In this episode of Crash Course Art History, we’ll hold a mirror …
In this episode of Crash Course Art History, we’ll hold a mirror to our bodies…in art, anyway. We’ll learn what portraits and self-portraits can tell us about the people they represent and about artists who’ve used bodies to critique their societies. Chapters: Introduction: We All Have Bodies Portraits & Self-Portraits European Art & the Nude Figure "Becoming an Image" "Olympia" Review & Credits Credits
Art is the perfect tool for activists to get across their message …
Art is the perfect tool for activists to get across their message and make people pay attention. In this episode of Crash Course Art History, we’ll learn about the centuries-long practice of iconoclasm, how art intersects with protest movements, and what happens to artists when the authorities aren’t thrilled by their acts of resistance. Chapters: Introduction: Gran Fury & ACT-UP Performance Art Jaune Quick-to-See Smith Ai Weiwei Iconoclasm Review & Credits Credits
Independent public art like graffiti and street art often gets a bad …
Independent public art like graffiti and street art often gets a bad rap, thanks to its legal classification as vandalism. But these art forms have much to offer as a means for people to speak truth to power and take ownership of community spaces. In this episode of Crash Course Art History, we’ll explore the various ways artists have used illicit public art to express themselves.
Chapters: Introduction: Ancient Graffiti Independent Public Art Impermanent Art Public Art as Political Expression Jean-Michel Basquiat Review & Credits Credits
From sunsets to double rainbows, nature’s full of beautiful things. So it’s …
From sunsets to double rainbows, nature’s full of beautiful things. So it’s not surprising that artists have found inspiration in Mother Nature for millennia. What is surprising is the wide variety of human concerns that nature art has been used to convey. In this episode of Crash Course Art History, we’ll learn about the ways artists use nature to make arguments about the world around us, and our place within it. Chapters: Introduction: The Nazca Plateau The Hidden Meanings in Nature Art Social Issues in Nature Art Humans & the Environment Review & Credits Credits
In this episode of Crash Course Art History, we’ll learn why museums …
In this episode of Crash Course Art History, we’ll learn why museums are so much more than just collections of interesting and pretty objects. Their legacy includes everything from violence to theft, to, oddly enough, mermaid hands. Chapters: Introduction: What Counts as a Museum? Ancient Versions of Museums Cabinets of Curiosities Colonialism & Museums Critiques of Museums The Future of Museums Review & Credits Credits
Art is often understood as a solitary act of personal expression. But …
Art is often understood as a solitary act of personal expression. But art is also the basis for community from Alaska to Mali — and from gay rights advocates to Frida Kahlo appreciators. In this episode we’ll learn how community is created through art.
Note: While Yayoi Kusama is an incredibly influential artist, she has a complicated legacy. Writer and PhD candidate Dexter Thomas has called attention to anti-Black racism in her published writing, including her 2002 autobiography “Infinity Net.” We encourage you to view Crash Course Art History Episode 5 to hear our discussion about artists with problematic histories and join the conversation. Chapters: Introduction: Obliteration Room The Great Mosque of Djenné The Gelede The Chief Johnson Pole The Origins of Pride Flags The Umbrella Art of Hong Kong Review & Credits Credits
From the Egyptian Book of the Dead to Tibetan Buddhist sand mandalas, …
From the Egyptian Book of the Dead to Tibetan Buddhist sand mandalas, humans have always reached for art to express religious ideas and impulses. In this episode, we’ll explore how concepts of the divine and spirituality intersect with the history of art. Chapters: Introduction: James Hampton The Book of the Dead Art & Spiritual Feelings Sacred Spaces Art as Prayer & Ritual Review & Credits Credits
From cave paintings to public murals, humans have told stories with art …
From cave paintings to public murals, humans have told stories with art for thousands of years. In this episode of Crash Course Art History, we discover that visual storytelling is elementally human — and so is competing over whose story is told. Chapters: Introduction: Narrative Art History as Story Contradictory Stories Official & Unofficial Stories Review & Credits Credits
Our cultural perspectives shape how we perceive art, including who we see …
Our cultural perspectives shape how we perceive art, including who we see as contributing to its most important movements. In this episode of Crash Course Art History, we’ll get to the truth behind the creation of modernism and bust the myth of its European beginning. We’ll show how modernism was a truly global movement, in which far-flung artists responded to a rapidly changing world.
Chapters: Introduction: "The Comedian" How Modernism Started Modernism's Influences Decentering Europe Multiple Modernisms Review & Credits Credits
How long do you typically look at an artwork, and what can …
How long do you typically look at an artwork, and what can you learn in that time? In this episode of Crash Course Art History, we’ll acquire a toolbox of terms to help us discover how all art is influenced by the time and place it was made in.
