ARTH3090: Cincinnati Art & Architecture

This art history course is designed to familiarize students with the remarkable history of art and architecture in Cincinnati from the founding of the Queen City in 1788 to the present.  This is a highly experiential seminar, with half of the meetings held outside of the classroom.  We will study a wide variety of buildings (domestic, civic, social, cultural, and religious) and art (painting, sculpture, prints, photography, murals, memorials, ceramics, carved furniture, silver, mosaics, and electronic media), on field trips to site locations.  We will examine issues such as patronage, historical context, control of space, urban planning, Cincinnati’s national influence, and the politics of representation in terms of race, sexuality, and class by focusing on case studies of artists, architects, and their works.   

We will conduct our study by means of reading books and articles, discussing ideas, writing short assignments, giving oral presentations, viewing digital images and DVDs, and analyzing original works of art and architecture.  Highlights will include the Cincinnati Art Museum, the Taft Museum of Art, the Contemporary Arts Center, Union Terminal, Rookwood Pottery, ArtWorks murals, Scarlet Oaks, and the Plum Street Temple.  There will be guest lectures by curators and architectural historians.

This course focuses on cases studies of local art and architecture, contextualizing them in terms  of regional, national, and international issues.  By researching and reflecting on the ways in which culture affects people’s lives, students will develop knowledge and insight that helps them inform the way future structures and art can benefit society.

While visiting the Cincinnati Panorama (8-plate daguerreotype) at the downtown public library in September 2023, the Voyageur Media Group filmed the class as part of a 3-hour PBS documentary, The Big Picture: A History of Photography in Greater Cincinnati. The first hour is complete and has three previes scheduled for Fall 2024.