ArtH 3434
Art & the Environment
Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle, Juggernaut, 2008
Spring Semester 2014 Lectures: M/W 9:05-9:55, Blegen 130 Discussion Sections: W 10:10-11:00, Blegen 210 F 9:05-9:55, Blegen 115
Dr. Jane Blocker 612/625-1549 [email protected] Office in Rm. 405 Heller Hall Office hours: Mondays 10:30-12:00 or by appointment
TA Rachel Wolff [email protected] Office in Rm. 412 Heller Hall Office hours: Wednesdays 11:30-1:00
Required Texts: There are two textbooks you are required to buy for this course (available at the Coffman bookstore):
Adelson, Glenn, et al, eds. Environment: an Interdisciplinary Anthology. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008.
Beardsley, John. Earthworks and Beyond, 4th Edition. New York: Abbeville Press, 1984/2006.
Recommended Texts: Andrews, Max, ed. Art: A Cultural Ecology Handbook. London: RSA, 2006.
Course Description: In this course we will examine the international movements loosely grouped under the names Land Art, Earth Art, and (more commonly today) Environmental Art. We will trace the historical development of these movements from 1968, when the first exhibition of such art, called “Earthworks,” took place at the Dwan Gallery in New York, up to the present day. The course tracks the changing aesthetic, political, biological, economic, agricultural, technological, and climatic forces that influenced such art, from the anti-institutionalism and participatory approaches of the 1960s to the more activist artistic engagement with environmentalism and globalization today. The class takes up two primary concerns: understanding the historical and scientific conditions that have given rise to such art, and understanding the ways in which artists have sought to intervene in and affect a changing environment. Classes are structured around course readings, lectures, and discussions.
Liberal Education: This course fulfills the ideals of a Liberal Education at the University of Minnesota. Art history of any period teaches students about the virtues of a liberal education since the discipline itself requires the productive engagement with diverse disciplines, methods, and areas of knowledge. Art history requires an understanding of broad historical forces (e.g., wars, governments, economies), as well as religious traditions (e.g., Christian symbolism in the Renaissance, Islamic imagery in contemporary Iran, Buddhist iconography in Japan, China, and India, etc.), languages, scientific innovations and knowledge of the world (e.g., the invention of the microscope in the 17th century, experiments in optics, the invention of photography and digital imaging), theories of culture, economics (e.g., the production, sale, and distribution of art from Papal patrons to wealthy international art collectors), archeology, and anthropology. “Art & the Environment” more specifically addresses the tenets of liberal education in that the artists who are the focus of the course themselves actively incorporate diverse forms of knowledge in their work. To study the work of pioneering earth artist Robert Smithson, for example, we must understand his interest in entropy, the second law of thermodynamics. To study Mel Chin’s Revival Field (1990-93), we must understand his research into “hyperaccumulators,” plants that absorb toxic heavy metals from the soil. With other artists we need to learn about theories of climate change, genetically modified organisms, ecofeminism, hydrology, or theories of globalization. This course will provide instruction in these and other principles. Moreover, the disciplinary methods to which students are exposed in the course significantly enhance their understanding and experience of liberal education. The course asks students to think critically about history—how it is written and by whom; to understand the ideas behind art works and to be able to analyze them visually; to see works of art as both reflecting social, historical, and intellectual forces and as influencing them. Students read both primary and secondary historical texts, engage in visual analysis, contextualize works of art historically, and consider conflicting political and aesthetic points of view. They learn about and engage in art historical research methods in the subfield of contemporary art, and they work in discussion sections and small groups to create critical and/or artistic responses to specific environmental questions.
Arts and Humanities Core: This course satisfies the requirements for the Liberal Education Arts and Humanities Core, which stipulate that courses engage with cultural products as well as the formal aspects, historical context, and cultural or social role of those products. Students in “Art & the Environment” will engage with cultural products in the form of a wide variety of works of art including photographs, videos, earthworks, performances, sculptures, installations, and public art works. In both lectures and discussions, students will think critically about the relationships between those artworks’ formal elements—what they’re made of, how they look, how they are designed, etc.— and the issues they engage and the reactions they provoke. What are the formal qualities of specific sculptures, video artworks, or earthworks and how do they contribute to those works’ cultural and social effects? In order to answer such questions, we will study works of art in the historical contexts in which they were produced and received, and we will draw connections between historical events, actors, and objects from different time periods since the late 1960s.
