Folk Art

Prof. Kay Wells Spring 2017 MW, 2-3:15pm MIT 361 Art History 355: American Folk Art (The Art of Marginalized Americans) “Folk art” is a controversial term because it often marginalizes the work of women, immigrants, people of color, rural inhabitants, and less-educated artists as essentially different, less skilled, or less intellectually engaged than the work of academically trained or avant-garde artists. At the same time, “folk art” can be a useful category for drawing attention to the work of marginalized Americans whose art might not otherwise find an audience. The idea of folk art can also help art feel more accessible to those who are wary of “high” art and its connoisseurship. This class will investigate the history of folk art in America as a term, a practice of collecting and display, and a category of art historical scholarship. It will explore the artistic media and groups of people who have been categorized under folk art and how this categorization has affected the marketability of artists and artworks. Students will be asked to grapple with the label of folk art and related terms such as self-taught art, craft, decorative art, and outsider art. Through museum visits, slide lectures, assigned readings, class presentations, and group discussions, students will learn to analyze works of art within their historical and critical context. Students will gain practical experience writing catalogue entries, exhibition reviews, and conference papers, and writing assignments will foster skills in close looking, scholarly research, and critical thinking. Office Hours and Email My office hours are 1-2pm on Mondays and by appointment, in Mitchell 147B. Each student is required to come to office hours at least once to discuss the rough draft of your final paper, and I recommend that you make additional visits to discuss other assignments. I can be reached via email at wellsk@uwm.edu. I cannot answer all email immediately, but I will generally respond within 24 hours during regular business hours (M-F, 9am-5pm). Grading The grade breakdown is as follows: Class Participation: 20% Readings and Posts: 20% Exhibition review: 20% Catalogue entry: 10% Paper: 30% This course uses the following grading scale: 94-100 = A 74-76 = C 90-93 = A- 70-73 = C- 87-89 = B+ 67-69 = D+ 84-86 = B 64-66 = D 80-83 = B- 60-63 = D- 77-79 = C+ Below 60 = F Time Requirement All UWM course syllabi are required to include a clear indication of the number of hours a student is expected to spend to complete the class. The expected minimum number of hours spent by students in this class is as follows: Classroom Lecture and Discussion: 30 hours Reading: 36 hours Paper Research and Writing: 78 hours Total: 144 hours Readings and Posts Students should access the course D2L site for course readings, Powerpoints, assignments, and announcements. All readings will be available on D2L. Before each class meeting, students must complete the assigned readings and post a relevant artwork, image, object, video, website, or article to the D2L discussion forum. Students do not need to explain their posts online but should be prepared to discuss their posts and the assigned readings in class. Exhibition Review Students will write a 1,000-word (4-page) review of the exhibition Nature and Opulence: Martin Johnson Heade at the Milwaukee Art Museum. The exhibition features the work of self-taught artist Martin Johnson Heade and is running until February 26, 2017. Students are responsible for describing, analyzing, and evaluating the exhibition. The exhibition review is worth 20% of your final grade and will be graded according to the following rubric. Exhibition Review Rubric Provided appropriate background and factual information 5 pts Articulated a thesis about the exhibition’s significance 5 pts Supported thesis and value judgments with evidence from the exhibition 5 pts Writing style (proper length, tone, and proofreading) 5 pts Total: 20 pts Catalogue Entry UWM has an excellent collection of folk art, and students will have the opportunity to work directly with the collection by completing a catalogue entry for an individual object. Students are responsible for collecting all available identifying information for the work of art, fully describing it, and articulating the work’s significance for a general audience. Catalogue entries will be no more than 500 words. They are worth 10% of your final grade and will be graded according to the following rubric. Catalogue Entry Rubric Fully described the work 3 pts Articulated the significance of the work 3 pts Included all available information 2 pts Proper writing style 2 pts Total 10 pts Paper Students will complete a 1,500-word paper (5-7 double-spaced pages) on an object or set of objects of their choice. Students will use the paper to argue for or against the notion of “folk art” as a useful way of interpreting their chosen object. What does the label “folk art” highlight, and what does it obscure? Would this object be studied and enjoyed if not for the market for folk art? Is there a more useful way to categorize or consider this object? Students may also consider related terms such as craft, self-taught art, decorative art or outsider art. Graduate students taking the class for graduate credit will write a longer paper (7-10 double-spaced pages) and will also present their paper in class in a 20-minute, conference style presentation. All students must meet with me at least one week before the final paper is due (by Wednesday, May 3rd) to discuss a rough draft of their paper. Students may drop in on office hours (Mondays 1-2pm) or set up another time to meet about their rough drafts. Meeting with me and incorporating my feedback into your final paper is worth 10% of your final grade. In total, papers are worth 30% of your final grade and will be graded according to the following rubric. Paper Rubric Turned