Course code: ART270-Selected Topics in Twentieth Century Art

Term and year: Spring 2024

Day and time: Wednesday 11:30 am – 14:15 pm

Instructor: PhDr. Alice Němcová, Ph.D.

Instructor contact: alicenemcova@aauni.edu

Consultation hours: After class

 

Art fee: 1000 CZK

Art fees for this course will be used to cover: class excursions, gallery visits and talks, museum entrances, guest lectures.

 

 

Credits US/ECTS	3/6	Level	Introductory
Length	15 weeks	Pre-requisite	None
Contact hours	42 hours	Course type	VA Required, HSC Required/Elective, CEA

1.    Course Description

We will be covering various topics from the history of European art of the 20th century during the course. Additionally, there will be excursions to gallery and museum institutions in Prague to supplement the lectures.

2.    Student Learning Outcomes

It is important for students to have the ability to independently navigate a basic overview of 20th century art history. This includes being able to differentiate between various artistic trends, such as modern art, pre-war avant-garde, and inter-war art. Additionally, gaining insight into the possibilities of artistic development after the Second World War is crucial. By understanding these concepts, students can develop a deeper appreciation for the evolution of art throughout the 20th century.

3.    Reading Material

·         Lahoda Vojtěch - Uhrová Olga,Vincenc Kramář : from the old masters to Picasso : National Gallery in Prague, Collection of Modern and Contemporary art - Veletržní palác 13.10.2000-28.1.2001, Prague : National Gallery in Prague 2000

·         Dolanská Karolína et al., Modern and Contemporary Czech Art 1890-2010, Prague: National Gallery 2010.

·         Morganová Pavlína, Czech action art : happenings, actions, events, land art, body art and performance art behind the iron curtain, Prague : Karolinum 2014.

·         Morganová Pavlína (ed.), Začátek století = The beginning of the century, Plzeň: Západočeská galerie 2012.

·         Malinowski Jerzy (Hrsg.), History of Art History in Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, 2 Bde., Toruń 2012

·         Bydžovská Lenka - Lahoda Vojtěch - Srp Karel, Czech modern art : 1900-1960 : [catalogue of the modern art collection at the National Gallery in Prague, Prague : National Galery 1995.

·         Musilová Helena (ed.) František Kupka : the road to Amorpha : Kupka’s salons 1899-1913 : [The National Gallery in Prague - The Collection of Modern and Contemporary Art, Salm Palace, November 30, 2012 - March 3, 2013], Prague : National Gallery 2012.

·         Krauss,R. E., The Originality of the Avant-Garde and Other Modernist Myths. Cambridge 1985

·         Krauss, R. E., Passages in modern sculpture. Cambridge 1981

·         Ingo F. Walther, Art of the 20th Century, Taschen, 2017

 

Required Materials

●        Hal Foster, Rosalind Krauss, et al., Art Since 1900

●        Sylvan Barnet, Writing a Review of an Exhibition, in: A Short Guide to Writing about Art, 2005

●        Jessica Sjöholm Skrubbe (ed.), Curating differently: feminism, exhibition and curatorial spaces, Newcastle upon Tyne 2016

Recommended Materials

●        H.H. Arnason, History of Modern Art

●        E.H. Gombrich, The Story of Art

●        Whitney Chadwick, Women, Art, and Society

4.    Teaching methodology

Each session will consist of slide-based lectures, discussions of images and texts, class presentations, as well as excursions to museums, art galleries, and historical sites.

 

