practice. The history of art
is a field of cultural study in
which works of art, other forms of visual culture, and related documents are studied for the
purpose of understanding
visual culture from the distant past to the present. This study also provides insights into the
intellectual currents, religious
doctrines and practices, and social institutions of the past, with attention to issues of class,
gender, race, ethnicity, and
sexual orientation. Studio practice in the visual media involves the study of other art and
artists and provides the basis for
discussion of questions of knowledge, perception, and expression in art.
The major combines work in both the history of art and studio. Students emphasizing art
history and studio take many of
the same courses but fulfill different requirements. Majors emphasizing studio art must take
three courses in the major
periods in the history of Western art distributed in the following manner: Modern,
Renaissance/Baroque, and
Ancient/Medieval. They must also take six additional courses in studio, and one Short
Term unit, for a total of at least ten
courses. In addition, students are required to produce a senior thesis project (Art 458). The
opportunity to do an honors
thesis is completely at the discretion of the departmental faculty.
Majors emphasizing the history of art must take one studio course (any studio course or
Short Term unit in studio is
acceptable; art history students are advised to take their studio course before their senior
year); Art 374 (art history majors
are advised to take 374 by the end of their junior year if possible); four advanced courses in
the history of art, one in each
of the following areas: Ancient (231, 232), Medieval (251, 252, and 225 on special
application), Renaissance and Baroque
(265, 266, 271, 272, 285), and Modern (280, 281, 282, 283, 284, 286, 287, 288); and
four additional advanced courses in
the history of art for a total of at least ten courses. Art 241 (Islamic Art) can be used for
either the Ancient or Medieval
requirement but not both. Art history Short Term units are not counted among these ten
courses and are optional. In
addition, students are required to write a senior thesis (457 or 458). Topics for theses are
subject to departmental
approval. The opportunity to do an honors thesis is completely at the discretion of the
departmental faculty. Students who
wish to continue in the history of art on a graduate level should obtain a reading knowledge
of French and German, and
are strongly advised to include additional courses in art theory such as Art 226 and an
upper-level seminar such as Art
365, 375, or 376 in their curriculum. Students planning graduate study in architecture or
design are advised to confer with
the department chair early in their college careers in order to plan appropriate undergraduate
programs.
The following courses meet the major period requirements noted above: 1) Ancient: 231,
232, and 241; 2) Medieval: 241,
251, 252, and 225 on special application; 3) Renaissance/Baroque: 265, 266, 271, 272,
285; 4) Modern: 280, 281, 282,
283, 284, 286, 287, and 288.
Courses
100. Introductory Studies in Art. A survey of Western art with emphasis on the
development of the student's ability
to "see" art and of his or her critical judgment in interpreting the form and content of a work
of art. Enrollment limited to 15
per section. E. Harwood.
202. Color. An examination of color theory and its application to the art of
painting. No particular aptitudes are
required for this studio course, and problems of technique are kept to a minimum. Open to
first-year students. Enrollment
limited to 18. D. Lent.
203. Three-Dimensional Design with Clay. An exploration into the designing and
sculpting of objects in clay,
using such traditional techniques as slab construction, casting, and throwing on the potter's
wheel. Students work with
clay, plaster, paper, and found objects to solve problems in figurative and abstract design.
Drawing is part of some
assignments. The course serves as an introduction to ceramics, painting, and Drawing II,
and is the prerequisite for
Ceramics I (Art 217). Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 15 per section. P.
Heroux.
205. Figure Sculpting with Clay. A study of the figure through the understanding
of anatomy and the use of a
model. Preliminary drawings are used to make reliefs, fully dimensional heads, and other
figurative sculpture in clay. The
special problems of firing ceramic sculpture are covered. Prerequisite(s): Art 203 or 212.
Open to first-year students.
Enrollment limited to 15. P. Heroux.
212. Drawing I. A study of drawing through practice and analysis of the work of
great draftsmen. Drawing is
considered as an expressive medium in itself and as a method of exploration of the complex
forms of nature. This course
prepares students for etching and painting courses. Open to first-year students. Enrollment
limited to 18 per section.
J. Nicoletti, D. Lent.
213. Painting I: Color Fundamentals. Problems in representation stressing color.
The student learns about
painting by concentrated study of the works of painters from the past and present and by
painting from nature.
Prerequisite(s): Art 203 or 212. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 10. Staff.
214. Painting I: Pictorial Structure. Problems in representation and pictorial
structure. The student learns about
painting by concentrated study of the works of painters from the past and present and by
painting from nature.
Prerequisite(s): Art 203 or 212. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 10. J.
Nicoletti.