Chapters: Introduction: Art in Context Art Historians' Tools & Spring Way Art's Function & an Elephant Mask Using Context to Compare & Contrast Review & Credits Credits
Art tells the story of humanity across societies and cultures, but keeping …
Art tells the story of humanity across societies and cultures, but keeping that art around for future generations can be a monumental task. In this episode of Crash Course Art History, we’ll learn how art historians preserve, restore, and conserve art that tells the story of who we are and who we want to be. Chapters: Introduction: "The Last Supper" Preservation Restoration "Ecce Homo" Conservation Review & Credits Credits
What’s the line between inspiration and flat-out appropriation? In this episode of …
What’s the line between inspiration and flat-out appropriation? In this episode of Crash Course Art History, we grapple with questions about artistic originality and authenticity that have plagued the art world for hundreds of years. In today’s world of AI-generated art, it’s only getting more complicated. You will see a few AI-generated images in this video as part of our effort to dive directly into the questions surrounding AI-generated art.
Chapters: Introduction: AI Art Dürer's Copycat Provenance & Authentication Originality & Copyright Conceptual Art The "Hope" Poster Review & Credits Credits
How can the color “red” be a global commodity? How can the …
How can the color “red” be a global commodity? How can the way a statue stands be a sign of cultural exchange? In this episode of Crash Course Art History, we’ll explore how trade networks have moved both materials and ideas — and how art reflects a multi-directional flow of influences. Chapters: Introduction: Bugs & Red Dye The Silk Road The Crusades The Conquistadors Review & Credits Credits
In this episode of Crash Course Art History, we’ll keep digging into …
In this episode of Crash Course Art History, we’ll keep digging into the myth of the Great Artist, with whether we can—or should—separate artists’ personal actions and beliefs from the art they create. Art historians are exploring new ways to think about artists’ relationship to their work and how to talk about controversial art. Chapters: Introduction: Great Artists or Monsters? "Great Artists" The Romantics & Self-Portraits The Avant-garde & Surrealism Van Gogh & Gaugin Artistic Collaboration Separating Art from the Artist Review & Credits Credits
What makes some art valuable enough to hang in museums? In this …
What makes some art valuable enough to hang in museums? In this episode of Crash Course Art History, we’ll look at different ways we can figure out the value of art beyond the number on the price tag, and we’ll examine how culture, society, history, and storytelling influence how we evaluate artwork. Chapters: Introduction: What Is "Good" Art? Art & Beauty Art & Innovation Art & Lore: The Mona Lisa Art Criticism Clement Greenberg Art & Museums Review & Credits Credits
Michelangelo. Vincent Van Gogh. Pablo Picasso. The story of art history is …
Michelangelo. Vincent Van Gogh. Pablo Picasso. The story of art history is told through the biographies of individual celebrity artists. In this episode of Crash Course Art History, we’ll learn about where the myth of the Great Artist comes from — and why it might be time for a new perspective. Chapters: Introduction: "Great Artists" Guilds The Medicis Vasari & the "Great Artist" Art Academies Great (Women) Artists Modern Ideas of Greatness Review & Credits Credits
How do smartphones and 3-D models change how we experience art? And …
How do smartphones and 3-D models change how we experience art? And even history itself? In this episode of Crash Course Art History, we’ll learn how technology is shifting the ways we think about art’s past, present, and future.
Chapters: Introduction: Trendy "Museums" The Mosul Lion & Digital Karnak "Migration Series" Social Media & Art The Future of Art Review & Credits Credits
What counts as design? What counts as art? And how did this …
What counts as design? What counts as art? And how did this debate start? In this episode of Crash Course Art History, we’ll trace the history of privileging some materials and techniques over others. We’ll explore how street fashion, dinner plates, and a swan candelabrum blur boundaries that were never clear-cut to begin with.
Chapters: Introduction: "The Dinner Party" A Timeline of the Debate Folk Art The Sapeurs Blending Art & Design Review & Credits Credits
For centuries, “official” art spaces have shaped whose work gets taken seriously. …
For centuries, “official” art spaces have shaped whose work gets taken seriously. But there are no required qualifications for making art! In this episode of Crash Course Art History, we’ll explore amateurs and outsiders. We’ll learn how the line separating who’s in and who’s out has shifted over time — and how influences have drifted across it. Chapters: Introduction: What Is an Amateur? The Origins of "Amateur" "Amateur" Women Artists Wohaw's Drawings Outsider Art & Art Brut Review & Credits Credits
What makes a painting worth millions of dollars? In this episode of …
What makes a painting worth millions of dollars? In this episode of Crash Course Art History, we’re looking at the history behind today’s art industry and how we determine an artwork’s financial value. We’ll also learn how the big business of buying and selling art runs on imperialism, and how people in the art world are fighting back.
Chapters: Introduction: Million-Dollar Paintings Patronage The Free Market Appraisal Colonialism & Art The Gallery Industrial Complex Review & Credits Credits
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