General Theme Requirements: “Art & the Environment” satisfies the CLE general theme requirements in that students gain knowledge about the historical factors influencing current environmental challenges as well as diverse artistic responses to those challenges over the last forty years. In addition to expanding students’ art historical knowledge, the course requires that they reflect on their own social responsibility with regard to the environment by requiring that they engage in an assignment that puts their knowledge into practice. In this assignment, they work in small groups using the information they have gleaned from the course (readings, lectures, class discussions) and their own independent research to create a work of art directed at a specific environmental issue. In this, they are prompted to think ethically about their own roles as political, social, and historical agents.
The Environment Theme: The entire basis of “Art & the Environment” is to raise significant environmental issues and to study the interrelationships between the natural environment and human society, more specifically, the creation and reception of artworks that: a) depict, reference, or are sited in specific landscapes and environments; b) engage with, attempt to draw attention to, or attempt to ameliorate specific environmental problems such as biodiversity or climate change; and c) engage with, attempt to draw attention to, or attempt to change political and economic policy regarding the environment. By reading a wide array of texts—not only by artists, art historians, and cultural theorists, but also by scientists, journalists, economists, and policy makers—students are introduced to the scientific principles of climate change, biodiversity, biotechnology, deforestation, urbanization, and globalization. Through their own research projects, they learn to locate and evaluate information on art as well as on the environment. In addition, through specific case studies (discussed in lectures, discussion sections, and in the readings) they learn about the difficult ethical challenges posed by public policy attempts at balancing environmental concerns with human economic, physical, and cultural survival.
Learning Outcomes: The first goal of the course is to instruct students in the history of art and art historical methodologies and resources. Students will learn to identify a large number of works of earth/land art created since the late 1960s. They will master the key features of significant artistic trends, the careers and aesthetic affiliations of important artists, and the social and political contexts of the artistic efforts of the period. They will be exposed to primary texts and learn to think critically about them. They will gain familiarity with diverse aesthetic philosophies including minimalism, conceptualism, and relational aesthetics. This knowledge will be assessed through an in-class exam in which they will be asked to identify artworks, situate them historically, and respond to an essay question related to key course themes. The course’s second goal is to train students in the task of researching and writing about contemporary art. Toward this end, they will be instructed in specific research techniques (including tutelage in scientific research from UMN science librarians) and then asked to design and execute a short research paper (7-8 pages) on a work of contemporary art. The third goal of the course is to instruct students about specific environmental problems or questions and artists’ responses to them. Students will read and discuss a series of texts on such problems and examine specific case studies of artists who have directed their creative energies toward those problems. These case studies include sculptures, public art projects, films, installation art, bioart, and large-scale environmental works. They will be asked to work in small groups to research an environmental topic (examining scientific, public policy, and art historical sources) and produce a work of art (or a proposal for a work of art) that addresses that topic. This project also requires a supporting paper (2 pages), which summarizes the group’s research findings and cites the project’s key sources, and an in-class presentation of the proposal.
Attendance Policy: Students are required to attend lectures and participate in class discussions. If you are not in class, even if you have a valid excuse, you will lose points toward your participation grade. Participation includes attendance, participation in discussions and small groups, quizzes on readings, asking engaged questions, and visiting office hours.
Make-up Exam Policy: If you have a legitimate excuse and are unable to take the scheduled exam, you must: 1. contact the professor or the TA immediately; and 2. provide documentation of your excuse. A make-up exam will be scheduled at the discretion of the professor.
Academic Workload Policy: For undergraduate courses, one credit is defined as equivalent to an average of three hours of learning effort per week (over a full semester) necessary for an average student to achieve an average grade in the course. For example, a student taking a three credit course that meets for three hours a week should expect to spend an additional six hours a week on coursework outside the classroom.
