Art History | eMAD

MA - Art History and Museum Studies Concentration

ARTH 3656 Curatorial Practicum

Students will work in curatorial teams to plan and execute an effective exhibition of contemporary art. This process may include choosing a theme and selecting works of art, researching artists and themes, budgets, scheduling, developing an exhibition checklist, modeling the gallery, visual exhibition design, conservation and collections management factors, shipping, installation, educational outreach to the public, publicity, and other issues related to exhibition planning. 

ARTH 3661 Learning in Museums

Comprehensive introduction to museum education.  Examines informal education, learning theories, interactive education, exhibits, and programs.

ARTH 3701 Topics in Art History

Selected themes and topics from the history of art.  Content changes and course may be repeated to a maximum of 12 credits.

ARTH 3811 Colonial American Art

This class examines the art and architecture of European and African peoples in North America, from the earliest explorations to 1820. It studies the emergence of tentative national art forms from multiple artistic and cultural traditions. It is sometimes taught by a museum curator with a focus on Spanish Colonial.

ARTH 3813 Arts of the American West

This class covers a wide range of art objects and styles from the 17th century to the present in the west of the United States, from buffalo robe paintings and baskets to cowboy art and contemporary abstract landscapes. Particular attention is paid to the diversity of art traditions—Native American, Spanish and Mexican, European, Asian, and Latin American—as they converge in this geographic space.

ARTH 3814 Medieval Art

Depending upon the quarter, this course will be a general survey of Medieval Art or a more focused exploration of any aspect of art produced in western Europe and the eastern Mediterranean from the 4th through the 14th centuries, including paintings, manuscript illumination, stained glass, sculpture and architecture. This class may be repeated for a maximum of 8 credits.

ARTH 3817 Gothic Art

This course will examine the art of the Late Middle Ages in Europe, from roughly 1140 to 1400. Gothic architecture, sculpture, painting, stained glass and the sumptuous arts (metal, textiles) will be examined within their broader social, political, and religious contexts. Particular attention will be paid to the Gothic Cathedral - that quintessential window onto the Medieval world - its beliefs, aspirations, social and political realities.

ARTH 3818 Art of Renaissance Europe

This course provides an examination of the artistic cultures in Europe during the Renaissance (15th and 16th centuries).  Depending upon the quarter, this course will be a general survey of European art during the Renaissance or a more focused exploration of a sub-period, such as painting in fifteenth-century Italy.  Chronological and geographic factors will therefore determine the overall theme and structure of the course.  Students will gain both a sound knowledge of key artistic monuments of the period, as well as a conceptual framework according to which they may organize their knowledge. This class may be repeated for a maximum of 8 credits.

ARTH 3822 Northern Renaissance Art

This course will explore the dramatic developments in the arts (particularly panel painting, manuscript illumination, and sculpture) in Northern Europe from around 1350 to 1550.  From lavishly decorated Books of Hours and the development of stunningly naturalistic oil paintings on panel in the early Fifteenth century through the development of printing, the rise of self-portraiture, genre and landscape depictions, this class will trace the important role played by Dutch, Flemish, German and French artists in the transition from late medieval to early modern artistic forms and practices.  The role of art in shaping and expressing religious, civic, political and economic concepts will be explored, as will the rise of the social and intellectual standing of the artist.  Among the artists examined will be Jan van Eyck, Rogier van der Weyden, Albrecht Dürer, Hieronymus Bosch, and Pieter Bruegel the Elder.

ARTH 3823 17th Century European Art

This course considers European arts of the 17th century. Depending upon the quarter it may be a general survey of European art during the seventeenth century or a more focused exploration of a sub-period, such as Italian Baroque or the Old Dutch Masters: Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Frans Hals. This class may be repeated for a maximum of 8 credits.

ARTH 3832 19th Century Art

This course will survey the major art movements in Europe from the late 18th century to the end of the 19th century.  Major painters, sculptors, printmakers and architects of the following movements will be presented: Neo-classicism, Romanticism, Academic Painting, Realism, the Pre-Raphaelites, Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Symbolism and Art Nouveau.  Their works will be studied in light of the social, political and cultural milieu in which they appeared.  Special attention will be paid to representations of race, class, gender, and colonialism.

