Our school currently does not offer an AP Art History course but I'm very interested in taking an AP Art History independent study course next year.
So, APAH students, what books have you used?
Also- How do you think I'll do in the AP Art exam, seeing as I do not have an instructor to lecture me? I've taken AP World History, AP US History, and AP Psychology and I did not struggle with any of them. However, this AP Art History class will be my first AP class without a teacher. I normally don't pay attention during class, and sometimes I don't even attend (teachers don't require students with a 95 average to attend class) and I still manage to pull a fairly high average at the end of each quarter. I normally study by reading the textbook. Is a teacher really that important if I'm quite used to self-studying? Or do I implicitly learn things that I otherwise would not have remembered from simply reading a textbook? Most importantly: will I be able to score a 5 on the exam?
Art history is really just based on images, and how the images reflect the times. For me, art history is the class I need a teacher in it the most because it's then easier for me to remember the images. I use Gardener's History Through the Ages. I don't know about other schools, but my teacher actually travels a lot and has seen a lot of the art in person, so she is able to tell us about the effect of the art. You may see an image in a book, but it's not the same as seeing it in person. It's always been easier for me to remember things when I have a teacher telling me, but you could probably do fine if you study on your own since you are used to it. Good luck!
"If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons?"
The one I will use next year is that same one- Gardner's (they say its the best)
But you can also use
Prentice Hall :
Art History, revised 2nd ed.
History of Art, 7th ed.
The Visual Arts: A History, 6th ed.
McGraw :
Art Across Time, 2nd ed.
Supplements
AP ARt History (REA) -- Chmiel and Krieger
The Art of Writing About Art -- Hudson, Noonan-morrisey
A Short Guide .. -- Barnet, Sylvan
The Annotated Mona Lisa: A Crash Course in ARt Hist from prehistoric to post-modern-- Strickland, Carol
The Art of Seeing -- Zelanski and Fisher
Art Websites:
Artcyclopedia -- artcyclopedia.com
Art Dictionary -- artiex.com
Resources -- witcombe.sbc.edu/ARTHLinks.html
Artchive -- artchive.com
"Mother of all Art and ARt History Links Pages" -- art-design.umich.edu/mother/
seriously use Gardner's Art Through The Ages
a new edition just came out. its really nice, but the old editions do have some advantages.
Gardner's is the holy grail of apah books
Gardners: Art Through The Ages, 12th edition is the textbook that I use in class. It's a huge college-level textbook, but it includes all the paintings, sculptors, and architecture that you'll need to know for the AP Exam in May.
I also use the AP Art History prep book for the AP exam(Krieger and Chmiel), and the following two smaller textbooks that are handy:
The Annotated Arch: A Crash Course in the History of Architecture(Strickland, Carol Phd)
The Annotated Mona Lisa: A Crash Course in Art History from Prehistoric to Post-Modern(Strickland, Carol Phd)
you can find these books on Amazon.com
We use the Marilyn Stokstad book at my school, and the Garnders as a supplment
i personally like the format of the Stokstad book better
but really it depends upon your learning style
the college board makes the ap test up from three books-Garnders, Stokstad, and another book by Janson[but that one is written more for the college level student]
so images can be taken from any three of these books
the Carol Strickland books are also amazing
but to answer your question about taking the APAH test, i think you should seriousally consider thinking about not taking the test unless you have the drive to study a great deal on your own
becasue the difference between APAH and say World History is that you have never been exposed to much of this material before- and a lot of it is more difficult to understand with out a teacher
do you know what repousse, or a predella, or a spandrel are? and do you think you will be able to understand how many various types of art styles are made? what about which artists you should focus on, and which of their pieces are the most important?
but all that being said, if you have the motivation and drive to study and do well [which i am guessing you do, based upon your self-study skills and grades] i would say go for it. APAH is turning out to by my favorite class by far.
cookiejar;43723 wrote:
Also- How do you think I'll do in the AP Art exam, seeing as I do not have an instructor to lecture me? I've taken AP World History, AP US History, and AP Psychology and I did not struggle with any of them. However, this AP Art History class will be my first AP class without a teacher. I normally don't pay attention during class, and sometimes I don't even attend (teachers don't require students with a 95 average to attend class) and I still manage to pull a fairly high average at the end of each quarter. I normally study by reading the textbook. Is a teacher really that important if I'm quite used to self-studying? Or do I implicitly learn things that I otherwise would not have remembered from simply reading a textbook? Most importantly: will I be able to score a 5 on the exam?
I am using Art Through the Ages, it is a good book for it has non-western art as well as western art, and keep in mind that the AP test does include non-western cultures.
Personally, I would prefer to study without a teacher because my teacher just goes over slide after slide and her tests are so ridiculously easy that people do not study and still get an A.
I think since you study well by yourself... Go For It! There is a study book by Barron's that just came out about a month ago and about scoring a 5, it is just how much you prepare yourself.
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