In this hybrid studio and art history class students directly engage artistic innovation in Paris, both historical and contemporary.  Not content to stay in the past, this class will regularly visit contemporary exhibitions and artist studios chosen to demonstrate how specific historical artistic strategies have been interpreted and put to work in innovative ways by Parisian artists today.  Drawing on the great museums of Paris we will study 3 historical avant-garde movements, each time exploring the resonances of the past in the present.  We will also look at the unique cultures in Paris - specific quarters, streets and cafes - that created the context for these historical explosions of artist invention and compare these to contemporary contexts for artmkaing.  Through your experience of connecting old and new art in Paris you will see what changes and what stays the same on the leading edge of artistic practice across the march of time.  Visits to galleries and studios will be contextualized with short readings.  Students will respond to their experiences with either critical writing, creative production in any media, or any combination of the two.  We will use Paris as a lens to examine the cultural elements that produce innovation in arts past and present.   Pre-requisite:  Concepts and Practices or an equivalent foundations course for those enrolling for art credit, History of Visual Arts II or equivalent for those enrolling for art history credit.

In this course we will explore the contradictions historically shaping and energizing this vital city.  Paris becomes our classroom!  A major focus will be the observation and analysis of the city's monuments, supported by assigned readings and group discussions.  Some examples of these complex cultural sites are the Place de la Concorde, Versailles, the Pantheon, the Eiffel Tower, Pere Lachaise Cemetery, and La Defense.  Others may be included depending on class interests.

Anne Jeffrey (MA, USF) began reaching art history for the USF Tampa, St. Petersburg and Sarasota campuses in 2001.  Courses she has taught include 19th Century Art History, 20th Century Art History, Contemporary Issues in Art and Introduction to Art.  She has taught several art history courses in Paris for this program.