ARTH 3833 20th Century Art

This class studies the development of early 20th century art in Europe and the U.S., as the center of the avant-garde shifted to America around World War II. The class follows the development of modernism and its theories from 1900 to around 1960. Artists and movements will be considered according to stylistic and theoretical development, and also in relation to social, political, and cultural developments of their time.  

ARTH 3834  Contemporary Art

This course will survey the development of contemporary art, focusing primarily on recent decades, but making connections to earlier movements from 1960 to the present.  This will include painting, sculpture, performance art, installations and digital or electronic art.  Students will become familiar with various issues of recent art theory and criticism to put these works into a theoretical perspective.  In addition to an in-depth look at the broad stylistic movements of the past forty years, this course will also examine those figures whose work has come to define the major approaches and concerns for the art of our time.

ARTH 3839 Topics in Modern Art

Selected themes and topics from the 18th century to the present. Topics change, and course may repeated to a maximum of 12 credits.

ARTH 3841 Topics in Chinese Art

Selected topics in Chinese Art. Content changes. This class may be used to fulfill the non-western requirement for majors in the School of Art and Art History. Course may be repeated to a maximum of 12 credits.

ARTH 3842 Topics in Japanese Art

Selected topics in Japanese Art. Content changes. This class may be used to fulfill the non-western requirement for majors in the School of Art and Art History. Course may be repeated to a maximum of 12 credits.

ARTH 3845 Chinese Painting: Masters and Masterpieces

This course explores pictorial art in China from the third century BCE to the present. This class may be used to fulfill the non-western requirement for majors in the School of Art and Art History.

ARTH 3846 Dada and Surrealism

This course will survey the development of Dada and Surrealist art from 1916 through 1939, focusing on the painting, sculpture, graphics, photography, and films of these movements.  The relationships between Dada and Surrealist artists and literary figures will be discussed as well as their shared interests in psychoanalysis, dreams, sexuality, and automatic methods of creativity.  Major figures are Ball, Hennings, Tzara, Arp, Haussman, Höch, Dix, Grosz, Apollinaire, Breton, Aragon, Soupault, Paul and Gala Éluard, Desnos, Péret, Duchamp, Man Ray, De Chirico, Ernst, Miro, Masson, Tanguy, Magritte, Dali, Buñuel, Brassaï, Picasso, Brauner, Delvaux, Oppenheim, Giacometti, Cornell, Bellmer, Carrington, Tanning,

ARTH 3850 Art and the History of Science

This class explores the connections between art and the history of science, using a broad span of visual material, mainly European art from the Middle Ages to the present.   Coverage of the material will be thematic, focusing on three major categories: “Art and the Natural World;” “Art and the Human Body;” and “Art and the Human Mind.”  We will read a wide variety of art historical articles and selected chapters that examine works of art related in the first section to: astrology, astronomy, alchemy; botanical, zoological, and geological illustration; color theory, perspective, optics, maps, contemporary earthworks and ecology.  In the second section, we will explore the evolution of anatomic illustration, as well as mythic, religious and genre images related to medicine, pharmacy and healing as well as works by contemporary artists who are concerned with genetic codes, hybridization, and cloning.  In the third section we will examine depictions of human temperaments, emotions, and madness, through the images of selected artists. 

4.000 Credit Hours                                      
Levels: Undergraduate, Graduate                 
Schedule Types: Lecture

ARTH 3853 History of Photography

This course covers the history and theory of photography during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.  The course encompasses the forces that called the medium into existence, particularly in the early nineteenth century, and concludes with its state at the end of the twentieth century.  The relationship of photography to the other arts, as well as to literary, political, social and philosophical issues will be key to this discussion.  Some discussion of techniques will be included, for example, the process by which daguerreotypes and calotypes were created with an analysis of the types of images they produced. 

ARTH 3862 Mesoamerican Art

This course is an introduction to the art and archaeology of the native peoples of Mesoamerica in Precolumbian times, or from about 2000 BC to AD 1521. Cultures covered include the Olmec, Teotihuacan, Mixtec, Zapotec, Aztec, and others. This class presents the cultural sequence of Precolumbian Mesoamerica and explores how the various civilizations of Mesoamerica shared aspects of world-view, cosmology, and daily life. Students will be able to identify and discuss how these elements manifested in the art and architecture of Mesoamerican cultures. Furthermore, the course investigates issues of shamanism, kingship and power, warfare, and human sacrifice. This class may be used to fulfill the non-western requirement for majors in the School of Art and Art History.