5.    Course Schedule

Date	Class Agenda
Session 1 Friday, Feb 2, 2024	Topic: Introduction to the course; Syllabus review Excursion – National Gallery, 1796⁠–⁠1918: Art of the Long Century - Part I Men of 19th century / Trade Fair Palace Description: The exhibition 1796⁠–⁠1918: Art of the Long Century purposefully and naturally connects Czech and international art. The exhibition shows what the National Gallery Prague has amassed in the course of its more than 220-year-long history in the broad context. Reading: Lahoda Vojtěch - Uhrová Olga,Vincenc Kramář : from the old masters to Picasso : National Gallery in Prague, Collection of Modern and Contemporary art - Veletržní palác 13.10.2000-28.1.2001, Prague : National Gallery in Prague 2000
Session 2 Feb 7, 2024	Topic: Lecture – Fauvism and Expressionism / Excursion – National Gallery, 1796⁠–⁠1918: Art of the Long Century – World of 19th century; Historical painting / Trade Fair Palace Description: The exhibition shows more than 450 artworks by 150 artists in three major chapters: Man, The World and Ideas. The exhibition presents painting as well as sculpture. Free sculpture is accompanied by paintings. Public sculpture forms a separate section paraphrasing three basic themes in the sections of Architecture, Monument and Tombstone with respect to a selected approach and availability of the exhibits. Reading: Veronika Hulíková, Otto M. Urban, Filip Wittlich: Art of the long Century, Národní galerie Praha, 1796–1918, 978-80-7035-729-3 Assignments/deadlines: A topic for a class presentation and for the mid-term paper
Session 3 Feb 14, 2024	Topic: Lecture - French and Czech Cubism / Excursion – National Gallery, 1918⁠–⁠1938: First Czechoslovak Republic – Part I Description: The permanent exhibition on the third floor of the Trade Fair Palace was created on the occasion of the hundredth anniversary of the founding of Czechoslovakia. Based on the collections of the National Gallery Prague, complemented with loans from institutions and private collections, the exhibition introduces the rich and cosmopolitan art scene in the young independent Czechoslovakia between 1918 and 1938. Reading: Dolanská Karolína et al., Modern and Contemporary Czech Art 1890-2010 Assignments/deadlines: A topic for a class presentation and for the mid-term paper
Session 4 Feb 21, 2024	Topic: Lecture - Futurism, Rayonism, Lucism / Excursion – National Gallery, 1796⁠–⁠1918: Art of the Long Century – Ideas of 19th century / Trade Fair Palace Description: The exhibition 1796⁠–⁠1918: Art of the Long Century from the NGP collections understands the so-called “long century” in a different way than usual. The difference lies in the dates ⁠–⁠ its beginning is not linked with the events of the French Revolution, but with the birth of the Society of the Patriotic Friends of the Arts on February 5, 1796 in Prague, whose activities were of major importance for the development of fine arts in the Czech Lands. Reading: Alena Pomajzlová: Růžena – Story of the painter Růžena Zátková, Arbor vitae, 2011
Session 5 Feb 28, 2024	Topic: Lecture – Dadaism and Surrealism / Excursion - VILLA BÍLEK František Bílek built his studio villa in the Prague Hradčany Disctrict 1910 and 1911 according to his own plans and design. Description: Bílek was mainly a sculptor and graphic artist, but his religious approach to art gradually steered him towards the need to create complex environments in which his works would find multi-layered function and roles, thus fulfilling Bílekʼs vision of spiritualizing human life. Reading: André Breton, Manifesto of Surrealism, 1924; Lucie Vlčková: Czech Cubism: A Guide to the Permanent Exhibition of the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague, Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague, 2015
Session 6 Mar 6, 2024	Topic: František Kupka and the birth of abstraction / Excursion - The House at the Black Madonna Description: The Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague’s permanent Czech Cubism exhibition presents it as a style that extends across fine art, applied art and architecture. Reading: Musilová Helena (ed.): František Kupka : the road to Amorpha : Kupka’s salons 1899-1913 : [The National Gallery in Prague - The Collection of Modern and Contemporary Art, Salm Palace, November 30, 2012 - March 3, 2013], Prague : National Gallery 2012
