Pepon Osorio, "My Beating Heart." (2002)   
Pepon Osorio, My Beating Heart. (2002) Mixed media.


Art in the Americas: Indigenous Identity, Mestizaje, and Cultural Hybridity

Syllabus, Fall Quarter, 2003

Faculty: 

Gail Tremblay Office: Seminar 3172, Mail stop: 3127, Ext. 6334. Tel.: 943-8727 

mailto: tremblag@evergreen.edu

Ellen Fernandez-Sacco Office: SEM 3167, Mail Stop: 3127, Ext. 5442.  

mailto: fernande@evergreen.edu


Program Description:

This program is designed to allow students to combine the study of art history and visual culture with the study of techniques for creating works in the visual arts. Students will examine art in the Americas with a focus on the works of artists in the United States and Mexico. We will explore the ways art has been shaped by issues of cultural identity, with particular attention to the dynamics that exist between people in indigenous nations and settler states. We will examine patterns of cultural interchange. We will also explore the mixing of cultures that result from immigration and intercultural encounters, and their effects on the development of certain American aesthetics. This exploration will include an analysis of colonialism and its impact on cultural production. Students will be expected to create individual and collaborative works of art that grow out of personal identity and theories developed as part of this program.


Students will be required to design individual and collaborative mixed media, installation and/or performance work that examines their location within their culture. They will also be asked to work with other students to explore cultural interchange as part of a collaborative art project. Students will also be required to write three, six and twelve page papers and to keep an intellectual journal in which they write about the readings and films in preparation for seminar.  During the third week of Fall quarter, students will take a field trip to the Makah Nation in Neah Bay, WA.


In Winter Quarter, students have the opportunity to travel for six weeks in Mexico where they will visit museums, galleries and architectural sites. There they will be able to discuss the themes of the program with established Mexican artists and their students in various universities and art schools. Students will also have the chance to immerse themselves in various facets of Mexican culture, including examining the role played by indigenous cultures within Mexico. Students wishing to go to Mexico must pay a $150 deposit by 5 December 2003. The trip is dependent on having a minimum of 15 students signed up to travel.


Credit will be awarded to students completing the assigned work in American Art History, Indigenous art history, Mexican art history, mixed media, installation and performance art, cultural studies and art criticism.


Total Credits: 16 credits per quarter

home    textbooks     program schedule   assignments     
weekly schedule      links


Required Texts:

¥:      On Reserve in the Evergreen Library
        Note: Because of Copyright Permission related issues,
                 there are a small number of readings placed on Reserve in the Library.

    Available in the Evergreen Bookstore: 

Program Schedule:

Mondays
Lecture: 11 AM-1PM, Lab II Rm. 2223
Studio and Woodshop: Class will divide into two Groups: Group One & Group Two.
            After week one, half will work in the woodshop from 1:30PM to 3:30 PM,
            and in Studio in Lab II, Rm. 2223 from 3:30PM to 5:30 PM.  
    During this time, the other Group will work in Studio in Lab II, Rm. 2223 from 1:30 PM- 3:30 PM
            and in the Woodshop from 3:30 PM ‘til 5:30 PM.
    On weeks when assignments are due, we will meet for critique in Lab II, Rm. 2223.
    On Nov. 17th we will meet in Lab II, Rm 2223 for a performance by Ken Matsudaira.

Tuesdays  
Lecture: 11 AM-1PM, Lab II, Rm 2223.
Film Screenings & Discussion: 1:30 PM-5:30 PM

Wednesdays
Open Studio

Thursday
Lecture: 11AM-1PM
Seminar: 1:30 -3:30 PM,
Visual Arts Workshops: 3:30-5:30 PM

Fridays
Open Studio

Goddess from Borgia Codexes

home    textbooks    program schedule   assignments     
weekly schedule    links


Artwork & Writing Assignments:

Week 1: Preliminary Mixed Media Box project design due Thursday
Week 2: Paper due Thursday- 3pp.
Week 3: Field trip to Neah Bay
Week 4: Mixed Media Box Project due Monday.
                Second paper, 6pp. due Thursday.
Week 5: Preliminary Design for Mixed Media Project, due Monday
Week 6: Mixed Media Project due Monday,
                Begin work on Collaborative Installation
Week 7: Draft of final paper—12 pp due Thursday.
                Working on Collaborative Installation for wk 8 (groups of five)
Week 8: Critiques on Collaborative Installation Projects Begins on Monday
                & drafts of final paper returned.
Week 9: Final paper–12pp due on Tuesday.
Week 10: 20 minute Collaborative Performance with costume & installation elements on Monday.

