New York City and the Arts

Catalog description

This course will expand the traditional definition of the arts to include the whole built environment of this living, breathing city. Museum and gallery visits as a class, on your own or in small groups focus on art objects and their stories or functions. Along with "fine art" such as painting and sculpture, the class considers "low art," the visual and spatial cityscape of graphic design, photography, and architecture all around us. Themes to be considered include how New York's cultural and architectural histories are interwoven into contemporary artistic production, how history and future are in dialogue; interdisciplinarity among the arts, especially the ways that architecture shapes our experiences in museum and public spaces; and the civic and commercial underwriting of the arts in New York City.The course is discussion-based and every student is expected to participate in the classroom. There will be a variety of short writing assignments such as a personalreflection to an event, a critical review, a museum wall label, and a short research paper. The course fosters collaboration through group projects, class presentations and online discussions.