Todd Anderson, Sandow Birk, Jeff Brouws, Ginny Brush, Wendy Burton, Hilary Brace, Nell Campbell, Robbie Conal, Bob DeBris, Ann Diener, Linda Ekstrom, David Gilhooly, Howard Finster, Julia Ford, Colin Fraser Gray, Rollin Fortier, Marlin Garien, Dane Goodman, Penelope Gottlieb, Lily Guild, Philip Guston, Nathan Hayden, Mary Heebner, the Huichol people, Patricia Hedrick, Neal Izumi, James Harold Jennings, Susan Jørgensen, Philip Koplin, Dan LeVin, Holly Mackay, Hugh Margerum, Penny Mast McCall, Wayne McCall, Virginia McCracken, Barbara Parmet, Jens Pedersen, Rafael Perea de la Cabada, Gail Pine, Fran Puccinelli, Harry Reese & Sandra Liddell Reese, Richard Ross, Alison Saar, Marie Schoeff, Judith Scott, Tom Stanley, Nicole Strasburg, Joan Tanner, Masami Teraoka, Wayne Thiebaud, Susan Tibbles, Richard Tullis, Dug Uyesaka, Beatrice Wood, Seyburn Zorthian
Saturday, November 2, 2024
UCSB AD&A Museum Field Trip to POOCH: The Art Full Life of Keith Julius Puccinelli Exhibition on Wednesday, November 13 at 9:30AM
EXTRA ART 1A ASSIGNMENTS TO CLEAR UNEXCUSED ABSENCES
If you have missed a lot of classes, with unexcused absences throughout the quarter, then you should do these assignments to clear them. As you know, 5 or more unexcused absences will result in failing the class. However, if you had emergencies, and can provide me with a note from your doctor, from Student Health, or from your CAPS, DSP, CARE Counselor (for the specific dates in question)– then those absences will be excused. These are not extra credit assignments to improve your grade. These papers are due no later than Friday, December 6th by 1:00 PM. Submit them to your TA.
Please note: If you did not go on the museum field trips, or the alternate museum field trip, then you have 2 unexcused absences for each of the trips, and you will also be missing the graded weekly assignment those weeks.
Monday, October 28, 2024
FICTIONAL & DOCUMENTARY SPACE: JEAN RENOIR'S RULES OF THE GAME
This week we will be exploring Vivian Sobchack's discussion about the real and the irreal in her essay, "On the Death of a Rabbit in Fictional Space: Extra-textual Knowledge and Documentary Consciousness."
Considered one of the greatest films ever made, The Rules of the Game (La règle du jeu), by Jean Renoir, is a scathing critique of corrupt French society cloaked in a comedy of manners in which a weekend at a marquis’ country château lays bare some ugly truths about a group of haut bourgeois acquaintances. The film has had a tumultuous history: it was subjected to cuts after the violent response of the premiere audience in 1939, and the original negative was destroyed during World War II; it wasn’t reconstructed until 1959. That version, which has stunned viewers for decades, is presented here.
The son of the great impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Jean Renoir was also a master of his medium: cinema. After making his mark in the early thirties with two very different films, the anarchic send-up of the bourgeoisie Boudu Saved from Drowning and the popular-front Gorky adaptation The Lower Depths, Renoir closed out the decade with two critical humanistic studies of French society that routinely turn up on lists of the greatest films ever made: Grand Illusion and The Rules of the Game (the former was celebrated in its time, but the latter was trashed by critics and audiences—until history provided vindication). After a brief, unfulfilling Hollywood stint during World War II, Renoir traveled to India to make his first Technicolor film, The River, and then returned to Europe in the early fifties to direct three visually dazzling explorations of theater, The Golden Coach, French Cancan, and Elena and Her Men. Renoir persisted in his cinematic pursuits until the late sixties, when, after the completion of The Little Theater of Jean Renoir, a collection of three short films, he decided to dedicate himself solely to writing, leaving the future of the medium to those who looked to him in reverence.
Vivian Sobchack's essay isn't an in-depth analysis about the narrative cycle in Jean Renoir's Rules of the Game, but instead it explores the way in which there is a disruptive collision between the real and the irreal within the space of this fictional movie. She posits that this very disruption prevents the spectator from re-engaging in the immersive experience of the fiction once they recognize that real deaths occurred in the service of the fiction. While the real deaths are birds and rabbits– instead of people– does this shift the way that you respond to the film?