ARTH 3863 Art of the Maya

This course is an introduction to the art and archaeology of the Maya from about 300 BC to the present. The Maya are perhaps the most famous of the several cultures comprising what is known as Mesoamerica. A highly advanced culture, they built soaring temples, carved elaborate portraits of their kings, and developed a complex writing system including a calendar. The course explores these things with a constant eye to understanding the Maya worldview, cosmology, and daily life. By the conclusion of the class, students should be able to read their intricate pictures, discuss the strategies of powerful Maya rulers, and understand how Maya art and architecture reflects their concepts of time and the cosmos. This class may be used to fulfill the non-western requirement for majors in the School of Art and Art History.

ARTH 3867 Native American Art

This course is designed as an introduction to the art and architecture of the native peoples of North America from the earliest signs of humans in North America to the present. Cultures covered include those from the Southwest, the Northwest, the Southeast Ceremonial Complex, the Plains, and Contemporary Native American Artists. By the conclusion of the class, students will understand the cultural sequence and geographic dispersion of native North America. Students will also understand how the various civilizations of North America shared aspects of world-view, cosmology, and daily life, and be able to identify and discuss how these elements manifested in the art and architecture of native North American cultures. This class may be used to fulfill the non-western requirement for majors in the School of Art and Art History.

ARTH 3871 Women in Art

This course considers the roles of women in art and explores the impact of race, class and gender on art produced from the Middle Ages to the present with discussions of women artists, women patrons and images of women.

ARTH 3872 Introduction to Conservation

This lecture course familiarizes the student with the concepts and challenges of conservation, its role in museums and the care of collections. Specific emphasis is given to the materials, structure, deterioration and preservation of material culture.  Field trips to various museums and/or workshops to make appropriate display mounts and storage containers enhance the understanding gained from readings and lectures.

ARTH 3873 The Goddess in Art

This course will survey the image of the goddess in art from prehistoric times until the present day from a feminist perspective.   Beginning with anthropological and art historical theories about the numerous female figurines of Paleolithic and Neolithic times, the course will continue to explore representations of female goddesses from ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, Crete, Greece, and Rome.  Polarized images of Eve, the Virgin Mary and several female saints during the Middle Ages will be examined.  From the Renaissance through the Baroque periods, classical goddesses, especially Venus/Aphrodite, are revived and adapted to both Christian and secular contexts.  Images of the sexualized female body will be explored, along with its counterpart, the witch, who was persecuted during the 16th and 17th centuries.  This course will be interspersed with examples of contemporary art inspired by the “Great Goddess,” especially by feminist artists of the 1970s and 1980s.  Some discussion of the goddess as she appears in contemporary popular culture will conclude the class.

ARTH 3875 History of Collections

This course will trace the history of collections from the Renaissance to the present, addressing the interconnections between artists, patrons, dealers, art markets, provenance, connoisseurship, and the historical development of museums and private collections.  Each week’s readings of journal articles and chapters will focus on different types of collections or themes, including royal and imperial collections, cabinets of curiosities, excavating and transporting antiquities, British country estates and the Grand Tour, the establishment of national museums, the relationship between American collectors and dealers, ethnographic objects in western collections, Nazi looting, restorers and forgers, and artists’ collections, to name a few.

ARTH 3910 Art History Travel

A travel course to selected locations to study major monuments and collections of art and architecture. Location and content change. This class may be repeated for a maximum of 8 credits. Prerequisite: instructor's permission.

ARTH 3991 Independent Study

This class should be used for individual study of a special topic that is not offered in the art history curriculum described in this catalog. Permission/registration form is available from the Office of the Registrar.

ARTH 3992 Directed Study

This class should only be used when a required ARTH 3000-level course listed in this catalog is not offered in the quarter in which the student must take it.  Permission of an instructor and the Director of the School of Art and Art History are required. Permission/registration form is available from the Office of the Registrar.

ARTH 4301 Seminar in Art History Methods

This seminar considers the history of art history and the development of various methods that art historians use to interpret and understand art.  Required of all MA candidates in art history.

