Art Appreciation

Edoardo Mungiello, PhD

Explore influential ideas about art and aesthetics, from Plato and Aristotle to modern and contemporary thinkers. Using The School of Athens as a starting point, ground yourself in a familiar masterpiece before moving through centuries of artistic thought. Consider Umberto Eco’s idea that a work of art is not complete until the viewer engages with it — turning art into a collaboration. Discussion includes iconic works such as The Birth of Venus, Las Meninas, Impression, Sunrise, Fountain, and Campbell’s Soup Cans.

3 Sessions

Monday, July 13–27, 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
XHUMN 387, $89

Rachael Goldman, PhD

New Jersey, at the crossroads of the American Revolution and home to the Lenni Lenape, provided fertile ground for artistic expression and craft traditions. Explore folk art including baskets, woodwork, decoys, ceramics, quilts, and embroidery. Examine the work of Ammi Phillips, Micah Williams, and other self-taught artisans, along with the communities where they gathered, and how these traditions continued into the 20th century.

Tuesday, July 28, 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
XHUMN 388, $49

Michael Norris, PhD

From a 2,600-year-old Etruscan chariot to Athenian vases, Roman mosaics, 19th-century sculpture, and 20th-century paintings, the Trojan War (ca. 1200 B.C.) inspired them all. The story of the ten-year war was often told through memorized verse that was eventually written down, as was true for Homer’s epic poem the Iliad, but art helped keep it alive within the human mind.

Wednesday, July 29, 1 p.m. – 3 p.m.
XHUMN 389, $49