The 20th century poet Ezra Pound’s statement “Make it new” is often taken as a challenge to artists to create art that is “a beginning, an invention, a discovery.” This statement, however, is not really Pound’s but his translation of a saying of Confucius from 2500 years earlier. This challenge to “Make it new” is actually quite old. Artists have always looked to the examples of other artists – past and present – to guide them or to drive them to rebel. It is a paradox of art-making, however, that rebellion often breeds new traditions and followers of tradition often alter the traditions they appear to uphold. This semester, we will seek to explore how artists respond to one another and what conversations may be taking place between works of art. Our encounters with literature and art will be guided by the following questions:
- How do artists respond the work of other artists?
- How do various artists approach enduring subjects such as love, death, and the passage of time?
- How and why do artists participate in and change the traditions of art-making?
This course calls on you to actively engage with texts and images in an effort to become more mindful and analytical creators and consumers of art. To this end, you will complete short analytical writings, often a brief paragraph, drawn from your engagement as a reader. As the semester continues, these will lead to longer, more substantial papers. We will engage in discussion in class and on this blog. Conferences with Mr. Stumpf and peer-editing will also be part of the process. You will also engage in and contribute to recitation work and a semester-long vocabulary-building project.
A complete course description can be found here: Upper School Literature Course Description.
