Exploring New York’s Art Museums
ART 381-93
Fall 2013 -- November 7th – 10th, 2013
Geo Sipp, Professor – e-mail: sipp@missouriwestern.edu
Phone: (816) 271-4451
Office Hours: M, W 8:00-9:00, 1:00 – 3:00
Objectives:
The New York trip is intended to provide students with an intensive museum and gallery
experience. Over the course of several days each of New York’s major visual art
museums will be visited; additionally, students will visit many of the important galleries
in the Chelsea and Uptown Gallery districts. Students from Missouri Western will meet
with students and professors from Piedmont College and Stephen F. Austin State
University. Each professor brings to the trip his and her area of expertise. This is an
opportunity for people with different cultural experiences to share in a dialogue about art
and perception.
Please note: Students are advised not to travel alone. New York is a city of 8,000,000
people. If you want to travel to different boroughs or neighborhoods in the New York
City area, please go as a group. Keep me informed as to where you are going, with
whom, and when you plan on returning. I will provide you with my cell number prior to
the trip.
Grading and Attendance:
The course involves a series of preliminary lectures and discussions meant to familiarize
students with the work of artists whose work will be on exhibit during the trip. The
lectures will involve slide presentations and the historical and cultural paradigms that
have informed the artists’ work. Discussions about Manhattan and the boroughs will
include: history of the galleries and the gentrification of the neighborhoods,
transportation and navigation of Manhattan and entertainment / restaurant options in
various neighborhoods.
Attendance is mandatory. Instruction and lectures are critical, as they will inform students
of their itineraries and the work they will see in New York. While in the city, students are
expected to attend exhibits. Different options will be available based on students’ artistic
interests and disciplines. Grading will be based on the students’ participation and an
essay written at the conclusion of the trip. Examples of essays and exhibition reviews will
be presented to students at the first class meeting in January. The examples will be
representative of my expectations for your essay.
The essay will be a critique of an exhibition. You may choose the exhibition to critique. It
is incumbent on you to be familiar with the artists exhibiting in the galleries during our
visit. Do not write about the Whitney Biennial for example; there are too many artists
exhibiting, and too few representative pieces to form adequate conclusions about the
content of the work.
Do research on the artist about whose work you will assess. Art News, Art in America
and Art Forum are among the periodicals that will advertise exhibitions and exhibition
dates. Your essay should analyze the work:
How does the work operate formally?
What does the palette suggest?
Discuss the content of the work. I do not want an obvious breakdown of what I can
plainly see. I want your assessment of the work and how it informs you.
Students’ participation is determined by involvement in discussions while at museums
and galleries. If you attend galleries that I am not visiting, pick up exhibition cards and
other collateral advertising material and be prepared to discuss what you see. Your level
of intellectual curiosity determines my assessment of your experience.
Any student taking the New York Art & Culture course who has a disability that
prevents him/her the fullest expression of abilities should contact me to discuss the
class requirements.
Meetings:
Monday, September 16th, 2013 @ 3:00 in Potter 107
Monday, November 4th, 2013 @ 3:00 in Potter 107
Each meeting will emphasize a different component of the trip. The first meeting will be
a broad overview of the city including its layout and transportation system. Students will
become familiar with subway and bus routes and will be provided with system maps.
The second meeting will focus on the exhibitions scheduled at the major museums in
Manhattan and the artists showing work at the galleries in SOHO and Chelsea.
The final meeting will take place the day prior to the trip. Specific protocol will be
addressed and we will review the itinerary and transportation systems.
$40.00 is required of each student traveling to New York. This
covers the gratuities to the ground transportation drivers and the
hotel employees.
New York 2013 Suggested Itinerary
Thursday, November 7th
12 Noon - Arrive in Manhattan. We will check into the Hotel Newton and place bags
either in rooms or in storage.
12:30 – 12:45 – Meet outside the hotel entrance and go as a group to purchase subway
passes.
2:15 – Meet outside hotel entrance to travel to The Adam Baumgold Gallery.
5:30 – Meet outside the Whitney to take subway down to Little Italy/Chinatown area.
Have dinner in Little Italy and then free time to shop and explore the area. Stay in groups.
Friday, November 8th
9:00 - Meet outside hotel entrance. Take subway to 86th Street; get on the M86 crosstown bus and go to East 86th street/ Metropolitan Museum of Art.
9:30 – The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Suggested fee: $10.00. This is one of the
biggest museums in the world, with art and artifacts that may appeal to many interests.
1:30 – 4:00 - Free time to explore, shop, etc….
4:00 – 8:00 – The Museum of Modern Art – 11 West 53rd Street. M.O.M.A. features
Target Free Friday Night from 4:00 – 8:00. (regular hours are 10:30 – 5:30); student
tickets are $12.00.
5:45 – 7:45 – The Guggenheim – 1071 5th Avenue at 89th Street.. From 5:45 – 7:45, the
museum is “pay what you wish”.
6:00 – 9:00 –The Whitney Museum of American Art – 945 Madison Avenue. Pay
what you wish.
7:00 – 9:00 – Art Spigelman Retrospective Opening at The Jewish Museum –
Also: Marc Chagall – Love, War & Exile
1109 5th Avenue.
Saturday, November 9th
9:30 - Chelsea Galleries. The Chelsea Gallery District runs from approximately 29th
Street to the north, 13th Street to the south, 11th Avenue to the west and 7th Avenue to the
east. There are approximately 230 galleries operating in this area, many showing work
that is truly cutting edge.
2:00 – The Jewish Museum – Free on Saturdays
2:00 - Brooklyn Museum. Take the 2 or 3 subway to the Eastern Parkway/Brooklyn
Museum stop. Hours are from 11:00 – 6:00 and the entrance fee for this special exhibit is
$10.00. Wonderful shops, restaurants and ethnic neighborhoods abound in Brooklyn, one
of the great melting pots of the world.
Free Time
Sunday, November 10th
Free time until 2:00, when all travelers must have bags out in front of the hotel, ready for
transport to La Guardia.
University Policies:
Grade Appeal: http://www.missouriwestern.edu/handbook/index.pdf pg. 26
Academic Honesty: http://www.missouriwestern.edu/handbook/index.pdf pg. 26
University Attendance: http://www.missouriwestern.edu/catalog/academicpolicies.pdf
pg. 22
Classroom Behavior Guidelines: http://www.missouriwestern.edu/handbook/index.pdf
pg. 28