in rough draft and met with instructor to discuss it 5 pts Successfully incorporated feedback from rough draft 5 pts Argument was clear 5 pts Argument was well supported 5 pts Evidence of research and analysis 5 pts Proper length and writing style 5 pts Total: 30 pts Attendance and Late Policies Roll will be taken at every class meeting. Each student can miss up to three class meetings without penalty, and students do not need to explain their absences. This course does not grant excused absences, as every absence has adverse consequences due to missed instruction. MORE THAN THREE ABSENCES from class will result in an automatic F grade. Some classes meet at the Milwaukee Art Museum and the Milwaukee Public Museum, but attendance at these classes is just as mandatory as for any other class period, and missing a museum tour will count as a class absence. If long-term absences are due to any excusable circumstances, such as military deployment or illness (including mental illness), please meet with me to discuss your options for continuing the course. Late work will not be accepted. However, students may ask for extensions in advance if they can demonstrate need. University Policies For information regarding students with disabilities, religious observances, students called to active military duty, incompletes, discriminatory conduct, academic misconduct, complaint procedures, grade appeal procedures, and final exam requirements, please visit http://www4.uwm.edu/secu/SyllabusLinks.pdf Schedule of Class Meetings Jan 23. Introduction: Why folk art? Elizabeth Stillinger, “The Folk Art Idea,” in A Kind of Archeology: Collecting American Folk Art, 1876-1976, 3-51. Jan 25. Collecting Avis Berman, “Uncommon Women and the Art of the Common Man: The Role of Women in the Discovery, Promotion, and Collecting of American Folk Art,” in A Shared Legacy: Folk Art in America, 35-57 Jan 30. Index of American Design Virginia Tuttle Clayton, “Picturing a ‘Usable Past’,” in Drawing on America’s Past: Folk Art, Modernism, and the Index of American Design, 1-43. Feb 1. The Art of Young Ladies Mirra Bank, Anonymous Was a Woman, 9-124. Feb 6. Portraits Richard Miller, “A Distinction without a Difference: The Art of American Folk Art,” in A Shared Legacy: Folk Art in America, 15-31 Feb 8. Sculpture Ralph Sessions, “Rising to the Dignity of Art: Figure Carving as Public Sculpture in Nineteenth-Century America,” in A Shared Legacy: Folk Art in America, 81-93. Feb 13. The Shakers Jo Lauria and Steve Fenton, “Religious Communities and the Honoring of the Handmade,” in Craft in America: Celebrating Two Centuries of Artists and Objects, Feb 15. No Class, research day Feb 20. The Pennsylvania Germans Cynthia G. Falk and Lisa Minardi, “Pennsylvania, German, and Beyond” in A Shared Legacy: Folk Art in America, 61-77 Feb 22. Class meets at Milwaukee Art Museum Tour of Nature and Opulence: The Art of Martin Johnson Heade Feb 27. Workshop Exhibition Reviews (exhibition closes Feb 26) Mar 1. Quilts Teri Klassen, “Representations of African American Quiltmaking: From Omission to High Art,” The Journal of American Folklore 122, no. 485 (Summer 2009): 297-334. Mar 6. Modernism Elizabeth Stillinger, “Folk Art and Modern Art,” in A Kind of Archeology, 145-153 Exhibition reviews due (exhibition closes Feb 26) Mar 8. Native American Art Sascha Scott, “Awa Tsireh and the Art of Subtle Resistance,” The Art Bulletin 95, no. 4 (Dec 2013): 597-622. Mar 13. Craft Jo Lauria and Steve Fenton, “Introduction: The Evolution of American Crafts,” in Craft in America: Celebrating Two Centuries of Artists and Objects, 13-38. Mar 15. Grandma Moses Michael D. Hall, “Picturing Myth and Meaning for a Culture of Change,” and Judith E. Stein, “The White-Haired Girl: A Feminist Reading,” in Grandma Moses in the 21st Century, 30-63. Mar 20-22. No Class: Spring Break Mar 27. African American Art Lucy Lippard, “Crossing into Uncommon Grounds,” in Common Ground/Uncommon Vision: The Michael and Julie Hall Collection of American Folk Art, 55-67. Mar 29. Class meets at Milwaukee Art Museum Tour of Chipstone Galleries with curator Sarah Carter Apr 3. Outsider Art Charles G. Zug III, “Folk Art and Outsider Art: A Folklorist’s Perspective,” in The Artist Outsider: Creativity and the Boundaries of Culture, 145-160. Apr 5. Tour UWM Folk Art Collection Choose and research objects for catalogue entries Apr 10 . Workshop Catalogue Entries Apr 12. Veterans’ Art Varick A. Chittenden, Vietnam Remembered: The Folk Art of Marine Combat Veteran Michael D. Cousino, Sr., 9-35 Apr 17. Tattoos Daniel Wojcik, Punk and Neo-Tribal Body Art, 7-36. Catalogue entries due Apr 19. Tour of MAM Folk art collection Apr 24. Outdoor Museums Edward N. Kaufman, “The Architectural Museum from World’s Fair to Restoration Village,” Assemblage 9 (June 1989): 20-39. Apr 26. Fairs Leslie Prosterman, “Introduction” and “Festival of Art and Aesthetics,” in Ordinary Life, Festival Days: Aesthetics in the Midwestern County Fair, 1-13, 184-198. May 1. Class meets at Milwaukee Public Museum Tour of European Village May 3. Photography Catherine Zuromskis, “Ordinary Pictures and Accidental Masterpieces: Snapshot Photography in the Modern Art Museum,” Art Journal 57, no. 2 (Summer 2008): 104-125. Deadline to meet about your paper rough draft (worth 10% of final grade) May 8. Folk Art in Popular Culture “Ceci N’est Pas Une King of the Hill,” King of the Hill, Season 8, Episode 9 “Mom and Pop Art,” The Simpsons, Season 10, Episode 19 “Lisa the Drama Queen,” The Simpsons, Season 20, Episode 9 May 10. To Folk Art or Not to Folk Art? Jeffrey R. Hayes, “De-Fining Art History: The Hall Collection of American Folk Art,” in Common Ground/Uncommon Vision: The Michael and Julie Hall Collection of American Folk Art, Kenneth L. Ames, “Folk Art and Cultural Values,” in Common Ground/Uncommon Vision, Final Papers Due Graduate student presentations 6