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This assignment assesses this course’s General Learning Objective (GELO). The GE
This assignment assesses this course’s General Learning Objective (GELO). The GELO associated with ARH1000 Art Appreciation is Critical Thinking. Santa Fe College describes the critical thinking outcome and associated competencies as follows: demonstrate the skills necessary for analysis, synthesis, evaluation, decision-making, critical and creative thinking, and the creative process.
Assignment Overview and Objective
Throughout this course, we have discussed a wide range of art objects from paintings and prints to sculpture, performance art and installation. We often look at art and decide if we like it or not based on our aesthetic preferences. It is only when we take a deeper look, through formal and art historical analysis, that the object’s meaning and purpose is revealed.
This essay is a formal and historical analysis of a work of art (i.e. painting, sculpture, etc.) within a museum collection. Using the vocabulary of art connoisseurship, be sure to discuss your chosen art object in terms of its formal elements, subject matter, meaning, and historical context.
Assignment Instructions and Formatting Guidelines
You will visit the Harn Museum of Art at UF. If you do not live in Gainesville and would like to visit an art museum local to you, please contact me for approval.
Format your paper with a cover page, introduction, body paragraphs, conclusion, and bibliography in the Chicago Manual of Style format.
Include a minimum of three (3) scholarly sources. Any paper submitted without the minimum scholarly sources, without a bibliography, or with incorrect citations will receive a zero.
Review the Scholarly Sources vs. Popular Sources video in the Getting Started module before starting your paper.
Paper must be a minimum of 750 words with a word count included on the cover page.
You must submit proof of your museum visit. Take a selfie inside the museum in front of your chosen object and include it at that end of your paper.
Review papers are typed, double-spaced, 12pt. Times New Roman font.
Formatting & Writing Tips:
Your introduction is a single paragraph and includes:
Identifying information regarding the work you are reviewing: the venue at which you viewed the piece, the specific exhibit it might be included in, the artist’s name, the title of the artwork (italics), date, size, and medium.
Any prerequisite information necessary for the reader to follow the discussion to come. For example, a brief description of the subject, as presented in the artwork, is necessary for the introduction if components of that subject are to be further discussed in the body of your essay.
A clear and complete Thesis Statement
A Thesis Statement is concise, one or two sentences at most.
A Thesis Statement is a pointed statement that clearly identifies what idea, viewpoint or conclusion you are presenting to the reader and what main points you will expand upon in the body of your essay in order to support that idea, viewpoint or conclusion.
Includes the main points that will be expanded upon to support the viewpoints:
Example: “Through the artist’s placement of people and furniture, jarring use of color and distortion of perspective, Van Gogh’s Nigh Cafe redefines the usually inviting environment of a neighborhood pub as a lonely and alienating space.” This statement includes the idea, viewpoint or conclusion to be supported in the body of your paper.
Note: Since your essay is to address Subject, Form, and Meaning, the above example of a good thesis statement includes mention of each:
Subject: “people and furniture”, “neighborhood pub”
Form: “placement”, “color”, “perspective”
Meaning: “jarring”, “redefines”, “lonely and alienating”
Your introduction should not include:
Information that is unrelated to or unnecessary for an understanding of your essay’s main points. For example, biographical information on the artist that is not essential to an understanding of the points you plan to discuss should be left out.
Robotic statements that read as flat or uninterested such as, “This essay will address…”
A thesis with vague, indefensible statements (especially as regards meaning) such as, “The color works well to create an image many people will like”.
Your essay body should include multiple organized body paragraphs
Paragraphs should be organized by the order in which your main points were noted in your introduction (i.e., the first main point noted in your introduction becomes the topic of your first body paragraph).
Paragraphs must begin with a topic sentence and follow with sentences that support, expand upon or defend the content of the topic sentence.
A paragraph should always clearly relate how its topic supports the idea, viewpoint or conclusion as presented in the essay’s thesis statement.
A paragraph with a closely related point to that of a following paragraph will often conclude with a transitional sentence. This transitional sentence clarifies the relationship of the current paragraph to the upcoming related point to follow in the next paragraph.
A paragraph without a closely related point to the following paragraph will often end with a conclusion sentence. This conclusion sentence clarifies that the point has been made and closes and prepares the reader for a new point to follow in the next paragraph.