215. Painting I: Watercolor. Problems in representation stressing color and
pictorial structure. The medium for this
class is watercolor. A substantial amount of work outside of the classroom is expected.
Prerequisite(s): Art 203 or 212.
Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 10. D. Lent.
217. Ceramics I. An introduction to the ceramic process covering the nature of
clay, application of glazes, firing
procedures, wheel and handformed work, design, and aspects of the history of pottery.
There is a laboratory fee.
Prerequisite(s): Art 203 or s20. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 15. P.
Heroux.
218. Photography I. A study of the camera's use for observation and expression of
experiences. In this introductory
course the student learns concepts and techniques of basic black and white photography
and its expressive possibilities.
There is a laboratory fee. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 12. E. Morris.
225. Iconography: Meaning in the Visual Arts from Late Antiquity to the Renaissance.
Unraveling political,
sociological, religious, and philosophical messages is an intriguing process essential to the
study of art history. The
course focuses on a selection of iconographic problems including the political content of
Late Roman sculpture, the use of
the body in religious images depicting figures such as Adam and Eve, and the depiction of
women such as the Virgin
Mary and female saints, and ends with the study of classical subjects in Renaissance
painting, such as Venus and Mars,
and the political content of Elizabethan portraits. Traditional and recent modes of analysis
are investigated. Open to first-
year students. Enrollment limited to 25. R. Corrie.
226. Philosophy of Art. An introduction to the major problems of the philosophy
of art, including a discussion of
attempts to define art, a treatment of problems concerning the interpretation of individual
works of art, and a discussion of
recent theories of modern and postmodern art. This course is the same as Philosophy 241.
Open to first-year students. D.
Kolb.
231. Greek and Roman Art and Architecture. A survey of the sculpture and
architecture of Greece and Rome
from the eighth century B.C.E. through the fifth century C.E. Open to first-year students.
Enrollment limited to 50. E.
Harwood.
232. Pyramid and Ziggurat. A survey of the art and architecture of the ancient
worlds of Egypt and the Near East.
Subjects studied include women in ancient Egypt and the Kingdom of Kush. Open to first-
year students. R. Corrie.
241. The Art of Islam. Art of the Islamic world from its roots in the ancient Near
East to the flowering of Safavid
Persia and Mughal India in the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries.
Developments are traced through
architecture, painting, ceramics, textiles, and metalwork. Consideration is given to the
continuity of the Near Eastern
artistic tradition and Islamic art in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Open to first-year
students. R. Corrie.
251. The Age of the Cathedrals. An investigation of medieval architecture from
the Early Christian era to the end
of the Gothic period in Europe, including Russia and the Byzantine East. Emphasis is
placed on the development of
Christian architecture and the emergence of the Gothic cathedral in the context of European
political and social history
before 1500. Open to first-year students. R. Corrie.
252. Art of the Middle Ages. In Europe from the Early Christian era to the end of
the Gothic age, from 300 to
1450 C.E., precious objects, manuscripts, wall paintings, and stained glass were produced
in great quantities. The course
traces the development of these and other media, including tapestry and sculpture.
Emphasis is placed on the changing
images of men and women in medieval art. The roles of liturgy, theology, and
technological and social changes are
stressed. Open to first-year students. R. Corrie.
265. The Early Renaissance: Interpreting European Art, 1250-1450. This course
investigates the art and
architecture of Northern and Southern Europe between 1250 and 1450. Students analyze
the impact of theology, liturgy,
social change, urbanism, gender, and social class on visual culture. Artists considered
include Cimabue, Duccio, Giotto,
Fra Angelico, Donatello, Brunelleschi, Jan van Eyck, and Rogier van der Weyden. Not
open to students who have
received credit for Art 263. Open to first-year students. R. Corrie.
266. The High Renaissance and Mannerism: Interpreting European Art, 1450-1600.
This course concerns the art
and architecture of Northern and Southern Europe between 1450 and 1600, with emphasis
on art in the court and the city.
Students study several methods of analysis as they investigate the impact of religion,
technology, urbanism, gender,
sexual orientation, social class, and national identity on the visual arts. Artists discussed
include Leonardo, Raphael,
Michelangelo, Bronzino, Giovanni Bologna, Titian, Palladio, Dürer, Grünewald, Holbein,
Bruegel, and Bosch. Not open to
students who have received credit for Art 264. Open to first-year students. R. Corrie.
271. Italian Baroque Art. A survey of painting, sculpture, landscape and urban
design, and architecture in Italy
during the seventeenth century. Artists studied include Caravaggio, the Carracci, Guercino,
Bernini, and Boromini.
Recommended background: Art 266. Open to first-year students. E. Harwood.
