Final Paper

The Final Paper is worth 200 points. You are required to visit a  reputable art museum in your area and select a work of art to discuss  and critique in a formal, iconographic, and historical context. Your  grade will be based on the depth of your analysis of the subject.

About art criticism

The process of art criticism involves description, formal analysis, interpretation and evaluation. The first step is to describe what you see. Include facts, such as the artists name, the media, size of the piece, and where it is located. Next, analyze.  Look at how all the parts of the piece work together. What visual  elements and principles of design did the creator use? Subjectively  interpret what the content is, taking style into account. Finally, interpret and evaluate  the work of art being studied; what do you think the artist’s  intentions were? What is being communicated? Does it have value? Can you  recognize the aesthetic quality in the work? Include biographical  and/or historical information. Evaluation can be a very challenging part  of art criticism and requires practice and careful seeing.

Requirements

Select a museum

First, select a major museum in your area. A listing of some approved museums may be found at the following site: Art Museums Worldwide  opens in a new window.  If you live in a more rural area or are military and stationed overseas  where you cannot visit a museum, contact the instructor to discuss  options. An online museum visit may be necessary. However, in-person  museum experiences will be prioritized. If the museum you’d like to  visit is not on the list, you must get instructor approval.

If a virtual museum is necessary, you may find listings at the following site:  Arts and Culture  opens in a new window

Select a work of art

The following outline is suggested, but not required:

• Identification: Select a work of art. You may  select a piece that you like or dislike. Get all the information  provided: artist, title, medium, year, etc. Write down your initial  responses. How do you respond to the work? Does it invoke an emotional  response? What do you think the artist was trying to communicate? It is  helpful to bring a notebook to record your responses.
• Describe the piece and review it carefully. What do  you see? Note all the details about the work. How would you describe it  to someone you were talking to on the phone who can’t see it?
• Analyze the visual elements and design principles,  thinking about the relationship between form, content, and subject  matter. This will be helpful in your ‘interpretation’ of the work.  Consider context: does it fit into a movement or time period? Consider  its place in the artist’s overall output.
• Interpretation Follow your analysis with a  subjective interpretation of the meaning of the work. How does the work  make you feel? What do you think the content is? Go beyond “I like it”  or “I don’t like it.”
• Research the artist. Historical and biographical  information on the artist often provides clues into a work’s intended  meaning. Carefully consider the purpose and context of the piece. Did  the piece you selected have any particular political or cultural  message? Was the artist making a statement?
• Evaluate What do you think the artist’s intentions  were? Was this communicated? Does it have value? Can you recognize the  aesthetic quality in the work?

Format Requirements

The paper must be 1500 words, double-spaced, 10- or 12-point type,  with 1” margins. The title page, images, and reference/bibliography page  do not count toward the required length of paper. The preferred format  to complete the Final Paper is Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx). If these  formats are not available, other acceptable formats are ASCII (.txt),  rich text format (.rtf), and Open Office (.odt), and PDF. Make sure you  proofread your papers for incorrect grammar, spelling, punctuation, and  other errors.

A minimum of four sources is required. Research can come from the  Internet (reputable, academic sources only) scholarly articles (JSTOR,  for example), books on art history, politics, etc.. Sources should be  varied and academic and/or professional in nature. Your textbook cannot  be one of the four minimum sources but can be included.

Anything that is not considered common knowledge (information that  can be found in at least 4 sources) should be cited. This includes  opinions, judgments, little-known facts, and direct quotes. In-text  citations (APA) or footnotes and endnotes (CMS) are used to give credit  to sources of any material or scholarship borrowed, summarized, or  paraphrased. They are intended to refer readers to the exact pages of  the works listed in the Reference or Bibliography section.

Citation Sources

Make sure you proofread your papers for issues with grammar,  spelling, punctuation, and other errors. If you reference a source other  than the text (not required), cite this reference according to the APA  or Chicago Manual of Style. The use of any secondary reference without  providing citation is plagiarism and will receive a score of 0.  Submitting the work of another is also considered plagiarism. Papers are  checked for previous submission to the College and for any uncited  content. Repeated incidents of plagiarism are reported to the Academic  Affairs Office and the student receives an “F “grade in the course.

The Final Paper is due at 11:59 pm CT Sunday of Week 7.

Grading Criteria

Refer to the following Final Paper Rubric for further expectations.