LIBRARY
ART 330: Contemporary Humanities: 1: Era of Invention: Paris and the Modern World
This course offers an introduction to the thought, values, and arts of Western culture through an exploration of the fine and performing arts in the twentieth century.
Module 1
The Era of Invention: Paris and the Modern World
CULTURE AND CONTEXT
- Paris in the Belle Époque – term coined during WWI that nostalgically looked back on the turn of the century in Paris as simpler time of optimism, elegance, and progress. Paris at turn of the century was the birthplace of Ballets Russes, Impressionism and Modern Art as well as home to the lavish “universal expositions” and 1900 Olympics.
- Early 20th century technological innovations. The first French automobiles, aircraft, motion pictures and street lighting
- The Universal Exposition of 1900 in Paris
Literature
- Ezra Pound – American Abstract Poet, haiku-like poetry, and student of East Asian Calligraphy
- Zhaoming Qian. Ezra Pound and China. University of Michigan Press, 2003. EBSCOhost,
- T.S. Eliot, The Waste Land – the single most influential poem in early modern literature
- Eliot, T. S., and Lawrence Rainey. The Annotated Waste Land with Eliot’s Contemporary Prose. Yale University Press, 2006.
- Mallarmé – French symbolist poet whose most famous work is "L'Apres Midi d'un Faun - The Afternoon of a Faun" which describes the sensual experiences of a mythical faun waking up from a dream.
- Émile Zola - French author famous for challenging the government in an unfair anti-Semetic trial.
Music
- Claude Debussy - The most famous French composer of the late Belle Époque in Paris. He is known for style of Impressionism in music; Clair de Lune (for piano) and La Mer (for orchestra) are his most famous works
Visual Arts
- Art Nouveau (1890-1910) style in decorative and applied arts
- Aubrey Beardsley – French illustrator and printmaker in the style of Art Nouveau; characteristic style is showcased in prints made for Oscar Wilde’s Salomé.
Architecture
Art Nouveau architecture of Jules Lavirotte, including the Lavirotte building of 1901.
Performance Art, Dance, and Theatre
- Igor Stravinsky – Russian composer and major figure of Belle Époque; known for Ballets Russes compositions for ballets The Firebird (1910) & Petrushka (1911). * Do not research Rite of Spring as this is covered in class content.