Your essay should include a thoughtful Conclusion paragraph
Avoid overused phrases such as “in conclusion,” “in summary,” or “in closing.”
A thoughtful conclusion goes beyond a mere restatement of the main points of your essay.
Synthesize, don’t just summarize. Imagine that a reader reads your essay, understands your points and how they support your thesis. Then they say, “so what?”, “why should I care?” and answer those questions. For example, consider Van Gogh’s Night Cafe, the painting on which the above example of a good thesis statement was based. Van Gogh is known to have had mental health issues throughout his adult life. Though this may not have been a main point of the essay, a concluding paragraph on Van Gogh’s Night Cafe might nevertheless point to this fact and call attention to the reader that understanding the actual points of the essay (the accomplishments of Van Gogh in conveying a “lonely and alienating space”) allow us to see that Van Gogh’s gift to us was not despite his illness, but precisely because of it. Through this painting, we see his sensitivity to his surroundings, his vulnerability in sharing his despair and loneliness, and perhaps find a solidarity or at least an empathy with those who suffer so today.
A good conclusion leaves a reader glad that they read your essay.
Proofreading & Editing Tips:
Don’t write by “flow of consciousness”; plan your essay and rewrite for clarity.
Avoid empty phrases (e.g., “The artist used line well.”).
Assume nothing to be “understood” – expand on your ideas so that any reader might understand.
Be concise; avoid flowery language and melodramatic phrasing.
Avoid defeatist sentences or those that are going nowhere (e.g., “The meaning was lost to me.”).
Utilize appropriate [discipline-specific] vocabulary (i.e., don’t confuse “harmony” with “unity”, etc.). When in doubt, look it up in an appropriate text (not a standard dictionary, which is too general, but an art or design text which is discipline-specific).
Avoid awkward phrasing (e.g., “When I first looked at this painting, you could see an obvious surface pattern.” or “I was amused by this drawing because of its lack of seriousness and comical expression”).
Avoid clichés (e.g., “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”).
Avoid presenting personal biases as justification (e.g., “This work was ultimately unsuccessful because I don’t like abstract art”)
PROOFREAD.
Titles of visual works are ALWAYS italicized – they are are not put in quotation marks.
The first time an artist is mentioned it is proper to utilize both the artist’s first and last name. Any other mention of the artist should be by her or his last name.
There are a few examples in which it is proper to refer to an artist by one name: Caravaggio, Michelangelo, etc.
Make sure to spell the artist’s name correctly.
Do not write in the first (I, me) or second person (you). Using a neutral voice in the third person is preferred. (one, the viewer, etc.)
Example: As one walks through the gallery space, they are transported back in time to Paris circa 1900. When looking at the opposing portrait of King Henry XVIII, his intense personality is instantly revealed to the viewer.
Plagiarism
If you fail to include a bibliography and footnote citations in any of your papers when using sources (including museum catalogue entries and wall text), it is considered plagiarism. All papers must be submitted via Canvas and will be checked for plagiarism.
Use quotation marks for direct quotes and paraphrases.
If you use the words of another writer without acknowledging that writer it is considered plagiarism.
If you use the ideas of another writer without acknowledging that writer it is considered plagiarism.
As I read your paper, I will be asking “How does he or she know this information?”
If photography is permitted within the exhibition gallery, you may include images of the works you discuss in detail. Either take your own photos or download images from the internet.
The use of generative AI is prohibited in this course. Do not use any AI tools such as Grammarly, Quillbot, ChatGPT, Dall-E, etc. to assist you with your paper. If your paper is flagged as AI generated, you will not receive credit for your paper.
NOTE:
Please upload your paper via Canvas as a PDF or Word document. Other formats such as Google Docs and Pages are not accepted. Make sure you convert your file to a PDF if you are using a program other than MS Word.
Please upload your paper on time before the due date and time. Once the due date has passed you will not have access to the submission folder.
This is your final exam, there are no redos once your paper has been graded.
You will not receive credit for your paper if:
You do not cite sources properly, including incorrect citations and plagiarism issues.
You reference sources that are not scholarly and do not adhere to the guidelines.
You do not include three scholarly sources.
You do not submit proof of your museum visit (take a selfie inside the museum in front of your chosen object and include the image at the end of your paper).
Your paper is flagged as AI (Artificial Intelligence) generated or Plagiarized.
If your paper is submitted via email after the deadline.
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