What is the irreal, about which Sobchack speaks? How would you define the irreal or irreality? How does the irreal differ from the real?
The Irreal: The best way to contextualize the irreal is that it is an illusion of reality created within a fiction, and that it takes its cues from the real world. In other words, it is a fiction that looks like reality, and such a device is a very useful tool in film because it creates a cohesive space within the fiction that allows the spectator to temporarily suspend their disbelief in order to engage in the immersive space of the narrative.
In Rules of the Game the irreal is the fictional story that is being told and the real refers to the death of the rabbits and birds that were actually killed in the hunt scene that you will watch below.
Sobchack argues that once we understand that these real animals were actually killed in the service of this fictional story that the space of the fiction is forever ruptured and cannot be repaired. She claims that the subsequent actions in the fiction, and the eventual death of a character in the film, which is foreshadowed by the deaths of the animals, become irrelevant. Thus, the death of the irreal person (a character in the film) is displaced by the real deaths of animals. Therefore, the irreal death is overtaken in importance by the real deaths of the rabbits, and as a result the seamless space of the fiction is broken.
Questions to ask yourself while viewing the clip of the hunting scene:
1) Does the fact that these deaths occurred 85 years ago in any way desensitize your response?
2) Does knowing that these animals actually died in the service of this film shift the way that you respond to the scene?
3) While reading Sobchack's essay, one has the impression that only a single rabbit died– when in fact it is clear that many rabbits and birds died in this hunting scene. Is there a singular moment to which she appears to be referring? If so, identify it and the precise moment in the clip (cite the time- i.e.: Renoir, 01:15 - 02:00).
4) Do you agree with the premise of Sobchack's argument after watching the scene to which she refers? Why, or why not?
Sunday, October 27, 2024
Thursday, October 10, 2024
Mechanics of a Formal Research Paper & Scholarly Research Training Workshops
Mechanics of a Formal Research Workshop: Monday, October 21 at 9:30 in lecture.
Scholarly Research Training Workshop: Wednesday, October 23 at 9:30 in lecture with Heather Nisen.
hnisen@ucsb.edu
http://guides.library.ucsb.edu/art1a
Paper Format (PAPER TOPIC HERE):
QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF WHEN WRITING & EDITING YOUR PAPER:
1) Do I have the proper number of citations and sources?
2) Did I properly format my citations using MLA or Chicago?
3) Do I have a properly formatted formal bibliography?
4) Did I adhere to the proper paper length?
5) Do I have a clear, and specific thesis statement?
6) Does my thesis statement specifically relate to the final draft of my paper?
7) Did I run spell check (repeatedly)?
8) Did I carefully edit to make sure that I used proper grammar, and were my tenses consistent?
9) Did I formulate clear arguments and substantiate all of my claims with clear and concrete examples?
10) Did I avoid sweeping generalizations and vague assertions?
11) Did I use casual colloquial language in my formal research paper? If so, find more precise ways to describe the point being made.
12) Did I use scholarly research sources such as peer-reviewed journal articles, scholarly articles and books rather than sources such as blogs, Wikipedia, encyclopedias etc (that are not acceptable sources for a formal research paper).
13) Did I properly cite quotes and summaries of other people's intellectual property (footnotes and in-text citations)?
14) Did I avoid excessive biographical information about the artist? Instead I should only include biographical information that is directly relevant to their artistic practice.
15) Would anyone reading my paper understand what I am trying to convey, or do I need to more clearly define the scope of my research and ultimately the point of my paper?
16) Did I place the pictures at the end of my paper? If I embedded them in the text, I need to remove them and place them at the end of my paper.
17) Did I remember to put my name, perm number and section time on my paper?
18) Did I remember to frequently save, backup and email drafts of my paper to myself (just in case my computer crashes)?
19) When I had questions, or needed help, did I reach out to my TA, professor or CLAS?
GENERAL TIPS ON WRITING YOUR PAPER:
1) The selection of a good thesis and supporting examples is an important part of producing a good paper. Be selective. The paper is about how to look closely at works of art and how your evaluation of objects and images is expanded by the specific context in which they are presented.
2) Write primarily with nouns and verbs. Avoid unnecessary (especially vague and imprecise) adjectives and adverbs.
3) Revise and rewrite. Proofread your work. Do not rely solely on "spell check."
4) Use the dictionary to refer to words you do not fully understand.
