Introducing the FUS Faculty: Johanna Fassl

Professor, Art History and Visual Communication

Ph.D. (with distinction) Columbia University
M.Phil. Columbia University
M.A. Columbia University
B.A. University of Toronto
Interior Design Diploma, International Academy of Design
Foundations in Design Thinking Certificate, IDEO-U
Advanced Design Thinking Certificate, IDEO-U

Office: Lowerre Academic Center, Office 14
Phone: +41 91 986 36 64
Email: jfassl@fus.edu

Johanna Fassl is Professor of Art History and Visual Communication and the co-chair of the Division of Arts and Cultures. She received her PhD with Distinction from Columbia University and has been the recipient of numerous fellowships, including from the Mellon and Getty research foundations. In 2004 she built Columbia University’s study center and academic program, which she directed until 2015. In 2016 she co-founded the Scholarships Without Borders program that grants fully funded scholarships to refugee students at Franklin. Fassl’s research analyzes the production and reception of art within an interdisciplinary framework of science, philosophy, and the psychology of perception. In her studies on Giambattista Tiepolo and his circle in eighteenth-century Venice she concentrates on how a deliberate rhetoric of absence in painting connects to theories of the Radical Enlightenment. The void and other forms of abstraction are also at the heart of Fassl’s second research area in contemporary trauma studies where she examines the works of artists who have experienced trauma in the ongoing conflict zones of the Middle East.

Professional Experience:

Professor of Art History and Visual Communication and Co-Chair of the Division of Arts and Cultures, Franklin University Switzerland
Co-director, Scholarships Without Borders, Franklin University Switzerland
Senior Advisor, Global Development
Director, Casa Muraro: Columbia University Study Center in Venice
Head Interior Designer, Kumpulan Senireka Sdn.Bhd, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Sole Proprietor of Design Studio, Toronto, Canada

