ID108
The Mirror of the Art

Faculty
Leonardo Martínez Arias
Professor and Lecturer, Cultural centers and other private spaces
Course length
Duration
Total hours
Credits
Language
Course type
Fee for single course
Fee for degree students
Skills you’ll learn
Overview
Art is not just a question of intellectual understanding but of living. Art is a way to access our soul and reality, as well as the reality and the selves of the people around us. Art is a mirror in which we can recognize the long travel of humanity into the consciousness of its possibilities, its greatness, and miseries. This mirror is our mirror.
The idea of this course is to go into the essential questions of mankind (love, desire, fears, history, revolution, war...) and see how creativity has played a key role to express, reflect, and even confront these questions. The artists and the artistic movements we are going to study are really an excuse for making our own process and being more self-aware and better at seeing what surrounds us. Jumping through the looking-glass, we’ll see a world full of surprises, ideas, and challenges.
Learning highlights
- Connecting art to essential questions of mankind.
- Putting works of art with history in context.
- Analyzing works of art and the creative process of artists.
- Researching about a particular subject.
- Relating all this knowledge to one's own interests.
Course outline
15 classes
WHAT IS ART?
Introductory session.
BEAUTY
Ancient Greece and the paradigm of beauty. Comparison with paradigms from other cultures.
FAITH
Byzantine Art, Michelangelo and non-western ways of depicting Divinity.
DEATH
The Black Death and the end of the Medieval world. What about death in modern society?
NATURE
Romanticism and Land Art: sublimity and ecology.
UNCONSCIOUS
The convulsive beauty of Surrealism.
DESIRE
From Rubens to Bacon: views on eroticism.
PAIN
The Frida Kahlo Case: creating within pain
REVOLUTION
Germany between wars: an aesthetic laboratory
WAR
Goya, Capa and how to represent the cruelty and the violence of war.
20th CENTURY HISTORY
Cartier-Bresson in the midst of the storm.
FASHION
Postcards from the world of fashion. Final group pitches.
CONTEMPORARY LIFE
Street Art: new spaces for creation. Final group pitches.
Session 14
Final oral presentations.
Session 15
Final oral presentations.
Prerequisites
A very basic knowledge about art and artists.
Desire to know more about the subject.
Methodology
Interactive lectures.
Individual assignments.
Teamwork: interviews with local artists.
Final project
Grading
Born in Argentina, I studied History in the National University of Cuyo, initially specialized in Political Ideas. After coming to Spain to do a Master in the International University of Andalucia, I reorientated my carrer into History of Art and History of Culture. For my Ph.D. in Pompeu Fabra University I was researching about terror in modern art, from the end of medieval times to the present, working with an interdisciplinary approach including anthropology, philosophy, art and history. I defend the idea of knowledge in a holist way as the best way to understand (or try to understand) the intrincate and uncertain reality in which we live.
I always worked as a professor, first in schools, and later in private spaces in Barcelona. That gave me the possibility to interact with my students ́interests and beliefs in the building of a shared community of knowledge, paying attention not only to the information (which is the starting point) but to the inner development, personal and social (which is the key to learning and to live). For me, History or Art are not only a question of cultural institutions but a way of living in our present, and living in the best way. As Voltaire said, I don ́t know if we are in a perfect world but I try to take care of my garden,
See full profileApply for this course
The Mirror of the Art
by Leonardo Martínez Arias
Total hours
45 Hours
Dates
Mar 13 - Mar 31, 2023
Fee for single course
€1500
Fee for degree students
€750
How to secure your spot
Complete the form below to kickstart your application
Schedule your Harbour.Space interview
If successful, get ready to join us on campus
FAQ
Will I receive a certificate after completion?
Yes. Upon completion of the course, you will receive a certificate signed by the director of the program your course belonged to.
Do I need a visa?
This depends on your case. Please check with the Spanish or Thai consulate in your country of residence about visa requirements. We will do our part to provide you with the necessary documents, such as the Certificate of Enrollment.
Can I get a discount?
Yes. The easiest way to enroll in a course at a discounted price is to register for multiple courses. Registering for multiple courses will reduce the cost per individual course. Please ask the Admissions Office for more information about the other kinds of discounts we offer and what you can do to receive one.