Session 7 Mar 13, 2024	Topic: Devětsil and the interwar avant-garde / Excursion - The Museum of Decorative Arts – ART, LIFE Description: ART, LIFE - The permanent exhibition of the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague aims to present a vibrant, multi-dimensional image of European applied arts from the Middle Ages to the 21st century.Reading: Meghan Forbes: Devětsil and Dada: A Poetics of Play in the Interwar Czech Avant-Garde, ARTMargins (2020) 9 (3): p. 7–28.
Session 8 Mar 20, 2024	Topic: Jindřich Štyrský and Toyen / Excursion – National Gallery, 1918⁠–⁠1938: First Czechoslovak Republic – Part II, 1918⁠–⁠1938: First Czechoslovak Republic Description: The exhibition presents the art of the first republic through the eyes of a 1920s and 1930s art goer and introduces prominent galleries, art clubs and institutions, as well as the important cultural centers of the young state. Reading: Anna Pravdová, Annie Le Brun, Annabelle Görgen-Lammers (eds.) The Dreaming Rebel: TOYEN (1902–1980), Národní galerie Praha 2022 Assignments/deadlines: Mid-term paper
	Mid-term break
Session 9 Apr 03, 2024	Topic: Fine art in the Prague metro - a lecture followed by a guided tour Description: During the construction of the first sections of the Prague Metro, between 1966 and 1985, more than a hundred works of art and architectural design found their home on and around its stations. The Metro thus became, in its own way, an exhibition of the art of its time. Prominently featured were artists working with glass and ceramics, although you will also find sculptural works in some of the stations. Reading: Marianne Strom: Metro Art in the Metropolis, Art Creation Realisation 1994
Session 10 Apr 10, 2024	Topic: Informel, Abstract expressionism, Pop art, Minimalism / Excursion – National Gallery, 1939⁠–⁠2021: The End of the Black-and-White Era – Part I Description: The End of the Black-and-White Era is not a comprehensive title for the years 1939⁠–⁠2021 but rather a slogan summarizing an approach that seeks to avoid premature ideological appraisal of the surveyed material from this often-painful time. The aim is to show that art has always included multiple and parallel conceptions of artistic quality. Reading: Ingo F. Walther, Art of the 20th Century, Taschen, 2017
Session 11 Apr 17, 2024	Topic: Viennese Actionism, Body art, Land art / Excursion – National Gallery, 1939⁠–⁠2021: The End of the Black-and-White Era – Part II, Trade Fair Palace Description: The permanent exhibition presents art as testimony of the times: the result of not only purely authorial but also social, political, and economic forces. It consists of more than 300 works solely from the collection of the NGP without any loans. It also offers a methodology that is not based on a hierarchical selection of the very best art, but on an attempt to understand the motives behind what art was being made at the time and why; this is complemented by examples of exhibitions as well as acquisition stories. Reading: Malcolm Green and Hermann Nitsch, et al.: Writings of the Vienna Actionists, Atlas Pr, 1999; Pavlína Morganová: Czech Action Art: Happenings, Actions, Events, Land Art, Body Art and Performance Art Behind The Iron Curtain, Karolinum, 2014
Session 12 Apr 24, 2024	Topic: Final presentations / Excursion – National Gallery, 1956⁠–⁠1989: Architecture for All, Trade Fair Palace Description: The aim of the exhibition is to overcome the binary view of East vs. West, artificially maintained ever since the fall of the Iron Curtain thirty years ago, and to make it comprehensible in a European context. Reading: Helena Huber-Doudová: Modern Woman - Architect, UMPRUM, 2021; Cyril Říha (ed.): Architecture and Czech Politics from the 19th to the 21st centuries, UMPRUM, 2022 Assignments/deadlines: Final presentations and final paper
	May 01 and May 08 – No Class! State Holidays
Session 13 May 15, 2024	Topic: Final presentations and Final test Description: This session will be dedicated to the final presentations and the final test. Reading: Assignments/deadlines: Final presentations and final paper
Session 14 May 22, 2024	Topic: TBA Description: Reading: Assignments/deadlines:

6.    Course Requirements and Assessment (with estimated workloads)

Assignment	Workload (hours)	Weight in Final Grade	Evaluated Course Specific Learning Outcomes	Evaluated Institutional Learning Outcomes*
Class Participation	42	20%	Active participation in class discussions showing knowledge of the topics relevant to the class.
Class Presentation	30	20%	Presentation skills, ability to explain the studied topic to peers, identify key issues, subject knowledge.
Mid-term paper	25	15%	Prepare and present research on a chosen topic.
Final paper	50	25%	Prepare and present research on a chosen topic. Show knowledge of the given subject, an ability to express thoughts in a clear prose, as well as an imagination to accompany the written text with illustrative photographs and pictures.
Final exam	53	20%	Test will be based on information based on discussed topics and excursions.
TOTAL	150	100%

*1 = Critical Thinking; 2 = Effective Communication; 3 = Effective and Responsible Action

1.    Detailed description of the assignments

Assignment:

Assessment breakdown

Assessed area	Percentage
Knowledge and understanding of the topic	40%
Ability to think independently and afresh in regard to a topic at hand	20%
Structure and organization of presentation	20%
Delivery of presentation (visual effectiveness, clarity, impact, etc.)	20%

2.    General Requirements and School Policies

General requirements

All coursework is governed by AAU’s academic rules. Students are expected to be familiar with the academic rules in the Academic Codex and Student Handbook and to maintain the highest standards of honesty and academic integrity in their work.

Electronic communication and submission

The university and instructors shall only use students’ university email address for communication, with additional communication via NEO LMS or Microsoft Teams.

Students sending e-mail to an instructor shall clearly state the course code and the topic in the subject heading, for example, “COM101-1 Mid-term Exam. Question”.

All electronic submissions are through NEO LMS. No substantial pieces of writing (especially take-home exams and essays) can be submitted outside of NEO LMS.

Attendance

Attendance, i.e., presence in class in real-time, at AAU courses is default mandatory; however, it is not graded as such. (Grades may be impacted by missed assignments or lack of participation.) Still, students must attend at least two thirds of classes to complete the course. If they do not meet this condition and most of their absences are excused, they will be administratively withdrawn from the course. If they do not meet this condition and most of their absences are not excused, they will receive a grade of “FW” (Failure to Withdraw). Students may also be marked absent if they miss a significant part of a class (for example by arriving late or leaving early).

Absence excuse and make-up options

Should a student be absent from classes for relevant reasons (illness, serious family matters), and the student wishes to request that the absence be excused, the student should submit an Absence Excuse Request Form supplemented with documents providing reasons for the absence to the Dean of Students within one week of the absence. Each student may excuse up to two sick days per term without any supporting documentation; however, an Absence Excuse Request Form must still be submitted for these instances. If possible, it is recommended the instructor be informed of the absence in advance. Should a student be absent during the add/drop period due to a change in registration this will be an excused absence if s/he submits an Absence Excuse Request Form along with the finalized add/drop form.

 

Students whose absence has been excused by the Dean of Students are entitled to make up assignments and exams provided their nature allows. Assignments missed due to unexcused absences which cannot be made up, may result in a decreased or failing grade as specified in the syllabus.

 

Students are responsible for contacting their instructor within one week of the date the absence was excused to arrange for make-up options.

Late work: No late submissions will be accepted – please follow the deadlines.

Electronic devices

Electronic devices (e.g. phones, tablets, laptops) may be used only for class-related activities (taking notes, looking up related information, etc.). Any other use will result in the student being marked absent and/or being expelled from the class. No electronic devices may be used during tests or exams unless required by the exam format and the instructor.

Eating is not allowed during classes.

Cheating and disruptive behavior

If a student engages in disruptive conduct unsuitable for a classroom environment, the instructor may require the student to withdraw from the room for the duration of the class and shall report the behavior to the student’s Dean.

Students engaging in behavior which is suggestive of cheating will, at a minimum, be warned. In the case of continued misconduct, the student will fail the exam or assignment and be expelled from the exam or class.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism obscures the authorship of a work or the degree of its originality. Students are expected to create and submit works of which they are the author. Plagiarism can apply to all works of authorship – verbal, audiovisual, visual, computer programs, etc. Examples are:

●                    Verbatim plagiarism: verbatim use of another’s work or part of it without proper acknowledgement of the source and designation as a verbatim quotation,

●                    Paraphrasing plagiarism: paraphrasing someone else’s work or part of it without proper acknowledgement of the source,

●                    Data plagiarism: use of other people’s data without proper acknowledgement of the source,

●                    False quotation: publishing a text that is not a verbatim quotation as a verbatim quotation,

