Garden Art in European Culture European Humanities 3 Credit Course Spring 2015 Monday and Thursday 11:40-13:00 Vestergade 10-A12

Transcription

1 Garden Art in European Culture European Humanities 3 Credit Course Spring 2015 Monday and Thursday 11:40-13:00 Vestergade 10-A12 Course Description Ornamental gardens are complex, three-dimensional, organic art forms that for over 4,000 years have also acted as cultural barometers. Down the millennia and across the continent every European civilisation and nation has developed its own garden styles. Over time and place these styles have evolved in tune with changes in the cultural, artistic, social, economic, technological and political landscapes. From peristyle courtyards of Roman villas to ascetic Medieval monastic gardens to erotic and sensuous Moorish paradises; from Baroque opulence to Arts and Crafts artisanship to ultra-modern functionality. Garden art and European culture have always been and continue to be profoundly interactive. Each simultaneously shapes the other. Garden art is therefore an intrinsic, integral and influential (albeit often overlooked) component of the zeitgeist. For example, one of the influences on the Italian Renaissance garden was the wider investigation into the relationship between Man, God and Nature. Garden Art in European Culture therefore takes an interdisciplinary approach and simultaneously sets garden art within the zeitgeist, deconstructs real gardens to explore their artistic expression and examines garden art forms within the wider context of their art history. Course Instructor: Dr. Toby Musgrave Ph.D. Garden History, Reading University, UK, B.Sc. Horticulture, Reading University, UK, Since 1994 Dr Musgrave has been an independent scholar and lecturer focusing on the subjects of garden and plant history. Dr Musgrave is author of eight books and numerous magazine and newspaper articles on the subjects of garden and plant history, and garden design. At DIS he also teaches the 3 credit courses How Plants Changed World History and Danish Greenspace.

2 Contact Information Teacher: Ass. Program Director: Program Assistant: Toby Musgrave Karen Søilen Monica Rabii Learning Objectives By the end of this course students will: o Know and understand European cultural, social and artistic history as the framework within which garden styles were developed and expressed. o Know and understand the evolution of the European garden as an art form. o Be able to artistically read garden styles: to deconstruct and understand specific styles - their form, design, content and purpose. To be able to draw correlations and comparison between them, and know their influences. o Know how and why European gardens impacted on its zeitgeist and vice versa, and understand the outcomes of these interactions. Approach to Teaching The majority of the garden styles will be covered in two classroom sessions. The first frames the historical matrix and the second analyses an iconic garden or gardens. The subject material has a high visual content and the teaching will utilise illustrative PowerPoint presentations. Classroom interaction and the application by students of their subject to the topic under discussion will be encouraged. The course will include scheduled individual meetings with the professor about preparation of one paper and the blog to be kept throughout the semester.

3 Detailed Course Outline Foundations Jan 22 nd 01 Introduction. Jan 26 th 02 European Garden Art & Culture. An Overview Jan 29 th 03 The Roman Garden: Hortus & Otium. Case Studies: Pompeii & Getty Villa. The Middle Age Feb 2 nd 04 Church & Throne: Mary Gardens & Courtly Love. Feb 5 th 05 Case Studies: Diverse Gardens. Core Course Week: February 9 th -15 th Feb 16 th 06 Moorish Spain: Paradise & the Chahar Bagh. Case Study: the Alhambra. The Renaissance Feb 19 th 07 The Italian Renaissance: God, Man & Nature. Feb 23 rd 08 Case Study Villa d Este, Tivoli Feb 26 th 09 The European Renaissance: New Ideas Given a Nationalistic Spin Long Tour 1: March 1 st -8 th March 9 th 10 Case Studies: Blois, Hampton Court Palace & the Neugebäude. The Golden Age March 12 th 11 The Baroque: Exaggeration, Exuberance, and Grandeur. March 16 th 12 Case Study: Versailles March 19 th 13 Guest Lecture: The European Garden In Art March 23 rd 14 The English Landscape Garden: Picturesque Nature March 26 th 15 Case Study: Stowe. Long Tour 2: March 28 th -April 6 th April 9 th 16 The Nineteenth Century: Art Triumphs Nature. April 13 th 17 Case Study: Chatsworth.

