AD332 / Topics in Painting / Fall 2010
Professor Pamela Fraser
MW 1:00-3:40
5110 A+D Hall
office hours by appointment
pfraser@uic.edu
This is our course blog, the place where you will find all information about the course.
“Morality is not a system of abstract truth which can be derived from some fundamental notion, posited as self-evident…It belongs to the realm of conduct, or practical imperatives which have grown up historically under the influence of specific social necessities”. —Emile DurkheimThe development of a meaningful painting practice and of meaningful paintings involves the development of an ethic, an ethics, and an ethos. With an understanding of the instrumental values of making and presenting works, students will be immersed in issues around what it is to paint, make images, and address an audience. In consideration an an ethic, this course will conflate ideas of craftsmanship with issues surrounding painting and the public sphere. Related subjects will be differences between intrinsic and instrumental value; differences between significance and meaning; the cultivation of individual and collective values; relationships between aesthetics and ethics; and the historical precedents for ethical concerns in painting. The course will ask students if it is possible to consider painting as an act of civil engagement, as well as a mode of conduct.
The course will ask students to begin with the notion of painting as conduct (in the sense of both behavior and performance), as such a practical imperative that Durkheim (above) refers to, through which we may make decisions about how and for whom we act. Taking into consideration the functional aspect of painting, we will think about it in relation to a personal ethos that extends to civic concerns. This necessarily involves evaluation of principles, ideals, and strategies. Implicit in the study is consideration of the social realm, for there is no ethics without group, or community. The course presupposes an understanding of painting as a dialogue, and thereby a social activity that involves some level of public address. Also implicit in this matter is a concern for the made object, a.k.a. craft. Both concern with public and concern with craft involve the issue of care.
Turning away from approaches to painting that concentrate on individual voice and/or aesthetics without connection to function and meaning, this course asks students to consider the aspects of painting that involve communication, participation, and consideration. Furthermore, instead of the encouragement of originality and innovation, this course questions the value of these qualities. Instead of asking what kind of paintings to make, we will ask what can our paintings accomplish.
The connection of art and ethics has many historical precedents, beginning with the Greeks. Aristotle’s rhetorical triangle of ethos, logos, and pathos were seen as the three artistic proofs, or modes of persuasion that are essential to the development of an argument or position. Ethos has many components of it’s own meaning, including moral competence, expertise, and knowledge. Ethos forms the root of ethikos (ἠθικός), meaning "moral, showing moral character". To the Greeks ancient and modern, the meaning is simply "the state of being", the inner source, the soul, the mind, and the original essence, that shapes and forms a person or animal. Late Latin borrowed it as ethicus, the feminine of which (ethica, for ἠθική φιλοσοφία "moral philosophy") is the origin of the modern English word ethics. Note that the meanings apply to both individuals and communities.
ethos
1. in Sociology. the fundamental character or spirit of a culture; the underlying sentiment that informs the beliefs, customs, or practices of a group or society; dominant assumptions of a people or period: In the Greek ethos the individual was highly valued.
2. the character or disposition of a community, group, person, etc.
3. the moral element in dramatic literature that determines a character's action rather than his or her thought or emotion.
ethic
1. the body of moral principles or values governing or distinctive of a particular culture or group: the Christian ethic; the tribal ethic of the Zuni.
2. a complex of moral precepts held or rules of conduct followed by an individual: a personal ethic.
3. A set of principles of right conduct.
4. A theory or a system of moral values
ethics
1. a system of moral principles: the ethics of a culture.
2. the rules of conduct recognized in respect to a particular class of human actions or a particular group, culture, etc.: medical ethics; Christian ethics.
3. moral principles, as of an individual: His ethics forbade betrayal of a confidence.
4. that branch of philosophy dealing with values relating to human conduct, with respect to the rightness and wrongness of certain actions and to the goodness and badness of the motives and ends of such actions.
Civic concerns are not necessarily political concerns. Students will look at examples of art and writings within what is often termed the critical tradition, and more recent social and participatory practices. Consider how work in painting may be related or distinct from these realms.
Projects:
Students will devise their own projects that will relate to the course material. There are no direct assignments. There will be four project periods, with a mandatory critique for each one. Since the course involves consideration of the public domain, off site work is encouraged, and either documentation or sitevisits will be considered for critique.
Materials:
There are no mandatory supplies.
Canvas, gesso, and acrylic paints are available for your use (purchased from lab fees).
Readings:
This will be a reading-heavy course. There will be readings with subsequent discussions every other week. Occasional slide lectures will augment readings with visuals about the material.
Reading 1 consists of the three short articles below. Read these by this Wednesday, August, 25. Each student will be asked to make thoughtful contributions to the discussion.1. “The Impoverishment of American Culture,” Dana Gioia, WSJ, July 19, 2007
http://online.wsj.com/article/NA_WSJ_PUB:SB118480114206570926-search.htmlStanley Fish, Plagiarism is not a Big Moral Deal
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/09/plagiarism-is-not-a-big-moral-deal/Stanley Fish, The Ontology of Plagiarism: Part Two
please Google this one (it is also a New York Times article). I cannot seem to get the link to post here.
chris martin
