ART 111 online
– Museum Paper Assignment
Description:
Write a visual analysis (description) for a work of
Art at the North Carolina Museum of Art. I would like for you to select an
object that you strongly dislike
for this assignment.
Logistics:
·
Choose your artwork from the NCMA, the NCMA Sculpture Park, or the
NCMA Website. Visiting the museum in person is NOT required to complete this
paper, although I’ve found it’s easier and more enjoyable to write about an
artwork you’ve seen in person. If you do want to go in person but don’t want to
go inside the museum, the sculpture park might be an excellent choice.
o
NCMA: The NCMA is open with restrictions. The museum is limiting the
number of people allowed in and require a ticket for a scheduled time to visit.
The ticket (and parking) is free, but the scheduled time guarantees a
restricted number of people inside. They also require masks and ask that you
follow social distancing. Address: North Carolina Museum of Art, 2110 Blue
Ridge Road, Raleigh NC 27607
o
Sculpture Park: The NCMA sculpture park (also free with free parking) is open and
has many incredible walking paths lined with sculptures and installations. It’s
a fantastic place for a picnic or a nice walk while you look at the art; there
are also many interactive artworks. Address: North Carolina Museum of Art, 2110
Blue Ridge Road, Raleigh NC 27607
o
NCMA Website: You can also complete the assignment by choosing an artwork from
the NCMA website (plain text: https://ncartmuseum.org/). The museum is also linked
in the Museum Paper folder.
o
Tour the website or visit
the museum by Wednesday October 20; we’ll be blogging about
your museum experience during Week 10.
*I recommend exploring the website and visiting the sculpture park
at least after you have completed Weeks 1-8 to ensure you have the vocabulary
and the practice in analyzing artworks.
·
Final Papers will be submitted
to an Assignment on Blackboard in the Museum Paper folder.
The due date for the papers is Sunday November 21!!! P.s. You can earn
5 points of extra credit on the paper by turning the paper in by Sunday November
14.
· Remember – Emailed papers will NOT be
accepted and your papers must in a .doc, .docx, or .pdf file format only. Other
file formats will not be accepted and will be considered late.
· For EACH day your
paper is late I will deduct 10 points. After Sunday November 28, I will no
longer accept late papers.
Prompt:
One of the student learning outcomes for this course is for you to
develop your own criteria for understanding visual culture.
Now that you have the vocabulary and concepts to articulate what
you see; you can also begin to evaluate artworks on the basis of their visual
qualities and determine whether or not you enjoy those objects! I always tell
my students, I’m fine with you hating works but it’s important to understand why you hate them. This paper gives you
a challenge – to explore thoroughly a work of art that you do not care for.
The components for this Paper are:
· Identification
of Artwork
· Introduction
· Visual
Analysis (the bulk of the paper)
· Concluding
Paragraph stating why you dislike this work
· Include
a picture of your artwork at the end of your paper with a caption (artist,
title, date)
The paper should be approximately 2 – 3
full pages of text, without the heading or image.
Identification:
Begin by identifying the work using the following format*:
[artist] Vincent van
Gogh
[italicized title, date]
Starry Night, 1889
[medium] Oil on Canvas
Or
[culture for those without known artists] Egyptian
[basic description of the object for those without titles, date] Jar, black-topped ware, ca. 4000 – 3500
BCE
[medium] Nile silt clay
*Bracketed text is not to
be included in the paper; it is only for your reference.
*Note that the identification
is single-spaced. It should be placed above the text of your paper
EXAMPLE:
Vincent Van Gogh
Starry
Night, 1889
Oil on Canvas
This painting stood out to me the
moment I walked into the museum because of its bright colors and swirling
lines. The painting depicts a nighttime scene in which large stars and a moon
glow above a small village. There is a large cypress tree in the left foreground,
and a mountain in the right background. In the valley between these two
elements is a cluster of homes. Above everything is a night sky that is filled
with blue, yellow, and white colors. Although the painting is quite beautiful,
it also made me feel extremely depressed and anxious due to the disorienting
motion of the stars, and the menacing darkness of the navy-blue sky.
Introduction:
Tell the reader why you chose the work of art that you selected.
You also might want to give your reader a brief overview of the work. Again,
see my simple example above.
Visual
Analysis:
The body of your paper will be a thorough visual analysis of your
chosen work of art. As with the introductory
paragraph, the body should be double-spaced, 12-point font with 1-inch margins.
Always indent the first sentence of a new paragraph.
In your visual analysis, consider all the relevant elements and
principles that apply to this work of art. Some things to think about:
· How
are the elements arranged within the composition?
· Are
there implied lines used to guide the eye?
· Are
the lines, shapes, or forms primarily organic or inorganic?
· Is
there symmetry or asymmetry?
· Is
the work balanced? Why or why not?
· Is
the work representational or nonrepresentational? Are there human figures,
identifiable objects, or landscape?
· What
is the iconography? Is it a narrative? A particular human figure or figures?
What is the meaning of the work?
· What
elements are naturalistic and what elements are abstract? If abstraction is
used, it is expressive in its purpose?
· How
is color used in this work? Are there warm or cool colors, analogous or
complementary color schemes?
· If
this is a two-dimensional object, has the artist attempted to create an
illusion of three-dimensional space? What techniques has the artist used to
achieve that goal?
· If
this is a three-dimensional object, what is its volume and mass? Is there open
or closed volume?
· What
is the real or implied texture in this object?
· Can
you identify one or more areas of emphasis? One or more focal points? What
creates those?
· What
is the medium / material of this object? How does that material influence its
visual qualities?
Of course, you will not cover all these topics. If you are
writing about a marble sculpture, for instance, there is little need to dwell
on color. This list is not meant to be comprehensive, but rather to get your
wheels turning. It’s better to cover an element or aspect in depth,
supported with quality details and visual evidence than to cover lots briefly.
I suggest making the body of your paper (the visual analysis) into
several paragraphs. Do not try to write the entire body as one paragraph, as
this will leave your reader feeling overwhelmed and, likely, confused. I
recommend writing separate paragraphs about each element or group of related
elements (color and value, etc.). Make sure you support your points of
analysis with specific visual evidence (details) from the artwork. You also
want to be sure that you analyze the artwork, don’t just describe it. What
about the color bothers you, for example, what is the effect it has on you?
Where does the line make you look, etc.
Conclusion:
At the end of your paper, please include a concluding paragraph
that tells the reader why you dislike this object.
*Note: This is not
a research paper. You should be able to write all the paper based on your own
visual observations. However, if you do use any exterior
sources, those must be properly documented with in-text citations,
and a works cited page at the end of the paper.
Lifting any words or ideas from another author (even the wall label at the
museum!) is plagiarism and will result in
either a “0” grade for the paper, or in certain cases, a failing grade for the
course.
Include a good picture of your artwork
at the end of the paper and caption it (artist, title, date, etc.).
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