“Defining Art – Past and Present
Assignment reinforces the concepts from Discussion #1 to build on a more comprehensive approach to understanding the definitions of art. This is an important activity that enables you to research a written concept (the definitions of art), visualize this concept (find an artwork), and then present your findings in a professional manner (written paper).
Task:
1. Read sections 1.3.1 Historic Development of the Idea of Art and 1.8 Key Concepts from Unit 1 and reference these when describing images.
2. Draft a paper in MLA format with a minimum of 500 words and 5 inserted images.
3. In your paper, briefly describe each of the five definitions of art from Unit 1 (Mimesis, Communication, Significant Form, Artworld/Institutional, Mind into the World). Indicate a strength and a weakness of each definition.
4. Using the Definitions of Art: Definitions and Examples page as a starting point, research other artists and artworks to use for your visual examples. You may use artists from the page suggested, but don’t use the specific artworks mentioned as your examples.
5. Give a brief biography of each artist and a description (title, date, medium) of the artwork you present, as well as an explanation of how the artwork meets the criteria for each definition of art.
6. Cite your sources and include a Works Cited/Bibliography page in MLA format.
7. Save your paper as a PDF and submit it to the assignment folder by the deadline.
Use the Purdue Owl site and this Sample MLA paper to assist you with formatting. Also reference this link for guidance in how to insert images in MLA formatting.
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_tables_figures_and_examples.html
