4. Claude Monet
Brushstrokes became more
important than imagery.
The Impressionists’
emphasis on observation
paralleled the ideas of
scientists and philosophers
of the day, who argued
that reality was only what
could be sensed,
measured and analyzed.
5. Nature and Photography
Famous black
and white
photographer,
Ansel Adams
(Nature
untouched by
humans)
Terje Sorgje, a
famous (present
day) time lapse
photographer
http://www.youtube.com/w
atch?v=Rk6_hdRtJOE
7. José Clemente Orozco. Gods of the
Modern World, 1932-1934. Fresco.
One panel in a cycle of murals entitled An Epic of American
Civilization. Baker Memorial Library, Dartmouth College, New
Hampshire, USA.
8.
9. The Critique of Learning
The artist Orozco presents
the argument against the
pursuit of sterile
knowledge.
sterile: adj. unable to
produce children/totally
clean/free from bacteria
or any other living
microorganism.
10. The Critique of Learning
This painting is a warning
against the academic
(teacher/student of higher
education) who is completely
occupied with sterile research
or learning that has no value
outside of academia.
academia: n. the environment
or community concerned with
the pursuit of research,
education, and scholarship.
11. The Critique of Learning
Orozco believed that
sterile education passes
for knowledge, but it
actually keeps the
young busy without
giving them any real
wisdom or
understanding.
12. The Critique of Learning
The rhythm of the lines is
strong, from the
verticals of the
academic robes, to the
black and white of the
skeleton’s ribs, to the
book spines below.
13. José Clemente Orozco. An Epic American
Civilization, 1932-1934. Fresco.
A 20-panel cycle in Baker Memorial Library, Dartmouth College,
New Hampshire, USA.
14. José’s thoughts…
“The American continental races are now becoming aware of their
own personality, as it emerges from two cultural currents—the
indigenous and the European. The great American myth of
Quetzalcoatl is a living one embracing both elements and pointing
clearly, by its prophetic nature, to the responsibility shared equally
by the two Americas of creating here an authentic New World
civilization. I feel that this subject has a special significance for an
institution such as Dartmouth College which has its origin in a
continental rather than in a local outlook—the foundation of
Dartmouth, I understand, predating the foundation of the United
States.”
As Orozco surely had been told, Dartmouth College was chartered
for the purpose of “the education and instruction of Youth of the
Indian Tribes in this Land . . . and also of English Youth and any
others.”
34. 13. Anglo-America
The East Wing: Cortez and the Modern Era
o If there was one word you would use to describe “education,”
what word would you choose?
o Think back through all of your past and current teachers and
professors. Who has made the biggest impact on your life?
o Talk about a teacher that made a negative impact. …Why?
o Talk about a teacher that made a positive impact. …Why?
