This will look at visual art and various genres of writing about it —poetry and short stories, art history and criticism, exhibition reviews and catalogues, documents written by artists — and investigate the ways in which these different media influence each other. What are the respective limits of writing and the visual arts? What is the difference between reading a description of a painting in a book, looking at an image of it online, and seeing it at a museum?

Course Requirements:

Writing assignments for the course, to be submitted asynchronously via Canvas, will be based on paintings, sculptures, or photographs and may include: an extended description of a work, to develop specificity and thoroughness in writing; a comparative analysis of two different works within the same space/exhibition; and an argumentative essay about a specific artist that comprises analysis of images and a research component.

Intended Audience:

This course welcomes entirely online participation. No part of this course requires you to be on campus or present in-person.

Class Format:

Synchronous meetings with the instructor will be conducted through Zoom. Students should have access to a microphone and, if possible, a camera. If students are unable to attend synchronous meetings, they will be expected to submit short written responses to discussion questions and/or respond to their peers’ contributions via Google Docs (through their UM email accounts).