Studio Arts College International (SACI) is more than an opportunity to study abroad in the birthplace of the Renaissance: it’s an experience you will carry with you, in your career and throughout your life.
Accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD), SACI offers a wide range of innovative, hands-on graduate and undergraduate programs in traditional and contemporary studio arts, design, conservation, art history, and Italian language and culture.
Surrounded by the great masterpieces of another age and a lively community of contemporary artists, studying at SACI is not only an opportunity to discover what came before you, but to be part of a vibrant culture that is overflowing with artistic life.
Begin a creative journey that will prepare you to succeed in the competitive art world. Many partial scholarships are available for undergraduate and graduate study at SACI. We offer an easy online application process that you can use to submit and check on the status of your application.ARTS(FB)400 Body Archives: Special Topics in Studio Art, Dejan Atanakovic, Spring 2020
Lectures and field trips include the following four phases:
The course begins with the ambiguous anatomical gaze inside the body of the 1700s, and its relation to the concepts of the beauty and the sublime. This includes a visit to (or in-class study of collections of) the Museum of Natural History La Specola, Museum of Anatomy and Biomedical Collection.
The second phase is dedicated to the early anthropological "photographic truth," in particular the study of modern identity of the colonial times through its relation to the socially, culturally and ethnically diverse (the "savage"). This phase of the course will lead the class into the photographic archive of the Museum of Anthropology and may include meetings with the experts of the museum. The theme of "otherness" may also be approached through meetings with experts in social integration and creative therapy work at the art and therapy center Fili e Colori (theater, painting, writing).
The third and the fourth phases will include the observation of consequences of the pseudo-scientific gaze in 20th-century art, from 1930s totalitarian regimes to the contemporary responses in various fields of culture and art, dealing with the theme of disappearing and replacement of the body with signs.
Studio Work
Studio assignments are thematic and are given at the conclusion of each thematic unit. Each assignment is presented in two phases, during the work and at the end of the work. Specific media will be recommended for specific assignments, but preferably the choice of media will be a student’s own (well-reasoned) choice. For each assignment students may use specific iconographic elements (gathered through lectures, field trips and independently) related to the theme.
Assignments
During the semester four assignments will be developed and accomplished in relation to the class themes and specific museum visits. The assignments, though specific in context, and presented with the emphasis on a specific work process, will allow each student to apply personal poetics and method. However, experimentation and use of multiple media will be given priority.
Readings
(Note: It is not necessary to purchase the books below. Readings are made available through the SACI Worthington Library)
George Didi-Huberman, Wax Flesh, Vicious Circles from Encyclopaedia Anatomica (p.75-86)
Joanna Ebenstein, The Birth of the Anatomical Venus from The Anatomical Venus (p.14-49)
Friedrich Schiller, On the Sublime (PDF, 10 A4 pages)
M. Kemp, M. Wallace, The ritual of dissection, from Spectacular Bodies (p.23-31)
Boccaccio, excerpt from The Decameron (Introduction, Word doc. 5 A4 pages)
Ulf Kustner, Louise Bourgeois (excerpt) (p.75-93, p.107-116)
Michela Marzano, The Philosophy of the Body (catalogue, Francis Bacon, Word doc. 4 A4 pages)
Thomas Mann, selected excerpts from The Magic Mountain (p.91-92, 151-154, 178-186)
Colleen Sheehy, Taxidermy and Extinction: Considering the Work of Mark Dion, Quodlibetica (PDF, 4 A4 pages)
Gilles Deleuze, selected excerpts from Francis Bacon, The Logic of Sensation (p. 8-33)
Thomas Szasz, The Manufacture of Madness (p. 17-24, 149-169)
David Sylvester, Interviews with Francis Bacon, excerpt (p.30-50)
Michel Foucault, selected excerpts from Discipline and Punish (p.135-169)
Michel Foucault, selected excerpts from Madness and Civilization (p.3-37)
Michel Foucault, selected excerpts from Psychiatric power (p.64-87, 93-116)
Michel Frizot, Body of Evidence, a chapter from The New History of Photography (p.259-271)
Gloria Moure, Interview with Christian Boltanski, in Advent and Other Times (p.105-115)
Susan Sontag, selected excerpts from Under the Sign of Saturn (p.73-105)
Grading
Grading will be based on the evaluation of the results of each assignment, plus the two reviews of the visual diary, at the midterm and at the end of the semester. Each assignment will be evaluated according to: creativity, experimentation, idea development and personal interpretation of a specific theme.
