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Art History
430 |
| In colonial America’s first museum, oil paintings in gilded frames hung over glass cases of stuffed birds; the skeleton of a mastodon towered over visitors who entered the galleries. This course will consider the intertwined notions of art and science in the 19th and early 20th centuries, from museum displays to natural history illustration. Special consideration will be given to dioramas, which combine art and science in mixed-media displays of taxidermy, painting, and often artificial plants or environmental reconstructions. At the end of the semester we’ll turn to contemporary artists who engage with traditions of natural history or aesthetics usually associated with science, from artists whose work is informed by natural history illustration and field guides (Walton Ford, Fred Tomaselli), incorporates taxidermy or natural history museum display tactics (Damien Hirst, Mark Dion), or bio-art (Laura Splan, Marc Quinn). The course will include sessions held at the UW Zoological Museum, the UW Geology Museum, the State Herbarium and UW Botany Greenhouse. |