AR 200-01– Introduction to Fine Arts – 3 Credits – spring 2009

David B. McGrew – Assistant Professor

Contact: 570.585.9298 (office ext.) – dmcgrew@bbc.edu  

Class Hours: Tuesday & Thursday 8:30–9:50 am

 

This course is a survey of Western culture focusing on the great painters from the Middle Ages to the twentieth century and the great composers from J.S. Bach through Igor Stravinsky. The meaning and significance of artistic expressions will be examined from historical, philosophical, and theological points of view. [This description from the 2008–2009 Online College Catalogue]

 

The architecture of Introduction to Fine Arts may be thought of as supported by four massive columns. Students (1) are given historical contexts for each unit of study, (2) are brought into a dynamic encounter with Fine Art, (3) are encouraged to think critically about the relationship between art and life, and (4) exercise their own seeing and hearing through the practice of drawing and singing. Together these manifest a philosophical approach to the subject that solidifies general objectives and a pedagogical methodology for the course. History, dynamic experience, rational thought, and exposure to basic compositional practice are indispensably significant to a study of Art.

            HISTORY: Every work of art has a historical context. The study of history confirms that many things are subject to change over time while other things remain constant. Our evaluation of those things that are timeless versus timely is paramount to the process of living a meaningful life. As we search for wisdom, nothing attends to the dangerous prejudice of our own time like the history of another.

            EXPERIENCE: Fine Art is made to be carefully received rather than hastily pigeonholed. People are prepared to converse about art only after having first seen or heard it. The experience of art heightens the tension between a proper understanding of historical works and the misunderstandings fostered by entrapment in any popular context. A challenge to all translation, this experience begs for resolution in a responsible hermeneutic for aesthetics.

THOUGHT: Art is an excellent subject for the exercise of reason because it is deeply personal. It carries the power to speak to the mind without arguable propositions and is as easily rejected “instinctively” without reasoned argument. Unaided, this can result in an effective divorce of intuition from the rational mind, allowing rogue appetites to usurp the place of an examined life. Thinking through the question, “Why does art affect me so?” clears a path between utilitarianism and nihilism.

            PRACTICE: Wonder in the presence of greatness is amplified when we recognize the space between the ordinary and the extraordinary. Tutorials in drawing and singing provide practical interaction with the fundamentals of art-making. By increasing familiarity with compositional elements, our eyes and ears are trained to perceive with increasing intelligence.

  

(C = Cognitive domain, A= Affective domain, and P = Psychomotor domain)

 

1.      General (C)  SEE [understand / apprehend] art as a demonstration of the human soul

1.1.   Specific (C)  See the progression and diversity of art through a study of selected artists

                            and masterworks and their historical contexts [HISTORY]

1.2.   Specific (C)  See the power and breadth of artistic vision through a guided, dynamic,

                            first-hand encounter with art [EXPERIENCE]

1.3.   Specific (C) See the ways in which critical inquiry can enlighten art and, conversely,

                            where art can reach beyond the limits of critical inquiry [THOUGHT]  

1.4.   Specific (C) See how the practice of basic artistic craftsmanship makes us personally

                            aware of our own relationship between the measurable world and the

                            immeasurable world [PRACTICE]

2.      General (P) PRACTICE [perform / experience] basic art skills as a process for developing the

                          grammar of human creativity

2.1.   Specific (P) Practice pedagogical methods for art-making from various historical

                           cultures [HISTORY]

2.2.   Specific (P) Practice focusing the eyes and ears on specific, fundamental compositional

                           elements present in almost every work of Fine Art [EXPERIENCE]

2.3.   Specific (P) Practice moving from propositional thought to demonstrative creations and

                           from intuitive art-making to the inspiring source for the work [THOUGHT]  

2.4.   Specific (P) Practice drawing individually and singing together in a basic, graded lesson

                           series [PRACTICE]

3.      General (A) ENJOY [appreciate / wonder at] art in its intelligently complex and intimately 

                          vital witness to the human experience of life

3.1 Specific (A) Enjoy artworks as they were received by their first audiences—within the

                            interpretive spiral of cultural ideals, developments in genre, etc. [HISTORY]