Course Requirements Grading Participation 15% of final grade This includes 8 quizzes on class readings, attendance, asking questions, coming to office hours, participating in discussions and small groups. Exam 25% of final grade The exam will have a short take-home essay portion and an in-class portion. Visual Analysis Paper 25% of final grade Students design and write a visual analysis paper (7-8 pages) on a specific environment art project. Group Project 35% of final grade There are three components to the project: (Artwork and supporting paper: 25%; In-class research on a specific environmental issue, presentation: 10%) which results in a work of art or proposal for a work of art; a supporting paper of 2-3 pages that summarizes the research and cites sources; and an in-class presentation. See handout.
Grading: For more information about the meaning of specific grades, see the grading matrix for the exam, the paper, and the project.
Student Academic Integrity and Scholastic Dishonesty: Academic integrity is essential to a positive teaching and learning environment. All students enrolled in University courses are expected to complete coursework responsibilities with fairness and honesty. Failure to do so by seeking unfair advantage over others or misrepresenting someone else’s work as your own, can result in disciplinary action. The University Student Conduct Code defines scholastic dishonesty as follows:
Scholastic Dishonesty: Scholastic dishonesty means plagiarizing; cheating on assignments or examinations; engaging in unauthorized collaboration on academic work; taking, acquiring, or using test materials without faculty permission; submitting false or incomplete records of academic achievement; acting alone or in cooperation with another to falsify records or to obtain dishonestly grades, honors, awards, or professional endorsement; altering forging, or misusing a University academic record; or fabricating or falsifying data, research procedures, or data analysis.
Within this course, a student responsible for scholastic dishonesty can be assigned a penalty up to and including an "F" or "N" for the course. If you have any questions regarding the expectations for a specific assignment or exam, ask.
Students Seeking Accommodation for Disabilities: Please provide the professor or the TA with documentation from the Student Disability Services Office, which outlines the necessary accommodation, within the first two weeks of the semester.
Student Mental Health and Stress Management: As a student you may experience a range of issues that can cause barriers to learning, such as strained relationships, increased anxiety, alcohol/drug problems, feeling down, difficulty concentrating and/or lack of motivation. These mental health concerns or stressful events may lead to diminished academic performance or reduce a student's ability to participate in daily activities. University of Minnesota services are available to assist you with addressing these and other concerns you may be experiencing. You can learn more about the broad range of confidential mental health services available on campus via http://www.mentalhealth.umn.edu/.
Course Schedule and Lecture Topics:
Lecture Reading Assignment Date Lecture Topic Discussion Reading Discussion Topic (All Readings from Assignment Textbooks) (All Readings Posted to Moodle) None None Art Historical Description and W 1.22 Introduction to class Analysis. Paper Assignment Given John Beardsley, Earthworks Robert Smithson, “The Spiral The Center for Land Use M 1.27 Origins in the 1960s: and Beyond, Introduction and Jetty” from Land and Interpretation tour of Spiral Jetty, conceptualism, minimalism, Chapter 1, “Monument and Environmental Art, posted on and discussion of prospective process art, earth art Environment: The Avant- CLUI tours in and around the Twin Heizer, Smithson, De Maria, Moodle Garde, 1966-1976” Cities Holt Beardsley, Chapter 2, “The W 1.29 British landscape tradition Ramble” Long, Fulton, Nash, Goldsworthy Beardsley, Chapter 3, M 2.3 Prehistory of land art, the Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Watch and discuss Valley Curtain, “Tradition and Antecedent” sublime. picturesque, and “Project Notes” from Land and 1974, color, 28” garden