5) Do not overstate, or excessively use qualifiers (such as very, rather, little, etc.).
6) Use orthodox diction and accurate spelling. ("Its" is possessive; "It's" is a contraction for "it is," "Its' " doesn't exist. "Their" is possessive, "They're" is a contraction of "they are," There is declarative).
7) Be clear. Make references clearly. (Do not use the word "this" as the subject of a sentence).
8) Do not let your opinions get in the way of your writing.
9) Avoid using Wikipedia, blogs, newspaper articles and other materials that are not scholarly. These ARE NOT research materials for a formal research paper.
10) Get to the point quickly. Concentrate on quality of writing not quantity of words.
11) For help with formatting MLA and Chicago citations, visit Purdue Owl: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/purdue_owl.html
For help writing the paper contact CLAS at 893-3269. They have a writing lab that will help you with papers, and will even proofread your papers. They also offer help specifically to students for whom English is a second language. CLAS site: http://www.clas.sa.ucsb.edu/
Wednesday, August 7, 2024
Welcome to Art 1A Fall 2024
Hello everyone,
Welcome to Art 1A: Visual Literacy! I wanted to reach out to let you know that everything that you need to know about Art 1A will be posted here on the Art 1A website, not on Canvas, but your Teaching Assistants may opt to use Canvas. Please read everything carefully, I will go over this information in class when we meet, and I will answer any questions that you may have.Art 1A lectures and sections will be taught in-person. However, the first lecture, on Monday, September 30 will be taught via Zoom. Zoom link: https://ucsb.zoom.us/j/83111992304
Please fill out the Art 1A Questionnaire (HERE), and return it to me and your TA ASAP. This will help us get to know you, and it will also let us know whether you are having any technology issues. You can find our contact information HERE.
Museum Field Trips for Art 1A Fall 2024
This quarter we have two spectacular field trips planned. Our first field trip is to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and the second field trip is to the Getty Center. There are simply too many important exhibitions between these two museums, and therefore we will have two field trips. These field trips are all day events, and they are in lieu of the lectures that week. If you are unable to go to the Getty Center or LACMA, there is an alternative field trip for you to attend on your own during the week of our LACMA or Getty Trips. The alternative trip is to the Santa Barbara Museum of Art (details below). You must attend one of the Los Angeles field trips, and can do the other in Santa Barbara, if you can't make the trip to LA twice. It is preferable that you attend both Los Angeles field trips.
PLEASE FILL OUT ALL THREE OF THE LIABILITY WAIVERS ASAP:
All three liability waivers are in this one link. Be sure to sign and date all three, and you must use your first and last name. Link HERE.
A FEW TIPS TO PREPARE FOR OUR FIELD TRIPS:
FIELD TRIP #1: LACMA ON SATURDAY, OCTOBER 19
FIELD TRIP #2: THE GETTY CENTER ON SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 9
MANDATORY LIABILITY WAIVERS (PLEASE FILL OUT ALL OF THEM TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR ALL OF THE FIELD TRIPS):
All three liability waivers are in this one link: HERE. Be sure to sign and date all three.
Students must submit the liability waiver forms for each trip, and will not receive free admission without them. If you show up to the museum without having done this, you will have to pay full admission and you will not legally be recognized as part of the UCSB Department of Art field trip. If you have difficulty filling out your DocuSign Liability Waiver, then email your professor and our Undergraduate Advisor, Hannah Vainstein: arts-undergraduate@ucsb.edu.
FIELD TRIP #1 ON SATURDAY, OCTOBER 19: LACMA AT 12:00PM:
Students must submit the liability waiver form, and will not receive free admission to LACMA without it. If you show up to the museum without having done this, you will have to pay full admission and you will not legally be recognized as part of the UCSB Department of Art field trip. If you have difficulty filling out your DocuSign Liability Waiver, then email your professor and our Undergraduate Advisor, Hannah Vainstein: arts-undergraduate@ucsb.edu.
LACMA FIELD TRIP:
One of the important exhibitions we will be viewing is Simone Leigh, and it is worth the drive alone!
MEETING AT LACMA:
1130 State Street
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
Phone: 805.963.4364
@sbmuseart
Tues - Sun 11 am - 5 pm
Thurs 11 am - 8 pm
Closed Mondays and holidays
1200 Getty Center Dr.
Los Angeles, CA 90049
Parking and Transportation Information HERE