Artist Maurizio Cattelan duct taped a banana to a wall, titled it "Comedian", and sold 5 editions of the artwork for as much as $150,000 each. Why did it capture our attention, curiosity, and memes? What does it mean?
From the Utah System of Higher Education (with special thanks to Dr. Nancy Ross). Video by Ydraw. Created by Nancy Ross.
Migration is central to human experience, and art history reflects that.
Empathy is a term we hear a lot, but what does it mean and how does it work? Looking back through art history, we find many moments when art has allowed us to share in the feelings of others, from Maya Lin's Vietnam Veterans Memorial, to representations of the Buddhist deity Jizō Bosatsu, along with the Röttgen Pietà, Guáman Poma's First New Chronicle and Good Government, the ink drawings of Chittaprosad and Zainul Abedin, the work of Ghana Think Tank, and more.
Francisco de Goya, Third of May, 1808, 1814, oil on canvas, 266 x 345.1 cm (Museo del Prado. Madrid). Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.
This text was compiled, edited, and modified from Boundless Art History and Saylor Academy Art Appreciation and Techniques. It is intended as module reading for an undergraduate level introduction to art. I have uploaded it as individual pdfs to make its inclusion in LMS modules easier but if an educator chose to compress into a single document they would be welcome. Additionally, this is intended as a text that can be modified by educators to satisfy the interests and needs of their own course with only a non-commercial string attached.
The Baroque, Rococo, and Neoclassical styles dominated the art of Western Europe between 1600 and 1800. Baroque artists like Caravaggio and Peter Paul Rubens sought to reinvigorate Catholic art with art and architecture that emphasized drama and movement. Rococo artists like Fragonard celebrated the leisure activities of the upper class, as the center of style and culture moved to Paris from Rome. Neoclassical art and architecture looked back to the classical era for inspiration, producing Greek-style columned buildings such as the US Capitol Building. A video from the Utah System of Higher Education (with special thanks to Dr. Nancy Ross). Created by Nancy Ross.
When Banksy shredded his artwork the moment after it sold at auction, he left many questions unanswered. What are we to make of the stunt?
Explore Buddhism through clips of significant sites in South Asia and interviews with members of the Bay Area South Asian community.
Explore Hinduism through clips of significant sites in South Asia and interviews with members of the Bay Area South Asian community.
Discover Bodh Gaya, one of several sights in India associated with the birth of Buddhism.
The naked and the nude have been frequent subjects for art throughout the history of human creation, and also the frequent subject of censorship. What's wrong with seeing the unclothed human body? And what is its place in art?
Sampling, appropriating, borrowing, stealing. Whatever you want to call it, artists have been copying since time immemorial. We look into the history of the practice, and share our theories of why it is done, and what it can offer us.
The powerful and privileged have hoarded precious artifacts in museums for centuries, and it's only recently that these treasures were made available to the rest of us. What purpose did museums serve? And why does every city have one today?
A brief explanation of the term contrapposto while looking at "Idolino" from Pesaro, (Roman), c. 30 B.C.E., bronze, 158 cm (Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Firenze), speakers: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker. Although these particular objects may not have been known in the Renaissance, the ideas and form of contrapposto were revived in the Italian Renaissance. Speakers: Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris.
Describing what you see: Sculpture Henry Moore, Reclining Figure, 1951, plaster and string, 105.4 x 227.3 x 89.2 cm (Tate Britain). © The Henry Moore Foundation. This plaster was the result of a commission from the Arts Council of Great Britain for the Festival of Britain. A single bronze was cast from it. speakers: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker. Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.
Discover the diversity and richness of Hinduism, from the ancient oral tradition of the Vedic texts, the colourful stories of the Ramayana and Mahabharata, and the ways in which gods and goddesses are worshipped today. From the British Library.
A conversation with Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris Special thanks to the Macaulay Family Foundation. Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.
A conversation at the American Museum of Natural History between Dr. Laurel Kendall, Curator, Asian Ethnographic Collections and Dr. Monique Scott, Assistant Director of Cultural Education in front of four Buddhist sculptures: Seated Gautama Buddha, 18th Century, cast brass, gilt (Thailand) Gandharan Seated Buddha with Double Halo, attributed to the 3rd Century, green-gray schist (Pakistan) Jizo, Kshitigarbha, Dhyani-Bodhisattao, 19th Century, wood, gold (Japan) Budai (Ho t'ai)/Maitreya, The Laughing Buddha, c. 1900, metal (China). Produced by Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker for Smarthistory at Khan Academy. Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.
Video by SFMOMA. Beginning in the early 1990s, Fred Wilson shook the museum world with his artistic interventions. At the Maryland Historical Society, he used the conventions of the the museum itself to comment on race, with startling juxtapositions such as 19th century armchairs displayed with slave shackles and a whipping post amongst finely crafted woodworking. His work uncovers inherent cultural biases and disrupts the more traditional way many Americans understand museums. Created by Smarthistory.