281. Realism, Impressionism, and Post-Impressionism. An intensive
investigation of French painting from 1850
to 1900. Artists studied include Courbet, Manet, Degas, Monet, Cézanne, Seurat, Van
Gogh, and Gauguin. Open to first-
year students. Enrollment limited to 50. E. Harwood.
282. Modern European Art. This course concerns European art from 1900 to
1940, with special attention to
Cubism and Surrealism. While the course surveys art of the period, its primary goal is less
to provide a comprehensive
historical overview than to examine the various interpretive strategies that have been used
both to develop and to
understand these apparently radical innovations in visual representation. Open to first-year
students. Enrollment limited to
50. E. Rand.
283. Contemporary Art. This course concerns contemporary art, with a focus on
art of the United States created
in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Topics to be discussed include: changing
definitions of art; the relation of art
production to the mechanisms for exhibition, criticism, and sale; the contentious interaction
of form and content; and the
increased attention of artists and critics to matters of class, race, gender, and sexual
orientation. Open to first-year
students. Enrollment limited to 18 per section. E. Rand.
284. American Art. This course concerns American art made during the first half
of the twentieth century, from
the Ashcan School through abstract expressionism, with a focus on artists of United States
citizenship or affiliation. Of
particular concern are the problematics of gender, sexuality, national identity, artistic
marginality, and other political
matters that have affected the making and study of art produced in this period. Open to
first-year students. Enrollment
limited to 50. E. Rand.
285. Renaissance and Post-Renaissance Gardens and Landscape Architecture.
The course examines the
development and transformation of a major art form, the landscape garden, from its
beginnings in fifteenth-century Italy
through its later manifestations in seventeenth-century France and eighteenth-century
England. While the garden
provides the visual and historical framework for the course, the pervasive theme is
humanity's changing attitudes toward
and interpretations of nature and the world. Open to first-year students. E. Harwood.
286. Romantic Landscape Painting. The importance of landscape painting in the
romantic period is a clear
reflection of complex cultural change. The course examines the forms and meanings of the
varied approaches to
landscape painting in England, Europe, and the United States, between 1750 and 1850.
Artists and groups considered
may include Constable, Turner, Friedrich, the Pre-Raphaelites, and the Barbizon and
Hudson River schools. Open to first-
year students. E. Harwood.
287. Women and Modern Art. This course considers women as makers, viewers,
and objects of modern art, with
an emphasis on the twentieth century. Topics include gender assumptions in dominant
conceptions of "the artist;"
competing theories about whether and why women's art differs from men's art; the effects
of sexism, heterosexism,
racism, and economic discrimination on women's artistic production; and the representation
by both women and men of
femaleness, sexuality, motherhood, and lesbianism. Open to first-year students.
Enrollment limited to 18 per section. E.
Rand.
288. Visualizing Race. This course considers visual constructions of race in art
and popular culture, with a focus
on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. General topics to be discussed include the role of
visual culture in creating and
sustaining racial stereotypes, racism, and white-skin privilege; the effects upon cultural
producers of their own perceived
race in terms of both their opportunities and their products; and the intersections of
constructions of race with those of
gender, class, ethnicity, and sexuality. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to
54. Open to first-year students. E.
Rand.
289. Hate, the State, and Representation. This course examines the
representational strategies that the state
employs to establish and maintain a stable identity among its constituencies by identifying
and disciplining "deviance."
Possible topics include: body politics in the French Revolution; race and role models in
contemporary culture; nationalism
and sexuality in Western Europe; citizenship, "rootlessness," and the Roma (Gypsies) in
Eastern Europe; race, disease,
and genocide in the Tuskegee syphilis experiment. This course is the same as Rhetoric 289
and Political Science 289.
Enrollment limited to 54. C. Nero, J. Richter, E. Rand.
312. Drawing II. Continued study in drawing, emphasizing drawing from the
human figure, the development of
conceptual drawing attitudes, and drawing as a medium of lyric expression. Prerequisite(s):
Art 203 or 212. Enrollment
limited to 18. J. Nicoletti.
314. Painting II. Continued work on problems of structure and pictorial
expression. Prerequisite(s): Art 213 or 214.
Enrollment limited to 10. Staff.
316. Etching I. An introduction to the medium of etching. Artists studied include
Rembrandt, Whistler, Edward
Hopper, and Isabel Bishop. Prerequisite(s): Art 212. Enrollment limited to 10. D. Lent.
317A. Etching II. Continued study of etching leads to painterly techniques and
the use of color. Artists studied
include Goya, Picasso, and Cassatt. Recommended background: Art 280, 284, 286.
Prerequisite(s): Art 316. Enrollment
limited to 10. D. Lent.
