Assignment-American Art Before and After World War II Assignment Options

For your Assignment, choose one of the options listed below.

Option A

Write a 1,050- to 1,400-word paper on American art before and after World War II.

Include an examination of the artwork of three artists total. Select two artists who worked during the Great Depression and one Abstract Expressionist artist.

Include discussion of the following in your paper:

• At least one example of art from each artist with a description of the subject and style of the work.

• An examination of the purpose of artwork created during the Great Depression. Were your examples used as tools for social reform? What other types of messaging was present in works from the 1930s?

• A description of how Abstract Expressionism emerged in post-World War II America and how it differed from the art work of the 1930s.

• A description of the style of your Abstract Expressionist artist and why he or she was interested in this style of abstraction; was there a "meaning" to their work?

Format your paper according to appropriate course level APA guidelines.

Option B

Imagine it is 1954 and you have just read a critic's scathing review of an Abstract Expressionist art exhibition.

Write a 1,050- to 1,400-word letter to the editor responding to the attack. At the beginning of your letter, discuss how the work of American artwork created in the 1930s embodied Democratic values. Then, discuss Abstract Expressionism as an extension of those values and a demonstration of the freedom of expression available to artists in American society.

Include discussion of the following in your letter:

• Two examples of art from the 1930s with explanation of how these artworks embody democratic values; were the works tools of social reform? If so, what were the goals of the artists? Were the works depicting uniquely American scenes? If so, for what purpose?

• One example of a work of Abstract Expressionism

• How the Abstract Expressionist artist expressed themselves using this abstract style; what were they "saying?" or what was the message of their artwork? What influenced their work?

Format your letter according to appropriate course level APA guidelines.