01 Feb DQ1 Controversial Art

Week 1 Discussion

DQ1: The Value of the Humanities

What is the value of studying the humanities in a business or technical curriculum? How might a topic such as ancient art enhance contemporary life?

DQ2 Ancient Works of Art

Choose a work of art from the reading in Chapter 1. Discuss how the work is a reflection of the ancient culture that created it. Also, did anything particularly surprise or impress you about the work of art or the ancient people who created it?

Week 2 Discussion

Greek and Roman Architectural Influences

This week you will read and learn about architectural influences from Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire. What are some of the main features of these architectural styles? Use examples from the text or the digital fieldtrip archives to help support your answer. Please remember to provide images and citations to help illustrate your points.

Week 3 Discussion

Theater

This week, we took a brief look at Shakespeare’s The Tempest (see the Assignments section). This five-act play opens with a storm at sea (a tempest) and throughout, Shakespeare has planted allusions to apparitions and magic, such as the character Ariel who, at times, appears to be invisible to the other characters. It is a given that the special effects, such as those often used in films, to actually give the stage the appearance of a deadly tempest or actually make Ariel an invisible presence are not achievable on the stage. To fill in this gap, audiences suspend disbelief.

In this thread, let’s discuss the power and limitations of theatrical imagination. Please feel free to draw from productions you have seen. (The old high school productions count, too!) Why are we willing to suspend disbelief when we see a play, yet we demand so much more from a film production? Do you think that the limitation on special effects and alternative demand on the audience member to suspend disbelief is a weakness or a strength of the theatrical experience? Would you rather see The Tempest on stage or in film? Why?

Week 4 Discussion

DQ1 Rubens

Line, color, hue, balance, form and perspective were some of the key concepts covered in this week’s tutorial. Use the example of a painting by Peter Paul Rubens and discuss how one or more of this week’s key concepts are featured in the painting.

Identify the painting by title, and include citations for any material you’ve researched.

DQ2 Enlightenment and Industrial Revolution

Given the information from this week’s reading on the Enlightenment, the New Rationalism, and the Scientific Revolution, how did advancements in science and reasoning change the lives of people at this time? In addition, what effects did the Industrial Revolution have on the world?

Week 5 Discussion

DQ1 Roots of Revolution

Consider the role of revolution in governmental structure and culture. Provide an example from the reading for the week or your experience visiting the National Archives to explain the relationship between philosophy and political action.

DQ2 Realism and Impressionism

For this week’s discussion, choose realism or impressionism as a basis for your posts and discuss how your choice is manifested in any area of the humanities (i.e., painting, sculpture, literature, music, etc.), and give an example from any discipline in the humanities to illustrate how realism or impressionism influenced the work of art. Please be sure to give an analysis of how the work of art was influenced by the movement.

Week 6 Discussion

Inspiration Piece

In this forum, post your inspiration piece for the Art Production and Presentation assignment. Discuss why you chose this particular piece. How does it apply to your profession?

Week 7 Discussion

DQ1 Controversial Art and Censorship

Although controversial art is not a topic exclusive to the 20th century, the distribution of information regarding controversial art has increased with the proliferation of media. Please discuss an example of a 20th century controversial work of art from any discipline of the humanities (music, literature, sculpture, film, etc.) and an accompanying statement from the artist(s). Based on your example, to what extent does controversial art make a social contribution? Are governments ever justified in censoring art?

DQ2 Pop Art

What were some of the influences of the pop art phenomenon? Should we consider the creative elements of popular culture, which are very often mass produced works of art?