Theme of Cities and the Urban Experience

Photo of Stadia II by Julie Mehretu

For thousands of years, cities have been hubs of activity, centers of industry, and places from which new aesthetic trends originate, evolve, and spread. The creative visions of planners, painters, architects, and sculptors have shaped the development of cities around the world. In turn, the urban experience has inspired the creation of artwork depicting aspects of city life. Cities and the arts have had a symbiotic relationship in many countries through history. The social patterns of a city impact the evolution of an urban culture, and works of art produced and exhibited there reflect those influences.

Questions for Thought

How has the organization of a city (its plan or organic layout) represented the values and beliefs of the citizens within it or their leaders?
If taxes are used to support architecture or public art, who should have the right to decide what public art or architecture will be built or presented? What criteria should be set to make these aesthetic choices?
How have artists' representations of cities informed viewers about the nature and zeitgeist of a particular urban place and time? How do we identify the idealism or the realism of city life in the artistic style of artwork?
What role do artists have in cities?
How have artists addressed urban problems in their work? How has art had an effect on metropolitan difficulties?

The College Board has used this theme on the AP Art History exam over the years. This review component has been designed to help you explore this theme. In the earlier modules, you were introduced to several works that use writing as part of the artwork. The following list is just a few examples.

In this module, a few of the works that are good examples of representations of cities and the urban experience are the following:

Electronic Superhighway . Nam June Paik. 1995 C.E. Mixed-media installation (49-channel closed-circuit video installation, neon, steel, and electronic components).
Stadia II. Julie Mehretu. 2004 C.E. Ink and acrylic on canvas.
Shibboleth . Doris Salcedo. 2007-2008 C.E. Installation.
MAXXI National Museum of XXI Century Arts. Rome, Italy. Zaha Hadid (architect). 2009 C.E. Glass, steel, and cement.

The following images from the past modules are a few of the possible examples of cities and urban life:

White Temple and its ziggurat. Uruk (modern Warka, Iraq). Sumerian. c. 3500-3000 B.C.E. Mud brick.
Temple of Amun-Re and Hypostyle Hall. Karnak, near Luxor, Egypt. New Kingdom, 18th and 19th Dynasties. Temple: c. 1550 B.C.E.; hall: c. 1250 B.C.E. Cut sandstone and mud brick.
Athenian agora. Archaic through Hellenistic Greek. 600 B.C.E.-150 C.E. Plan.
Audience Hall (apadana) of Darius and Xerxes. Persepolis, Iran. Persian. c. 520-465 B.C.E. Limestone.
Acropolis. Athens, Greece. Iktinos and Kallikrates. c. 447-410 B.C.E. Marble.
House of the Vettii. Pompeii, Italy. Imperial Roman. c. second century B.C.E.; rebuilt c. 62-79 C.E. Cut stone and fresco
Pantheon. Imperial Roman. 118-125 C.E. Concrete with stone facing.
Chartres Cathedral. Chartres, France. Gothic Europe. Original construction c. 1145-1155 C.E.; reconstructed c. 1194-1220 C.E. Limestone, stained glass.
Alhambra. Granada, Spain. Nasrid Dynasty. 1354-1391 C.E. Whitewashed adobe stucco, wood, tile, paint, and gilding.
Palazzo Rucellai. Florence, Italy. Leon Battista Alberti (architect). c. 1450 C.E. Stone, masonry.
The Tête à Tête, from Marriage à la Mode. William Hogarth. c. 1743 C.E. Oil on canvas.
Palace of Westminster (Houses of Parliament). London, England. Charles Barry and Augustus W. N. Pugin (architects). 1840-1870 C.E. Limestone masonry and glass.
The Saint-Lazare Station. Claude Monet. 1877 C.E. Oil on canvas.
Carson, Pirie, Scott and Company Building. Chicago, Illinois, U.S. Louis Sullivan (architect). 1899-1903 C.E. Iron, steel, glass, and terra cotta.
Seagram Building. New York City, U.S. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Philip Johnson (architects). 1954-1958 C.E. Steel frame with glass curtain wall and bronze.
Chavín de Huántar. Northern highlands, Peru. Chavín. 900-200 B.C.E. Stone (architectural complex); granite (Lanzón and sculpture); hammered gold alloy (jewelry).
Yaxchilán. Chiapas, Mexico. Maya. 725 C.E. Limestone (architectural complex)
Templo Mayor (Main Temple). Tenochtitlan (modern Mexico City, Mexico). Mexica (Aztec). 1375-1520 C.E. Stone (temple);
City of Cusco, including Qorikancha (Inka main temple), Santo Domingo (Spanish colonial convent), and Walls at Saqsa Waman (Sacsayhuaman). Central highlands, Peru. Inka. c. 1440 C.E; convent added 1550-1650 C.E. Andesite.
City of Machu Picchu. Central highlands, Peru. Inka. c. 1450-1540 C.E. Granite (architectural complex).
Conical tower and circular wall of Great Zimbabwe. Southeastern Zimbabwe. Shona peoples. c. 1000-1400 C.E. Coursed granite blocks.
Petra, Jordan: Treasury and Great Temple. Nabataean Ptolemaic and Roman. c. 400 B.C.E.-100 C.E. Cut rock.
Angkor, the temple of Angkor Wat, and the city of Angkor Thom, Cambodia. Hindu, Angkor Dynasty. c. 800-1400 C.E. Stone masonry, sandstone.
Forbidden City. Beijing, China. Ming Dynasty. 15th century C.E. and later. Stone masonry, marble, brick, wood, and ceramic tile.
Forbidden City. Beijing, China. Ming Dynasty. 15th century C.E. and later. Stone masonry, marble, brick, wood, and ceramic tile.
Nan Madol. Pohnpei, Micronesia. Saudeleur Dynasty. c. 700-1600 C.E. Basalt boulders and prismatic columns.
The Gates. New York City, U.S. Christo and Jeanne-Claude. 1979-2005 C.E. Mixed-media installation.

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