317B. Etching II: Advanced. Further study of etching featuring the selection and
development of thematic
material. Recommended background: Art 317A. Prerequisite(s): Art 316. Enrollment
limited to 10. D. Lent.
318. Photography II. The second-semester black-and-white photography class
offers a refinement of technical
skills introduced in Art 218. The further development of ideas and aesthetic perceptions is
emphasized. There is a
laboratory fee. Prerequisite(s): Art 218. Enrollment limited to 15. E. Morris.
360. Independent Study. Independent study for individual students, under the
direction of a member of the
department. Permission of the department is required. Students are limited to one
independent study per semester. Staff.
361. Museum Internship. Students who have arranged to participate in volunteer
internships at the Bates College
Museum of Art may receive one course credit by taking this course at the same time.
Depending on the needs of the
Museum, internships may involve gallery lecturing or research. The same arrangement is
possible for students who obtain
internships at the Portland Museum of Art. Students may have internships throughout their
college careers, but may
receive credit for one semester only. Written permission of the instructor is required. R.
Corrie.
365. Special Topics. A course or seminar offered from time to time and reserved
for a special topic selected by
the department.
374. Seminar in the Literature of Art. This course considers the history and
methodology of art history, with an
emphasis on recent theoretical strategies for understanding visual culture. Topics to be
discussed include stylistic,
iconographic, psychoanalytic, literary, feminist, Marxist, historicist, lesbian/gay/queer, and
postmodern approaches to the
study of art. Prerequisite(s): two advanced courses in the history of art. Enrollment limited
to 15. Written permission of the
instructor is required. E. Rand.
375. Issues of Sexuality and the Study of Art. This course considers issues of
sexuality as they affect the study
of art, with a focus on lesbian and gay sexualities. Topics include the value and politics of
identifying homosexual artists
and images, the interconnections of homosexuality, homoerotics, and homosociality, and
the implications of work in
lesbian and gay studies for the study of art in general. Enrollment limited to 15. Written
permission of the instructor is
required. E. Rand.
376. Seminar in Medieval and Renaissance Art. This seminar examines the visual
culture of Europe and the
Mediterranean Basin in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. In different years the seminar
focuses on specific subjects
which may include manuscript illumination, regional architecture, Crusader art, and
medieval urbanism. R. Corrie.
377. Seminar in Architectural History. The seminar considers selected topics in
the history of architecture,
urbanism, and landscape design. Possible subjects include Versailles, the English
landscape garden, the Periclean
building program, Rome in the Baroque, the architecture and landscaping of World's Fairs,
and the domestic architecture
of Frank Lloyd Wright. Recommended background: a 200-level course in the history of
art. Enrollment limited to 15.
377A. Picturesque Suburbia. The seminar focuses on the interconnections among
conceptions of nature and the
city, emergent middle-class social practices, and developments in the design of single-
family houses in the United States
between 1830 and 1930. Particular attention is paid to A.J. Downing, the garden city
movement, and Frank Lloyd Wright.
Recommended background: a 200-level course in the history of art. Enrollment limited to
15. E. Harwood.
457. 458. Senior Thesis. Guidance in the preparation of (a) a project in studio art
accompanied by a short essay
and culminating in an exhibition presented in conjunction with the Museum of Art or (b) an
essay in the history of art
concerned with original works of art. Students register for Art 457 in the fall semester and
for Art 458 in the winter
semester. Staff.
Short Term Units
s20. Raku Pottery. Raku, which has its roots in Japan, is a technique reserved for
low-fire pottery used in the
traditional tea ceremony. The coarse clay and rapid firing give the ware a rough and
spontaneous appearance, unique to
Raku. Western potters have become intrigued by the process and have adapted its use in a
very broad way. The unit
explores this technique and its creative potential. There is a laboratory fee. Enrollment
limited to 15. P. Heroux.
s21. Salt and Soda Firing. This unit explores traditional and new techniques in
hand-building with clay. Emphasis
is on the vessel as a sculptural form, relief tiles, and installations for public space. Salt and
soda firing glaze the work in a
unique way that enhances every surface. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to
15. P. Heroux.
s23. Art and Artists in New York. Works of art often have a sensuous presence
that doesn't show in slides or
other reproductions, but that is central to the works' meanings. In this unit students spend
five weeks in New York looking
at modern and contemporary art in museums, galleries, alternative spaces, and artists'
studios. Issues of making and
meaning are addressed and art is discussed in terms of formal, psychological, cultural,
philosophical, and political ideas.