2024-2025 Courses

AHT 102	Introduction to Art History and Visual Culture I: Antiquity to Early Renaissance	FALL 2024
The course offers an introduction to the history of art and visual culture from antiquity to the Renaissance. It studies painting, sculpture, architecture, and prints within their historical, social, and cultural contexts, as well as their representation in modern media (film, documentary, etc).
AHT 222T	Design Studies (Singapore and Malaysia)	FALL 2024
This course explores the fascinating histories of objects and environments that qualify as icons of design. How do the Eiffel Tower, Empire State Building or the Burj Khalifa stand as markers for values and ideals? Why makes for the longevity of the Little Black Dress as a fashion icon? These and other questions prompt the course to study built environments and landscapes, designed spaces of interiors and for performance, as well as graphic design, industrial design, the decorative arts, and fashion design. Through an interdisciplinary framework that considers materials, technology, culture, consumption, politics, and sustainability, students will acquire the theoretical underpinning to understand how design is shaped and how processes of ‘iconization’ are at work for both tangible products and non-tangibles, including lifestyles. Following historical, technical and theoretical studies and analyses, students will be guided through a design-thinking process to create a prototype for their own design idea and product. The design thinking skills acquired in the course will equip students with valuable tools to be applied to projects in other academic disciplines and to professional tasks. NOTE: This Academic Travel course carries a supplemental fee: CHF 975 (for students invoiced in CHF) or USD 1,160 (for students invoiced in USD).
AHT 357	Art Market Studies: From Renaissance Commissions to Online Auctions	FALL 2024
This course studies the art market from early modernity to the contemporary age. It departs from Renaissance commissions where artists need to closely respond to patrons' needs in the creation of their works. The situation changes with the birth of the free art market in 17th century Holland where works are sold publicly and at auction, and traded across continents. The importance of the gallerist’s vision shaped the public taste in 18th century Paris, which subsequently takes on new dimensions in the 19th century in the personal relationships between artist and dealer that supersede the Salon model. In the study of the contemporary art market emphasis is placed on how artists, dealers, galleries, and auction houses determine pricing strategies and what impact pricing narratives have on aesthetic values. In online sales, AI-generated works of art, NFTs, and the shift to crypto currencies in transactions, the art world and their global markets are undergoing significant transformations. What lasting impact do particular types of market situations have on artistic production and society at large? What are the implications on questions of authenticity and authorship? How is the value of culture shaped in the digital world? These questions will be asked throughout the course to ascertain the dynamics between symbolic goods and their economic value.
AHT 361W	Art and Trauma Studies: The Visual Culture of Disaster	SPRING 2025
Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, avalanches, and pandemics, as well as wars, nuclear explosions, and cyber attacks are some examples of natural and man-made disasters that have tremendous impact on both the planet and human lives. How do humans confront and come to terms with catastrophic events? Can trauma in the wake of disaster be faithfully documented or accurately represented? Does devastation produce a tabula rasa effect on visual culture, meaning in what manner does it have the potential to destroy existing and produce new forms of representation? In addition to answering these questions from historical and contemporary perspectives, the course will probe what kinds of aesthetics and visual iconographies have proven to be effective in the raising of awareness of pending disasters and in contributing to positive change. (This writing-intensive course counts towards the Academic Writing requirements.)
STA 107	Introduction to Digital Photography	SPRING 2025
This course course in digital photography introduces the beginner to the elements of digital photography. There will be two areas of concentration: 1. Image capture and manipulation using digital imaging technology (cameras and editing software). 2. Photograph design (crafting a photograph that reflects the photographer’s intention using composition, framing, lighting etc.). Throughout the course emphasis will be placed on the artistic value of photographs rather than the technicalities of digital imaging. Photography is one of the various artistic media available for self-expression and much emphasis will be put on precisely that. Students will synthesize these elements to create a portfolio of work that reflects not only their newly developed skills but also an appreciation and understanding of photography as an art medium. The course carries a fee for photography/art supplies.
STA 207	Intermediate Digital Photography	SPRING 2025
A more intermediate course where students who have completed STA 107 may take their work further. The course carries a fee for photography/art supplies.
STA 307	Advanced Digital Photography	SPRING 2025
A more advanced course where students who have completed STA 207 may take their work further. The course carries a fee for photography/art supplies.
AHT 257T	Architecture: History, Theory, Ecology, Design (Munich, Regensburg, Prague)	SUMMER 2025
The course investigates the history of the built environment as technical, social, and cultural expressions from antiquity to the contemporary age. It studies building materials and expressions in terms of their chronology, context and stylistic developments, as well as themes, theories, and innovative practices in architecture and urban design. Among other focus topics, students are encouraged to consider architecture as a cultural expression, study its semiotic potential, ascertain its role within political aesthetics, and investigate its relationship to best practices in sustainable building. The course also considers architecture’s impact on humankind, how it shapes both human habitat and the natural environment, and how it has the potential to change human minds. In the Interim Summer Session I, 2025 the course will take place directly on site in Munich, Regensburg, and Prague from May 19-30. The emphasis will be on “architecture and its semiotic potential,” investigating individual forms and types of architecture, as well as specific building elements, and in what sense they become “carriers of meaning.” Particular topics are architecture and war, architecture and Nazism and architecture and Socialism, film architecture, corporate images as proclaimed in buildings, urban planning within specific post-war contexts, and the pressing topic of constructing sustainable buildings to respond to the manifestations of climate change and growing urbanizations. Further discussion will include what makes a smart city and architecture in the context of contemporary technology, such as AI. Specific studio workshops in drawing, photography, and storyboarding will further the understanding of how to represent architecture. A supplement may apply to the course fee. “The course cost covers accommodations in Munich, Regensburg, and Prague; transportation between cities; as well as local public transportation, museum and exhibition entrances, and some extracurricular activities. Students are required to make their own travel arrangements to Munich (arrival 19 May) and from Prague (departure 30 May). Please consult Professor Fassl prior to making your arrangements and make sure to meet all registration and deposit deadlines.”

