OLLI+Videoconferences+2016

//__Exploring America’s Roots and Art__//
Artists give us a unique window on American life, reflecting the cultural, social, and political climate of the time in which they work. What can we learn about America through its art? In **//four sessions//**: After a warm-up session to explore how to analyze and understand artworks, OLLI members and Smithsonian American Art Museum study group leaders will examine America through the eyes of artists in different eras.



//Topics://
 * 1) To See Is to Think
 * 2) Young America
 * 3) Lure of the West
 * 4) What is Art? Choices Artists Make

__**To See is to Think**__ Description: Learn the language of art and consider the many choices artists make when creating their works. This session will provide a foundation and common vocabulary for subsequent sessions.


 * Resources:**





__**Young America**__ Description: Explore the historical context of the creation of our nation, as well as the resulting political infrastructure and economic development, through artworks from colonial to Jacksonian America.


 * Resources:**





__**Lure of the West**__ Description: Explore depictions of the people, lifestyles, and landscape of the nineteenth-century West to better understand this dynamic period of history. Themes include artists' depictions of Manifest Destiny, as well as the effect of westward expansion on settlers' and American Indians' lives.


 * Resources:**



__**What is Art? Choices Artists Make**__ Description: Artists may make specific aesthetic choices in order to communicate social, political, or cultural ideas. How do artists construct their visual messages through subject, media, and presentation? This session explores the powerful works of art created by 20th century artists responding to changing times.


 * Resources:**