Fall 2009/Pasadena
TC519
Taylor
TC519: TOPICS IN THEOLOGY AND THE VISUAL ARTS:
ART, CINEMA, AND THEOLOGY
(ACTs) IN DIALOG AND INTERACTION. Barry Taylor.
DESCRIPTION: The course will examine significant artists using their own work
as well as cinematic biopics, putting these works into dialogue with
theological issues arising out of the same time periods.
SIGNIFICANCE FOR LIFE AND MINISTRY: The course will introduce students to
interdisciplinary cultural engagement, helping to sharpen their skills in
analyzing and engaging culture. Special emphasis will be given to the
intersections of art, film, and theology.
LEARNING OUTCOMES: Through the viewing of selected films, interactive
discussion and class lectures, students will (1) be introduced to the work of
selected artists from the Western tradition; (2) gain a general understanding
of Western art history and critique; (3) explore film criticism and theory; and
(4) learn to interact theologically with art, film, and culture.
COURSE FORMAT: Interactive. The class will meet once a week for a three -hour
session. During each session students will (1) view and discuss artists' work;
(2) explore cinematic representations of the particular artists; (3) utilize
various critical art and film theories; (4) consider possible theological
responses to the material offered.
REQUIRED READING AND VIEWING:
- Browning, Don. A Fundamental Practical Theology.
Minneapolis: Fortress, 1996.
- Docker, John. Postmodernism and Popular Culture. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1994.
- Elkins, James. On the Strange Place of Religion in Contemporary Art.
New York: Routledge, 2004.
- Ford, David, ed. The Modern Theologians. 3rd ed. Malden, MA:
Blackwell, 2005.
- Freeland, Cynthia. Art Theory: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 2001.
- List of Films and Artists for Required Viewing: The Agony and
the Ecstasy (Michelangelo); Girl with a Pearl Earring (Vermeer);
Lust for Life (Vincent Van Gogh); Surviving Picasso (Pablo
Picasso); Frida (Frida Kahlo); Pollock (Jackson Pollock); The
Life and Times of Andy Warhol (Andy Warhol); Love Is the Devil
(Francis Bacon); Basquiat (Jean-Michel Basquiat).
Students should be
aware that these include R-rated films.
RECOMMENDED READING:
- Collings, Matthew. This Is Modern Art. London: Weidenfeld
& Nicolson, 1999.
- Eco, Umberto. A History of Beauty. New York: Rizzoli, 2004.
- Grosnick, Uta, ed. Women Artists in the 20th and 21st Century.
London: Taschen Books, 2005.
- Thompson, James M. Twentieth-Century Theories of Modern Art.
Carleton University Press, 1990.
- A selection of books on each individual artist will be offered as
an additional list for the class.
ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:
- Viewing and journaling on films, due at the end of the course (20%).
- Three two-page book reviews on selected books from the required reading
list (30%).
- A twelve-fifteen page paper covering one of the artists examined in the
class (50%). The paper will be divided into three sections: Section One will
examine the artist's work, offering critique and interaction. Section Two will
critique the film related to the artist. Section Three will examine and respond
to the theological issues raised by the artist and his or her work.
PREREQUISITES: None.
RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: MDiv elective. Fulfills the MAT in Theology &
Arts format requirement in Integrative studies. Meets the MACL in Integrative
Studies requirement for an interdisciplinary course (IDPL).
This ECD is a reliable guide to the course design but is subject to modification. (7/09)