Art History is the study of the visual arts in civilization. It
examines changing values in all fields of visual culture,
including painting, sculpture, graphics, photography,
architecture, film, the mass media, and forms of popular
expression. Its interdisciplinary reach encompasses literature,
history, anthropology, sociology, philosophy, gender studies,
critical theory, and cultural studies. Art History emphasizes
visual as well as verbal and written literacy, providing more
than the standard advantages to a liberal arts education.
Students majoring in Art History will engage with the
wide-ranging opportunities its curriculum presents for learning
and research. Studying Art History develops visual
literacy, communication skills, critical/creative thinking and an
understanding of diversity.
A scandal at the Nanjing Museum involving a Ming masterpiece,
millions in laundered money and missing art donations recently
set off alarms in the art world. Correspondent Richard Spencer of
The Times (London) talked to Professor Katharine Burnett
about the inquiry and scandal in his article “The Chinese museum,
the Ming masterpiece and the missing millions.” Burnett
recently published a book on the collector Pang Yuanji
(Shaping Chinese Art History: Pang Yuanji and His Painting
Collection, 2020).
The
Art of Tea exhibit, on display in Shields Library’s Archives
and Special Collections Reading Room, celebrates the UC
Davis Global Tea Institute‘s 11th Annual Colloquium: The Art of
Tea in Culture and Science, Society and Health. Curated by M.A
candidates Grace Wu and Mengchen Sang, the exhibition
features a selection of global tea ware from the Global Tea Institute’s
Collection of Art and Material Culture
The intersection between climate change and art history opens new
pathways for understanding how visual and material culture
mediates human relationships to the natural
world. Historical and contemporary depictions of nature
illuminate how aesthetic practices register environmental
knowledge and respond to ecological stress. Far from being a
luxury of elite culture, art history is an essential tool for
imagining alternative ecological futures.
Yiyue Sun, an artist and scholar specializing in Chinese
painting and art history, will give a Visiting Scholar in Art
History Talk, presented by the Departments of Art and Art History
and East Asian Studies. The talk is Wednesday, April 22 at 3:15
p.m. in Everson 148.
