(Google Drive) Text of the book in “chapters” arranged by module—as well as assignments

This entry-level course is designed to help you gain a general appreciation for art as well as to help you develop a working vocabulary for the knowledgeable analysis of art based on the Visual Elements and the Principles of Design. The syllabus is included in the course and contains the course objectives, student learning outcomes, list of assignments and names of the course textbooks.

The Art Appreciation course explores the world’s visual arts, focusing on the development of visual awareness, assessment, and appreciation by examining a variety of styles from various periods and cultures while emphasizing the development of a common visual language. The materials are meant to foster a broader understanding of the role of visual art in human culture and experience from the prehistoric through the contemporary.

This is an Open Educational Resource (OER), an openly licensed educational material designed to replace a traditional textbook. The course materials consist of 24 lessons each with a presentation, reading list, and/or sample assignment. For ease of adapting, materials are available as PDFs and Microsoft PowerPoint or Word documents.

This course is an exploration of visual art forms and their cultural connections for the student with little experience in the visual arts. It includes a brief study of art history and in depth studies of the elements, media, and methods used in creative processes and thought. Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to: interpret examples of visual art using a five-step critical process that includes description, analysis, context, meaning, and judgment; identify and describe the elements and principles of art; use analytical skills to connect formal attributes of art with their meaning and expression; explain the role and effect of the visual arts in societies, history, and other world cultures; articulate the political, social, cultural, and aesthetic themes and issues that artists examine in their work; identify the processes and materials involved in art and architectural production; utilize information to locate, evaluate, and communicate information about visual art in its various forms. Note that this course is an alternative to the Saylor FoundationĺÎĺ_ĺĚĺ_s ARTH101A and has been developed through a partnership with the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges; the Saylor Foundation has modified some WSBCTC materials. This free course may be completed online at any time. (Art History 101B)

What is art conservation? Who does it and how does it work? Take a behind-the-scenes look inside the Art Conservation department at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and meet the team of trained conservators who specialize in the treatment of objects, paintings, and textiles. Want to learn more about art conservation at the Gardner? Visit http://www.gardnermuseum.org/collection/conservation Filmmaking by SheridanWorks.

The history of Art is long and varied, spanning tens of thousands of years from ancient paintings on the walls of caves
to the glow of computer-generated images on the screens of the 21st century.

“This courseware includes resources copyrighted and openly licensed by multiple individuals and organizations. Click the words ‘Licenses and Attributions’ at the bottom of each page for copyright and licensing information specific to the material on that page.” Reviewer’s note: arguably the weakest of the full-text resources presented here, but may give a starting point for some resources

Art museums are powerful and contested institutions. They are also innovative sites of architectural and artistic practice. From the exhibitionary complex of the nineteenth century to the experiential complex of today, this course investigates the art museum from historical and contemporary perspectives, striking a balance between theoretical investigation and case studies of recent exhibitions and museum buildings. Where and why did the concept of the public art museum emerge, and how have its functions changed over time? How do art museums continue to shape our definitions of what art is? How have they responded to recent critiques of the self-described 'universal' museum and to claims for the ethical display of ill-gotten artifacts or the restitution of such objects as Greek vases and bronzes looted from Benin? And why is the Euro-American art museum so compelling a model that it has spread around the globe?
To address these and other questions, we will also go behind the scenes. Visits to local museums and discussions with curators are an essential component of the course.

This subject focuses on the objects, history, context, and critical discussion surrounding art since World War II. Because of the burgeoning increase in art production, the course is necessarily selective. We will trace major developments and movements in art up to the present, primarily from the US; but we will also be looking at art from Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East, as well as art "on the margins" — art that has been overlooked by the mainstream critical press, but may have a broad cultural base in its own community. We will ask what function art serves in its various cultures of origin, and why art has been such a lightning rod for political issues around the world.

Created by The Museum of Modern Art. Learn why Willem de Kooning added raw egg to his paint.

Created by The Museum of Modern Art. Learn the properties of enamel paint and why artists use it.

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.