Florida Tech and Brevard Art Museum Offer Foundations of Modern Art Course

MELBOURNE, FLA. — A Foundations of Modern Art course will be jointly offered to the community by Florida Institute of Technology and the Brevard Art Museum
this spring semester, starting Jan. 13. The 15-week class includes three consecutive emphases: Modernism in the late 19th and 20th centuries (Romanticism
to Expressionism), Jan. 13-Feb. 13; Cubism and its Derivatives, Feb. 19-March 20; and From Dada to Pop Art, March 26-April 19.

A humanities course, it includes an upper-division lecture at Florida Tech once a week, from 5 to 6:15 p.m., on Tuesday Jan. 13 and on Thursdays for
remaining lectures; and a weekly studio session with noted artists on Fridays at the Brevard Art Museum’s Renee Foosaner Education Center, from 6 to 9 p.m.

“Foundations” surveys modern art in history, theory and practice from its roots in Romanticism into the 1960s. The weekly lecture explores the origins,
ideas and styles of the more significant movements in modern art, with a focus on painting and two-dimensional art. Students then join together theoretical
and practical knowledge by creating artworks in the styles they have studied.

The Florida Tech lecturer is Lars Jones, assistant professor of humanities and communication. He will offer talks on the history and theory of modern art.
No prior art experience is necessary to participate in this course. Jones earned his doctoral degree in art history and humanities from Harvard University.

“Our objective is to challenge our students to go beyond looking at modern art into creating modern art, grappling with the challenges and issues
surrounding each style to come to a better understanding,” said Jones.

Studio artists/instructors include Frits van Eeden, Nancy Dillen, Derek Gores, Jini James and David Burton.

Van Eeden is an internationally known painter and sculptor who studied at The Hague Academy, the Delft School of Art and the Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam.
Dillen, a retired professor of art from Brevard Community College, attained her master’s degree in art education and constructive design from Florida State
University. Gores earned a bachelor of fine arts degree from the Rhode Island School of Design. His commercial clients include ESPN, Lucasfilm, Reebok,
Adidas, plus music merchandising for the Eagles, Jimmy Buffet and Madonna. James has studied privately with illustrators and portrait painters at the
Maryland Hall for Creative Arts and the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria, Va. She maintains a teaching studio in downtown Melbourne. Burton’s love for art
evolved from pen and ink drawings to minimal painting to his latest mixed media works that pay homage to abstract expressionist Louise Nevelson.

Those interested in receiving college credit can register through Florida Tech. Community members interested in attending only the lecture portion (not the
studio sessions) may also register through Florida Tech for a fee of $325. Call the university registrar at 674-8115 or contact the Office of Humanities
and Communication at (321) 674-8082 no earlier than Jan. 5.

For those preferring both lecture and studio participation and who do not wish to take the course for credit, the 15-week course is divided into three
shorter units of four to five weeks each for a fee of $190 for museum members and $225 for non-members. Unit 1: Modernism in the late 19th & early 20th
centuries, January 13-February 13; Unit 2: Cubism and its Derivatives, February 19-March 20; and Unit 3: From Dada to Pop Art March 26-April 19.

To register for the four to five-week units, contact the Brevard Art Museum at (321) 254-7782, or send email to Bobbie McMillan, Museum School director, at
bobbie@brevardartmuseum.org.