ARTH 4302 Research Practicum

The goal in this course is to learn professional methods and resources for original research in areas of American art where little or no published research exists. Students learn through short exercises in biographical, object-oriented, internet, and archival research; by tackling a 10-week research project of their choice within the topic for the quarter; and by networking with each other to share resources and progress.  Required of all MA candidates in art history.

ARTH 4312 Seminar in Precolumbian Art

Selected topics in Precolumbian Art.  Advanced research papers and presentations. Content changes. May be repeated to a maximum of 8 credits.
 

ARTH 4314 Seminar in Medieval Art

Selected topics in Medieval Art. Advanced research papers and presentations. Content changes. May be repeated to a maximum of 8 credits.
 

ARTH 4321 Seminar in Renaissance Art

Selected topics in Renaissance Art. Advanced research papers and presentations. Content changes. May be repeated to a maximum of 8 credits.

ARTH 4331 Seminar in 18th Century Art

Selected topics in 18th century Art. Advanced research papers and presentations. Content changes. May be repeated to a maximum of 8 credits.

ARTH 4332 Seminar in 19th Century Art

Selected topics in 19th century Art. Advanced research papers and presentations. Content changes. May be repeated to a maximum of 8 credits.

ARTH 4333 Seminar in 20th Century Art

Selected topics in 20th century Art. Advanced research papers and presentations. Content changes. May be repeated to a maximum of 8 credits.

ARTH 4336 Seminar in American Art

Selected topics in American Art. Advanced research papers and presentations. Content changes. May be repeated to a maximum of 8 credits.

ARTH 4340 Seminar in Asian Art

Selected topics in Asian art. Advanced research papers and presentations. Content changes. May be repeated to a maximum of 8 credits.

ARTH 4651 Museum Methods and Principles

This class surveys the major activities, goals, and organization of the art museum within today’s world. Students will meet with a variety of museum professionals to discuss the changing dynamics within art museums, as well as ethical and practical issues of museum work. The class will read both classic and current literature on museum issues and practice, and will participate in research, collection, and exhibition projects. Required of all M.A. art history students pursuing the Museum Studies option.

ARTH 4652 Museum Internship

Arranged internship in student's area of specialization. Students should take ARTH 4651 Museum Methods and Principles first.  Prerequisite: instructor's permission.

ARTH 4656 Writing for Exhibitions

This class focuses on the special skills required to create and articulate a compelling exhibit concept, drawing artworks primarily from contemporary art collections. This seminar offers an opportunity to take part in a major exhibition project. The major work products of the seminar are extended essays for a catalog to accompany an exhibition that will open the following year at the Victoria H. Myhren Gallery.

ARTH 4838 Connoisseurship

In this class the historical roots, theoretical and philosophical underpinnings, and actual practice of connoisseurship are studied using objects from the Denver Art Museum collection.

ARTH 4991 Independent Study

This class should be used for individual study of a special topic that is not offered in the art history curriculum described in this catalog. Permission/registration form is available from the Office of the Registrar.

ARTH 4992 Directed Study

This class should only be used when a required ARTH 4000-level course listed in this catalog is not offered in the quarter in which the student must take it.  Permission of an instructor and the Director of the School of Art and Art History are required. Permission/registration form is available from the Office of the Registrar.

ARTH 4995 Master’s Research Paper

See your advisor for guidelines regarding the Master’s Research Paper class.

 

MFA - eMAD

ARTD 3315 - Designing Social Awareness

This class produces multimedia team projects for local non-profit organizations. It engages issues of social responsibility in design. Prerequisites: ARTD 2315 Intro to eMAD and eMAD majors should have completed the ARTD 2000 series classes. Cross-listed with DMST 3315. Lab fee.

ARTD 3325 - Site-Specific Design

This class produces projects investigating physical space, virtual space and site-specific public installations. Prerequisites: ARTD 2315 Intro to eMAD, and eMAD majors should have completed the ARTD 2000 series classes. Cross-listed with DMST 3325 Lab fee.

