What is the responsibility of the artist to society, especially in terms of shaping our understanding of ourselves and the world in which we live? How do the humanities, as a discipline, help us understand this?

Prompt The purpose of this final project is to evaluate your knowledge of the skills necessary for performing a visual and contextual analysis of two works and to measure your application of these techniques as you relate the works to real-world relevance/popular culture/ideas/concepts. Select two works from one theme provided on the List of Comparisons (linked to in your online course). Works must be chosen from this list. The first work will be from one of the following categories: baroque, rococo, neoclassicism, or romanticism. The second will be modern (e.g., realism, impressionism, postimpressionism); postmodern; or contemporary (created within the past 20 years). You will identify a common/shared theme (e.g., social or cultural issue) in both works. For example, in Judith Leyster’s Self Portrait (Dutch baroque, 1630) and Frida Kahlo’s The Two Fridas (surrealism, 1939), a shared theme is the presentation of self. After identifying the common theme in both works, you will develop an essay that explores how each work is a product of its particular historical moment. In Milestone Two, you will address the relevance of this shared theme in contemporary culture by choosing a third work that exemplifies this theme. This third work could be a specific contemporary work (created within the past twenty years) belonging to any genre of the arts, or even a contemporary social construct such as reality television or social media. For example, you could consider the presentation of self as a relevant and recurring theme on Facebook today. Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed: Introduction This section of the comparative analysis will introduce readers to the works you have selected to analyze. Identify each of the two selected works from the List of Comparisons. Include an image of the work and one paragraph that identifies the artist, title (in italics), date, medium, dimensions, stylistic movement, cultural origin, and current collection (i.e., Where the work is housed? This could be a museum, a gallery, or a private collection). What is your main argument/thesis statement about the relationship between your selected works and their shared theme? Visual and Historical Analysis This section will provide a visual and historical analysis of the physical characteristics in each work as well as the connections of each work to its historical and cultural context. Explain how each of your two selected works reflects the social or cultural identity of its day. Support your response with examples. What influence have your two selected works had in the shaping of social or cultural identities? What influence have your two selected works had on a modern or contemporary expression of the identified shared theme? Support your response with examples. Comparative Analysis In this section, you will compare and contrast your two selected works. What formal characteristics are similar between the two works? What characteristics are different? Be sure to reference specific aspects of each work. How did each respective culture’s traditions and ideologies influence the two works you have selected? Be sure to use examples to support your response. How does each work represent its particular social, historical, and cultural climate? Be sure to use examples to support your response. Parallels In this section, you will introduce a third creative work and explain how that work parallels the relationship between the two works previously selected.

How do the shared historical themes and settings tie your two previously selected works to the third, contemporary work or social construct? Discuss how the theme is still relevant today, using the third, contemporary work or social construct you selected to support your response. Conclusion In this section, you will discuss the relevance and value of studying works of art and cultural artifacts with regard to their influence, relevance, and impact on modern and contemporary culture and practice. What is the value of challenging perceived notions of historical, cultural, and social identity? How do the humanities, as a discipline, help us understand this? Be sure to justify your response. How does our understanding of social and cultural practices of the past impact how we conduct ourselves socially and professionally in the present? How do the humanities, as a discipline, help us understand this? Be sure to justify your response. What is the responsibility of the artist to society, especially in terms of shaping our understanding of ourselves and the world in which we live? How do the humanities, as a discipline, help us understand this? Be sure to justify your response. I will attach what I have completed so far if it is easier to take what I have and edit my paper to match my style of writing since this is the final product. I have added the lists of comparisons and sources that were reccomended. I choose to write about The theme: honoring war veterans and the associated monuments. • Jean Chalgrin et al., Arc de Triomphe de l’Étoile, Paris (Neoclassicism), 1806–1836 • Maya Lin, Vietnam Veterans Memorial (Modernism), 1982.

Last Completed Projects