Papers need to be 1,500 words minimum which is six pages double spaced. You do not need to use formal footnotes but do need to list sources at end of the paper and put author’s last name in parenthesis after any quotes or unique thoughts taken directly from texts.
There should be at least 3 text sources referenced + At least one source should be a published paper from an academic journal or exhibition catalog. You can search your artist on Jstor through the school library website to find academic texts. The more well-researched the paper is, the better your grade will be.
The paper should be a mix of summary, observations (but not unsupported opinions), descriptions of select artworks, and direct quotes from a variety of points of view (critics, the artists themselves, art historians, curators etc.).. including how the work was received at the time (if a historic person) often strengthens papers as well.
Additional suggestions for the Final Paper
Good model articles for comparing and contrasting artists through a lens are Helen Molesworth’s essay in the google drive and (shorter, perhaps easier) From the Personal to the Transpersonal: Self Reclamation Through Ritual-in-Performance by Deborah K. Ultan. BOTH ARE IN HANDOUT DRIVE.
NOTE: For the Final paper sharing your observations and supported opinion is necessary because you will be asserting a main point or thesis that hopefully is original to your thinking. This means, however, that it’s informed opinion that is always directed back at your topic and supported by texts you find and/or directly interpreting the artwork.
For example if you are writing about how an artist is exploring voyeurism in their work, you would need to use a quote from the artist or a critic or scholar saying that the artist had stated this or with a precise interpretation from a scholar … AND/OR you would need to observe something in the artwork yourself but support it by what you see – like this:
“When she walked into a sex cinema in Munich, holding a gun, and offered the theater goers access to her exposed genitalia (shown framed by cut out leather pants), artist Valie Export brought into sharp relief that watching pornography at the cinema is a passive, voyeuristic act that requires physical and emotional distancing between viewer and viewed. Her very presence (and perhaps the gun!) made the men leave the theater row by row. By using performance art to insist that viewers of erotic cinema interact with an actual woman’s body (hers), she disrupts their voyeurism through direct and empowered confrontation.”
– Final paper – thematic paper that expands your research around midterm artist
Write about the artist from your first paper in the context of one of the following:
a. compare and contrast them with another artist
b. contextualize them in an art movement that influenced the artist and/or that they influenced
c. propose an original thesis that connects to your midterm artist
Last Completed Projects
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