SKETCHBOOK #3 Visual Analysis/Research Through this semester we have been learning key art terms and how to utilize these items in describing the work. Along with this visual interpretation there are...

SKETCHBOOK #3

Visual Analysis/Research

Through this semester we have been learning key art terms and how to utilize these items in describing the work. Along with this visual interpretation there are historical and conceptual implications at play. All of these components are important factors when writing about artwork. *This assignment must be typed using standard font size of 10-12 point. Double spaced. Submitted in digital form through CANVAS*

During this time of COVID, fine-art is not as accessible to us in person. For your health and safety, this project you will have two options.

- Option #1– IN PERSON -The Ringling Museum of Art or any approved Art museum

On your trip to the Ringling Museum (http://ringling.org/), I ask you to pick one piece of art to observe in detail. Keep in mind that you will be completing research on this work of art and will be spending a good amount of time looking at it and thinking about it. You will need to include some type of reproduction of the image with your final assignment, along with the title, date, artist and media. (My advice: it might be wise to pick a back-up to your first choice in case your research proves too frustrating). Remember...there will be more information available on the more “famous” or well-known pieces. These are usually featured prominently and are highlighted on the tours.

- Option #2– VIRTUAL –Select from the list below

J. Paul Getty Museum

Musée d’Orsay

Frick Collection
National Gallery of Art - London
National Gallery of Art – US -Degas at the Opéra Rijksmuseum
National Gallery of Art – US – Raphael and His Circle National Gallery of Art – US – True to Nature
The Louvre

To access the links please useOnline SKetchbook #3.docx

download.

The piece of are you write about must be selected from the virtual tour. You will be required to screenshot this on your tour and submit with your paper.

Essentially, what you will be completing is a visual analysis of your chosen piece of art. I have included an outline to help you get started. (This is only a suggestion, feel free to use your imagination to respond to the art.) Your final, polished written assignment, in paragraph form, should be about 500 words. Don’t rely heavily on someone else’s quotations, those don’t count for your word count.

How does this whole thing work?
WRITING AND LOOKING – our senses emotions and memory will come together with knowledge.

How will you communicate with WORDS what you SEE and FEEL?DESCRIBE PHYSICAL QUALITIES (FORMAL):

What is it made of?
How big is it?
(Include details as if you were using words to help a blind person “see” it.) What colors and shapes are used?
What subjects (if any) are represented?
How was the work designed and made?
Is it balanced?
What is emphasized? Rhythm? Proportion?
Contrast? Does it have unity and variety?

CONTEXTUAL:

Think about when (year) and where (geography) the work was created.

NOW RESEARCH:

Inform yourself about the cultural background of the object and the artist.
Use the databases for art at the library. There is always someone at the library that can help you, and usually there is a librarian available to chat online. You can also log into the databases from home (if you have internet access), once you know what you are doing. (Be careful of your sources, especially on the internet.) A simple “Google” search and “Wikipedia” researchWILL NOTbe sufficient for this assignment.

Beginning with Google or Wikipedia is fine (type in the name of the artist/architect/designer to start), but should not be used for the bulk of this paper. Wikipedia is footnoted, so scroll to the bottom of the page for links to primary sources.Now you have some basic information on the person. Keep in mind this paper is about the work, not the person that made it.

THINKING:

What movement is the art work associated with?
Example: If it’s from the Renaissance, who commissioned it? If it’s a portrait, who is the subject? What does the artwork say about the artist that made it?

Include information about context if it is relative to YOU making meaning from the work. Do not include it as a random list of facts that has no relationship with you or the art in the next part of your analysis.

THE LAST PART (EXPRESSIVE):

Use what you learn in your research and by looking closely at the artwork to form your own critique of the work (yourinformedopinion) based partly on the FACTS. Make sure you think about and answer this in your conclusion: based on your research, and everything you have learned so far about art and artists, what is the importance of this work of art to society and/or the world. Be specific. Why did YOU pick it?

IMPORTANT:Please use your sketchbook for notes for this assignment, but the final product must be turned in within CANVAS*, with a reproduction (a cell phone picture is fine) or the artwork that you are writing about.With your paper, you must also attach a picture of your admission wristband, picture of you at the Ringling Museum OR a screenshot of the work chosen in your virtual tour.

SPECIAL TIPS:When referring to the artist that created the work that you are examining, use his/her full name first, then shift to last name. Example:

Georgia O’Keeffe is associated with the American Southwest, where she found artistic inspiration, and particularly New Mexico, where she settled late in life. O’Keeffe has been a major figure in American art since the 1920s.

Titles of works of art should be italicized (exception is architecture).

***The paper is to be submitted through the CANVAS drop-box submission system. It will be processed through “Turnitin”, which is an internet-based plagiarism detection service. Papers will not be accepted without completion of this process***