4 The Modern Age April 16 th 18 Arts & Crafts: Garden of a Golden Afternoon. Travel Break: April 18 th -26 th April 27 th 19 Case Study: Munstead Wood. April 30 th 20 Modernism: Form Follows Function. May 4 th 21 Case Studies: Diverse Gardens. May 7 th 22 Guest Lecture: The Danish Garden. May 11 th 23 Conclusions. The Schedule is subject to change if necessary with as much notice as possible. Field Studies February 18 th, 13:00-17:00 Frederiksborg Palace Garden, Hillerød. Detached from the Palace by means of the lake is the formal Baroque garden. With its parterres and water cascade, this is a small but detailed example of a garden style that became especially popular in Denmark in the 18th century. The garden as seen today is a 1996 recreation of the 1725 garden designed by J C Krieger and follows his original plans exactly. In groups we will explore the Baroque garden and the wider landscaped gardens that surrounds and working through a questionnaire. In the warmth of a cafe we will we reflect on the gardens and discuss what we have seen and learned. March 18 th, 08: Frederiksberg Park, Copenhagen. The Picturesque form of the English Landscape Garden was a work of art set within a tamed, sculptured Nature: a romantic image of Classical times filled with literary and emotional overtones of that period. This field study will will provide insight into the various inspirations which combined to influences the form of the English Landscape Garden, and will take the form of exploring the landscape in groups and working through a questionnaire. We will retire to somewhere warm to discuss the answers and reflect on what the landscape tells us. Evaluation In-class Participation 10% of Final Grade Blog: 40% Mini-paper: 20% Final Paper: 30% Participation Covers - Attendance of, and active participation in, all classes and field studies. - Level of preparation (readings) and ability to answer questions asked in class. - Involvement and engagement in class and group discussions as well as group work. - I expect that you be prepared, engaged and actively participate.

5 Blog 40% of Final Grade The Blog will be once-weekly posts comprising text and photographs. The content will answer a question which will be posted on Blackboard and which will encourage the student s reflections and analysis of a particular topic covered in class The weekly post should be 300 words with 3-5 photographs - these can be found on the new or scanned in but remember the citation. The content quality should be newsworthy for an online audience that did not participate in the class and contain at least one link to a site relevant to the question posed. The question will be available a week before the post is due online and a schedule will be presented to students indicating question release dates and post deadlines. Mini-paper 20 % of Final Grade Min. 4 and max. 5 pages double spaced, the topic will be discussed in class. Final Paper 30% of Final Grade Min. 6 and max. 8 pages double spaced, the paper will engage the student to reflect on and expand on garden style(s) and/or social, artistic, cultural influence(s) studied in class in order to develop a more in-depth and holistic understanding of the topic. There will be an option for students to develop their own topic inspired by independent travels or by a destination explored as part of a long study tour. Each paper will be accompanied by the grading rubric, but I expect that the papers will have a clear, precise, well-defined thesis supported by evidence, that the analysis of the evidence display critical thinking, and that the content be structured and flow logically. Required Readings To be eligible for a passing grade in this class you must complete all assigned work and deliver it on time. These will be presented in the Compendium. Supplementary texts will be posted on Blackboard and books will be available in the Library.

6 Disability and Resource Statement Any student who has a need for accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact Centre for Academic Support to co-ordinate this. In order to receive accommodations, students should inform the instructor of approved DIS accommodations within the first two weeks of classes. Attendance Policy You are expected to attend all DIS classes when scheduled. If you miss multiple classes the Director of Teaching and Learning, and the Director of Student Affairs will be notified and they will follow-up with you to make sure that all is well. Absences will jeopardize your grade and your standing at DIS. Allowances will be made in cases of illness, but in the case of multiple absences you will need to provide a doctor s note. You are expected to arrive on time for class. Students who arrive more than 5 minutes late to class, mitigating circumstance excepted, will be fined 1 point of the Participation Grade on each and every occasion. Policy You are welcome to contact me at any time by , but I will only reply during work hours, that is to say to Monday through Friday. Please note, therefore that I will not reply to s sent on weekends until the following Monday morning. Late Paper Policy Late papers will NOT be accepted. Policy for Use of Laptops and Phones in Class Cell phones are to be switched off during class. If a phone rings or a student is seen texting etc. via a smartphone, the culprit will be fined one grade point of the Participation Grade. Laptops and tablets etc. are not allowed in class. If a student is seen using any such device, the culprit will be fined one grade point of the Participation Grade. Academic Honesty: Plagiarism and Violating the Rules of an Assignment DIS expects that students abide by the highest standards of intellectual honesty in all academic work. DIS assumes that all students do their own work and credit all work or thought taken from others. Academic dishonesty will result in a final course grade of F and can result in dismissal. The students home universities will be notified. DIS reserves the right to request that written student assignments be turned in electronic form for submission to plagiarism detection software. See the Academic Handbook for more information, or ask your instructor if you have questions.