Publications:

2021, “’We all die until the Times Photographer Wins the Prize’”, forthcoming in Reconnecting the Dots … The Impact of Covid-19 on Displaced Students in Higher Education Systems,” intervalla: platform for intellectual exchange, volume 9, ed. J. Fassl.

2021, “The Other 5%: Displaced Students in Higher Education,” forthcoming in Reconnecting the Dots … The Impact of Covid-19 on Displaced Students in Higher Education Systems,” intervalla: platform for intellectual exchange, volume 9, ed. J. Fassl.

2021, “Mehr als Scherzi di fantasia: Giambattista Tiepolos grafisches Gedankenlabor im Spiegel der radikalen Aufklärung,” forthcoming.

2019-20, “Giambattista Tiepolo,” Artist Dictionary DeGruyter Academic Publisher

2014-15, “We Photograph Things in Order to Drive Them Out Of Our Minds: Abstraction and Memory in the Photography of a Veteran from Afghanistan and Iraq,“ intervalla: platform for intellectual exchange, volume 2, 127-140.

2014-15, “Rogue Memories: Reflections on Trauma, Art, and Technology,” intervalla: platform for intellectual exchange, volume 2, 1-12, Co-Author.

2014, “The Meaning of the Mark: Gianantonio Guardi’s Optical Investigations, ”In Venetian Painting Matters 1470-1750, ed. J. Cranston. Turnhout: Brepols Publishers.

2013, “’La parola è d’argento, il silenzio è d’oro’: la retorica del silenzio nelle pale d’altare di Giambattista Tiepolo,” 23-39. Polifonie veneziane, ed. S. Meine. Venetiana 13.

2012, “The Suspension of Gravity in Giandomenico Tiepolo’s Punchinello on a Swing,” in Gravity and Levity in Art, ed. M. Edwards and E. Bailey, 137-146. Jefferson, NC: McFarland Publishers.

2012, “Il riposo durante la fuga in Egitto: retorica ed eloquenza nelle pale d’altare di Giambattista Tiepolo,” La chiesa di San Massimo e Osvaldo, Cappella Universitaria, 161-176. L’Erma di Bretschneider, Padua, 2012.

2011, “Punchinello Meets the Turk: Giambattista Tiepolo’s Oriental Spectators,” in J. Harper, ed. The Perception of the Turk in the Western Eye: An Overview, 95-125. Aldershot, Ashgate.

2010, Sacred Eloquence: Giambattista Tiepolo and the Rhetoric of the Altarpiece. Peter Lang Academic Publishers, Boston University Series of “Studies in Early Modern European Culture.” New York and Bern.

2007, “In the Art of the Tiepolo a Single Gesture is Often Equivalent to a Long Sentence.” Eighteenth-Century Studies 40/4 (2007): 651-654.

2004, “The Poetics of the Line: Giambattista Tiepolo’s Calligraphy Beyond Representation.” Save Venice Journal: 46-49.

2004, Ph.D. Dissertation: “Sacred Eloquence: Giambattista Tiepolo and the Rhetoric of the Altarpiece.” Columbia Unversity. UMI publication. (Advisor: David Rosand)

Select Design Work:

Intervalla: platform for intellectual exchange, masthead and favicon.

Kuala Lampur Telecommunication Tower, Malaysia

Awards and Honors:

Franklin University Switzerland, Distinguished Teaching Professor, 2022

Franklin University Switzerland, Excellence Award for Teaching, 2019

Franklin University Switzerland, Excellence Award for University Service, 2017

Green Leaves Fund 2012.

Franklin University Switzerland, Excellence Award for Professional Engagement, 2011

The Getty Foundation, Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2006.

Mellon Fellowship, Columbia University, 1999.

President's Fellow, Columbia University, 1998.