Assignment: Visual Art and Visual Theory After 1945

Length: 1000 Word Research Paper

1. Choose an artist after whose work dates from after 1945 that we have either discussed in class or that relates to course themes.

2. In a minimum of 1000 words, discuss the work of this artist, including at least one formal analysis (see separate handout).

3. Research is REQUIRED

a. You may use relevant readings from class, but you must also conduct further research in the library or online.

b. In addition to any course texts, your paper must include at least three academic and/or scholarly sources.

Upload your completed paper to iLearn and submit a hard copy at the beginning of class on Tuesday, July 18.

Citation:all sources must be properlycited according to Chicago Manual of Style (preferred) or MLA.

Use footnotes or endnotes to cite sources at the end of sentences.If citing multiple ideas from a single source, cite your source at the end of the paragraph.

When citing a source for the first time, provide its full citation (this is the form for your footnotes/endnotes, bibliographies use a different form):

1. Michael Pollan, The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals (New York: Penguin, 2006), 99-100.

For repeated citations from the same source, use a shortened form of citation: Author last name, Short title, page number:

2. Pollan, Omnivore's Dilemma, 3.

Check the Chicago Manual of Style Quick Guide

Or for more involved questions, the electronic version of the Chicago Manual of Style, which you can access through the library:

Preparation and Writing Tips:

Be sure to put your name on your paper, number the pages, and staple it.

Make sure your paper has a clear, compelling thesis that is supported with evidence.

How do you plan to organize your essay? You can start with your overall impression and then draw out key details and quotes that support it or, conversely, you may wish to carefully observe and describe the images and then build your overall analysis or argument from that.

Think about what facts or information your reader needs in order to follow what you are saying.

Are there any counter-arguments to your ideas that you can anticipate in advance? If so, try to refute them.

Be sure to include the artist, title, and date of each artwork youmention in the body of your essay.

The first time you mention an artist, author, or any other person, always use the full name; afterwards use last name only. Italicize or underline image titles and give the date after the title, in parentheses, unless otherwise integrating that information into your text.

To work well, quotes have to be set up carefully and integrated into your own text to support your argument. Please see the separate Handout on Using Quotes Effectively (written by Professor Liz Kotz).

This is a formal writing assignment: write a draft, take a break, then revise it. Get someone else to read your work and provide feedback. Proofread your paper carefully and/or have someone else proofread it.

Formal Analysis

Formal analysis is an important technique for observing and organizing visual information.

To analyze an image, you must first be able to look at it closely and describe it in detail. Translating a visual image into a written description in a learned skill that develops with practice.

1. Content: what does the image depict? How does it depict it? What seems to be the central focus of the image? Are there particular details that draw your attention?

2. Note the author, title, date, dimensions, and medium of the work.

3. Formal Elements

Composition/spatial organization: How would you describe the overall composition of the image? Simple or complex?Is it centered, or off center? Does the subject matter crowd the image, or is there a great deal of space around it? Is the image busy and cluttered, or empty?

Point of view: Considering just the image, what is the viewer's position in relation to the things depicted? Was the image made from above or below our usual visual point of view?

Space: Is the space suggested by the work 2-D or 3-D?i.e. Is the pictorial field flat, or does space recede and give an impression of spatial depth? What formal elements contribute to this understanding of space? Is there linear perspective? Is there atmospheric perspective (e.g. where cooler colors recede into space)? Is the space shallow or deep? Does this change over time?

Figure and Ground: What is the relationship between "figure" and "ground"? Figure, here, can be abstract and ground means background. Does one predominate? Is the relation fixed or does it change over time?

Lines: Are there clear lines in the work? Are there any implied lines? What is the quality of the line (bold, assertive, jagged, etc.)

Colors: How many colors are used? Is any one dominant? Are they warm or cool, dark or light, muted or vibrant, or strongly contrasting?Describe the paletteoverlall: is it limited or taking in the full spectrum? What types of pigments dominate (primary, visible spectrum, earth tones, etc.)?

Texture: smooth or rough? Has the surface actually been built up with thicknesses of paint (impasto) and/or other materials, or does the way the work has been created imply a texture?

4. Overall impression: Now that you have made these careful observations, what is going on in this artwork? Does it create an overall mood, idea, or impression? What do you see that makes you say that? Are there any elements of the image that seem in conflict?

Attachment:- Aassignment-Handout_Quotes.pdf