Assignment:-
You are to select one painting or photographic work currently on view at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, by Imogen Cunningham in the Herb Ritts Gallery #169 on the first floor of the Evans Building and execute a 3-5 page, typed, descriptive analysis in an essay form. You may use the guidelines defined in the 'Elements of Painting Analysis' handout as a format for organizing your paper. You must record your observations objectively so refer to yourself in the third person.
Please begin by identifying the artist, title, date, medium and location in the gallery followed by a brief general description of the subject matter. In this paper you must spend more time on the interpretive elements of the image by defining the content or meaning of the work based on the visual evidence that supports your assumptions.? Remember, your discussion should be based on the visual clues evident in the work of art as compared to the materials explored in the comparative readings.
No research is required for this paper because the emphasis is centered on your ability to integrate the vocabulary and the concepts examined in class discussions. If you include any information gleaned from the museum label or from the texts/articles provided in the class, please cite the source. Please use the Art Department Style sheet as the format for the proper citation of footnotes and bibliography. Please include a selfie of yourself taken with the object you have chosen for discussion in your paper. It can be reproduced in black and white. The museum ticket from the admission desk should also be stapled to the final paper.
Finally, presentation is an important part of your grade, so proofread your work carefully.
Hen and Chickens, about 1929
Gelatin silver print
Cunningham was inspired to photograph the "pure" abstract forms found in nature. A succulent like the hen-and-chickens plant, with its endlessly repeating rosettes when seen from above, was an ideal subject for her camera, one that she revisited on a number of occasions.
The Lane Collection.