Looking at Art: Seeing Beneath the Surface

In his book Art As Experience , the philosopher John Dewey suggests that when we look at works of art, “we enter through imagination into other forms of participation.” But how do certain works of art move us? What is it about a particular painting or drawing or photograph that stays in our mind’s eye? Perhaps it is the subject matter—an image that appeals to our emotions or the artist’s story—the circumstances of the work’s creation that excites our interest. Or is it something not readily apparent? Why do other works of art seem removed from our experience or strike some as incomprehensible? Is there a way to enrich and expand our reactions? These are the questions that this art history course will investigate.  By discussing a variety of works by diverse artists such as Agnes Martin, Jackson Pollock, Josef Albers, Mark Rothko, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Delacroix, and Ingres among others, we will seek to develop a deeper and more informed understanding of how a work of art communicates. This in-person includes a field trip to The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

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