ARTISTIC TRADITIONS OF THE SOUTHWEST

 

Prof. Suzanne Newman Fricke

suzanne@fricke.co.uk

Thursday, 4:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.

 

Course Objectives:  Using in-class slide lectures, readings, and research assignments, this course will introduce the wide variety of arts produced by the diverse [Hispano, Anglo, and Native American] cultures of the Southwest, from prehistory to the present with a focus on the arts from New Mexico. By examining textiles, ceramics, architecture, painting, photography, and other art forms, we will analyze the role of culture in the creation and valuation of art. Likewise, we will explore the benefits and problems arising from cultural contact and exchange as shown by changes in different art forms. Our paramount concern is uncovering the roles that arts fulfill within each individual culture versus the meanings created by intercultural contact and conflict. Students will be able to discuss each culture, its relevant critical and historical issues, the artists involved (when known), and titles and dates of representative works.  The works will be discussed with reference to their cultural contexts, including economic, social and political systems, and the role of conquest and colonization.  The art will be discussed in terms of its symbolic content and interpretations of meaning according to the culture’s philosophy, science, and religion, but also formally, in terms of how it looks and how it was made.  Students will learn to identify specific works and their styles and how to visually analyze a piece.  The course will look at the various methodologies used in the history of art.  Course assignments will help in the development of library research, writing, and critical-thinking skills. 

 

Note: In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, qualified students with disabilities needing appropriate allowances should contact the instructor as soon as possible to ensure that your needs are met in a timely manner.

 

Academic Honesty:  UNM's policies on cheating may be found at http://www.unm.edu/~brpm/r48.htm. The minimum penalty I will impose for cheating in this course is an F. The maximum penalty is dismissal from the University.

 

Class Attendance:  Given that the majority of the material will be covered in class, it is imperative that you attend and that you take comprehensive lecture notes.  If you are unable to come to class on a particular day, it is useful to let the professor know as soon as possible and to obtain lecture notes from at least three students in the class.  Please be advised that there is a direct correlation between missing classes and lower grades.  If regular attendance will be difficult, this is not the class for you. 

 

Class Readings:  Reading is extremely important to your understanding of the material in this class.  Students are expected to complete 50-100 pages of reading each week and to research their projects.  Assigned readings are listed on the course syllabus by week; the readings are available on reserve in the library.  It is important to read the material in a timely fashion and to review the material before each exam.  Be prepared to answer questions on the readings in the exams. 

 

Dropping the Course:  If you choose to drop the course, you are responsible for reporting the change to the registrar's office. If you stop coming to class and do not contact the registrar, you will receive a failing grade, even if you attended only once.

 

Course Evaluation:

            First Paper:  15%

            Second Paper:  35%

            Each Exam:     20%

            Class Participation:  10%

 

Examinations:  This class will have two equally weighted exams and neither is cumulative.  The exams will cover material and from the classroom lectures and discussions and from the assigned readings.  The exams consist of: 

            Slide identifications:  You will be expected to know the artist, title, date, and location for each piece as it is written on the slide list. 

            Short answer questions:  these include defining important terms, discussion of styles, and historical information.  Given the nature of this class, you may also be asked to locate sites or cultural areas on blank maps; be sure to get to know the basic geography of the regions covered by the course.

            Compare/Contrast essays:  Compare/Contrast essays are perhaps the most widely used and poorly understood aspect of an art history class.  We will discuss the proper format for a compare/contrast essay before the first exam.

            Two weeks before each exam, you will be given a slide list.  The slide list will contain approximately 40-50 images and you will be expected to learn these.  Each piece is identified by:  artist’s name, when known, though more often the artist is referred to by the artist’s culture group, like Hohokam or Acoma; title, usually a generic title that refers to the kind of piece, such as Mimbres Boldface or Sikyatki seed pot; date, which will often be given as a broad time span since there are few concrete dates for works of pre-contact art; and geographic location.  These examples will appear on the test in various forms, as straightforward identifications, in the compare/contrast essays, or as part of the short answer questions.  Learning these examples in vital to passing the exam.  The best way to learn these works is to create a set of flash cards with the image on one side (a Xerox copy, downloaded image, or your own drawing) and the pertinent information on the back. 

