Modern Art & Ideas

About this course: Welcome to Modern Art & Ideas! This course is designed to help anyone interested in learning more about modern and contemporary art. Themes can provide an effective structure for engaging with art. In this course, you will explore four themes that educators at The Museum of Modern Art use frequently in their teaching: Places & Spaces, Art & Identity, Transforming Everyday Objects, and Art & Society. Through videos, slideshows, and a variety of resources, readings, and activities, you will explore the content and context of works of art in MoMA’s collection. Learners will… - Explore works of modern and contemporary art through a variety of accessible and relevant themes. - Hear directly from artists about their ideas and processes. - Gain exposure to a range of digital resources available for continually engaging with works of art.

Who is this class for: This course is designed for anyone who would like to learn more about modern and contemporary art and to develop skills for closer looking. No prior knowledge of art history or museum-based teaching practice is required. Please note: If you're a classroom teacher or an educator working in an informal setting and you would like to learn about modern and contemporary art while developing pedagogical skills, we recommend you instead take the course Art & Ideas: Teaching Through Themes.

Created by:  The Museum of Modern Art

• Taught by:  Lisa Mazzola, Assistant Director, School and Teacher Programs

  Department of Education

Commitment 5 weeks of study, 2 hours per week Language English, Subtitles: Italian How To Pass Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. User Ratings 4.6 stars Average User Rating 4.6See what learners said Coursework

Each course is like an interactive textbook, featuring pre-recorded videos, quizzes and projects.

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Connect with thousands of other learners and debate ideas, discuss course material, and get help mastering concepts.

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The Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art is a place that fuels creativity, ignites minds, and provides inspiration. With extraordinary exhibitions and the world's finest collection of modern and contemporary art, MoMA is dedicated to the conversation between the past and the present, the established and the experimental. Our mission is helping you understand, enjoy, and use the art of our time.

Syllabus


WEEK 1


Module 1: Introduction to Modern Art & Ideas
Be introduced to some of the overall benefits of studying modern and contemporary art through accessible and relevant themes.


1 video, 2 readings expand

1. Reading: 1.1 Introduction to Modern Art & Ideas
2. Video: 1.2 Introduction to Modern Art & Ideas
3. Reading: 1.3 Required Readings & Additional Resources

WEEK 2


Module 2: Places & Spaces
Discover some of the many ways that artists represent place and take inspiration from their environment.


10 videos, 3 readings expand

1. Reading: 2.1 Introduction to Places & Spaces
2. Video: 2.2 Places & Spaces
3. Slideshow: 2.3 Slideshow
4. Reading: 2.3 Slideshow [Mobile-Friendly Version]
5. Video: 2.4 Vincent van Gogh. The Starry Night. 1889
6. Video: 2.5 Piet Mondrian. Broadway Boogie Woogie. 1942–43
7. Video: 2.6 Gordon Matta-Clark. Bingo. 1974
8. Video: 2.7 Andrew Wyeth. Christina's World. 1948
9. Video: 2.8 Salvador Dalí. The Persistence of Memory. 1931
10. Video: 2.9 Claude Monet. Water Lilies. 1914–26
11. Video: 2.10 Rachel Whiteread. Water Tower. 1998
12. Video: 2.11 Edward Hopper. House By the Railroad. 1925
13. Video: 2.12 Louis I. Kahn. Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Capital of Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh (Study for National Assembly Building). 1962–83
14. Reading: 2.13 Required Readings & Additional Resources

Graded: Quiz

WEEK 3


Module 3: Art & Identity
See how artists create works of art to express, explore, and question identity.


7 videos, 3 readings expand

1. Reading: 3.1 Introduction to Art & Identity
2. Video: 3.2 Art & Identity
3. Slideshow: 3.3 Slideshow
4. Reading: 3.3 Slideshow [Mobile-Friendly Version]
5. Video: 3.4 Frida Kahlo. Self-Portait with Cropped Hair. 1940
6. Video: 3.5 Andy Warhol. Gold Marilyn Monroe. 1962
7. Video: 3.6 Pablo Picasso. Girl before a Mirror. 1932
8. Video: 3.7 Marc Chagall. I and the Village. 1911
9. Video: 3.8 Henri Matisse. The Red Studio. 1911
10. Video: 3.9 Rineke Dijkstra. Almerisa series. 1994–2008
11. Reading: 3.10 Required Readings & Additional Resources

Graded: Quiz

WEEK 4


Module 4: Transforming Everyday Objects
Discover how artists use everyday objects to challenge assumptions about what constitutes art and how it should be made. Explore a variety of artistic and design choices, and the creative acts of inventing and transforming everyday objects.


9 videos, 3 readings expand

1. Reading: 4.1 Introduction to Transforming Everyday Objects
2. Video: 4.2 Transforming Everyday Objects
3. Slideshow: 4.3 Slideshow
4. Reading: 4.3 Slideshow [Mobile-Friendly Version]
5. Video: 4.4 Marcel Duchamp. Bicycle Wheel. 1913
6. Video: 4.5 Robert Rauschenberg. Bed. 1955
7. Video: 4.6 Meret Oppenheim. Object. 1936
8. Video: 4.7 Décolletage Plastique Design Team. Bic Cristal® Ballpoint pen. 1950
9. Video: 4.8 Louise Nevelson. Sky Cathedral. 1958
10. Video: 4.9 Mike Kelley. Untitled. 1990
11. Video: 4.10 Jessica Rosenkrantz, Jesse Louis-Rosenberg. Kinematics Dress. 2013
12. Video: 4.11 Doris Salcedo. Atrabilious. 1992–93
13. Reading: 4.12 Required Readings & Additional Resources

Graded: Quiz

WEEK 5


Module 5: Art & Society
Explore works of art created in response to the social, cultural, and political issues of their time. Gain a deeper understanding of history and contemporary society. Be encouraged to think critically about world events and how they are depicted.


8 videos, 4 readings expand

1. Reading: 5.1 Introduction to Art & Society
2. Video: 5.2 Art & Society
3. Slideshow: 5.3 Slideshow
4. Reading: 5.3 Slideshow [Mobile-Friendly Version]
5. Video: 5.4 Dorothea Lange. Migrant Mother. 1936
6. Video: 5.5 Felix Gonzales-Torres. Untitled (Perfect Lovers). 1991
7. Video: 5.6 Jacob Lawrence. Migration Series. 1940–41
8. Video: 5.7 Martha Rosler. House Beautiful (Bringing the War Home). 1967-72
9. Video: 5.8 Jasper Johns. Flag. 1954-55
10. Video: 5.9 Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Street, Dresden. 1908
11. Video: 5.10 Shahzia Sikander. Candied. 2003
12. Reading: 5.11 Required Readings & Additional Resources
13. Reading: Funding & Credits

Graded: Quiz
Graded: Peer Review