All Students are required to keep an intellectual diary of responses to the readings (at least 1-2 paragraphs
to a maximum of a page on each reading assigned). These are not intended to be summaries but questions
and issues brought forth in your reading, so turn them in for the next discussion. These will contribute to
your participation in discussion, and will be useful for structuring your final paper.


home    textbooks     program schedule   assignments     
weekly schedule      links


Weekly Schedule of Classroom Activities

Week 1: September 29 - October 3:  Historical Frameworks, ‘Quality’ & Rasquachismo

Topics:     Constructing assemblage; Regimes of value, or what is Rasquache?
Assignment: Preliminary Mixed Media Box project design Due Thursday 10/02
          1:30-3:30 PM- Box Exhibit, Discussion.
          1:30 PM-5:30 PM- Screening and Discussion:
        Las Santas del Officio. [Documentation, Women’s Collective Art Exhibition,
                                           Galeria de Autor "Pinto mi Raya," Mexico City, July 1993.] 19:30 min.
        Betye and Alison Saar: conjure women of the arts. [videorecording]  (1994) 28 min.
           1:30 PM-3:30 PM- Book Seminar
           3:30 PM-5:30 PM- Visual Arts Workshop: Assemblage: Working with Diverse Materials.

Required Readings:

.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Week 2: October 6-10Walls That Speak, Dreams on Canvas: Mexican Muralists, Women Painters & Social Movements

Topics: Social movements and participants
Assignment: Paper due Thursday- 3pp.
Required Readings:
.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Week 3: October 13 - 16 : Art Practice in an Indigenous Community: Field Trip to the Makah Nation, Neah Bay

Required Readings:
.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Week 4: October 20–23 :  Santería

Topics:     Santería: African influences & New World adaptations.
Assignment:     Mixed Media Box Project. -  Due Monday 10/20.  
                         Second paper, 6pp. - Due Thursday. 10/23
                                            Gloria Rolando, Oggun (1991) 55 min
                                            Manuel Mendive, "La Luz" performance, Havana Biennale (1992)
                    Altares/Altars,   1) Imna Arroyo, Holy Womb, collaborative installation 5 min. &
                                            2) Arturo Lindsay, Sancturario, collaborative installation. 6 min.
Required Readings:
home    textbooks     program schedule   assignments     
weekly schedule      links
.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Week 5: October 27 - 30:  Ana Mendieta & Wilfredo Lam

Topics:     Imaging/ Imagining the Afro Caribbean
Assignment: Preliminary Design for Mixed Media Project, due Monday 10/27;
                    Collect materials for 10/30 Thursday afternoon Workshop.
Required Readings:
    Petra Barreras Del Rio, "Ana Mendieta: A Historical Overview."  28-63.  
    John Perreault, "Earth and Fire: Mendieta’s Body of Work." 10-27.
    Chronology, 70-72  
.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Week 6: November 3-4 : Painting & Installation:  Remedios Varo, Ann Hamilton, Fred Wilson, Amalia Mesa-Bains, John Federov

Topics:     Surrealist innovations: the paintings of Remedios Varo; Installation
Assignment:     Mixed Media Project due Monday, 11/3
                        Begin work on Collaborative Installation- Thursday, Faculty Retreat--
                        Students are expected to meet in their Collaborative groups and
                        plan their installation pieces; produce sketches and divide work.
                        Space estimate for installation: 8 x 10’
                        Amalia Mesa-Bains, Cihnatlampa, The Place of Giant Women

