LAMAR STATE COLLEGE-ORANGE
Liberal Arts
Art
Fall 2010
Art Appreciation- 1301-80
Instructor: Justin Varner
Office Phone:
Home Phone:
E-Mail Address: justin.varner@lsco.edu
Office Hours: MW 1200-100pm (online)
Course: Art Appreciation -Online
Course Description:
This class is designed to introduce, analyze and demonstrate the many facets of art and life from past
to present. Art from the Paleolithic period onto contemporary art will be viewed, discussed and
interpreted through our present eye and mind and through those of the time the art was created. We
will engage in a dialogue about artists’ thoughts, intentions, successes and failures. Cultures and their
expressions will be acknowledged and translated. An appreciation of human achievement and ability
will introduce the complex variety in creative possibility that enriches us as people as we view and
interact in our constantly rotating life and world.
Catalog Description: This is an introductory course emphasizing the understanding and appreciation
of painting, sculpture, architecture, and other art forms.
Credit Transfer:
Students must check in advance with the particular college to which they plan to transfer
credit. (If an academic course, note that state rules require that the course be transferable to any state
institution.
Prerequisites: none.
WebCT Access:
To access WebCT you need a user name and password. You will receive this information at
orientation. The steps to enter the Lamar WebCT are as follows:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Go to http://my.lsco.edu
Enter your MyLSCO username and password.
Click on the Academic Services Tab
In the My Courses Channel, click on the link that says, "Click here to:"
From this page, scroll down to the bottom of the screen and click the WebCT link.
NOTE: You can also access WebCT from The Learning Center's website.
LAMAR STATE COLLEGE-ORANGE
Art Appreciation- 1301-80
Fall 2010
Computer Problems:
If you have any computer problems and cannot complete your assignment or log on to WebCT, you
must contact me immediately. We will make arrangements for you to complete your assignment. To
learn how to upload and download files, be sure to look at the WebCT Tutorials page located in the
course menu as well as in the Course Homepage. For technical concerns contact the WebCT
administrator.
Required Textbook: Prebles’ Artforms. By Patrick Frank. Ninth Edition.
Prentice Hall, 2009. ISBN:0-13-514132-X
or
Optional Books:
Prebles’ Artforms. By Patrick Frank. Eighth Edition.
Prentice Hall, 2006, ISBN: 0-13-193081-8
Art Today. By Edward Lucie Smith.
Phaidon, 2000
Note: A contemporary look into all important movements of art around the world. Beautifully
illustrated, thorough and clear in content. An excellent description of the influences and arrival of
contemporary art. This book is a great source for those who want to become serious artists or those
that just want an amazing coffee table book.
Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art: A Sourcebook of Artists’ Writings. By Kristine Stiles
and Peter Selz, Berkeley, Los Angeles and London, University of California Press, 1996.
Note: Identifies artists through their artistic genre from modernism to the present. Documents artists
such as Picasso, Pollock, Guston, Viola, Sherman through personal writings, manifestos and
interviews with writers, critics and fellow artists. An insightful look into the thoughts great artists.
The best way to understand art is through talking with an artist, and here you get to have a
conversation with the best!
Course Objectives: In regards to students.
1. An introduction to the movements and achievements in the history of art.
2. The ability to identify art, artists, styles and the time periods and cultures that produced them.
3. To critically understand the elements of form and its importance in art.
4. To critically understand content, individual expression and how this can be formally
produced.
5. The ability to develop an elaborate, articulate opinion upon analysis of artworks..
6. To be open and question art and life.
7. Demonstrate critical thinking skills as evidenced by the ability to analyze facts, synthesize
factual information, and evaluate opinions in light of the facts presented throughout this
course.
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LAMAR STATE COLLEGE-ORANGE
Art Appreciation- 1301-80
Fall 2010
Critical Thinking
Critical thinking is a process involving higher order thinking skills. These skills include, but are not
limited to, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation of factual information. Lamar State
College – Orange Advances Critical Thinking Skills (LSC-O ACTS) through assignments of varying
natures within the course that are designed to challenge and improve the student’s critical thinking
processes.
After taking Art Appreciation (1301), students should have a basic understanding of the history of
Art in America and of other cultures. Students will understand important styles and movements of
particular artists or groups that advocated the progression of art through time. The ability to critically
observe the form of a work of art and its content will be in the possession of the student. Personal
ideas by the students will be created in regards to the art in relationship to themselves, our
contemporary world and that of the past. The dialogue will continue amongst fresh eyes and fertile
minds in our contemporary society.
A well cultivated critical thinker1:
Raises vital questions and problems, formulating them clearly and precisely;
Gathers and assesses relevant information, using abstract ideas to interpret it effectively;
Comes to well-reasoned conclusions and solutions, testing them against relevant criteria and
standards;
Thinks open-mindedly within alternative systems of thought, recognizing and assessing, as
need be, their assumptions, implications, and practical consequences; and
Communicates effectively with others in figuring out solutions to complex problems.
1
Paul, Richard & Elder, Linda (2005). The Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking Concepts & Tools.
Dillon Beach: The Foundation for Critical Thinking.
Online Discussions:
Participation in online discussions will substitute for classroom assignments. A discussion topic will
be opened bi-weekly. I expect every student to thoughtfully answer with a statement or another
question as to critically engage themselves and their peers concerning the discussion topic. While you
are only required to answer once, the strength of your grade will depend on its substance and/or your
continued activity in the discussions.
