12/11/10 Art History I

Today's Class- Today we finished our study of non western art, with a review of the art and architecture of the Americas and Ancient Africa. The class filled out the course evaluation forms, turned in the first part of the take home final, their current events journals, and any extra credit assignments. I also went through a brief history of printmaking that included Japanese, Northern Renaissance, and 20th and 21st century woodcut prints.

Important Concepts-

*Despite having no connection with the civilized peoples of the Old World, the ancient residents of the Americas managed to independently develop forms of agriculture, written language, complex mathematics, calendars, astronomy, monumental architecture, metallurgy, ceramics, and weaving, while creating an aesthetic that was unlike anything found on the other side of the world.

*Although there aren't many surviving artifacts, there is evidence that ancient civilizations from sub-Saharan Africa did create sophisticated artworks in a variety of media.

Homework- If you turned in everything you were supposed to today, you have no homework. If you didn't, the take home and journal can be brought next week for reduced/partial credit.

For next class 12/18/10- Our final class meeting. I'll be returning and briefly reviewing all the materials turned in today, and then the class will take the second part of the open book final, dealing with non-western art. Bring your notebook and all 3 of your textbooks, as questions may require you to reference the chapters that we covered earlier in the semester.