VALUES & AUTHORITY: ART AS SOCIAL LANGUAGE

The Honors College at FIU
John Bailly
Fall 2007 & Spring 2008 - IDH 3005/3006 Section 3
F 14:00 – 16:45
GL 137

Carlos Betancourt. The Cut-Out Army, 2007. Courtesy of Diana Lowenstein Gallery.
www.carlosbetancourt.com

“What do you think an artist is? An imbecile who has only eyes if he is a painter, or ears if he is a musician, or a lyre in every chamber of his heart if he is a poet, or even, if he is a boxer, just his muscles? Far, far from it: at the same time, he is also a political being, constantly aware of the heartbreaking, passionate, or delightful things that happen in the world, shaping himself completely in their image. How could it be possible to feel no interest in other people, and with a cool indifference to detach yourself from the very life which they bring to you so abundantly? No, painting is not done to decorate apartments. It is an instrument of war” Pablo Picasso  

THC Curriculum Course Description  
Building on the philosophical investigations of the first two years, the third course examines via axiology the nature, types, and criteria of values and of value judgments.
Discussions focus on the foundations of paradigms of “western values” in terms of the authority and power relationships that surround them.

Specific Course Description
This course will investigate the manifestations of social and cultural issues in the arts. Specifically, how have artists challenged, or enforced, authority by creating new aesthetics?  How is art used to initiate, accelerate, or prevent social change?  Further, how does art document these transformations, and by documenting them, do the arts, in turn, contribute to the definition of social issues?  

The course is designed to encourage students to think critically about art. It is divided into essentially three sections.  

The first part of the course will explore the core concepts of formal art appreciation: What is beauty? What are the formal elements of art (color, line, composition…)? What is the relationship between content and form? How do we look at and then formulate opinions about art?  

Following this introduction to the methods of seeing art, we will then examine selected art as it is related to specific issues (ex: religion in Caravaggio, politics in Hans Haake, gender identity in Dyke Action Machine, consumerism in Jeff Koons…). Repeatedly, in the history of art, new art has led to a confrontation of avant-garde values with some form of authority. How have artists revolutionized established aesthetics in order to present new values? Is visual art a tool for social change? If so, how effective is it?  

The last part of the course will involve research projects as part of a group exhibition. We will each select local artists and analyze their work from a sociological perspective. You will visit the artists in their studios, interview them, and write about how their work relates to a broader social issue. We will then organize a group exhibition of these local artists, in which we will present their work and your research about them.  

Note: There are two aspects to this course that are unconventional yet mandatory. 1. Several of our class meeting will be off campus, as we visit cultural institutions. Occasionally, these meetings will be at times that are not our regular class time. Students will need to attend all off-campus meetings. 2. Much of the artwork and literature we will be studying is graphic in nature. Whether the works are sexually explicit, politically controversial, or graphic depictions of violence, students will be required to study them, discuss them, and possibly do further research on them.

Required Readings  

Fall 2007

Chevalier, Tracy. Girl with a Pearl Earring. New York: Plume, 2005.
ISBN 9780452287020

Ellis, Bret. American Psycho. New York: Vintage Books, 1991.
ISBN 9780679735779

Kimball, Roger. The Rape of the Masters. San Francisco: Encounter Books, 2005.
ISBN: 9781594031212

Voltaire, François. Candide, or, Optimism. New York: Penguin Books, 1947.
ISBN 978014044004 

Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. Harmondsworth Eng.: Penguin, 2003.
ISBN 9780141439570

Spring 2008

Blanco, Richard. City of a Hundred Fires. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1998.
ISBN 9780822956839

Brown, Dan. Da Vinci Code, the. Garden City: Doubleday, 2003.
ISBN 9780307277671

Fleming, Ann. The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam. City: Riverhead Trade, 2007.
ISBN 9781594482649

Heller, Joseph. Picture This : a Novel. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000.
ISBN 9780684868196

Miller, Henry. Tropic of Cancer. New York: Grove Weidenfeld, 1980.
ISBN 9780802131782

Course Requirements  

Class Participation
Please be prepared for each class section with having completed assigned readings. Also, you will be welcome and expected to participate in class discussions.  

