Studying at York
The Materials of Art & Architecture - HOA00005C
Module summary
The aim of this module is to explore the material nature of artworks and architecture.
Module will run
| Occurrence | Teaching period |
|---|---|
| A | Semester 2 2024-25 |
Module aims
We commonly see art and buildings reproduced in photographs, but most artworks are three-dimensional physical objects constructed out of specific materials. Through a series of lectures and seminars, you will learn how to describe, analyse and interpret the visual and material qualities of a wide range of media, from stained glass, sculpture and architecture, to painting, prints, photography, ceramics, and textiles. We will examine the impact made by the choice of particular materials and techniques on the appearance and meaning of the work of art or architecture. We explore the history of looking and the reception of these material objects across a wide range of types and historical periods. The module also addresses ideas of materiality and how they inform our understanding and interpretation of works of art and architecture.
Module learning outcomes
By the end of the module, students should have acquired:
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The ability to engage in close, critical visual observation and to analyse and interpret visual material.
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Knowledge of a range of materials and techniques employed by artists and architects in different periods and places, and an awareness of the impact made by materials and techniques on the work of art.
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Awareness of the history of reception and the ways in which works have been designed for viewers, audiences, and consumers.
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Understanding of ideas concerning materiality.
Indicative assessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Online Exam -less than 24hrs (Centrally scheduled) | 100 |
Special assessment rules
None
Indicative reassessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Online Exam -less than 24hrs (Centrally scheduled) | 100 |
Module feedback
You will receive feedback on assessed work within the timeframes set out by the University - please check the Guide to Assessment, Standards, Marking and Feedback for more information.
The purpose of feedback is to help you to improve your future work. If you do not understand your feedback or want to talk about your ideas further, you are warmly encouraged to meet your Supervisor during their Office Hours.
Indicative reading
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Adamson, Glenn, and Julia Bryan-Wilson. Art in the Making: Artists and Their Materials from the Studio to Crowdsourcing. London: Thames & Hudson, 2016.
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Adamson, Glenn, ed. The Craft Reader. Oxford: Berg, 2010.
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Benjamin, Walter. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. Translated by J. A. Underwood. London: Penguin, 2008.
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Cennini, Cennino. The Craftsman's Handbook: the Italian Il libro dell arte [c.1400]. Translated by Daniel V. Thompson. New York: Dover Publications, 1954.
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Clerbois, Sébastien, and Martina Droth, eds. Revival and Invention: Sculpture through Its Material Histories. Oxford: Peter Lang, 2010.
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Cohen, Jeffrey Jerome. Stone: an Ecology of the Inhuman. London: University of Minnesota Press, 2015.
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Gamboni, Dario, Gerhard Wolf, and Jessica Richardson. The Aesthetics of Marble: from Late Antiquity to the Present. Munich: Hirmer Publishers, 2021.
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Pollio, Vitruvius. On Architecture. Translation by Frank Granger. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2014.
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Kurmann-Schwarz, Brigitte, and Elizabeth Pastan. Investigations in Medieval Stained Glass. Reading Medieval Sources. Leiden, 2019.
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Milwright, Marcus. Islamic Arts and Crafts: An Anthology. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2017.
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Penny, Nicholas. The Materials of Sculpture. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1993.
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Rosler, Martha, Caroline Walker Bynum, Natasha Eaton, Michael Ann Holly, Amelia Jones, Michael Kelly, Robin Kelsey, Alisa LaGamma, Monika Wagner, Oliver Watson and Tristan Weddigen. "Notes from the Field: Materiality." The Art Bulletin 95, no. 1 (2013): 10–37.
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Welters, Linda, and Abby Lillethun, eds. The Fashion Reader. 2nd ed. Oxford: Berg, 2011.