            If the class is cancelled on the exam date, the exam will take place on the next class day.  Otherwise the exams will occur on the days indicated on the syllabus whether or not we have covered all the information listed; exams will only cover topics covered in class.  There are no makeup examinations.  If you have a compelling reason for missing an exam, you must discuss it with the instructor as soon as possible.      

            If you have been tested by the school as learning disabled, it is imperative that you let me know as soon as possible.  It is best that you come and meet with me during the first week of classes.  I am happy accommodate any student who needs extra help, but I need at least two weeks to prepare an exam for a student who will not be taking it with the rest of the class. 

 

Writing Assignments:  There will be two written assignments in this class. 

 

Paper Assignments:  There will be two paper assignments each semester. 

            Paper guidelines:  All written assignments are expected to be turned in at the beginning of class on the due date.  Please type the paper or print it out in a legible font (i.e., Times New Roman, Arial, Garamond, or Bookman) using 12 point.  Please include copies of pertinent images discussed in the text of your paper.  You do not need a cover page; put the title of the paper across the top of the first page.  Your name must be typed at the top of each page and the pages must be stapled (no clips or covers, please).  Papers will lose one grade (i.e., from B to C) per day they are late.  All papers are due at the beginning of class.  If you know in advance that you will be unable to turn in a paper on the assigned day, it is up to you to contact the professor ahead of time.  Please do not put your paper in my mail box on under my door; it is likely that they will be lost.  Spelling and grammar are important to the clarity of your ideas; poor writing will lower your grade.  Please proofread carefully or, better yet, take your paper to the writing center.  Be sure that the paper is well organized with a central thesis (argument) that is supported by your arguments and has an informative introduction and conclusion. 

First Paper:  The first paper will be a review of a gallery or museum show of work from the Southwest.  This paper should be approximately 3-5 pages long and should address the formal qualities but also put the work into a historical/cultural context.  A formal analysis is an analysis of the object the artist produces, that is, an analysis of the work of art, which is made up of such things as line, form, volume, materials, textures, and colors. This is a descriptive essay, not a research paper. You are to describe the piece you have chosen, emphasizing what you can see. The purpose of the paper is to make you aware of your vision and its importance for your engagement with the art.  Barnet’s A Short Guide to Writing about Art is an excellent guide to describing, analyzing and interpreting art and architecture. 

Second Paper:  The second paper will be a longer research paper, approximately 8-12 pages long, focusing on a single work of art.  You may choose the piece and it can be a painting, or a sculpture, a building, a pot, a piece of jewelry, or any other type of art discussed in the class.  Students are expected to research their topic using at least 10 appropriate sources, including at least 3 articles; this specification is intended to help students become more familiar with finding articles as they provide the most specific and up-to-date information.  Use books and articles that deal directly with your subject.  While it is helpful to begin your research with more general texts, especially their bibliographies, they should not be counted among the 10 sources.  Websites are not regulated and are therefore unreliable sources; they may be included but they do not count towards your 10 sources.  You must include a bibliography and use either footnotes or endnotes; these are to be counted among the eight to ten pages of text.  If you are unsure about the proper citation form for your sources, please consult Kate L. Turabian’s A Manual for Writers or The Chicago Manual of Style.  Failure to cite sources is considered plagiarism.  Resources vary greatly in quality for research in any field but particularly so for Native American art.  The sources on reserve are a good place to start.  In Week 5 I will pass a list in class on which you will designate what your topic.  This will help to avoid twenty people writing on the same topic -- and fighting for the available sources.  You must use a minimum of eight bibliographic sources, at least three of which must be a periodical. American Indian Art Magazine, for example, is a good source for many Native American art topics.  A paragraph explaining your thesis statement and a preliminary bibliography listing proposed sources for your paper is due on in Week 10.  This will help to make sure that your topic is properly defined and to avoid procrastination.  Failure to turn in your thesis statement and bibliography on the assigned date will lower your paper grade by a ½ grade  (i.e., a B will become a B-). 

            Select one art form from one cultures group to be covered by this class.  Be specific and limit your topic to allow detailed coverage of the subject. For example, do not select Mimbres pottery as your paper topic but, rather, select one aspect of the pot. 

