Art 1B

Art 1B has been created to provide the beginning knowledge and skills necessary to appreciate, evaluate, and create works of art. Components include commentaries, activities, and assignments that involve simple execution of artwork, writing, and reading. These introduce students to some of the significant periods and styles of art, the elements and principles of design of art, the creative thought processes, media, tools, and applications used by past and present-day artists.

Course Materials

Objectives. The objectives for each lesson will help you focus your efforts. They indicate the concepts and skills you must understand or master when you complete the lesson.

Reading Assignments. Each lesson specifies the selections that must be read.

Commentaries. The Commentary on the Instruction page of each lesson provides key terms and concepts that give you background for the lesson.

Activities. These activities help to build your knowledge and skills and to identify your specific strengths and weaknesses. Some activities direct you to Internet sites with supplemental material for the lesson. All activities prepare you for the graded assignments and for mastering course materials.

Graded Assignments. Each assignment provides information about how your work will be assessed and how credit will be given for your responses. Most assignments will be submitted online and graded by your instructor. Some assignments will be computer-graded. The average of your assignments counts as 75 percent of your course grade. The Final Examination counts as the other 25 percent. You can apply to take the Final Exam after 100 percent of your graded assignments have been submitted, and at least 70 percent have been graded and returned to you.

The final examination is comprehensive; it covers the material from all of the lessons. To pass the course, you must receive a grade of 70 percent or better.

Format: Multiple-choice, short-answer, essay, and drawing, online

Time Allowed: 3 hours

Students must bring the following items to the final exam:

• Two or three sheets of drawing paper, 11” x 14” in size
• A soft drawing pencil
• A hard drawing pencil
• A pencil sharpener
• A ruler
• An eraser
• Colored pencils
• Colored markers
• Two #2 pencils

Total Number of Lessons: 11

Total Number of Activities: 38

Total Number of Graded Assignments: 18

Lesson 1: Art History and Criticism

Activity 1: Reviewing Art History

Activity 2: Assessing a Work of Art

Activity 3: Applying the Four-Step Assessment Process

Lesson 2: Prehistoric Art 15,000 - 1,000 BC

Activity 1: Reviewing Prehistoric Art - Part 1

Activity 2: Reviewing Prehistoric Art - Part 2

Activity 3: Identifying Prehistoric Art

Activity 4: Assessing a Prehistoric Work of Art

Activity 5: Sketching - Cave Animals

Lesson 3: Art and Architecture of the Fertile Crescent and Ancient Egypt 

Activity 1: Reviewing Reading and Commentary - Definitions

Activity 2: Reviewing Reading and Commentary - Concepts

Activity 3: Exploring Internet Resources

Lesson 4: Ancient Art of Asia, the Americas, and Africa

Activity 1: Reviewing Reading and Commentary - Part 1

Activity 2: Reviewing Reading and Commentary - Part 2

Activity 3: Exploring Internet Resources

Activity 4: Identifying Ancient Cultures and Regions

Activity 5: Sketchbook - Asian Dragons

Activity 6: Matching Cultures and Art Forms

Lesson 5: Greek and Roman Art and Architecture

Activity 1: Reviewing Reading and Commentary

Activity 2: Sketchpad - Greek Vases

Lesson 6: Early Christian, Byzantine, and Islamic Art

Activity 1: Reviewing Reading and Commentary - Part 1

Activity 2: Reviewing Reading and Commentary - Part 2

Activity 3: Understanding Historical Events, Conflict, and Art - Part 1

Activity 4: Understanding Historical Events, Conflict, and Art - Part 2

Activity 5: Sketchbook - Islamic Geometric Design

Lesson 7: Early Medieval, Romanesque, and Gothic Art and Architecture

Activity 1: Reviewing Reading and Commentary

Activity 2: Identifying Art and Architectural Terms of the Middle Ages

Activity 3: Understanding Trends and Periods of the Middle Ages

Lesson 8: Art of Emerging Modern Europe: Italian Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo

Activity 1: Reviewing Reading and Commentary - Part 1

Activity 2: Reviewing Reading and Commentary - Part 2

Activity 3: Sketchpad - Royal Portraits

Lesson 9: Nineteenth Century Art

Activity 1: Reviewing Reading and Commentary - Part 1

Activity 2: Reviewing Reading and Commentary - Part 2

Activity 3: Understanding External Influences on Nineteenth Century Artists

Lesson 10: Early Twentieth Century Art

Activity 1: Reviewing Reading and Commentary

Activity 2: Identifying Artists and Their “Isms”

Lesson 11: Modern Art and Changing Paradigms

Activity 1: Defining Modern Art

Activity 2: Reviewing Reading and Commentary

Activity 3: Matching Artists and Schools of Art of the Late Twentieth Century