Museum Art Analysis Project
The objective of this project is to see works in person, research into the object(s) or artwork for background information, and discuss its purpose and importance in the history of art.
The Project counts for 10% of your grade. Please see the Rubric below for information on how the paper is to be graded.
A visit to an art museum and a report of that visit is required.
Alternatively, a student may not have physical access to a museum in his/her area and a virtual visit may be arranged with the instructor’s prior approval. Many museums have virtual visits, some are listed with the Google Arts and Culture project partners. Some of these have a virtual walkthrough and a Google Arts & Culture app is available for virtual reality tours. The following list contains examples of museum resources to explore and choose from:
· The MET Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History (Essays and Works of Art)
· Google Arts & Culture:
. Pergamon Museum , Germany
. The British Museum , London
. Acropolis Museum , Greece
. The Catedral de Santiago Foundation , Spain
. Grotte Chauvet/Chauvet Cave , France
. Museo della Civiltà Romana , Italy
. The British Library , London
. Museum of Cycladic Art , Greece
. Mev Museu d’Art Medieval , Spain
The report must discuss one artwork, including the style and time period in which the artwork was created. The report should be three to five typed pages saved in MS Word document or as a PDF. using MLA (Modern Language Association) format. It must include the information listed in the following outline:
I. Chosen Artwork
Museum Art Analysis Project
a. Name and location of the museum
b. Name of exhibition
c. Name of artist or group associated with if there is no artist name
d. Title of work
e. Dimensions of work
f. Media
g. Date or time period created
h. Art movement, period, or region if it is ancient
i. Place of origin
j. Manner of display
II. Description of Artwork
a. A description of the work (what does it look like, include things that would allow people to recognize it)
b. An analysis of the work
i. To understand how to analyze, two references should be researched before starting:
· Introduction to art historical analysis (article from Smarthistory)
· How to do a visual (formal) analysis (video from Smarthistory)
ii. Elements of Art (describe types of lines, marks, tones, textures, colors, etc.)
iii. Principles of Art (describe placement of elements, symmetry, movement, sense of weight, etc.)
III. Response to Artwork
a. Your personal reaction to the work (how do you feel when you see it, what does it remind you of, would it be difficult to replicate, etc.).
b. Additional interesting information (is there some background about the object we should know about such as materials it’s made of, how it came to be, or its utilitarian use).
IV. Images
a. Proof of concept—you will need to take a selfie on location and/or informational literature such as a brochure or pamphlet from the exhibit or museum OR if using an alternative museum resource (with prior approval), provide the online URL of the location of the museum resources and/or virtual visit and a screenshot of the website it was obtained from.
b. Photo/card/slide of Artwork (if a work is not allowed to be photographed, research to find one, or find it in a brochure or other materials from the museum.) Any images obtained from online resources must provide proper credit and licensing whether it is a Creative Commons License or Public Domain.
V. References
The paper is to include:
· Cover page with Title, location of the works chosen, date visited, and your name.
· A well-written and edited three to five-page paper which is to be single-spaced, paragraph indented or double-spaced between paragraphs, 12 pt text in a serif font (either Georgia, Palatino, Minion, or Times/Times Roman).
· Quoted material: No more than 15% of the written paper may be directly copied and included in the total work. The quoted portion must be cited in the bibliography.
· The paper should include an overview of what the object or exhibition is about, the materials and techniques used in the work, your research into the background and history of the work, the work’s significance in the arts, and your personal observations about the work, such as what made you choose this work, how you feel about the work, how it impact you or others.
· A page with images of the art, artifact, or an example of art from the exhibition printed either in color or black and white with caption labels.
· A bibliography of references where you found your research.
Suggested Schedule: (Note: This is for a 16 week-course, you should adjust the schedule accordingly for a shorter course.)
· Weeks 1-4 Visit a museum or exhibit, take notes, and gather resources.
· Weeks 5-8 Write the outline and the first draft.
· Weeks 9-12 Add more in-depth information and revisions to the first & second drafts.
· Weeks 13-15 Finish proofreading and finalize the paper.
Check the local or regional museum, gallery, or arts organization offerings.
Museum Art Analysis Project
-
What is the chosen artwork and its basic details (title artist medium dimensions etc.)?
-
How is the artwork described visually and formally?,
-
What is your personal response to the artwork?,
-
What additional background information enhances understanding of the work?,
-
How will images and references be incorporated to support the report?