Evaluation Method (Grading):
Final Grading will be determined by:
1. (55%) Averaging Three (3) of the four (4) exams covering the chapters in the textbook.
(The lowest grade of the four (4) will be dropped.)
2. (10%) Average of all (5) quizzes.
3. (10%) Participation in Online discussions
4. (15%) Final Exam Grade. The final examination will cover the information of the entire
semester reading assignments and material from the entire semester lectures.
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LAMAR STATE COLLEGE-ORANGE
Art Appreciation- 1301-80
Fall 2010
5. (10%) Written essay on a contemporary artist.
For example: 100 - 90 = A
89 - 80 = B
79 - 70 = C
69 – 60 = D
Below 60 = F
Policy on a Grade Incomplete:
The grade of “I” may be given when any requirement of the course, including the final
examination, is not completed with instructor approval. Arrangements to complete deficiencies in a
course must be made with the instructor. Incomplete work must be finished during the next long
semester; if not, the Admissions and Records Office must change an “I” grade to the grade of “F.”
The course must then be repeated, if credit is desired. An “I” grade also automatically becomes an
“F” if the student registers for the course before removing the deficiencies and receiving a grade
change. The instructor may record the grade of “F” for a student who is absent from the final
examination and/or is not passing the course.
Procedure for Review of Test Grades:
If the student has a question about his/her test grade or would like to review the test, I must be
contacted immediately, or no later than 3 days.
Make-up Policy:
Tests and Quizzes must be taken on the scheduled test dates. Only if the student can provide a
reasonable excuse as to why they were unable to take the quiz or exam on the scheduled date will he
or she be able to make-up the work. If the student is aware of the particular reason for absence ahead
of time, the instructor must be notified early for accommodating arrangements.
Classroom Policies:
Since face to face meetings in the classroom are replaced by online meetings through any or
all of the following methods: discussion boards, emails, chat, and whiteboard, students are expected
to follow the rules of netiquette in these forums. (Netiquette rules are available in the WebCT
tutorials)
Attendance:
Your weekly active participation and cohesion with the online calendar substitute physical
attendance. Submission of quizzes, exams, and replies or questions to the discussion topics ( See
grading of Online Discussions above) will prove active participation and satisfactory attendance.
For
a
more
detailed
attendance
policy
go
to
http://www.lsco.edu/Students/StudentHandbook/Students_Handbook_page9_16.htm#class
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LAMAR STATE COLLEGE-ORANGE
Art Appreciation- 1301-80
Fall 2010
Never attending or ceasing to attend classes DOES NOT constitute a withdrawal or drop. You
remain registered until you file a Drop/Withdrawal Form at the Registrar's Office by the appropriate
deadlines. Failure to act in a timely manner will result in an "F" grade for the course. It is the
student's responsibility to turn in all Drop/Withdrawal Forms and follow up to ensure that they were
processed as desired.
Instructor-Initiated Drop:
Absence from exams, quizzes and online discussion for an expanded amount of time
constitute an Instructor-Initiated Drop.
Academic Honesty:
LSCO will not tolerate cheating or plagiarism. Plagiarism is defined as "taking and using as
one's own the writings or ideas of another."
Any student caught cheating or plagiarizing, or aiding another student in cheating or
plagiarizing on a quiz, test, individual assignment, or examination (states the repercussion here).
Students subject to penalty due to academic dishonesty have the right to appeal to the
department chair and eventually to the dean and/or academic vice president before imposition of the
penalty.
Student with Disabilities:
A request for special accommodations must be made through the ADA Counselor and the
appropriate form submitted to the instructor two weeks in advance of need.
Any student with a verifiable learning or physical disability who requires special
accommodations is encouraged to speak to the instructor in private regarding his/her special
accommodations need.
Children in the Classroom:
The LSCO Student Handbook specifies that no children under the age of 15 are allowed in the
classroom or the hallways.
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LAMAR STATE COLLEGE-ORANGE
Art Appreciation- 1301-80
Fall 2010
Course Outline (view calendar):
8/23- First Day of Class, View Welcome page and Discussion Board, Ch.1-5,
Ch.1- The Nature of Art?
Ch.2- Awareness, Creativity, and Communication
Ch.3- Visual Elements
Ch.4- Principles of Design
Ch.5- Evaluating Art
9/7- Quiz #1- Ch.1-3
9/13- Exam #1, Ch. 1-5
9/14- Ch.14-16,
Ch.14-From the Earliest Bronze Age
Ch.15-The Classical and Medieval West
Ch.16-Renaissance and Baroque Europe
9/27- Quiz #2- Ch.14-15
10/11- Exam #2, Ch.14-16
10/12- Contemporary Artist Essay Intro, Ch. 20-21
Ch.20- Late Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries
Ch.21- Early Twentieth Centuries
10/25- Quiz #3- Ch.20
11/8- Exam #3, Ch. 20-21
11/9- Ch.22-23,
Ch.22-Between World Wars
Ch.23-Postwar Modern Movements in the West
11/22- Quiz #4-Ch.22
12/1- Exam #4- Ch.22-23
12/2- Ch.24-25
Ch.24- Modern Art Beyond the West
Ch.25- Postmodernity and Global Art
12/6- Final Contemporary Artist Essays Due
12/8- Final Exam
Syllabus Content:
The instructor reserves the right to make changes to this syllabus, if deemed necessary. All
changes will be provided to the students orally or in writing before the implementation of the change.
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