Class Schedule and Email
The class schedule is subject to change at the instructor’s discretion. All changes will either be announced in class, posted on this syllabus, or announced on My Blackboard. It is the student’s responsibility to regularly monitor My Blackboard to actively check their FIU email account.              

Attendance\Off-Campus Research
Aside from attending class at FIU, several of our meetings will be off-campus during our class time (no long trips - promise). It is imperative you attend these. We will visit multiple institutions to see the art and to learn about the missions of the organizations. We will certainly visit the Rubell Collection, Miami Art Museum, Frost Museum, and Wolfsonian.

Papers
We will write two papers in the first semester and one in the second. All papers will be critical analyses of art supported by research. Certain research methods will be required (such as interviews with experts, multiple references, artists’ comparisons…). Papers must be turned in on their due date; no late work will be accepted. They must be typed, double-spaced, and stapled.  Please refer to the “paper guidelines” which can be seen here: Paper Guidelines.  

Research & Exhibition Project
We will curate an exhibition of professional artists for the Spring semester. We will select Miami-based artists and work with them in exhibiting their works in a formal exhibition (likely in the Gallery at Green Library). We will do all research and coordination that is required for an exhibition, including supporting text. Not to worry. This will be fun.

Previous Research & Exhibition Projects can be seen by following this link:

Aesthetics and Values Home

Aesthetic & Values 2008 Task List

Attendance
Class Attendance is mandatory.

One absence is forgiven. Thereafter, the second absence lowers one’s final grade by one half grade (2 absences makes an A become an A-). Three absences lowers one's grade a full letter grade. Four absences result in a failing grade for the semester.

 Students are responsible for everything assigned and for everything discussed in class. If absent, it is your responsibility to get that day’s notes from another student.

Academic integrity is embracive to this policy. That means not being honest in written excuses, or in signing in (others sign you in, you leave before class ends, etc. ad nauseum) are considered violations of academic integrity and handled as such.

Absences will consequentially adversely affect your final grade as follows.

Grading Legend  

Fall 2007

20 pts - Class Participation
20 pts - 4 Quizzes – 5 pts each
20 pts - Visual Thinking Project
20 pts - First Paper
20 pts - Final Paper  

Spring 2008

20 pts - Class Participation
20 pts - 4 Quizzes – 5 pts each
20 pts - Visual Thinking Project
20 pts - Exhibition Component of A&V 2008 Research and Exhibition Project
20 pts - Research Component of A&V 2008 Research and Exhibition Project  

Letter grades correspond to the following point scale: 

Class Schedule
Please note that the class schedule is subject to change.  All such changes will be announced in class. 

Information about institutions and exhibitions can be found on http://www.artcircuits.com/

FALL 2007

Week 1

F 31 Aug: Introduction of instructor, students, & course | Art as Social Language Lecture
References: Poussin, Rembrandt, Basquiat, Lin

Week 2

F 7 Sep: Art as Social Language Lecture continued | Content & Method Lecture
References: Michelangelo, Caravaggio, Haake, Kruger, Halley

Week 3

F 14 Sep: The Rape of the Masters Lecture | Content & Method Lecture continued
Quiz: The Rape of the Masters
References: Matisse, Courbet, Sargent, Rothko                                                                              

Week 4

F 21 Sep: Formal Elements of Art Lecture| Begin Box Portrait Project

References: Li Fang-ying, Van Gogh, Cezanne, Ernst, Giacometti, Kline, Pollock, Motherwell, Twombly, Marden, Polke, Cornell, Rauschenberg, Eldon

Week 5

F 28 Sep: Guest Workshop at Wolfsonian with Tim Hossler | Attend Wolfsonian Lecture of Th 27 Sep

Special Event:Th Sep 27 at 7pm: "DOING VIOLENCE TO PERCEPTION: JOHN HEARTFIELD AND POLITICAL PHOTOMONTAGE"
Andres Mario Zervigon, assistant professor of art history at Rutgers University and curator of Agitated Images

Week 6

F 5 Oct: Meet at the Lowe Art Museum of UM

Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
1301 Stanford Drive
Coral Gables, Florida 33124-6310
Phone: 305-284-3535

http://www6.miami.edu/lowe/index.htm

Special Event: Mo Oct 1 at: 7th Honors Convocation              

Week 7

F 12 Oct: Introduction to Research & Exhibition Project (Guest Presentation by Katrina Rodriguez, Alex Diaz-Ferguson, Rocio Perez, Jessica Mora & Diana Medina) | Miami Artists | Form Research & Exhibition Project Committees