Enrollment limited to 10. Written permission of the instructor is required. R. Feintuch.
s24. What Are You Wearing?This unit considers clothing in terms of the production of goods, markets, and meanings. Topics may include the Nike boycott, outsourcing, and the Clean Clothes Campaign; the function of clothes in the construction of cultural, social, and personal identities; the regulation of clothes to enforce behavioral standards, such as gender normativity; selling, advertising, shopping, and acquisition, with attention to issues of class, race, gender, nationality, sex, and sexuality in the making of markets for particular products; "ethnic" dress, queer fashion, and other clothes that may raise issues of appropriation, allegiance, and cultural theft. Enrollment is limited to 25. E. Rand
s26. The MuseumA study of the emergence of the twentieth-century museum. The
unit traces its development
from the private collections of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance to its present role as a
public institution. Discussion
in the second half of the unit focuses on the administration of the museum. Topics include
acquisitions and the
development of collections, care and installation of works of art, and recent developments
in the construction and
architecture of museums. Day trips are planned. Enrollment limited to 15. Written
permission of the instructor is required.
R. Corrie.
s27. From Antiquity to Renaissance in Florence and Rome. In Florence and
Rome, students investigate the
persistence of the classical aesthetic in Italy through the centuries from ancient Rome to the
Renaissance. Enrollment
limited to 10. Written permission of the instructor is required. R. Corrie.
s29. Just View It: Popular Culture, Critical Stances. Although many people view
popular culture as an entertaining
escape from serious matters, others consider such products as movies, television,
magazines, music videos, romance
novels, and the world of Barbie worthy of serious critical study. This unit considers
popular culture and recent critical
approaches to it. Issues to be discussed include the validity of distinctions among "high,"
"popular," and "mass" cultures
and the ideological messages and effects of popular culture. Enrollment limited to 25.
Written permission of the instructor
is required. E. Rand.
s31. Museum Internship. Students who have arranged to participate in non-paid
internships at the Bates College
Museum of Art may receive one Short Term credit by taking this unit at the same time.
Permission may be given for
internships carried out at other institutions, including the Portland Museum of Art, upon
petition to the Department of Art in
advance. Not open to students who have received credit for Art s38. Enrollment limited to
30. Written permission of the
instructor is required. R. Corrie.
s32. The Photograph as Document. A major category of photographs is called
"documentary photography."
Documentary photographs generally describe human social situations and aim at being
objective transcriptions of events
into images. This unit views changes in style and methodology from the classical
documentary approaches of the 1930s
and 1940s to contemporary modes of documentary photography. Students produce
photographic projects that address
the concept of documentary photography and a photograph's function as a document with
its claim to veracity and
authenticity. Images that challenge and manipulate the notion of the photograph as witness
and testimony are also
examined. Recommended background: Art 100 and 283. Prerequisite(s): Art 218.
Enrollment limited to 15. Written
permission of the instructor is required. E. Morris.
s33. The Fine Arts in England, 1550-1900. The unit examines the bountiful
English art world from the rise of the
Elizabethan "prodigy houses" through the Arts and Crafts Movement. Particular attention is
devoted to the architectural
history of London after 1666; the country house: its architecture, art collections, and
landscape gardens; the Gothic
Revival; and the flowering of romantic landscape painting. Enrollment limited to 10.
Written permission of the instructor is
required. E. Harwood.
s35. Materials and Techniques of Drawing and Painting. Guided individual
research into various drawing media
including etching, as well as consideration of the problems of landscape painting, figure
drawing, and similar genres. Each
Short Term focuses on one of the above categories. The Short Term registration material
includes a description of the
particular focus for the Short Term at hand, including specific prerequisites. Open to first-
year students. Enrollment limited
to 10. Written permission of the instructor is required. Not open to students who have
received credit for Art 316. Staff.
s37. Landscape Painting and Drawing in Tuscany, Italy. The unit consists of field
trips in and around the town of
San Casciano in Tuscany, Italy, and takes full advantage of the unique landscape and
cultural opportunities of the region.
Studio work alternates with regular visits to regional cities (Florence, Siena, Arezzo, San
Sepolcro, etc.) to study painting,
sculpture, and architecture. Recommended background: Art 212, 213 or 214, 263, 264.
Prerequisite(s): two studio
courses. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 10. Written permission of the
instructor is required. J. Nicoletti.
s38. Museums: Practice and Theory. This unit combines debate and discussion
about museums with practical
application through internships at regional museums in southern Maine. Participants focus
on several questions: What is
the purpose of a museum? How does a museum know if it is accomplishing its purpose?
Could another institution achieve
the same goals at a lesser cost? Not open to students who have received credit for Art s31.
Enrollment limited to 12.
Written permission of the instructor is required. Staff.
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