ARTD 3355 - Interactive Art and Design

This course introduces and expands the concepts, aesthetics, and techniques critical to the exploration and authoring of interactive art and design works. It will explore human computer interactions; user/audience interface design/development; interactive logic, author-audience dialogue; meta data/multimedia asset acquisition and authoring environments. Additionally motion graphics/animation composition, development and integration; audio editing/ incorporation/ reinforcement, sensing, interactive scripting techniques and emerging forms of digital narrative will be undertaken. Emphasis will be on the spectrum of realized and developing interactive media deployment and distributions ranging from screen media to physical environments. Technology used includes interactive media, digital imaging and audio acquisition software. Prerequisite: ARTD 2355 Net Art and Design for undergraduates and ARTD 4420 for graduate students. Cross-listed with DMST 3355. Lab fee.

 

ARTD 3375 - Advanced Design

This course engages contemporary issues in culture, theory and design. Focus is on the creation of new-media based artworks and projects. Required of BFA eMAD seniors.  Prerequisites: ARTD 2315 Intro to eMAD. Cross-listed with DMST 3375. Lab fee.

ARTD 3700 - Topics in Electronic Media Arts Design

Selected topics in electronic media arts design. Content changes, and course may be repeated to a maximum of 12 credits. Prerequisite: ARTD 2315 Intro to eMAD. Lab fee.

Enforced Prerequisite: ARTD 2315

ARTD 3991 - Independent Study

Supervised studies not addressed in this catalog of classes. Projects must be pre-approved by faculty. Students must pick up an Independent Study form from the Office of the Registrar.

ARTD 4400 Identity and Branding Graduate Studio

This course focuses on the theories and practices involved in creating identities through the use of visual and experiential means. Students will be guided through project-based explorations that range from the creation of visual signifiers to the crafting of patterns of behavior to connote identity. This course presumes some prior experience with identity and branding. Prerequisite: Graduate Standing. Cross-listed with DMST 4400. Lab fee.

ARTD 4410 Graduate Typography

This class is a rigorous investigation of the expressive potential of typography as a critical element of visual communication and electronic media. This class presumes no background in typography. Students will be guided through project-based explorations that range from hand-rendered inter-letter spatial relationships to digital typeset and hand-sewn book forms. Prerequisite: Graduate Standing. Cross-listed with DMST 4410.Lab fee.

ARTD 4420 Net Art and Design – Graduate Studio

The conceptual framework of this course on net art includes an advanced understanding of the psychological, social and cultural contexts of net art history, net access and distribution and net culture. Further expansion of this framework into network-driven collaborations, online community building, hypertext/rich media narrativity, memetics, online identity, experimental content delivery architectures and venue development will be pursued. Aesthetic and technical reinforcement of this conceptual base will explore the emerging spectrum of network architectures; user/audience interface/navigation design trends; meta data/media content delivery; enhanced interactivity; and venue evolution. Technologies used in this course include industry standard and developing webpage authoring environments, digital imaging software and multimedia authoring tools. Prerequisite: Graduate Standing. Cross-listed with DMST 4420. Lab fee.

ARDT 4430 Graduate Digital Video Art

This course engages in an advanced and in-depth investigation and exploration of video art, providing independent video production through a cooperative, hands-on approach utilizing small format video. Conceptual methods of visual thinking found in new media, focusing on computer generated imaging and time-based media will be investigated. Prerequisite: Graduate Standing. Cross-listed with DMST 4430. Lab fee.

ARTD 4375 - Graduate EMAD Critique

Each week focuses on one student's work. Critiques are moderated by a different faculty member each quarter. Conceptual, methodological and theoretical concerns are stressed. Critiques are designed to assist in the preparation and construction of individual thesis projects. Course may be repeated up to six times. FIVE critiques (20 hours) are required for the MFA
 

ARTD 4700 - Graduate Seminar Topic

Topics will change. Reading and discussion of critical theory. May include project related to the topic. Course may be repeated up to six times. FIVE seminars (20 hours) are required for the MFA

ARTD 4991 - Graduate Independent Study

Supervised studies not addressed in this catalog of classes. Projects must be pre-approved by faculty.  Use registration/approval form from Office of the Registrar.

ARTD 4992 - Thesis Project

MFA candidates must take 12 credit hours of thesis in any combination of  ARTD 4992 Thesis Project or ARTD 4995 Thesis.

ARTD 4995 - Thesis

MFA candidates must take 12 credit hours of thesis in any combination of  ARTD 4992 Thesis Project or ARTD 4995 Thesis.