Introduction to Art History--Asian Art (FLEX)

Welcome to an Introduction to Asian Art! In this class, students will learn all about the artistic traditions of the Asian continent, traveling to areas such as China, Japan, India, Morocco, and Israel. Students will be able to identify key historical events that shaped the history of Asian art, different art techniques and styles, and the cultural significance of each style of art, such as religious or political factors. Students will look at arts from the ancient period through the contemporary period. 

PARENTS: This is a FLEX Class, meaning there are no weekly live meetings. Each week contains two 30-45 minute prerecorded lectures for the students to access, a weekly group critical thinking discussion question in the classroom, and an at-home project that relates to the week's topic. Assignments and other resources are provided for further individual exploration at home. Students will post their discussion responses in the classroom and can share their weekly projects with the group or message them to me directly via Outschool messaging. Grading is available upon request. 

The weekly schedule is as follows: 

Week 1, China: In week one, we dive into the long-lasting artistic traditions of China. We will evaluate different styles of Chinese calligraphy and painting and discuss how different dynasties had different expectations and why these paintings look so different from Western painting. Further, we will discuss the importance of precious materials, specifically jade and porcelain, and how Chinese artists worked with these materials. For homework, students are asked to try their hand at their own Chinese calligraphy and painting or to find an example of a Chinese painting and share what they know about it. 

Week 2, Japan: In week 2, we travel to Japan and evaluate a number of different ancient and contemporary art styles. First, we will learn about the history of Japanese printwork, looking at some of Japan's most famous artists--Hiroshige and Hokusai! We will discuss techniques for creating prints, specifically ukiyo-e, and how they impacted Western art after the end of Japanese isolationism. Further, we will discuss the importance of paper art, or origami,  and how it has developed over time. Finally, we will spend a bit looking at Manga, Anime, and, specifically, the animated works of Miyazaki and discuss how these contemporary art forms developed and how they adopt traditional Japanese techniques. For homework, students are invited to create origami with the aid of some tutorials or share anime or manga images and discuss how they are similar or different from what we saw in class.

Week 3, Southeast Asia: In week 3, we focus on the arts of southeast Asia. In all, we will focus on how Buddhism has impacted the arts in this area of the world in different ways. For example, we will travel to Tibet and look at sand painting as an emanation of the Buddhist belief that materials are transitory and constantly changing. We will also evaluate large scale relief sculptures of Indonesia and how they represent the human form. Finally, students will travel to Cambodia to the temple at Angkor Wat, the largest religious site in the world. We will evaluate its unique architectural style and the artworks found within its walls. For homework, students are asked to create their own sand art with materials from home or write about Angkor Wat and why it is so significant. 

Week 4, India: In week 4, we travel to India for an exploration of Hindu art! Students will start with a basic overview of Hinduism and discuss Hindu sculpture, comparing and contrasting to representations of Buddhism we saw the week before. We will also discuss different Indian religious sites, such as stupas, and how they differ from other temples we have encountered. Our big exploration for the day will be the monument of the Taj Mahal. Students will take a virtual field trip to the site and discover why it was built, how it was built, and why it is so famous! To wrap up the week, we will discuss how Indian art changed with the onset of British colonial rule. For homework, students are asked to find another Indian monument and share with us, discussing how it similar or different to what we have seen in class, or they can draw their own miniature! 

Week 5: Islamic Art: In week 5, students will focus on Islamic arts and artistry. To begin, we will discuss what factors make Islamic art look so different from Buddhist and Hindi art that we have evaluated over the prior two weeks. We will emphasize the applied arts in this class, looking at everything from Persian carpets to silk to Islamic furniture. Special attention will be paid to Islamic architecture and tile work. We will discuss the destruction of Islamic monuments in the Middle East as a point of contemporary news on Islamic artworks. For homework, students will be asked to create their own tessellations and Islamic tile designs or share an Islamic monument they find online and what they know about it based on what we learned in class. 

Week 6, Israeli and Jewish Art: In week 6, we travel to the region of Israel and Palestine and look at the traditional Jewish arts that have been flourishing in this area for centuries. We will discuss why early Jewish artists are rare and mosaics and paintings that were being created during the Byzantine empire. We will look at the Dead Sea Scrolls and discuss why they are so significant to Jewish culture and how they work tirelessly to preserve them! Students will see a large number of Modern and Contemporary artworks in this class that come from this region of the world and discuss how they work to portray their Jewish identity through these works and how they comment on the conflict in the region today.