Environmental Art, posted on De Maria, Pierce, Finlay, Moodle Noguchi Beardsley, Chapter 4, “Beyond W 2.5 Public art Earthworks: The Public Morris, Sonfist, Leicester, Landscape” Armajani, Christo Beardsley, Chapter 5, “Beyond M 2.10 Urban environments Mel Chin, “Revival Field” Mel Chin’s Revival Field (1995), Earthworks: The New Urban Noguchi, Lin, Puryear, Kapoor from Land and Environmental Pig’s Eye Landfill, St. Paul, MN, an Landscape” Art, posted on Moodle art project in collaboration with Dr. Rufus Chaney using heavy Beardsley, Chapter 6, “The W 2.12 Environmental/Eco art accumulators to remediate soil in Greening of Art” and Denes, Chin, Ukeles a Twin Cities landfill “Afterword: The Global Landscape” None M 2.17 Research Methods on the None Art Project Assignment Given Environment, Julia Kelly,
science librarian Art History Paper Topics and Site W 2.19 In-class Exam Descriptions Due. In small groups students read, evaluate, and discuss each others’ descriptions. 1.“Climate Shock,” pp. 17-49, M 2.24 Group Mixer and Viet Ngo, “Lemma Systems”; Viet Ngo, b. 1952, Vietnam Environment: an Interdisciplinary Brainstorming Session from Land and Environmental 1972 B.A. University of Minnesota Anthology Art, posted on Moodle in studio art and civil engineering; Houghton, “The Greenhouse 1977 M.S. in environmental Effect” (1997); W 2.26 Climate Shock engineering; art projects involving Karl and Trenberth, “Modern The Cape Farewell project, water treatment systems which brings together artists Global Climate Change” (2003); Patricia Johanson, Petaluma and scientists to respond to Gribbin, Hothouse Earth (1990) Wetlands Park and Ellis Creek climate change Recycling Facility, Petaluma, CA,
The Canary Project, which 2008-present documents climate change Discuss water treatment plant and produces art projects in project in Devil’s Lake, ND, 1990 response and Johanson’s project in Quiz on Readings California 2. “Species in Danger,” pp: 50-82, Todd McGrain The Lost Bird M 3.3 Mark Dion, “The Tasting Mark Dion’s Tasting Garden Environment: an Interdisciplinary Project Garden,” from Land and (1997) project, which explores the Anthology Environmental Art, posted on loss of biodiversity in fruits as a Quiz on Readings Rosen, “The Ghost Bird” (2001) Moodle result of industrial production W 3.5 Species in Danger
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ann Hamilton, Galápagos “Recovery Outline for the Ivory- Chorus, 2008 Billed Woodpecker,” (2005)
Burdick, “It’s Not the Only Alien Invader” (1994)
Savidge, “Extinction of an Island Forest Avifauna by an Introduced Snake” (1987) 3. “Nuclear Power, pp. 83-116, M 3.10 Nuclear Power None First drafts of papers due. In Environment: an Interdisciplinary small groups students read, The Yes Men and Bhopal Anthology evaluate, and discuss each others’ Jagger, The Nuclear Lion (1991) Quiz on Reading papers Silver, Fallout from Chernobyl W 3.12 Nuclear Power (1987) Amy Franceschini, a member Marples, No Breathing Room of futurefarmers, an art (1993) activist group, worked with Perrow, Normal Accidents (1984) scientist Jonathan Meuser to create DIY Algae/Hydrogen Blix, “Nuclear Power and the Environment” (1989) Kit (2004), an alternate energy source
Edward Burtynsky’s photographs of ecological destruction. 3.15-23 Spring Break
4. “Biotechnology and GMOs” pp. M 3.24 Biotechnology and GMOs None Final Papers Due 117-137 Eduardo Kac, Natural History Dave Burns and Matias Viegener, of the Enigma, 2008, a work Mangelsdorf, “Modern Breeding Corn Study, 2004, an art project of art created for the Plant Techniques” (1974) that examines the history of Genomics Building on the U Losey, Raynor, Carter, “Transgenic agricultural corn production Pollen Harms Monarch Larvae” of Minnesota campus (1999) Quiz on Reading Brower, “Canary in the Cornfield: W 3.26 In Class Workshop on Art The Monarch and the Bt Corn Projects Controversy” (2001) Lesher, “Seeds of Change” (2004) 5. “Sustainable Development” pp. M 3.31 Sustainable Development None PLATFORM, London-based artists 138-161, Environment: an group working on social and Interdisciplinary Anthology Majora Carter, TED Talk, on sustainable development and ecological justice World Commission on greening the urban Environment