Modern Art & Ideas
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Modern Art & Ideas
This course is part of Modern and Contemporary Art and Design Specialization
Instructor: Lisa Mazzola
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What you'll learn
Learn how to decode complex artworks by looking closely and thinking critically—essential skills for navigating the world today.
Explore how artists respond to the most urgent challenges of our modern world through themes like Identity and Society.
Gain exclusive "behind-the-scenes" access to the materials, techniques, and motivations of world-class artists and designers.
Become fluent in thematic frameworks that will help you cultivate a professional toolkit for critical thinking and lateral reasoning skills.
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There are 6 modules in this course
Unlock the world of modern art from a global authority on the subject. Modern Art & Ideas from The Museum of Modern Art is designed for lifelong learners, students, professionals, and anyone seeking to build high-level critical thinking and visual literacy skills.
This is not your typical art history course. You will learn about art through accessible and relevant thematic frameworks—Art & Identity, Places & Spaces, Transforming Everyday Objects, and Art & Society—to understand how artists have responded to the urgent issues of our time. You’ll hear from educators, curators, and other experts and go behind the scenes with interviews from world-class artists and designers to hear about their materials, processes, and sources of inspiration. Whether you're looking to broaden your cultural horizons or add a creative edge to your professional toolkit, join a diverse community of learners from around the world and start seeing the world through a new lens. Career Application: This course transforms the study of modern art into a professional toolkit for visual problem-solving and cultural analysis. By gaining fluency in thematic frameworks, you’ll develop the advanced critical thinking and lateral reasoning skills necessary to lead visual strategy in marketing, drive user-centric innovation in design, and navigate complex global perspectives in corporate communication.
Welcome to Modern Art & Ideas! In this course, you'll learn to see art through a new lens—one that focuses on themes that allow us to make connections between artworks and our own lives.
What's included
1 video5 readings1 assignment
1 video•Total 1 minute
- Introduction to Modern Art & Ideas•1 minute
5 readings•Total 50 minutes
- Welcome to the Course!•10 minutes
- What is Modern Art?•10 minutes
- MoMA Resources•10 minutes
- Are You a K-12 educator ?•10 minutes
- Optional Prompts for Discussion & Reflection•10 minutes
1 assignment•Total 15 minutes
- What theme are you excited to explore?•15 minutes
In this module, you'll discover some of the ways artists have represented place and found inspiration in their surroundings.
What's included
7 videos6 readings
7 videos•Total 20 minutes
- Places & Spaces•5 minutes
- Martin Wong. Stanton near Forsyth Street. 1983•2 minutes
- Zarina. Home is a Foreign Place. 1999•2 minutes
- Claude Monet. Water Lilies. 1914-26•2 minutes
- Emeka Ogboh. Lagos State of Mind. 2017/2020•2 minutes
- Teddy Cruz, Fonna Forman. Manufactured Sites: A Housing Urbanism Made of Waste/Maquiladora, project (Model, 2005). 2005-2008•3 minutes
- Carolina Caycedo. Spirals for Shared Dreams. 2022•4 minutes
6 readings•Total 70 minutes
- Welcome to Module 2•10 minutes
- How do artists choose to represent the world?•20 minutes
- How do artists capture the mood of a place?•10 minutes
- How do artists reimagine architecture?•10 minutes
- Optional Readings & Resources•10 minutes
- Optional Prompts for Discussion & Reflection•10 minutes
Consider how artists create works of art to express, explore, and question identity.