Ann Hamilton, Art: 21
http://www.pbs.org/art21/series/
John Federov, Art: 21
http://johnfeodorov.com/
http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/feodorov/clip2.html
[Remedios Varo film]
Required Readings:
................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Week 7: November 10 - 13: Issues & Installations, con't: Yong Soon Min; Pepon Osorio; Anita Miller; Adrian Piper 

Topics:     Tracing Stories: Museum Exhibition Narratives; Chicana Artists:
Assignment:     Draft of final paper—12 pp due Thursday.
                        Continue working on Collaborative Installation for Wk 8 (groups of five)
Required Readings:
.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Week 8: Mon – Tues. November 17-21: Museums: Performance, Histories & Issues

Topics:     Histories museums tell; performance; constructing Latinas/os
Assignment: Critiques on Collaborative Installation Projects Begin on Monday
                    Drafts of final paper returned.
Required Readings:
.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

*No classes Thurs.- Fri. Nov 27- 28. Thanksgiving Holiday

.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Week 9: December 1 - 4:  Wrapping it up: Performance, Culture Industry, Image, Text

Assignment: Final paper–12pp due on Tuesday 12/2

Required Readings:
.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Week 10: December 8 - 11:  Collaborative Presentations: Student Performance & Critiques


Evaluation Week:
    December 15-19

Quarter  Ends on:  
   December 19
 home    textbooks     program schedule   assignments     
weekly schedule      links



Online Resources:  a few sites for further exploration.

Art Nexus: The nexus between Latin America and the rest of the world.
Magazine of contemporary art in English and Spanish editions.
http://www.artnexus.com

LANIC – Latin American Network Information Center, University of Texas, Austin
http://lanic.utexas.edu/
English - Español - Português
What's New August 30, 2003 –
LANIC Newsroom
Caribbean - Central America - Mexico - South America
Countries
Argentina, Brazil, Chile ...
Economy
Business, Finance, Trade ...
Education
Higher Education, K-12, Distance
Government
Government, Law, Military
Humanities
Art, Languages, Literature ...
Internet & Computing
Networking, Tools, Search ...
Libraries & Reference
Libraries, Museums, Statistics ...
Media & Communication
Journals, News, Magazines, Radio, TV ...
Recreation
Food, Humor, Sports, Travel
Regional Resources
Latin America, Central America, Caribbean ...
Science
Astronomy, Health, Oceanography ...
Social Sciences
Anthropology, History, Sociology ...
Society & Culture
Human Rights, Immigration, Indigenous ...
Sustainable Development
Agriculture, Development, Environment ...
Also On Lanic
LLILAS
New Research Projects
SME Forum
Electoral Observatory
LARRP/ARL Databases
BNamericas Daily News
TILAN-Internet
FLACSO Bases de Datos
Etext Collection
Latin American Studies. . . full list


LANIC- Mexico Links:
http://www.lanic.utexas.edu/la/mexico/

UNAM: Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico
* Bibliotecas y Publicaciones
      http://serpiente.dgsca.unam.mx/servicios/bibliotecas.html
        * Libros UNAM
       http://serpiente.dgsca.unam.mx/fomed/

CONACULTA: Consejo National para la Cultura y las Artes
http://www.cnart.mx/
A rich site with links to various cultural and educational institutions, bookstores and libraries in Mexico; offers useful listing of current exhibitions & events—links run down the right column, and along the top of the page.

Chiapas Project: IS 207: International Issues and Comparative Research in Library and Information Science W 2002 See links toward bottom of page.

http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/faculty/chu/chiapas/

Links to the History & Archives of Chiapas

http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/faculty/chu/count-aia/Chiapas/

Arte Argentino.com
http://www.arteargentino.com/

FUNARTE: Fundação Nacional de Arte- Ministry of Culture, Brazil

http://www.funarte.gov.br/

Rhizome.org – Variety of projects, links, resources for New Media

http://www.rhizome.org

Turbulence.org – New Media projects

http://www.turbulence.org

Ann Hamilton:

http://www.guggenheimcollection.org/site/artist_works_61C_0.html

Galeria de la Raza, San Francisco, CA

http://www.galeriadelaraza.org

Iturralde Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

http://artscenecal.com/iturralde.htm

Pocho Magazine - Satire

http://www.pocho.com