Following on from Art History 2.1,  the topics covered in these art history classes include:

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Self portraits and identity

This class will look at the ways in which artists have used self portraiture to explore and express notions of self. We will examine the work of Rembrandt, van Gogh, Yasumasa Morimua, Maria Lassnig and Campbell Patterson.

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Obsessiveness

We will explore how some artists’ devotion to particular motifs give rise to creativity through repetition. Our case studies will be Van Gogh’s sunflowers, Rembrandt’s self-portraits and Billy Apple’s apples.

Abstract Expressionism

This class will provide an overview of Abstract Expressionism and its main proponents of colour field and action painting. We will also examine New Zealand painters whose work is indebted to Abstract Expressionism, such as Emily Karaka, Gretchen Albrecht and Ralph Hotere.

The Exotic Orient

French Orientalist artists of the 19th century painted scenes set in North Africa with varying degrees of authenticity and fiction. We will discuss the work of Delacroix, Gerome and Dinet, considering what power dynamics are at play when one culture represents another.

Art and feminism

This class introduces the different ways feminism has impacted art history; how we look at art which proclaims to be feminist and art which does not. We will explore how feminism can be used as a lens to examine art from any time period.