ARTH 4166 - Colonial Connectivities: Curating the Arts of the Spanish Americas

(crosslisted) ARKEO 4166, LATA 4166, VISST 4166
(GHB) (ALC-AS, HST-AS, LA-AS)

Spring. 3 credits. Letter grades only.

Co-meets with ARKEO 7166/ARTH 6166/LATA 6166/VISST 6166.

A. Cohen-Aponte, A. Weislogel.

This seminar immerses students in the diverse painting traditions of colonial Latin America (1500s-1800s), with a focus on artistic practice in Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela, and the Hispanophone Caribbean. Themes include the pluralism and material makeup of devotional images, aesthetic constructions of race and class, the development of artistic workshops, and the role of rebellion and revolution in art. Students will participate in the curatorial development of Cornell’s first exhibition of colonial Latin American art, scheduled to open in June 2024. They will research the paintings selected for the exhibition; devise the installation layout and design; write wall texts; and collaborate on the development of educational programming. Activities will also include a field trip to Buffalo State University observe scientific analysis of select paintings from the exhibition.