paper should be 3-4 pages long (not including footnotes, bibliography, and illustration(s), double-spaced, with numbered pages, 1” margins on all sides, and following proper footnote and bibliography format. This will be discussed in detail on Blackboard and in class.You will be graded on content (what you say) as well as form (how you say it, that is, using correct grammar and usage). For this assignment you must visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art at 5th Avenue and 82nd Street, “virtually” on the museum at the Metropolitan Museum of Art website The first part of your assignment is to describe in as much detail as you can what this object is, who made it (if known), what it is made of, where and when it is from. Be as specific as you can in answering the following additional questions: Where EXACTLY in the museum is the object located? In a room? A hallway? How is it displayed? What specific other artworks are located on either side of your chosen object, or in close proximity to your object? From a curator’s point of view, do you feel the artworks around your chosen artwork add or detract from your chosen piece? Why or why not? Further, discuss in as much detail as you can the qualities and features of your object in formal terms: is it symmetrical or asymmetrical, dynamic or static, colorful or monotone, large or small. What is the subject matter? How does it affect you? Why were you drawn to it? What makes you like it/dislike it? Does the display of the artwork by the museum add or detract in any way from the impact of the piece, and if so, how? Does the artwork relate in any way to any of the other artworks we have discussed so far in this course? Does it relate to any of the themes or subject matter we have discussed in the course? Add anything you feel is appropriate in helping to understand your object, its placement, its artistic qualities and effects, and your reaction to it. The second part of your assignment is to conduct research about your object and to identify the artistic style or movement that your chosen work belongs to. You may take a photograph of the label accompanying your chosen artwork – it contains loads of information for your later reference. you can go on the Met’s website to search for information about your artwork in the form of articles, encyclopedia entries, books, or websites. All sources must be documented properly in your footnotes and bibliography in keeping with the handout on footnotes/bibliography. Is there a group of artists who were working on similar material at this time? Who were they? Where and when did they work? How does the artwork you have chosen reflect the life and career of the artist who made it (or, if it is truly ancient, the culture that made it)? What does the piece you have chosen do to help us understand the history of art, both in terms of style or period, AND in terms of the way this artwork helps us understand the career, development, or contribution to art of its artist/maker. What have other people – historians, art critics, etc. – written in evaluating your object? Include at least one quote from a historian or critic about your artwork OR about the artist/creator of your artwork to substantiate that OTHER authorities exist who support your contention that your chosen artwork is as good and as special as you say it is. Be sure to also include at least one COLOR illustration of your chosen work of art. In addition to a reproduction of the artwork in the form of a color photo or postcard, please include an illustration of your own making/drawing, but make sure it is in color! Enlist any and all arguments and evidence that you can to support your analysis of your chosen artwork. This paper must include at least 3 documented sources in your bibliography. While websites and Wikipedia can be useful, try also to use scholarly sources such as journals and books as well (these are increasingly available in electronic form, and you can get help from Baruch College librarians in person or in online chats about databases you can search for such sources). Use the website of the museum as a resource, Google Scholar, as well as encyclopedias, books, and databases available in the Baruch College library (speak to a reference librarian at the information desk!). Content Checklist Make Sure You:
Describe in detail what this object is, and how it relates to other objects around it, as well as how it relates to its setting.
Proofread your writing, making sure to use formal, standard English suitable for addressing such a powerful body as the Museum Board of Trustees. This means: avoid all informal speech, avoid contractions like “isn’t” or “don’t”, and demonstrate respect through your language, tone, and diction. Also demonstrate command of your material without being obnoxious or obsequious (à look it up! It’s a fancy word that means “kissing up to…”. Avoid this.).
Discuss the features of your object in formal terms. That is, described whether it is symmetrical or asymmetrical, dynamic or static, colorful or monotone, large or small, or other information about its most important features. What does your art work mean? How do the details of composition, materials, artistic technique, and/or subject matter create associations that may reinforce the meanings you interpret in the artwork?
Analyze the subject matter in terms of how it affects you. Why were you drawn to it? Do you like it/dislike it?
Explain what it is about your object that you feel makes it particularly significant artistically, historically, and stylistically.
Explain what style or movement your work belongs to, and why your work of art is valuable as an example of that style or movement.
Give at least one example of what have other people – historians, art critics, etc. have written in evaluating your object, including at least one direct quote from one of these authorities (with a footnote of that direct quote).
Remember: The best papers will be written in a manner that combines description and analysis in a way that marshals “evidence” for a persuasive argument, culminating in your conclusion about why you think this artwork is significant. See if you can embed a short quote from one of your sources into the flow of your paragraph, in such a way that the quote really helps add to the analysis you are making. Paper Formatting Check List Have you:
Written 4 pages of double-spaced text? Placed your name, course, and date at the top of your paper?
Proofread your writing for errors, typing mistakes, and correct grammar?
Numbered your pages?Included 1” margins on all sides?
Provided a footnote for every quotation or conceptual argument that is not your own, but is from some other source?
Followed proper footnote and bibliography format and included at least 3 sources in your bibliography?
Included at least one quotation from a critic or historicgoan you can cite separately in a footnote?
