AMST 296 - Art and an Archive

0.5 unit(s)

(Same as ART 296) The Archives of American Art of the Smithsonian Institution is the most widely used research center dedicated to collecting, preserving, and providing access to primary sources that document the history of the visual arts in the United States. Diaries, scrapbooks, letters, manuscripts, financial records, sketches, photographs, films, and recordings can all be found in its vast holdings. It also holds the largest collection of oral histories anywhere on the subject of art.

In this collaborative exploratory workshop we immerse ourselves in the Archives’ online resources, paying particularly close attention to the in-depth oral histories, life stories, and other firsthand accounts by visual artists and other cultural workers. Together we critically and creatively analyze sources, freshly interpret artwork, piece together stories, and engage key questions of interpretation, evidence, and the limits and possibilities–including potential future histories–of a key archive.

Prerequisite(s): Permission of the instructor.

Second six-week course.

One 2-hour period.

Not offered in 2025/26.

Course Format: INT