90626 - Phenomenology of Applied Arts (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

By the end of this course, students will possess the theoretical, methodological and historical -tools necessary to understand the role of applied Arts from the mid-19th Century until the first decades of the 20th Century. In particular, students will develop the critical awareness and the necessary skills to undertake the study of formal correspondences between the industrial/applied arts and the contemporary artistic events. In turn, students will also learn about the consequent modifications of the languages occurred in relation to technical innovations. Finally, students will also be able to carry out documentary and bibliographic research, while familiarizing themselves with hardcopy and digital repertoires and produce original research work suitable for dissemination.

Course contents

During the course we will examine the phenomena that occurred between the second half of the Nineteenth century and the first decades of the Twentieth century, a chronological arc during which we witness the affirmation of the idea of a unity of the arts. Starting from the correspondence between the Pre-Raphaelite reform and the Arts and Crafts Movement, an Italian case study will be the experience of the Aemilia Ars Cooperative Society. Subsequently, relations between Symbolism and Art Nouveau will be addressed, without forgetting the fundamental role of International Exhibitions. An important chapter in this path of correspondence is represented by the birth of industrial design in the sphere of Secessions, in particular with the experiments of the Wiener Werkstätte and the Deutsche Werkbund, which anticipate the fundamental experience of the Bauhaus. Considerable importance will be attributed to Futurism, whose Manifesto of the Futurist reconstruction of the universe (1915) constitutes the foundation of Italian proto design, and to the great stylistic compromise of Art Deco in Italy.

Readings/Bibliography

The program is the same for all, attending and non-attending students

VITTA, Maurizio, Il progetto della bellezza. Il design fra arte e tecnica, Einaudi, Torino, 2001, up to chapter VI (pp. 1-215);

GRANDI, Silvia, Gli Anni Venti, in S. Grandi, A. Vaccari, Vestire il Ventennio. Moda e cultura artistica in Italia tra le due guerre, Bononia University Press, Bologna, 2004, (pp. 1-124) (available on virtuale.unibo.it)

The study of the following essays is also required, which will be merged into a collection by the teacher, available at Copy System, via Fondazza:

ZUCCONI, Guido, Rubbiani e la nozione di arte collettiva, in C. Bernardini, D. Davanzo Poli, O. Ghetti (a cura di), Aemilia Ars, (1898-193) Arts and Crafts a Bologna, catalogo della mostra, Bologna, Collezioni Comunali d’Arte, marzo-giugno 2001, A+G Edizioni, Milano, 2001 pp. 33-38;

GHETTI BALDI, Orsola, Arts and Crafts a Bologna, in C. Bernardini, D. Davanzo Poli, O. Ghetti (a cura di), Aemilia Ars, (1898-193) Arts and Crafts a Bologna, catalogo della mostra, Bologna, Collezioni Comunali d’Arte, marzo-giugno 2001, A+G Edizioni, Milano, 2001, pp. 41-85;

VIRELLI, Giuseppe, Una fucina di talenti, in E. Baldini, P. Monari, G. Virelli (a cura di), La Fabbrica dei sogni. Il “bel San Francesco” di Alfonso Rubbiani, catalogo della mostra, Bologna, Ex-chiesa di San Mattia, settembre-novembre 2014, Bononia University Press, Bologna 2014, pp. 23-32;

BALDINI, Elisa, Alfonso Rubbiani, la Fabbriceria e la Gilda, in E. Baldini, P. Monari, G. Virelli (a cura di), La Fabbrica dei sogni. Il “bel San Francesco” di Alfonso Rubbiani, catalogo della mostra, Bologna, Ex-chiesa di San Mattia, settembre-novembre 2014, Bononia University Press, Bologna 2014, pp. 33-42.

Baldini, Elisa, Aemilia Ars, echi dal passato, tracce di futuro, in Il Camino dei Fenicotteri: i disegni dei Casanova dall’Aemilia Ars alla Rocchetta Mattei, a cura di Paolo Cova, Mark Gregory d’Apuzzo, Ilaria Negretti, in collaborazione con Renzo Zagnoni e Gruppo Studi Alta Valle del Reno, collana Nuèter-ricerche, 2020, pp. 10-15.

BELLI, Gabriella, Arredo, oggettistica, moda: l’avventura della Ricostruzione futurista dell’universo, in E. Crispolti (a cura di), Futurismo 1909-1944. Arte, architettura, spettacolo, grafica, letteratura, Mazzotta, Milano 2001, pp. 147-161.

VIRELLI, Giuseppe, Contro la linea “tourniquet”. Decorativismo ossimorico dell’arte totale futurista, in Claudio Franzoni, Pierluca Nardoni, Gian Luca Tusini (a cura di), Il sogno umano sulla forma. L’ornamento nelle arti tra passato e presente, Persiani Editore, Bologna, 2022, pp. 162-174.

BENZI, Fabio (a cura di), Il déco in Italia, Mondadori Electa, Milano 2004, pp. 15-179.

Teaching methods

Lectures accompanied by various audio-visual media, essential to understanding the methodology applied to the course. There will be several meetings (which students are expected to attend) with some of the authors of the books in bibliography.

ATTENTION: given the fluidity of the Emergency situation, and since this program is published in July 2022, it is possible that the teaching methods will change in the coming months. In this case, timely communication will be given through an update of this program, as well as through appropriate notices published on the usual institutional channels.

 

Assessment methods

The exam consists of an oral interview that will be the same for all students (attending and not attending) to evaluate the critical and methodological abilities acquired by the students, and it will be based on the recommended bibliography. Students are expected to demonstrate the acquisition and possession of the fundamentals of the discipline and the methodological approach adopted, including the recognition of images of art works. In this regard, they are invited particularly to focus on the iconographic documentation that accompanies the exam texts and the teacher's educational material on Platform for teaching support service.

Evaluation criteria for the interview:

1. It will be graded as excellent the performance of those students demonstrating to be able to thoroughly analyse the texts and to put them into an organic view of the topics discussed during the course. The proper use of the specific language during the examination will be also essential.

2. It will be graded as satisfactory the performance of those students with mostly mnemonic knowledge, no in-depth analysis capabilities and a correct, but not always appropriate, language of the recommended texts.

3. It will be graded as barely sufficient the performance of those students with approximate knowledge, superficial understanding, poor analytical capabilities and a not always appropriate language.

4. It will be graded as insufficient the performance of those students with learning gaps, inappropriate language, no orientation within the recommended bibliography.

Teaching tools

Various audiovisual aids. Through the platform “virtuale.unibo.it”, students will be provided with images and lecture-based presentations and other educational materials.

 

 

 

 

Links to further information

http://corsi.unibo.it/Magistrale/artivisive/Pagine/default.aspx

Office hours

See the website of Silvia Grandi