Due: Content & Method Paper

Week 8

F 19 Oct: Art as History | Girl With a Pearl Earring
Quiz: Girl With a Pearl Earring

References: David, Goya, Vermeer                                                                 

Week 9

F 26 Oct: No Lecture | Meet at the Freedom Tower on Sa 27 Oct at 1pm

Miami Art Museum
101 West Flagler Street.
http://www.miamiartmuseum.org/home.asp

Week 10

F 2 Nov: No Class: Bailly at NCHC in Denver
 Due on Nov 6: Box Portrait Project

Extra-Credit:

Th Nov 1, 7pm
"DRAWING INSPIRATION FROM HEARTFIELD: THE CONTEMPORARY RELEVANCE OF THE POST-WORLD WAR I AVANT-GARDE"-Multimedia artist Elliott Earls, designer-in residence at Cranbrook Academy of Art, performer, filmmaker, and playwright.                                                                                                         

Week 11

F 9 Nov: Images of Authority | Nazi & Degenerate Art

References: Rubens, Heartfield, Kirchner, Beckmann

Week 12

F 16 Nov: New Aesthetic | American Sodomy Laws | American Psycho

Quiz: American Psycho

References: Courbet, Mappelthorpe, Sherman, Koons

Week 13

F 23 Nov: No Class: Thanksgiving Holiday

Week 14

F 30 Nov: The Picture of Dorian Gray | Due: Finalize list of artist participating in A&V exhibition

Quiz: The Picture of Dorian Gray

References: Klimt, Schiele

Week 15

Due We 5 Dec: Art & Authority Paper

Th 6 Dec: Classes End

W 19 Dec: Deadline (by 11:59 pm) for faculty to submit grades

Winter Break Reading: Candide

SPRING 2008

Aesthetic & Values 2008 Task List

Week 1

F 11 Jan : Aesthetic & Values 2008 planning session | Introduction of Film Project | Due: Bios of artists and submission of 300 dpi images of examples of artwrok

Week 2

F 18 Jan: Lewis Hine, Chambi, Weegee, Diane Arbus, Cindy Sherman, Andy Warhol, & Dada

Week 3

F 25 Jan: Class will meet on Sa 26 Jan

Sa 26 Jan: Meet at 1pm at The Margulies Collection at the Warehouse
591 NW 27TH ST
MIAMI, FL 33127
t : 305.576.1051
http://www.margulieswarehouse.com/index.html                                 

Week 4

F 1 Feb: Quiz & Discussion: The Da Vinci Code | Leonardo and Popular Culture

Week 5

F 8 Feb: Aesthetic & Values 2008 planning session | Due: Select image for A&V invitation

Sa 9 Feb:: Meet at the Rubell Family Collection at 3pm for Second Saturday in Wynwood Art Distric.
95 NW 29TH ST
MIAMI, FL 33193
t: 305.573.6090.
http://www.rubellfamilycollection.com/

Week 6

F 15 Feb: Guest Speaker: George Kinghorn, Deputy Director & Chief Curator of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Jacksonville | Due: All information for A&V Catalogue                                                                                         

Week 7

F 22 Feb: Aesthetic & Values 2008 planning session | Due: Finalize list of works for A&V exhibition

Week 8

F 29 Feb: Watch Student Films

Week 9

F 7 Mar: Quiz & Discussion: City of a Hundred Fires & The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam | Kahlo, Basquiat

Week 10

F 14 Mar: Research and Exhibition Installation

Week 11

F 21 Mar: No Class: Spring Break

Week 12

F 28 Mar: Aesthetic & Values Research and Exhibition Project Opening, 5-8 pm

Week 13

F 4 Apr:: SRAI Conference

Week 14

F 11 Apr: Quiz & Discussion: Tropic of Cancer | Deinstallation of exhibition. Return works to artists and repair library walls.