            Conduct research on your chosen topic that will enable you to write a paper that includes discussion of the following quest ions:

            What is the style of the art form like? What does the art form look like?

What is the history of that art form? How did the art form develop? How has it changed? What influences are apparent on that art form?

            Is there symbolism involved in the art form? If so, what is it? What is the iconography involved?

            Who is or was the artist of the work? While you may not be able to answer this with a specific person’s name, you can, in most cases at least, discuss whether the artist was male or female, a “professional’ artist or not.

            Who is or was the patron of the art form? For whom (again, in general) was the art made?

            What is or was the social significance the work of art to its creators and its users? How was or is the work of art an important part of the lives of the people who created and used that art form?

            Do not merely answer these questions; write a good composition that includes discussion of these points. Your paper will be graded on both form and content.

As in all such art history papers, a few photocopied illustrations will be necessary to make your points and to let your reader know exactly what works you are using for your discuss. 

 

Required Text: 

 

I Am Here.  (Santa Fe, New Mexico:  Museum of New Mexico Press1989).

 

Nabokov, Peter, and Robert Easton.  Native American Architecture.  (Oxford, England:  Oxford University Press, 1989).

 

Wilson, Chris.  The Myth of Santa Fe (Albuquerque, New Mexico:  University of New Mexico Press, 1997).

 

Supplemental Texts:

Will be given throughout the course.

 

Class Schedule:

January 22: 

 

January 29: 

 

February 5: 

 

February 12: 

 

February 19:   class canceled

 

 

February 26: 

 

March 4: 

 

March 11: 

 

March 18:  SPRING BREAK

 

March 25:

 

April 1:

 

April 8: 

 

April 15: 

 

April 22: 

 

April 29: 

 

May 6: 

 

 

Selected Bibliography:

 

Anderson, Duane, editor.  Legacy:  Southwest Indian Art at the School of American Research.  (Santa Fe, New Mexico:  School of American Research Press, 1999).

 

Batkin, Jonathon.  Pueblo Pottery from New Mexico Pueblos

 

Berlo, Janet C., and Ruth B. Phillips, Native North American Art.  (Oxford:  Oxford University Press, 1998).

 

J.J. Brody, Anasazi and Pueblo Pottery

 

--.  Mimbres Painted Pottery

 

--.  Indian Painters/White Patrons

 

Gavin, Robin F.  Traditional Arts of Spanish New Mexico: The Hispanic Heritage Wing at the Museum of International Folk Art.  (Santa Fe: Museum of New Mexico Press, 1994).

 

Gibson, Arrell Morgan.  The Santa Fe and Taos Colonies:  Age of the Muses, 1900-1942.  (Norman, Oklahoma:  University of Oklahoma Press, 1983).

 

Ferguson and Rohn.  Anasazi Ruins of the Southwest. 

 

Mullin, Molly H., “The Patronage of Difference: Making Indian Art ‘Art, Not Ethnology’” in George E. Marcus and Fred R. Myers, editors, The Traffic in Culture:  Refiguring Art and Anthropology.  (Berkeley, California:  University of California Press, 1995). 

 

Nabokov, Peter, and Robert Easton.  Native American Architecture.  (Oxford, England:  Oxford University Press, 1989).

 

Noble, The Hohokam

 

Parezo, Nancy.  Navajo Sandpainting

 

Peckham, Stewart.  From This Earth

 

Simmons, Marc.  New Mexico:  An Interpretive History.  (Albuquerque, New Mexico:  University of New Mexico Press, 1988).

 

Smith, Jaune Quick-to-See, curator.  The Submuloc Show/Columbus Wohs.  (Phoenix, Arizona:  Atl-Atl Publication, 1992). 

 

Wade, Edwin, editor. The Arts of the North American Indian:  Native Traditions in Evolution.  (New York:  Hudson Hills Press, 1986).

 

Weigle, Marta, and Barbara A. Babcock, editors.  The Great Southwest of the Fred Harvey Company and the Santa Fe Railway (Phoenix, Arizona:  The Heard Museum, 1996).

 

Whiteford, Andrew.  Southwestern Indian Basketry

 

Wyckoff, Lydia L.  Designs and Factions:  Politics, Religion, and Ceramics on the Hopi Third Mesa.  (Albuquerque, New Mexico:  University of New Mexico Press, 1985).