Graduate Students
Students in MFA, MA, and Post-Bac programs are expected to complete additional assignments and to produce work at a level appropriate for students in a graduate program. They are graded accordingly and, if they successfully complete all course requirements for graduate students, receive graduate-level credit for the course.
Schedule
(Please note: This schedule is subject to voluntary or involuntary change.)
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Week 1 |
Tuesday, January 14 Assignments. Expected outcomes. Grading standards. |
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Thursday, January 16 Sublime fragmentation, sublime body. Reading: Joanna Ebenstein,The Birth of the Anatomical Venus from The Anatomical Venus (p.14-49) Friedrich Schiller, On the Sublime (PDF, 10 A4 pages) |
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Week 2 |
Tuesday, January 21 Reading: Bodies M. Kemp, M. Wallace,The ritual of dissection, from Spectacular Bodies (p.23-31) George Didi-Huberman, Wax Flesh, Vicious Circles from Encyclopaedia Anatomica (p.75-86) Assignment: What is underneath? |
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Thursday, January 23 Presentation of the first results of the assignment “What is underneath?” Reading: Michela Marzano, The Philosophy of the Body (catalogue, Francis Bacon, Word doc. 4 A4 pages) Ulf Kustner, Louise Bourgeois (excerpt) (p.75-93, p.107-116) David Sylvester, Interviews with Francis Bacon, excerpt (p.30-50) |
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Week 3 |
Tuesday, January 28 |
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Thursday, January 30 Reading: Thomas Mann, selected excerpts from The Magic Mountain (p.91-92, 151-154, 178-186) |
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Week 4 |
Tuesday, February 4 Boccaccio, excerpt from The Decameron (Introduction, Word doc. 5 A4 pages) Work in class. |
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Thursday, February 6 |
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Week 5 |
Tuesday, February 11 “The Enigma of Kasper Hauser” screening of excerpts from the film by Werner Herzog. Introduction to the 2nd assignment: “Fantastic Other” Readings: Michel Foucault, selected excerpts from Discipline and Punish (p.135-169) Michel Frizot, Body of Evidence, a chapter from The New History of Photography (p.259-271) |
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Thursday, February 13 |
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Week 6 |
Tuesday, February 18 Thomas Szasz, The Manufacture of Madness (p. 17-24, 149-169) |
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Thursday, February 20 Michel Foucault, selected excerpts from Madness and Civilization (p.3-37) Michel Foucault, selected excerpts from Psychiatric power (p.64-87, 93-116) First results of the 2nd assignment. |
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Week 7 |
Tuesday, February 25 |
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Thursday, February 27 |
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Week 8 |
MIDTERM BREAK (February 29 - March 8) |
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Week 9 |
Tuesday, March 10 The concept of the banality of evil, by Hannah Arendt. Reading: Susan Sontag, selected excerpts from Under the Sign of Saturn (p.73-105) Thursday, March 12 |
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Week 10 |
Tuesday, March 17 |
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Thursday, March 19 Colleen Sheehy, Taxidermy and Extinction: Considering the Work of Mark Dion , Quodlibetica (PDF, 4 A4 pages) |
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Week 11 |
Tuesday, March 24 Screening of the film: “Marina Abramovic. The Artist is Present.” |
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Thursday, March 26 |
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Week 12 |
Tuesday, March 31 Reading: Gloria Moure, Interview with Christian Boltanski, in Advent and Other Times (p.105-115) |
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Thursday, April 2 Work in class. Consultations. |
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Week 13 |
Tuesday, April 7 |
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Thursday, April 9 |
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Week 14 |
Tuesday, April 14 |
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Thursday, April 16 |
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Week 15 |
Tuesday, April 21 |
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Thursday, April 23 Submitting final works and documentation relevant to all completed assignments. |
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