American Art and Cross-Cultural Exchange

B. American Art and Cross-Cultural Exchange

Roberta Katz, Lecturer, School of Professional Studies

This course examines American art as an expression of cross-cultural exchange. From the early colonial period, artists fashioned a personal and public identity by crisscrossing artistic boundaries. Just as American artists responded to their own history and culture, they also drew upon the art of Europe, indigenous peoples, Africa, Latin America, and Asia to create their own distinctive body of work that transcended either local or national limits. By highlighting patterns of cross-cultural exchange, we can expand our perception of American art to include an international context.