HART484 Seminar: The American Scene, 1930-1950 3 cr.

American Art of the 1930s and 1940s, including Regionalism, Social Realism, the Federal Art Project and the Mural Movement both in the US and Mexico. Using a variety of perspectives, we will examine art that was labeled as “American Scene,” and will discuss and problematize that very categorization. Through an examination of 1930s politics, Depression-era America, European modernism, cultural nationalism, and racialism, we will investigate the age-old question: “What is American about American Art?” and will look at artists who wanted to create a national art as well as those who resisted such an impulse. Artists include: John Stuart Curry, Grant Wood, Diego Rivera, Aaron Douglas, Charles Burchfield, Reginald Marsh, Jacob Lawrence, Thomas Hart Benton, Stuart Davis, Frida Kahlo, Jose Clemente Orozco, Romare Bearden, Andrew Wyeth, David Alfaro Siquieros, and Edward Hopper. The course will combine discussions with visits to local museums.

Prerequisites: HART100 and any 200 or 300 level HART course

Lecture/Seminar
Culturally Diverse Content
All College Elective