Intermediate Painting: Scale, Process, and Presence

Course Description

Summary

This seminar-studio course will investigate painting from an historical perspective. Using the permanent collection of the College as a starting point, we will think through the strategies deployed by painters working in the context of Bennington from 1950-1980. We will study works by Helen Frankenthaler, Paul Feeley, Jules Olitski, Norman Bluhm, Ralph Humphrey, and Larry Poons among others. Texts assigned will include essays by Clement Greenberg, Michael Fried, and Alexander Dorner. By examining paintings directly in the college vault, we will consider the legacy of these works from both artistic and conservation perspectives. Field trips to artist studios will round out the seminar portion of the course. Studio assignments will consider issues of scale, support, process, and gesture.