Home

From the 17th century, the imperial city walled within the Qing dynasty capital of Beijing was the center of a politically mandated and produced visual and material culture. This seminar will explore the architecture, the city plan, and an array of objects produced at court, from tiny carved walnuts in the shapes of boats to monumental dragons of white marble, from poetic handscroll paintings to equally poetic maps. We will interpret the city in light of classical Chinese theories of city design, theoretical discussion of Manchu ethnicity and the arts, and issues of identity surrounding the patronage and personality of the Qing emperors. The course will ask why and how the city, although forbidden, managed to become and remain the symbolic locus of power in late imperial China, and how it has been reinterpreted and re-presented by the Communist state. During the second half of the semester we will investigate current attempts at visual deconstruction of the city by 21st -century artists and architects. Lecture-seminar. Prerequisite: two previous art history classes or consent of instructor.

FALL 2021 Mon, Wed 11:00-12:20
FAB 2-24

Professor Lisa Claypool
Office hours: after conference meetings and by appointment
Office: FAB 3-89B
Telephone: 780.248.1758
Email me: claylisa@ualberta.ca
To access your course blogspot, click here