Empowerment through the Arts

Instructor:     kahlil almustafa       

Office Hours:    By appointment only   
Email:      kahlilalmustafa@gmail.com

- 2/6 -
Session 2: What Is Art
- 2/13 -
Session 3: What Is Art II

Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Tolstoy

Tolstoy photographed at his Yasnaya Polyana estate in May 1908 by Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky. The only known color photograph of the writer. Born Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy
September 9, 1828(1828-09-09)
Yasnaya Polyana, Russian Empire Died November 20, 1910(1910-11-20) (aged 82)
Astapovo, Russian Empire Occupation Novelist, short story writer, playwright, essayist Language Russian, French Nationality Russian Period 1852–1910 Notable work(s) War and Peace
Anna Karenina
A Confession

OVERVIEW:

Questions to be addressed in today’s class include:  what do you consider “art”? How would you define “art”? Why do you consider some things art and others not? We will use the multifarious answers to these questions to open up a discussion about the usefulness of learning to think and write critically about art.

WATCH:

"Dr. Cornel West speaks about Art and Culture in a Social Movement"

READ: 

“What is Art” by Leo Tolstoy.  Available at http://www.csulb.edu/~jvancamp/361r14.html

FIELDWORK: 

Locate “art” in your community (where you work, live, or go to school).
You may choose a more formal Art Exhibit or street art such as murals, graffiti, sculptures, or “found” art objects. Write a short reflection about two or more examples of art. Compare or contrast. Write about art that is significant to you, or even art you do not  consider art. Write about your discoveries and where you are challenged. Make sure to cite Tolstoy in your reflection.