Describe and Artwork – PRO EXPERT WRITINGS

Description

Select an artwork from the chapter. Describe in vivid descriptive specifics of the appearance of the artwork. 650 word length, approx. 1 – 2 pages; Required File Type/Document: Microsoft Word

Before attempting this assignment, read the Moodle Book titled Module 1 Resources for Analyzing Artworks and read the textbook Introduction What is Art History pg. 1.

Step One: Select an Artwork From Chapter One or Two

Take a bit of time in selecting. Be certain it is something that you would like to think about. Seriously, picking something you haven’t thought about will make things bad. Don’t try to be lazy and pick something you think is easy, because it usually is harder than picking something you can actually say something about or have a connection to.

Step Two: Just Look at the Work

Glancing at an artwork is much different from actually looking at an artwork and really seeing it. People tend to have a predetermined or predefined definition of reality. With this ideal notion in the mind guiding, then the individual thinks that they know what someone or something is when they really don’t. When we decide that we already know what something or someone is, then we don’t actually respond to the person or thing with respect and consideration. In these situations we deprive ourselves of the experience to make a friend , enjoy something for what it is. Even worse, we could fall victim to the crime of counterfeiting because the bill looked real, we could be duped into sharing our personal information with someone because an email or phone call sounded legitimate, or we purchased a bad product from a carefully crafted ebay auction.

Q: Is this a flea?

A: NO! Literally, it’s a photograph, not a flea.

Consider the scale of a flea, this picture is a distortion of the size and scale of a flea, so if it is lying about size, what about the transparency? Do fleas look like transparent ghosts? The picture also gives the impression that the flea is hairy in a way that we could feel the bristly hairy texture of a flea, do fleas feel hairy? … So how many lies about a flea are presented here? Can this “fake” actually replace the experience of encountering a flea? NO! I’ve never seen a flea that looks like that! My eyes aren’t microscopes! In fact, this picture is very surreal. It seems like a ghost monster. Which is real the symbol or the flea? Do you confuse the flea with the symbol? Yes, even after seeing the picture-symbol-flea and naming it as fake, we are still impacted by it’s nature of realty. We are told enough of the truth to believe the lie of the picture and keep believing lies even after we know them to be false.

See how easy it is to scam people? What is real in media? I don’t know, do you? What is real news or fake news? I don’t know, I guess all of it is crafted, even the “fact checked” news is somewhat fake. I haven’t lived in a war zone, been in a crashing plane, or experienced being abducted by criminals from my home? Because the news, dramatic stories in movies, video games, and various types of imagery are crafted and shared in a vivid naturalistic way, these situations seem real. Through their crafted reality, we make assumptions about what it would be like or what we would do living through those situations. If you know what you would do, you then judge others for what they did in actually living through the situation.

“Pre-reading” artworks, assuming you know the story in the work you see before you without reading it, also also happens in viewing works of art based on a written narrative. Generally, all narrative artworks that are based on a textual narrative that pre-exists the artwork are extrabiblical (not in the bible) or extranarrative (not in the written story). Sure, the bible story is there somewhere (sometimes its not at all there like Madonna of the Rocks by Leonardo da Vinci because the scene is never described in the bible) but the image presents a new and changed communication from the text. In the painting things are omitted or added, the perception of the narrative is interpreted and re-told in a new way by the artist, so it’s a new conversation, a translation, a different or alternate telling. Think about a movie and a book. You have probably read a book and watched a film, maybe it was Harry Potter or something profound like reading Les Misérables a French historical novel by Victor Hugo and then went and saw the musical stage production Les Misérables.

the subject of the artwork, the iconography of the artwork, the way the artwork was made, the visual details of the artwork. The surface, texture, color, art production process (how the artwork was physically formed).

Step 3: Make lists

Use a magnifying lens if possible so you are not considering the whole picture, often cell phones have a camera that will magnify an image with a reverse pinch or spreading of fingers gesture.

List the objects you see magnified and provide specifics about their nature. (Color, texture, shape, etc… again see the Moodle Book titled Module 1 Resources for Analyzing Artworks)

Deep specificity is important, don’t underestimate what you should list! Provide as much vivid information as possible and define the information as much as possible!

Define Iconography, do some research on the objects and symbols depicted in the image. Take nothing for granted. A book like Subjects and Symbols in Art would be helpful.

https://guides.ucf.edu/c.php?g=78158&p=512887

Step 4 Organize your lists into a cogent narrative description of the artwork

Not much more to say here, work at putting your lists into a narrative description of the work. Define the terms and statements in your list to improve the description of your work.

Step 5 Use facts and research to support your ideas

This may not require research. If you do research, make sure your research fits Craap standards to determine whether you are using high quality academic scholarly references. Provide citation (link 1) in Chicago or Turabian (link 2) when applying research information to your statement. You need a works cited list at the end of your journal entry.

Sample Outline – Starry Night

This is not a perfect outline, but it should give you a good idea of what to do!

Sample Paper

This paper is not perfect, but it should provide an idea of what the assignment is about. You may not use this work of art for your assignment.

Paper Formatting and Organization

Turabian Format Tutorial

Basic Essay Structure

How to Submit an Assignment in Moodle
Submission status
Submission status No attempt
Grading status Not graded
Due date Sunday, September 6, 2020, 11:45 PM
Time remaining 3 days 9 hours
Grading criteria

Art History Essay

Writing is organized; clear communication
Does Not Meet Objective
0points