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Art History: Fall Classes
Call (408) 247-9340 or email education@tritonmuseum.org for information and registration.
In this eight-week course we will explore the great art, literature, music, science, and ideas that attempted to explain the world and humanity's place in it, and how they defined the cultures in which they were created. We will explore the differences and the similarities that persist into the present day. Classes will be offered Thursday evenings, beginning October 1, 2009, and will be taught by Art Historian and Curator, Preston Metcalf of the Triton Museum. Those familiar with Mr. Metcalf's engaging and entertaining teaching style know that you can expect more than just names and dates … he will escort you on a journey through time as you explore some of the greatest art and ideas ever conceived.
Art, Metaphor and Belief
Thursday evenings 7:00pm - 8:30pm, 8 week session,Oct. 1 to Nov. 19, 2009 Full session: $105 TMA Members; $115 General; Drop-in Fee $20 per lecture
A Dawning in the Caves
More than 30,000 years ago a primitive world saw an outburst of creativity, preserved for millennia in remote caves. Archaeologists, historians, and scientists have pieced together a remarkably complex culture in which art, music, and psychology established traditions that informed societies, cultures, art, and belief systems from that time forth.
Tribes and Traditions
From ancient times to the present, tribal societies have centered themselves on an array of mythic traditions and beliefs. Through their art, music, and oral recitations we see, however, noticeably consistent themes that transcend all geographic boundaries and developments.
The Foundations of Civilization
From the Epic of Gilgamesh to the deity-laden cosmos of the Egyptians, the world's earliest civilizations formalized the ancient traditions and then transformed them through art, literature, and religion to meet the needs of a new way of living. Changes in lifestyle, from hunter-gatherer societies to agricultural and herding civilizations resulted in a shift of beliefs and subsequently a new emphasis in art.
A Cultural Flowering East of Suez
As civilization flourished in the Indus Valley, a diversity of traditions arose to preserve and celebrate the metaphors of the transcendent. The creation of Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism lead to exquisite works of art and ways of explaining the universe quite unlike the emphasis on dualities that would be experienced in the West.
Rise of the Star, Cross and Crescent
In the Levant were born the West's three great religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Monotheism would define art, literature, and culture and would influence the way we see the world. With this new vision, metaphors would become regarded as history, visionary art as portrayal of fact.
Love and the Return of the Goddess
Troubadours of the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries sang a new song, ushering in the age of amour. The great romances of Tristan and Isolde, Parzival, and the Arthurian legends redefined the West's concept of love and paralleled the creation of towering cathedrals and images of Mary, the new Queen of Heaven.
The Invention of the Human
It was an age of Giants. Leonardo, Michelangelo, Shakespeare, Cervantes, and Galileo were but a few who nurtured the Renaissance and gave the world a new sense of identity … the fully realized human
A View of Everything
As one century ended and a new one began, artists from Manet to Picasso changed the way we see the world. Like the novels of James Joyce and Thomas Mann, the psychology of Freud and Jung, and the revolutionary physics of Einstein, this new art portrayed the complexities of humanity and our understanding of it in an ever-expanding universe, while at the same time continuing traditions that began more than 30,000 years ago.
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