ART 1000 /Art Appreciation / On-line / Department of Art and Art History / UConn Pamela Bramble Associate Professor of Art, Department of Art and Art History Coordinating Director, ARTS Project, UConn Torrington/ www.artsproject.uconn.edu 860.626.6821 / Pamela.bramble@uconn.edu

SYLLABUS – MAY 2014

Art does not reproduce the visible, but rather it makes visible. Paul Klee

TEXTS Be prepared! Have you textbooks in hand before the term starts. The pace of the May Intersession is fast (15 weeks of material covered in 3 weeks) and requires that you are ready to go on day one!! Getlein, Mark. Living With Art. 10th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Inc., 2013. Note: This book is available in two forms: text book and as individual pages that can put in a binder. Either form is acceptable. If given the choice, the CD is optional and not required for this course.

Sayre, Henry. Writing About Art. 6th ed. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2009. You can purchase textbooks from a bookstore, from the UConn Co-op in person or on-line at http://bookstore.uconn.edu/text/ttg.html ). The co-op makes every effort to have the appropriate number of books available at all UConn campuses, but it is suggested that you call ahead to be sure the books are there. As for on-line vendors and local bookstores, be sure that they have a proven track record when it comes to the dependability of their promised delivery day. If you prefer to rent one of our textbooks, the Getlein text is available at http://www.coursesmart.com/IR/1066435/0077410335?__hdv=6.8

Course Description

Not open to Art majors.

Introduction to the visual arts - past and present: the visual language of artists, historical and cultural significance of art.

This course introduces students to the broad spectrum of visual art offering global and historical perspectives. As a means to gaining an appreciation of visual art and the creative process, emphasis is on learning about the visual language employed by artists and on how to use the descriptive analysis process. Topics include the themes and purposes of art, the vocabulary of art and composition, art mediums (drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, the camera arts, communication design, environmental art, performance art and architecture), historical and cultural significance of specific works of art and seminal artists, survey of art from Paleolithic to modern time.

Topics and concepts are covered via Session Pages (Introduction, Lecture Notes, Professor’s Notes and Session Images), readings from the course texts, individual research, activities and virtual museum visits.

Course Methodology and Format

SESSION ACTIVITIES

Course content is divided into 8 sessions. Each session is worth 100 points. Dates for each session and due dates for each session’s learning activities are available on the course calendar. Each session includes readings and one or more activity designed to explore specific topics, concepts and terminology introduced and explained in that session. Activity formats include: discussions

o entire class discussions o group discussion between 5 and 10 class members o small group discussions comprised of two, three or four class members

individual writing assignments o short answer o short essay o research

MIDTERM: INDIVIDUAL STUDENT-LED DISCUSSIONS

Each student will introduce a work of art to the class and discuss it with class members. There are four components to the midterm:

1. Visit a museum either virtually or in person. Discover a work of art that you find interesting and observe it carefully. If you prefer to discuss a piece of architecture you will visit virtually or in person that site rather than a museum. Gather some information on the artist/architect, the work of art itself if available and on the style +and the art period that your chosen work of art represents.

2. Post a descriptive analysis of the work of art you are presenting to the class. Include discussion questions.

3. Participate in three other student-led discussions by observing the works of art, reading the descriptive analyses presented, responding to questions posed and asking several (2-3) questions relevant to the discussion for the student leading the discussion to answer in their summary.

4. Complete your midterm by posting a conclusion for your midterm. This conclusion includes your answers to the questions posed to you and a summary of the comments others made to you in response to the questions you posed.

FINAL EXAM: PAPER

The Final is divided into three sections. Section I is an overview of course content (text and session lecture notes), Section II is comprised of selected session activity summaries and Section III is an exercise that allows you to get creative!

Academic and Course Policies

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is a serious academic offence. All researched and referenced information that you use for your discussions and assignments must be cited – this includes information you include from our Getlein and Sayre texts. List citations using MLA format at the end of all assignments and discussion postings. Use databases and google scholar more; use google, websites and Wikipedia less; avoid blogs and the like.

Guidelines for participating in an online discussion

Check your posting before you send it! Pay attention to spelling and grammar. Be sure your posting fulfills the stated requirements.

Do the appropriate preparation – read the assigned text chapters and session notes - before you join the discussion.

When responding to another’s post, do much more than state agreement or disagreement. Justify and support your observations. The most successful postings include examples, reasons, and facts; cite sources when used.

Opinions are ok to include but they must be supported by actual facts and example. If you disagree with something, state why. Respect others' ideas and opinions. Feel free to disagree,

but express your opinion in a respectful manner. Disrespectful communication is poor communication and not acceptable.

If you really like something that you've read, explain why. Help to move the discussion along. When contributing to a discussion, read other people's postings.

Introduce new ideas, but also build on what others have said – ‘piggy-back’ - on other people's ideas. Respect others' ideas and opinions. Feel free to disagree, but express your opinion respectfully.

Session Activities and Midterm

Except in the case of extenuating circumstances, all activities and midterm components are due by the posted due date and due time. Late work is accepted with a five point deduction for each day late (excluding weekends) with a maximum point deduction of 20 points per activity.

The Final

The Final is to be submitted by midnight on the date noted on the course calendar. University Policy states that no Final can be submitted or taken later than the scheduled date unless there are extenuating circumstances. If an extenuating circumstance exists, the student must contact the Office of Student Support and Advocacy (OSSA) to request an opportunity to submit/take a Final other than at the scheduled time; supporting documentation will be required. For further information, the OSSA website address is: http://www.ossa.uconn.edu/. By university policy, if your Final is submitted late, it cannot be accepted.

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Final grade is determined by: Session Activities Average (50%), Midterm (25%) and Final (25%). Grading Scale:

Grading System

GRADING SCALE

Grade Quality Percentage Points

A Excellent 95-100 4.0

A- Excellent 90-94 3.7

B+ Very Good 87-89 3.3

B Good 83-86 3.0

B- Good 80-82 2.7

C+ Above Average 77-79 2.3

C Average 73-76 2.0

C- Fair 70-72 1.7

D+ Poor 67-69 1.3

D Very Poor 63-66 1.0

D- Merely Passing 60-62 .7

F Failure 59 and below 0

The developer of this course is Pamela Bramble, Associate Professor of Painting, Department of Art and Art History and Coordinating Director of the ARTS Project, UConn. top

3/6/2014