●                    Fictious citation: quoting, paraphrasing, or referring to an incorrect or a non-existent work,

●                    Inaccurate citation: citing sources in such a way that they cannot be found and verified,

●                    Ghostwriting: commissioning work from others and passing it off as one’s own,

●                    Patchwriting: using someone else’s work or works (albeit with proper acknowledgement of sources and proper attribution) to such an extent that the output contains almost no original contribution,

●                    Self-plagiarism: unacknowledged reuse of one’s own work (or part of it) that has been produced or submitted as part of another course of study or that has been published in the past,

●                    Collaborative plagiarism: delivering the result of collective collaboration as one’s own individual output.

At minimum, plagiarism will result in a failing grade for the assignment and shall be reported to the student’s Dean. A mitigating circumstance may be the case of novice students, and the benefit of the doubt may be given if it is reasonable to assume that the small-scale plagiarism was the result of ignorance rather than intent. An aggravating circumstance in plagiarism is an act intended to make the plagiarism more difficult to detect. Such conduct includes, for example, the additional modification of individual words or phrases, the creation of typos, the use of machine translation tools or the creation of synonymous text, etc. The Dean may initiate a disciplinary procedure pursuant to the Academic Codex. Intentional or repeated plagiarism always entail disciplinary hearing and may result in expulsion from AAU.

Use of Artificial Intelligence and Academic Tutoring Center

The use of artificial intelligence tools to search sources, to process, analyze and summarize data, and to provide suggestions or feedback in order to improve content, structure, or style, defined here as AI-assisted writing, is not in itself plagiarism. However, it is plagiarism if, as a result, it obscures the authorship of the work produced or the degree of its originality (see the examples above). AAU acknowledges prudent and honest use of AI-assisted writing, that is, the use of AI for orientation, consultation, and practice is allowed. For some courses and assignments, however, the use of AI is counterproductive to learning outcomes; therefore, the course syllabus may prohibit AI assistance. A work (text, image, video, sound, code, etc.) generated by artificial intelligence based on a mass of existing data, defined here as AI-generated work, is not considered a work of authorship. Therefore, if an AI-generated work (e.g. text) is part of the author’s work, it must be marked as AI-generated. Otherwise, it obscures the authorship and/or the degree of originality, and thus constitutes plagiarism. Unless explicitly permitted by the instructor, submission of AI-generated work is prohibited. If unsure about technical aspects of writing, and to improve their academic writing, students are encouraged to consult with the tutors of the AAU Academic Tutoring Center. For more information and/or to book a tutor, please contact the ATC at: http://atc.simplybook.me/sheduler/manage/event/1/.

Course accessibility and inclusion

Students with disabilities should contact the Dean of Students to discuss reasonable accommodations. Academic accommodations are not retroactive.

Students who will be absent from course activities due to religious holidays may seek reasonable accommodations by contacting the Dean of Students in writing within the first two weeks of the term. All requests must include specific dates for which the student requests accommodations.

3.    Grading Scale

Letter Grade	Percentage*	Description
A	95–100	Excellent performance. The student has shown originality and displayed an exceptional grasp of the material and a deep analytical understanding of the subject.
A–	90–94
B+	87–89	Good performance. The student has mastered the material, understands the subject well and has shown some originality of thought and/or considerable effort.
B	83–86
B–	80–82
C+	77–79	Fair performance. The student has acquired an acceptable understanding of the material and essential subject matter of the course, but has not succeeded in translating this understanding into consistently creative or original work.
C	73–76
C–	70–72
D+	65–69	Poor. The student has shown some understanding of the material and subject matter covered during the course. The student’s work, however, has not shown enough effort or understanding to allow for a passing grade in School Required Courses. It does qualify as a passing mark for the General College Courses and Electives.
D	60–64
F	0–59	Fail. The student has not succeeded in mastering the subject matter covered in the course.

* Decimals should be rounded to the nearest whole number.

 

Prepared by: PhDr. Alice Němcová, Ph.D.

Date: December 2023

 

Approved by: Karolina Dolanská

Date: December 2023