Middlebury

HARC 0347

Aesthetics of Asian Art

The Aesthetics of Asian Art: Is Beauty in the Eye of the Beholder?
In this course we will consider select Asian (Indian, Chinese, Japanese) and Islamic artworks in the Middlebury College Museum of Art’s permanent collection to explore the fundamental question: “Is beauty in the eye of the beholder?” Are standards in beauty universal, or are they always relative? We will ask how the act of beholding is entwined with cultural assumptions and conditioning and will address those assumptions through an intensive combination of close looking, critical analysis, and comparative consideration of a diverse range of artworks and aesthetic traditions. Comparisons will be made with select works of Western art in the museum. (not open to students who have taken HARC 0102or HARC 0268) 3 hrs. lect./disc This course is part of the Public Humanities Labs Initiative administered by the Axinn Center for the Humanities./
Subject:
History of Art & Architecture
Department:
History of Art & Architecture
Division:
Humanities
Requirements Fulfilled:
AAL ART CMP NOA
Equivalent Courses:
HARC 0103
HARC 0102
HARC 0268 *

Sections in Fall 2009, School Abroad France (Paris)