and Development, environment “Our Common Future” (1987) Lélé, “Sustainable Development: Francis Alÿs, When Faith A Critical Review” (1991) Moves Mountains, 2002 Wackernagel and Rees, Our Quiz on Reading Ecological Footprint (1996) W 4.2 Sustainable Development Kumarappa, “Standards of Living,” (1946) Matthew Moore, urbanplough.com, focuses on the loss of farm land to suburban development 6. “Deforestation,” pp. 172-183; M 4.7 Deforestation Jimmie Durham, “No Brazil Native American Jimmie Durham 190-195; 198-210, Environment: Without Us,” from Land, Art: A and Portuguese Rigo 23, respond an Interdisciplinary Anthology Xu Bing, Mount Kenya National Park, Mu, Lin, Sen Cultural Ecology Handbook, to the displacement of local communities and indigenous Williams, Americans and Their Project, 2005-Present posted on Moodle Forests (1989) peoples by a nature park, Quiz on Reading designed to preserve Brazilian Woodwell, “Forests at the End of W 4.9 Deforestation the Second Millennium” (2001) Atlantic forests Angela Palmer’s Ghost Forest Dietrich, “The Cutter,” (1992) project (2009), which Anderberg, “Wall Street Sleaze,” highlights the problem of (1988) deforestation in Africa Panjabi, The Earth Summit (1997) Rudel and Horowitz, Tropical Deforestation (1993) 8. “Globalization is M 4.14 Globalization Watch video Grant Watson Allan Sekula, Fish Story, 1993 Environmental,” pp. 248-279, interview with Allan Sekula Environment: an Interdisciplinary Carlos Amorales, Flames The artist attempts to document, Anthology Maquiladora, 2003, a work http://vimeo.com/12397261 using his unique photographic that highlights the relation approach, the global flows of Friedman, “Politics for the Age of between the contemporary commodities from the port of Los Globalization” (1999) art world, global economies, Angeles Hawken, “The WTO: Inside, and outsourcing labor Outside, All Around the World” (2000) Quiz on Reading Wilson, “The World Trade W 4.16 Final Workshop on Art Organization,” (2000) Projects Shiva, “Economic Globalizatoin Has Become a War Against Nature and the Poor” (2000) 10. “The Urban Environment,” pp. M 4.21 The Urban Environment Watch Waste Land, 2010 Project Proposals Due 311-12; 315-326 , Environment: documentary about Vik Muniz’s an Interdisciplinary Anthology TED talk by artist/scientist Vik Muniz, Waste Land, 2008, Natalie Jeremijenko on her project in Rio work created at the largest World Commission on “Environmental Health Clinic” garbage dump in the world in Rio Environment and Development, at NYU de Janeiro with “catadores” or “The Urban Challenge” (1987) Quiz on Reading garbage pickers who work there Shah, Ecology and the Crisis of W 4.23 The Urban Environment Overpopulation (1998) Collaboration between Carley and Spapens, Sharing the Learning Group, World (1998) Tercerunquinto, and Forman, Land Mosaics (1995) Temporary Services to produce [Collecting System], an ecological urban design project in Monterrey, Mexico None M 4.28 Group presentations of None None projects W 4.30 Group presentations of projects None M 5.5 Group presentations of None None projects W.5.7 Group presentations of None Course Wrap Up projects Return of Assignments & Grades Awarding of Prizes Teaching Evaluations
The class syllabus, take-home exam question, class lectures, sample exam essays, assignments, and handouts are available on Moodle.
If you would like to study artworks and videos discussed in class lecture, you can look at the Digital Content Library: http://dcl.umn.edu You can input search terms by keyword, artist’s name, or the title of an artwork. You will be asked to submit your X500 login and password to enlarge thumbnails or play videos.
URLs of webpages on relevant artist’s groups: http://greenmuseum.org/c/ecovention/sect5.html http://www.capefarewell.com/home.html http://canary-project.org/ http://www.artscatalyst.org/projects/detail/nuclear/ http://artandsustainability.wordpress.com/ http://www.projetcoal.org/coal/en/ http://www.clui.org/ http://www.ci.devils-lake.nd.us/departments/sewer-department.html http://www.futurefarmers.com/survey/algae.php http://www.environmentalartblog.com http://www.ted.com/talks/majora_carter_s_tale_of_urban_renewal.html http://www.platformlondon.org/ http://www.learningsite.info/