3.2  Specific (A) Enjoy the unquantifiable experiences of Opera at the MET in New York 

                            City and tours through various Art Museums and Galleries [EXPERIENCE]

3.3  Specific (A) Enjoy engaging with artists and art critics through readings, lectures, and

                            various media as they describe the processes and implications of art from 

                            the “inside-out” [THOUGHT]  

3.4  Specific (A) Enjoy learning how to see visual art while learning how to draw better and

                         how to hear musical art while learning how to sing better together [PRACTICE]

 

Beckett, Sister Wendy and Patricia Wright. The Story of Painting. 2^nd American ed.

(enhanced). Dorling Kindersley Publishing: New York, NY, 2000. 736 p.

[ISBN: 0789468050] (expanded edition)

 

Schaeffer, Francis A. Art & the Bible. (L’Abri Pamphlets, paperback). InterVarsity Press,

            1973. 64 pgs. [ISBN: 0877844437]

  

Hirshfield, Jane. Nine Gates: Entering the Mind of Poetry. Harper Perennial, 1998. 240 p.

[ISBN: 0060929480]

Isacoff, Stuart. Temperament: How Music Became a Battleground for the Great Minds of

Western Civilization. Faber and Faber, 2002. 176 p. [ISBN: 0571196225]

Kant, Emmanuel trans. John T. Goldthwait. Observations on the Feeling of the Beautiful and

Sublime. University of California Press, 2^nd ed, 2004. 124 p. [ISBN: 0520240782]

McGrath, Alister. Creation: Truth and the Christian Imagination. Augsburg Fortress Publishers,

2005. 87 p. [ISBN: 0800637003]

Schaeffer, Francis. How Should We Then Live?: The Rise and Decline of Western Thought and

Culture. Crossway Books 50^th Anv. ed, 2005. 288 p. [ISBN: 1581345364]

Steiner, George. Real Presences. University of Chicago Press, 1991. 246 p. [ISBN: 0226772349]

 

Institutional policies governing academic integrity, class attendance, absence appeals, and instructional accommodations are delineated in the Student Handbook—available online in pdf format at: http://www.bbc.edu/college/docs/2008-09_BBC_Catalog.pdf. All students are responsible to keep track of their own class absences.  This includes both the date of each individual cut as well as the reason. At the end of the semester, the student will have an opportunity to appeal cuts if they exceed the allowable limit. Without complete information, the appeal will be denied. In a class meeting two days a week, each absence after the four allowed will reduce the final grade by 3%. Any student absent without approved excuse in excess of eight classes will fail the course. Students found sleeping during class lecture will be counted absent.  

Procurement of all required textbooks should occur before the end of the first week of class. The texts are available in our college bookstore. For a 200-level class, students can expect two hours of work outside of class for every credit hour. This may include reading, listening, writing, or various course-related, creative projects.

As a courtesy to the financial investment and commitment of time made by each class member please turn off all cell phones, pagers, etc. before entering the classroom. If you have a particular need (learning, visual, hearing, etc), please speak with the course instructor at the very beginning of the semester. It is our aim to assist all students who want to be successful.

All students are required to attend one of the scheduled class field trips to Manhattan, NY. These trips take up an entire day—from an early morning departure to a late-night return. All students are individually responsible to clear their schedule on the fieldtrip date. Remember to inform employers, sign out for after-hours dorm arrival, inform directors of extra-curricular activities, and prepare ahead in classes missed by speaking with professors. Absence from chapel will be excused.

  

 

Three Exams (30% of final grade)

 

Exams: There are three cumulative exams. All preceding course content at the time of each test is open to examination. These will be administered during scheduled class periods.

     • Exam 1—Tuesday, February 10—during class hour (exam date subject to change)

     • Exam 2—Thursday, March 12—during class hour (exam date subject to change)

     • Exam 3—Finals Week (for exact day and time check: http://academics.bbc.edu/registrar/)