 

I Am Here

 

The Hohokam

 

Garduno, “Artes Guadalupanios de Aztlán,” pp 202-212; and Iconography of Chicano Self-Determination,” pp 398-408.)

 


FIRST WRITING ASSIGNMENT

 

This paper is an exploration of either one piece of art or a few pieces (no more than 3) from a local gallery or museum which you consider an important part of the Southwestern arts.  Before beginning this paper, be sure to get the topic approved by the professor either in class or by email.  You must be able to demonstrate why this (these) piece(s) are an appropriate topic for this class.  Wherever possible, include an illustration of the piece.  Many galleries offer printed cards or, if using a museum piece, there may be a catalog with an image that could be copied.

This assignment must be typed.  Please use a readable font such as Times New Roman, 12 point, and please double-space.  Do not include a cover sheet or a binder of any sort.  Put your name and the date on the top left corner.  You may add a title if you like or you can identify it as “First Writing Assignment, Art of the Southwest.”  Be sure to staple the pages together so nothing gets lost.  Put your last name and a page number on subsequent pages. 

Make sure your paper is about artworks, and not just a biography of an artist.  Select pieces that interest you. It’s best not to select something that you think you understand completely.  The best works of art to write about usually possess a degree of complexity that challenges you intellectually.  An artwork that is completely straightforward, simply and readily understandable, gives you very little to write about beyond stating the obvious.  Do NOT select more than 3 works of art to write about.

Henry Sayre’s book Writing About Art is a good resource.

 

I WILL GRADE YOU ON THE FOLLOWING:

Substance:

• Have you chosen an art-related topic?

• Does your paper have a clear and sufficiently narrow focus?

• Does it include evidence of research?

• Does it contain some of your own thoughts?

• Do you have an introduction and conclusion? Supporting evidence:

• Do you answer questions or explain why you were not able to answer them?

• Do you support points with information and examples?

• Is your information accurate?

• Have you carefully footnoted or end noted direct quotes, information, AND ideas paraphrased from other scholars?

Organization:

• Do you include an introduction and a conclusion?

• Are individual paragraphs well-structured?

• Are paragraphs arranged in logical order?

Mechanics

• Is your writing clear and understandable?

• Grammar and spelling

• Proper format for bibliography and notes

 


SECOND WRITING ASSIGNMENT

 

It is absolutely necessary to learn how to properly cite sources. Failure to document the sources of your information or ideas quoted or paraphrased from other scholars will result in a failing grade on your paper.

Using Quotes: Be careful not to use too many quotes. This is YOUR paper, and you need to write the bulk of it, not just regurgitate the words of other writers. Generally, you only want to quote things that are so eloquently and clearly phrased that paraphrasing it (putting it into your own words) results in a loss of impact. Another occasion to use a quote would be if a renowned scholar or someone close to the artist said something relevant to the argument you are making in your paper. Their words may not be exactly profound, but they are important nonetheless because of who said them. Long quotes (taking up 4 lines or more) should be indented on the left and right margins and should be single-spaced rather than double-spaced.

Titles of Artworks: Remember that titles of artworks, like titles of books, should be italicized.

INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING IN YOUR PAPER:

• One or more illustrations of the art objects.

• Footnotes or end notes

• A bibliography

• Eight or more typewritten, double spaced pages beyond the requirements listed above

I WILL GRADE YOU ON THE FOLLOWING:

Substance:

• Have you chosen an art-related topic?

• Does your paper have a clear and sufficiently narrow focus?

• Does it include evidence of research?

• Does it contain some of your own thoughts?

• Do you have an introduction and conclusion? Supporting evidence:

• Do you answer questions or explain why you were not able to answer them?

• Do you support points with information and examples?

• Is your information accurate?

• Have you carefully footnoted or end noted direct quotes, information, AND ideas paraphrased from other scholars?

Organization:

• Do you include an introduction and a conclusion?

• Are individual paragraphs well-structured?

• Are paragraphs arranged in logical order?

Mechanics

• Is your writing clear and understandable?

• Grammar and spelling

• Proper format for bibliography and notes