Introduction to Art and Cinema

Content:
This course will provide students with an overview of French art and cinema and the study of visual cultures more generally. We will examine various ways of ‘reading’ a piece of art – whether a painting, a photograph, or a film while viewing representative works from different periods of French and regional history, both in class and through site visits to various local and regional art museums (the Palais des Beaux Art in Lille, la Piscine in Roubaix, and the Louvre-Lens).

In class course sessions will include:

• introduction to visual analysis: how to read a painting
• introduction to cinema/film studies
• analysis of assorted film clips and still photographs
• overviews of art and cinema history
• critical approaches to film and film analysis
• French culture and history
• film viewings (including La Nuit Américaine (1973) and Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis (2008)
• Wrap-up and evaluation

Learning Outcomes:
By the end of the course, the students should be able to:

• understand how to read and analyse a painting, a photograph, and a film
• evaluate pieces of art and cinema as social and cultural documents
• identify major movements and styles within art history
• outline the basic history of cinema in France
• recognize and use some of the essential terminology of film-making and cinema studies

Educational Methods:

Lecture, discussion, site visits, film-viewing, group work, case-studies

Resources:

All requisite course materials will be supplied in class, including:

• An Introduction to Art Analysis
• A Basic Glossary of Film Terms

In addition, students will be directed to specific museum websites, as well as to various other online resources, such as:

• https://www.uwgb.edu/malloyk/art_criticism_and_formal_analysi.htm
• https://www.thoughtco.com/french-movie-terms-1371312 : to supplement your French lessons!