Art History 381 - Great Themes in Art

The course will investigate the relationship between art and the rise of modern popular culture in early 20th century America, focusing on both fine art (painting, sculpture) as well as commercial and mass media art (illustration, caricature, comic and poster art). Among the topics to be considered are: the nature of artistic work; changing notions of professional artistic identity; how artists who created both fine and mass media art negotiated the tensions between them; the relationship between artist and public; how American artists responded to a world of new forms of popular culture activities and ideas; and art's role in the creation of a rapidly changing American identity.

Topic: Great Themes: Art and Popular Culture in America 2900-1940