Introduction to the Discipline of Art History

Instructor Introduction: The course is taught by Professor Cristina Elizondo, a professional art historian with approximately $20$ to $25$ years of experience in the field.
Support Staff: The professor's teaching assistant is a small Chihuahua who is frequently nearby and often heard snoring in the background of recordings.
Platform Details:
- Creation: Videos are created in PowerPoint and exported to video files.
- Hosting: The videos are hosted on Panopto, the primary video hosting platform used by Austin Community College (ACC).
- Functionality: To access full functionality, students should click the diagonal arrow in the menu at the bottom of the video player screen. This redirects to the Panopto hosting site.
- Interactive Features: On the Panopto site, a left-hand menu provides access to "Notes" and "Discussion" sections.
- External Links: Active links to external content (such as shorter videos or the Smart History site) are located within the "Notes" and "Discussion" menu options on the left side of the Panopto interface.

Founding Figure: The discipline of art history is traditionally credited to Giorgio Vasari.
- Biographical Context: Vasari was born in Italy during the Renaissance and documented the work of contemporary artists such as Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael, and Donatello.
- Historical Significance: While he may not be the first individual to document art or artists, he is recognized as the first to formalize art history as a specific academic discipline.
Foundational Text: Vasari authored the seminal work titled Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, which is considered the first art historical text.
Geographic Evolution: Because the discipline originated in the heart of Western Europe (specifically Italy), the formal study of art history was initially focused almost exclusively on European artists and Western traditions.

Definition of the Art Historical Canon: The set of art and architecture that, over time, has received the most attention and prioritization from art historians, and that has been formally and informally codified as the most important to study and learn about.
Western Prioritization: For the first few hundred years, the discipline prioritized Western art history due to its geographic origins.
Global Diversification: Over the past $100$ years, and more notably over the last $50$ years, the discipline has expanded and grown more global and diversified.
Context for Course Material: Even in textbooks labeled as "A Global History," students may still observe a slight prioritization of Western artwork, which is a byproduct of the discipline's historical development.

The Primary Tenet: "Art always represents the culture that makes it. Art always represents the people that make it."
Contextual Analysis: A work of art is never created in a vacuum; it is deeply embedded with cultural clues and values. Analyzing art requires understanding the people and values of the culture that produced it.
The Tree Metaphor: Art objects should be viewed like a tree: the visual object is the tree above the surface, while the cultural context represents the extensive root system below the surface.
Art as History: Unlike general history, which relies on military records, written documents, and newspapers, art history analyzes human history almost entirely through the physical objects created by various cultures.
Art as Time Travel: Humans are unable to time travel, but art objects functions as "time travelers," providing a record of the past and connecting contemporary observers with people and cultures with whom they cannot interact face-to-face.

The Central Aim: The fundamental goal of art history is to determine the context of works of art.
Specific Inquiry: Art historians seek to answer the question: "What circumstances led to the creation of this work of art?"
Aesthetic Appreciation vs. Historical Analysis: While it is possible to appreciate art on an aesthetic level (e.g., texture, shape, outline, craftsmanship), an understanding of context significantly deepens the appreciation and understanding of the object.
Academic Standards:
- Art history is an evidence-based academic discipline.
- It utilizes the scientific method for research and is characterized by being factual, systemic, and transparent.
- It relies on consensus among experts in the field to determine subject matter and interpretations.
- The discipline rejects ideas lacking physical or historical evidence, such as conspiracy theories involving aliens.

Object Identification: A Maya "Flint" or eccentric knife.
Aesthetic Features:
- Material: Obsidian, which is a glass-like stone.
- Production Technique: Created through precise "flaking" by striking the glass with another stone to achieve a thin, specific outline.
Contextual Details:
- Narrative Source: Illustrates part of the Maya creation story found in the council book The Purple View.
- Iconography: Depicts a canoe shaped like a crocodile carrying three passengers.
- Primary Character: The middle passenger is identified as the maize god, signifying the agricultural importance of maize to the Maya.
- Cosmological Context: Represents a specific date in Maya cosmology when the Milky Way shifted from a horizontal to a vertical position.
- Interpretation: This celestial shift was interpreted as the maize god descending into the underworld.

Diversity of Subject Matter: Art historical content is extremely varied and includes:
- Animals and nature.
- Depictions of the human figure and portraits.
- Themes of death, religion, and power.
- Images of violence, such as warfare and soldiers.
- Overt sexuality, fertility, and nudity.
The Universality of Art: No known civilization in human history has lived without some form of art. Every civilization has contributed to the historical record through artistic production.
Age of Objects: Art history explores objects ranging from $1,000$ years old to as far back as $30,000$ years old.
Final Message: Art history is presented as an inherently positive discipline that demonstrates the capacity of human creativity, innovation, and craftsmanship throughout time.