Studying facial expressions in the sketchbooks of Leonardo da Vinci (or on the head of Leonardo the 'teenage mutant ninja turtle') students gain appreciation for visual art as a tool of social criticism and outlet of social anxiety -as well as the historic uses and abuses of caricature. Caricature is essentially a transformation of a real living being through exaggeration and distortion. Most cultures have made images likening humans to animals -primarily behaviorally to either criticize someone's morals - truthfully or as a smear-or with the aim of ennoblement. We will primarily consider the history of printed matter (magazines, lithography, engravings, etc) and also look at film and animation. Course Pre-requisite: a sense of humor (and an interest in analyzing caricature, even those that might be offensive).
- Teacher: Ezra Shales