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Over his long and continuing career, British artist David Hockney’s style and subject matter have mostly remained consistent and recognizable. But he has demonstrated an amazing range and willingness to experiment with media. Art critic and adviser Judy Pomeranz offers a lavish exploration of Hockney’s remarkable career as a painter, draftsman, printmaker, photographer, designer of stage sets and costumes, and creator of works in digital media. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
The boldly passionate musical and dance form of flamenco casts it spell over aficionados around the world. But new fans might find some of its distinctive features puzzling. Flamenco scholar Nancy G. Heller introduces the basic elements and vocabulary of traditional flamenco music and dance, demystifying and enhancing the experience for audiences. She also traces the innovations explored by its avant-garde performers in the 21st century.
From September to December 1944, American forces clashed with German troops in Hürtgen Forest, a densely wooded region just across the Belgian border. Initially aimed at blocking German reinforcements from moving north against the Allied advance, the battle turned into a grueling 88-day struggle. Historian Christopher Hamner explores the nature of the combat in America’s longest battle, with special attention to its strategic place in the broader offensive against the German Siegfried Line and the psychiatric strains experienced by soldiers over nearly three months of fighting.
Frederic Church, America’s preeminent landscape artist of the 19th century, spent 40 years creating Olana in Hudson, New York, a 250-acre designed landscape in which his family residence and farm were sited and whose panoramic views of the Hudson River Valley and Catskills are integral elements. Carolyn Keogh, director of education and public programs at the Olana Partnership, leads a detailed exploration of the life, career, and inspirations that motivated Church to create this masterwork. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
For Ages 3 to 6. This musical play with a great big heart brings the whole audience into the family with singing, finger play, and call-and response as we all give thanks for being together.
When Europeans and Americans became aware of the exquisite workmanship of Japanese porcelains, bronzes, silks, embroideries, and lacquerware in the 1850s, a cult of emulation and the “Japan craze” began. Former curator Nancy Green discusses the influence of Japanese aesthetics on avant-garde painting and printmaking, in fashionable ceramics and metalwork, and on graphic design, advertising, bookbinding, and illustration. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
While the “New Hollywood” filmmakers of the early 1970s shook up the studio system with pessimistic counterculture films, the nostalgic director Peter Bogdanovich emulated studio productions and legendary Hollywood directors of a bygone era. When his smash hits The Last Picture Show, What’s Up, Doc?, and Paper Moon were followed by a string of critical and commercial failures, journalists and industry rivals went into destructive overdrive to cut the boy wonder down to size. Film historian Max Alvarez argues against Bogdanovich’s so-called decline after Paper Moon and presents bountiful evidence of the stylistic and narrative skill reflected throughout the career of this outstanding filmmaker.
Museum consultant Sabiha Al Khemir discusses how calligraphy occupies a central place in Islamic arts through examples from across media, time, and place. She covers the various facets of calligraphy in form and content from the sacred to the secular, highlighting its aesthetic, symbolic, and metaphysical dimensions and demonstrating the ways in which it carries a profound cultural significance. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
