Welcome to AP Art History 2012-2013

I look forward to working with you this year! We'll travel through time and across continents to learn about what unites us a humans. Some basic themes include:
Basic needs of food, clothing, shelter
The desire to love and be loved
People interacting with people and people interacting with nature
Man's role in creating ... and manipulating nature
Man's interaction with his environment
Man's control over/companionship with animals
People working and playing
Religion
Politics
Economics
Architecture
Painting
Innovations ... New Technologies
Portraits
"Green" Building and "Eco Friendly" concepts
Power

People are people. We'll see how and why humans created over time and across continents.

Homework tonight:
Bookmark the blog. Join the blog as a follower.
Read the introductory chapters in BOTH volume 1 and Volume 2 of the book.

Homework due FRIDAY:
Read Chapters 1 and 2
Sign up on turnitin.com (passwords given out in class on Tuesday)

One of the first UNITS we will explore that is NOT in our book is American Naive Painting. The image on this post is from the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC. It is part of the temporary exhibit that we will explore online.
Robert Peckham
The Hobby Horse, c. 1840

Watching the Olympics ... Pondering SPORT shown in Art

Competition is a natural part of human existence (and in the animal kingdom too). I am enjoying watching the "Games of the 30th Modern Olympiad" on NBC right now and started to think about images of sport and athleticism that have been shown in art in the past. Granted, current images from covers of Sports Illustrated, Time Magazine, and Wheaties Cereal come to mind; but I was thinking back to the HISTORY of the Olympics.

One of the first instances of sport I think of is the relief carving of Ashurbanipal Hunting Lions, from palace complex of Ashurbanipal, Nineveh. (Image Below)

The ANCIENT OLYMPICS are thought to have started in 776 BCE. The Greek culture produced sculpture that showed the people's admiration for the youthful, athletic male form. Seated Boxer is an image that comes to mind from the ancient Greek culture. It captures a moment where an athlete is waiting for his results. This is not a moment of competition, rather a moment of waiting POST competition. (image below) The TV screen captures this moment as male and female gymnasts await results in each of the events. The LIVE tension is evident on the current Olympians' faces. The tension and physical exertion are evident in the ancient sculpture. The Blanton Museum on the campus of the University of Texas Austin has a collection of plaster casts of Greek sculptures. Look through the many examples of athleticism shown in these models.

Impressionists like Degas depicted preparation for sport in his images of dancers and dance rehearsals. His 1789 painting, the Dance Lesson is a horizontal composition showing the different activities that consume the dancers as they improve their techniques (image below)

. We see conversations among dancers, frustration in a lone dancer with her face in her hands, and concentration in a group of people in the background. The preparation for competition or recital is evident. This painting and more by Degas can be seen at the newly reopened French Galleries at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.

The George Bellows exhibition at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC (now through October 8, 2012) contains many images of men engaged in sport. Numerous scenes depict boxers in New York City, at a time when public boxing was illegal. An athlete himself, Bellows decided to give a public view to the sport that had to go "underground". He kept the sport alive in the manner in which he was able.

A New Look at PORTRAITURE by Robert Weingarten

I visited the Ripley Center in Washington, DC and viewed portraits by Robert Weingarten. His innovative approach to portraiture inspired me as an AP Art History teacher. His idea that a portrait can be composed of images that are personal to the person being depicted rather than just showing his or her FACE is simple, clear, logical, and revolutionary! After all, aren't we all a sum of our experiences ... not just our physical appearance. Don't we each want to be known for more than our appearance? Aren't we striving as a people to recognize one another for who they are and not a race, gender, or member of a specific religious group. Those components make up a portion of us, they are not 100% who we are. This portrait style, layering digital photographs of images the "sitter" deems important is KEY to truly understanding the person, rather than RECOGNIZING the person in a crowd.

Look at his work and see for yourself. If you cannot make it to DC before the exhibition closes October 14th, follow the link above. Included here is one image from the collection online (and at the Ripley Center)

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To Celebrate the 4th of July ... 25 American History Facts Most Students Do NOT Know

As we spend a day gathering with friends and watching fireworks, we need to stop and realize how we do NOT know as much about our country as we could. We go through the motions. We do things because "That's how it has always been done" or "It's a tradition". Do we really know as much about our country as we could? Perhaps students in a foreign country know more because it is not assumed knowledge.

CollegeStats.org published an article titles 25 American History Facts Most Students Do Not Know. Take a moment to familiarize yourself with the 25 facts. Be honest with yourself...how many of them DID you know (confidently)?

American History includes a vast amount of material. It encompasses why people came to America, the impact of their arrival upon the natives, and the founding of the country. It is important to understand WHY people fought to establish this country so we can appreciate the firework celebrations today.

The image is the National Archives in Washington, DC.

Liberal Arts Learning ONLINE

Online Universities published a list of The 50 Best Sources of Free Liberal Arts Learning ONLINE. Check it out if you wish to find credible research and opportunities to learn online. It's FREE...it only takes TIME!

Some of my favorite links include the Khan Academy, Museum of Modern Art, and The BBC. I am looking forward to exploring the site and finding more links that relate to APAH as well as other topics of personal interest to me!

Enjoy exploring and learning!

Studying Philosophy ... Studying Art History

When one studies ART HISTORY one studies that products of a culture. What is created reflects the values of a community as well is its financial stability.

One way to understand what a culture VALUES is to understand how people THINK and FEEL. Understanding religion and philosophy is one manner in what that can be done. From a WESTERN perspective, understanding EASTERN philosophies is a complicated process as it is very different from WESTERN thought. Bachelor's Degree Online published a post that sets a foundation for one's study of EASTERN PHILOSOPHY. Check out the post, The 8 Eastern Philosophers Every Student Should Study to gain a foundation about: Lao Tzu, Siddhartha Gautama, Confucius, Rumi, Sun Tzu, Mulla Sadra, Mao Zedong, and Guru Nanek Dev.

The Swerve by Stephen Greenblatt

The Swerve is a GREAT book to gain background knowledge about Ancient Greece and Rome. The book explains cultural constructs so the reader better understands the past. Greenblatt discusses early book collecting and establishment of libraries, the pests that literally ate the books and other threats to the written word. One MAIN threat to the written word, other than a volcanic eruption that one cannot plan for, is MAN. Words that are in print that go against the grain can be threatening.

The Swerve discusses how the discovery of Lucretius' poem On the Nature of Things changed scholarly perception of the people. This HUMANIST poem breaks down matter into simple particles, atoms, and claims they are the building blocks of all things. The Catholic Church was opposed to the idea as they wished creationism to be the only concept taught.

If you are looking for a story that better explains HUMANISM and the intellectual pursuits of the Renaissance, this is the book for you!


Watch a CBS News author interview from November 2011.
NPR Book Review
NPR Story