What's included
7 videos7 readings
7 videos•Total 16 minutes
- Art & Identity•5 minutes
- Henri Matisse. The Red Studio. 1911•2 minutes
- Frida Kahlo. Self-Portrait with Cropped Hair. 1940•2 minutes
- Catherine Opie. Being and Having. 1991•2 minutes
- Amira Virgil. The Melanin Pack for The Sims 4. 2016•2 minutes
- Lorna Simpson. Wigs (Portfolio). 1994•2 minutes
- Kay WalkingStick. You're an Indian? 1995•1 minute
7 readings•Total 75 minutes
- Welcome to Module 3•10 minutes
- How do artists represent their sense of self?•20 minutes
- How do artists represent others?•10 minutes
- How do artists challenge identity?•10 minutes
- Optional Readings & Resources•10 minutes
- Optional Prompts for Discussion & Reflection•10 minutes
- Optional Mid-Course Survey•5 minutes
Discover how artists use everyday objects to challenge assumptions about what constitutes art and how it should be made. Explore a variety of artistic and design choices, and the creative acts of inventing and transforming everyday objects.
What's included
7 videos6 readings
7 videos•Total 18 minutes
- Transforming Everyday Objects•4 minutes
- Ruth Asawa. Untitled (BMC. 145, BMC Laundry Stamp). c. 1948-49•2 minutes
- Noah Purifoy. Unknown. 1967•3 minutes
- Alfonso Ossorio. Empty Chair or The Last Colonial. 1969•2 minutes
- Diamond Stingily. Entryways. 2021•2 minutes
- Clara Porset. Butaque Chair. 1957•3 minutes
- Tomás Gabzdil Libertiny. The Honeycomb Vase "Made by Bees" (Prototype). 2006•2 minutes
6 readings•Total 70 minutes
- Welcome to Module 4•10 minutes
- How do artists draw from their surroundings?•20 minutes
- How do artists alter the meaning of objects?•10 minutes
- How do designers problem-solve?•10 minutes
- Optional Readings & Resources•10 minutes
- Optional Prompts for Discussion & Reflection•10 minutes
Explore how artists create artworks in response to the social, cultural, and political issues of their time.
What's included
7 videos6 readings
7 videos•Total 20 minutes
- Art & Society•5 minutes
- Dorothea Lange. Migrant Mother. 1936•2 minutes
- Jacob Lawrence. Migration Series. 1940-41•2 minutes
- Ernest Cole. Untitled. c. 1960•2 minutes
- Martha Rosler. House Beautiful (Bringing the War Home). 1967-72•2 minutes
- Hanes, Inc. White T-Shirt. 1910s•3 minutes
- Gilbert Baker. Rainbow Flag. 1978•4 minutes
6 readings•Total 60 minutes
- Welcome to Module 5•10 minutes
- How do artists and designers respond to social conditions?•10 minutes
- How do artists challenge social conditions?•10 minutes
- How do artists and designers shift perspectives?•10 minutes
- Optional Readings & Resources•10 minutes
- Optional Prompts for Discussion & Reflection•10 minutes
Reflect on your journey through Modern Art & Ideas and complete a final assessment.
What's included
3 readings
3 readings•Total 25 minutes
- Conclusion to Modern Art & Ideas•10 minutes
- Optional Course Completion Survey•5 minutes
- Optional Prompts for Discussion & Reflection•10 minutes
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Reviewed on Jun 4, 2020
I found it very interesting and challenging giving me deeper understanding of art as themes and why modern art was linked with the industrial revolution, media and relationship with its audience.
Reviewed on Jun 28, 2020
Very much enjoyed this course, I learned a great deal about what is encompassed in modern art, what was going on in the artist's mind when doing their art pirce, and what is considered modern art.
Reviewed on May 23, 2020
A very informative and interesting course, with a large variety of artwork and history. I could complete it without any time pressures, and I enjoyed the reflections at the end of each week.
Frequently asked questions
No prior knowledge of art or art history is required to complete this course. Whether you’re an artist, an art lover, an art skeptic, or just interested in learning more about art, this course has something for you.
Coursera currently provides certificates of completion, but MoMA does not offer additional accreditation at this time.
By learning how ideas are translated into visual culture, you’ll gain a premium skill set directly applicable to creative direction, marketing strategy, arts management, and interdisciplinary education.
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Financial aid available,
¹ Some assignments in this course are AI-graded. For these assignments, your data will be used in accordance with Coursera's Privacy Notice.
