SSP-100 (010) Eyes Wide Open: Encountering Environments Through the Visual Arts

Janet Sorensen, Associate Professor of Art

Does art have the power to transform our experience of environments? In this seminar, we will explore the environments of wilderness, sacred places, cities, border zones, and home. We will examine works of art as varied as traditional landscapes, performance, and installation in order to discover how artists reveal the layers of diverse meaning embedded in our surroundings. Our search will also draw from among the disciplines of history, environmental studies, geography and psychology for broad perspectives. Students in this seminar will reflect upon their own connections to environments through visual expression (drawing, book-making, collage) and writing.