1. Please read "Nelson take 1" and then post two-three sentences in response.
2. Craft: Read Barnet, "Formal Analysis and Style." Make a list of 10 formal elements that can be used to analyze an artwork. Fill in the list using the Spiral Jetty as the artwork. (i.e. light: natural - always outside)
Please submit all assignments in MLA format.
"Formal Analysis and Style."
3.Formal Analysis: Following the tips and examples from Barnet's chapter, write a formal analysis of Robert Smithson's Spiral Jetty.
Nelson take 1
"Every so often a painter has to destroy painting. Cezanne did it and then Picasso did it again with Cubism. Then Pollock did it--he busted our idea of a picture all to hell. Then there could be a new picture again."
--Willem de Kooning
It is a dangerous game to open a course with a damning question. "What is art?" I won't attempt to answer this question. I won't get into the idea and role of beauty or the difference between modernism and postmodernims. But I want to open this class with Robert Smithson's Spiral Jetty as an indirect way of delving into ideas surrounding art. For one thing, the Jetty is a short drive from Salt Lake City. It asks its viewers to rethink the perimeters of art. It insists its viewers travel. It begs questions about museums. It begs questions about quotidian experience and Art with a capital 'A.'
But I'm getting ahead of myself. The first thing to note is that this is a class that asks you to reconsider the staunch lines between "creative" and "academic" writing. Though I will insist on following academic conventions such as using third person and a tone of some formality in your essays, I want to see the development of ideas and description on a creative level. This opening assignment sets the foundation for strong formal description. An effective writer helps his or her reader picture thoughts. This may be more difficult than it sounds. As you set out to describe the Jetty, one caveat is to avoid cliche. Cliche sneaks in. The glistening sun drenches things in yellow. The deep pools of water reflect the sunset. Don't let your brain sink into this comfortable squishy place.
Quick notes on the writing process:
In my work with students, I find two MOs that tend to be prohibitive.
1. The perfectionist. The perfectionist cannot begin to write until he or she has everything in mind that needs to get written. This writer feels overwhelmed without really specific guidelines. She feels lost if she doesn't have the thesis in place before she starts to write. He won't move from a sentence until it feels grammatically perfect.
2. The overprotective parent. The overprotective parent writes her baby. She prints out the baby and reads the lines out loud admiring the stealthy prose, enjoying the sound of a nice descriptive word. The parent of this baby that is a paper refuses to see anything wrong with it. The idea of revision suggests the baby is not perfect, and that is not acceptable.
Each of these problems is rooted in a lack of understanding of the MOST integral part of effective writing. REVISION. Pablo Picasso wrote, "To know what you want to draw, you have to begin drawing." The same is true of writing. Moving the pen or typing the keys generates ideas. Placing words to pages helps you to develop the thoughts. Don't be afraid to just start writing. Don't be afraid to start over even if you've already written 10 pages or 30. This is the best writing advice I have learned, but we have a whole course to get through together. So here we go.
Article -Formal Analysis and Style - Jackson Pollock, Paul Klee and Oscar Wilde