Th 17 Apr: Classes End

W 30 Apr: Deadline (by 11:59 pm) for faculty to submit grades

FIU Academic Misconduct Statement
Florida International University is a community dedicated to generating and imparting knowledge through excellent teaching and research, the rigorous and respectful exchange of ideas and community service. All students should respect the right of others to have an equitable opportunity to learn and honestly to demonstrate the quality of their learning. Therefore, all students are expected to adhere to a standard of academic conduct, which demonstrates respect for themselves, their fellow students, and the educational mission of the University. All students are deemed by the University to understand that if they are found responsible for academic misconduct, they will be subject to the Academic Misconduct procedures and sanctions, as outlined in the Student Handbook.

Misconduct includes: Cheating – The unauthorized use of books, notes, aids, electronic sources; or assistance from another person with respect to examinations, course assignments, field service reports, class recitations; or the unauthorized possession of examination papers or course materials, whether originally authorized or not. Plagiarism – The use and appropriation of another’s work without any indication of the source and the representation of such work as the student’s own. Any student who fails to give credit for ideas, expressions or materials taken from another source, including internet sources, is responsible for plagiarism.

Academic Integrity
Please read all information on the following link. Registration in this course requires an acceptance of The Honors College Policies for students

http://honors.fiu.edu/current_policy_standing.html.

In this learning community, we are expected to act as moral beings governed by a sense of ethics. These ethics are outlined in the University Code of Academic Integrity.(www.fiu.edu/~dwyere/academicintegrity.html) and the Honors College policy on plagiarism (http://honors.fiu.edu/current_policy_plagiarism.html).  In simple language, in this course you will not cheat, misrepresent others' work as your own (plagiarism), or lie to the instructor or others in this learning community. One act crossing that boundary and you will be recommended for expulsion from the Honors College.

The Honors College at FIU Plagiarism Policy

Honor in Honors
In The Honors College, the term “honor” refers both to academic accomplishment and character. Students in Honors should therefore adhere to and be held to the highest standards of personal academic accountability. Academic dishonesty in any form, including plagiarism, is antithetical to the very definition of being an Honors student at FIU. Consequently, an Honors College student found responsible for academic misconduct will be dismissed from the College.

The faculty member will decide whether to pursue informal resolution, file formal resolution charges, or take no further action, and will follow the procedures outlined in the Academic Misconduct Procedures, available at http://www.fiu.edu/~oabp/misconductweb/1acmisconductproc.htm.

The student will have the right to appeal the outcome of the meeting with the instructor within one week of the faculty’s decision, when the decision is to pursue informal resolution or file formal resolution charges. The appeal will take the form of a letter to the Dean outlining the circumstances of the case and the reason for the objection to the professor’s recommendation. The Dean or his designee will examine the case and make a final determination about the pursuit of Informal Resolution or the filing of formal resolution charges.

Penalties
An Honors College student found responsible for plagiarism or other academic misconduct by informal resolution or formal resolution will receive an F in the relevant Honors course, and will be dismissed from Honors by the Dean, effective from the end of the semester in which the infraction occurs. Dismissal will be in writing and will entail the loss of all privileges and benefits of being in The Honors College, and the student will not be readmitted to The Honors College. The decision of the Dean will be final. This decision relates solely to the student’s status in The Honors College and does not affect the student’s right to appeal the original faculty decision.

The penalty of dismissal from The Honors College may apply to academic misconduct in any course within Florida International University and not only to courses offered by The Honors College. In the case of courses outside The Honors College, the Dean of The Honors College will rely on the Office of the Provost for notification about the infraction(s). More stringent penalties, such as dismissal from the university, may be pursued through the university’s established academic misconduct process.

This Policy follows the University Academic Misconduct Procedures of the Code of Academic Integrity, with modification to provide for appeal within The Honors College.

Religious observances
Every effort, where feasible and practical, will be made to accommodate students whose religious practices coincide with class requirements or scheduling. Please make sure to notify your instructor at the beginning of the semester of which dates you will be out.

Physical, mental and sensory challenges
Every effort, where feasible and practical will be made to accommodate students who are so challenged. Should you require accommodations contact your instructor or the Disability Resource Center if not done so already.

The Honors College at FIU
John Bailly, Fellow
e: baillyj@fiu.edu
FIU University Park Campus, DM 233
11200 SW 8TH ST
Miami, FL 33199
t: 305-348-0297
f: 305-348-2118
w: http://www.johnbailly.com/

The Honors College at FIU          john bailly dot com