What's Up With the Monkey?"

Seniors: This graphic is a detail of Gustav Klimt's masterwork "The Beethoven Frieze" (1901-2). Klimt was an Austrian painter at the turn of the century with an influence in Nietzsche and the Pessimists with a bit of aestheticism. Funny that he chose as his subject Richard Wagner's interpretation of Ludwig Van's 9th Symphony, arguably the greatest piece of music ever written, and one of a quintessentially Romantic nature.

In class on Tuesday we will discover this unusual installation (it's hard to call it a painting). I'll provide a brief overview as we listen to the 4th Movement of the symphony, which highlights Friedrich Schiller's poem "Ode to Joy." Due in week 9 (for 9th Symphony), this is your research project. Yes, you heard right. I hate research projects, so it took a long time to develop something that individually each of you could tackle and yet, collectively we can put the fragments together to gain at least a glimmer of the immensity of the frieze.

There is so much you can do. The artwork has its inspiration in Romaticism, in Nietzsche, in Wagner (that's VOG-ner), in Schiller, in mythology, in madness, in mayhem. There are knights in shining armor and a choir of angels. There is Klimt. (And of course, there is the monkey.) You will be tested on your research and your knowledge of the painting, but you may submit to me any number of quality presentations: scholarly papers, whether formal or informal, musical interpretations, films, abstract interpretations, the crazier the better. Your presentation will account for two-thirds of your midterm. The other third will be the test on your accumulated knowledge on Klimt. That's right, no Jane, no Dorian. Klimt. I just like to say it. Klimt. Klimt. Klimt.