Assignment: Time Travel
Assume you have been given the ability to travel back in time, and you are about to set off on a trip to the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The purpose of your trip is to give you the opportunity to visit artists in their studios and to view firsthand the creation of some specific types of paintings or sculpture.
Since the length of time you can spend on this journey is limited, you must decide beforehand what styles you are most interested in. The job you will have is to collect information concerning four different styles-one from each time period listed below-as represented by two artists from each. You may choose from the following:
The eighteenth century
• Rococo
• Romantic (painting or sculpture)
• Neoclassical The nineteenth century
• Naturalistic or realistic style in either Europe or North America
• Impressionistic
• Post-impressionistic
First half of the 20th century (1900 - 1954)
• Cubism
• Fauvism
• Expressionism
• Surrealism Second half of the 20th century/21stcentury (1945 to present)
• Abstract Expressionism
• Minimalism
• Pop Art
• Digital Art
• Post-Modernism
Before you set out, you should have decided on the four styles that interest you, have determined specific artists you wish to visit, and come up with questions for which you wish to find answers. When you return, you will need to prepare a report that includes the following for each of the four styles you chose, as represented by two artists from each style:
Name of the artist
Title of the work of art
Date of the work of art
Medium or materials used to create the work of art
Then in 2-4 paragraphs, tell us:
• The style of the work
• Reasons for the style to have gained popularity
• Specific features of the style
• 1-2 reasons why the work of art is important to the history of art.