This course outline describes what will be covered in your course. It also sets
out what you should expect to learn. There will be an opportunity for course
members to discuss the course content with the tutor.
If you would like more information about this course, please contact:
The Branch Secretary
Branch: Harrow
Course Title: Art History: Art and Modernism
Tutor: Peter Harrison
C2414959
Fee: £136
Venue: Scouts HQ, Methodist Church,
Start Date: Sept. 28th 2010
Pinner Road, North Harrow, HA2 6EQ
Day: Tuesday
Course Times: 14.00–16.00
Number of Sessions: 20
GLH: 40
Course Publicity (maximum of 40 words)
What do we mean by the term 'modern art?' How long has art been 'modern,' and what was it
before? Explore the changing meanings of 'modernism' in art, and learn about when and why
artists and critics used the term.
Course Aim: To examine and discuss the use of the term ‘modernism’ in visual art
Course Programme (this may be modified in the light of the interests of course members)
1. History discovers Art (Vasari)
2. Every picture tells a story? (The Narrative Tradition)
3. The Painter of Modern Life (Manet et al.)
4. ‘The cylinder, the sphere, the cone’ (Cezanne)
5. 'The mysterious centres of thought' (Postimpressionism, Synthetism, Symbolism)
6. Significant Form (Early 20th. c. theory)
7. ‘Audacious Pranksters’ (Cubism)
8. Colour and Sensation (Fauvism)
9. Non-objective Sensation (Constructivism)
10. ‘Necessities become Ripe’ (Abstraction/Kandinsky)
11. How does a horse see the world? (Expressionism)
12. Dynamic Sensation (Futurists)
13. ‘Art is the fatal net’ (Pittura Metafisica)
14. 'The navigation of the mind' (Surrealism/Gallery visit)
15. ‘The Spectator can no longer escape’ (Abstract Expressionism)
16. This is Tomorrow (Pop Art)
17. Ready Made (Conceptualism/Duchamp)
18. Pluralism and Diversity (Post-Modernism)
19. Making Money is Art (late 20th. C.)
20. No Love Lost (21st century developments)
Planned Learning Outcomes (these may be modified in the light of course members interests)
Please turn over
By the end of the course you should be able to:
1. Describe three different contexts in which the term ‘modernism’ is used
2. Discuss what is meant by ‘the modernist project’
3. Contrast the terms ‘modernism’ and ‘post-modernism’
Teaching methods: Powerpoint presentations, prepared supplementary textual material, class
discussions and presentations, gallery visits
Entry Requirements (course level, prior experience, equipment, materials etc. required)
Knowledge of 20th century art an advantage but not essential
Further study and progression: Courses on specific 20th c. art movements and on ‘modernist’
movements in 20th c. literature and music
Additional essential costs to learners: None
Some information about your tutor: Peter Harrison is a practising artist, a graduate of
Glasgow School of Art, and of Glasgow University. He exhibits regularly, and his work is
represented in private and public collections. He has written two books for children, on Monet
and Van Gogh.
Short booklist
TITLE
1 Theories of Modern Art
2 Modern Art &
Modernism
3 Modernity and
Modernism
AUTHOR
HB Chipp
F. Francia & C. Harrison
F Frascina; N Blake et al.
(eds)
PUBLISHER
Univ. Calif. Press 1968
Harper & Row 1982
Yale Univ. Press 1993
Relevant Internet Sites:
www.tate.org.uk/britain
www.musee-orsay.fr/en/collections/overview.html
www.moma.org/
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S:\WEAMISdata\LN\Outlines\C2414959_outline.doc
WEA London and Southern Regions' Support Centre
57 Riverside 2, Sir Thomas Longley Road, Rochester, Kent ME2 4DP
Tel: 01634 298600 Fax: 01634 298601 email: london&southernrsc@wea.org.uk
The Workers' Educational Association is a charity registered in England and Wales (number 1112775) and in
Scotland (number SC039239) and a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (number 2806910)