Art Appreciation 1301 - Rinck, Jonathan

Museum Assignment ARTS1301 Part 2: The Research Portion

For part one of this assignment, you provided a description of the principles and elements of design as they related to two works of art. Now, you will select one of those works, and write an 800 word paper about that work of art, combining what you have already said about it with new information which you will gather though additional research. You will also show how your work of art connects to a particular theme in art. Part 5 of your textbook (9^th ed.; Chapters 22-27) is dedicated to various themes explored in works of art and architecture over a variety of cultures throughout history. Your task is to find a theme represented by your work of art,demonstrate how the principles and elements help express that theme in your particular work, and place it in cultural context using constructive external research/sources. There are several components to this project:

Getting Started:

Research Proposal (5%)

Before you begin your actual paper, submit a brief proposal stating the following:

• The work of art you will be researching
• The theme you’ve chosen
• list five keywords that will help you research your topic, pertaining to medium(e.g., painting, architecture, sculpture,), culture (e.g. Japan, American, Latin American, etc.), and time period (contemporary, Renaissance, 19^th century, etc).
• Submit your proposal on Canvas
• The proposal will be 5 % of your overall essay grade.

You must submit a research proposal and have your topic approved before you proceed to writing your paper.

Final Paper:

The contents of your paper should include the following:

1. A clear description of the theme you have chosen to investigate.
2. Researched information on the artist, and/or typeof artwork you are researching (if the object is unattributed) (1/2 page);
3. A thorough description of the work of art you have selected. Start with a good formal analysis of the artwork (discuss the most important elements of art and design principles); (about 1 page). 
4. Next, using the sources you find, discuss the cultural context, meaning, and/or function of the artwork you are investigating. ( about 1-page)
5. And, last, give a summary of how the work you have examined represents the theme and was significant to the culture in which it was produced. (about 1/2 page)
6. Works Cited page (1-page).
7. Include an image of your artwork.

Your final paper will be a well-written essay, 800 to 1,000 words in length.

 Cited Sources: No more than one of your sources should be a webpage (that is, something that exists only as a webpage; here, the Met website might be used as a fifth source).  When using an internet source, remember that it must be legitimate, meaning that it is authored and published by an academic or art institution (look for .edu or .org websites).  When published sources are included in your final paper, you must provide proper citation.  You may use either MLA style or the Turabian Style.  Information on how to use either style is available through the SAC Library website (see citation guide (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.).  All late papers will lose one-third a letter grade per day they are late.

Grading:  Your grade for this assignment will be based on the quality of your paper following the guidelines above and the inclusion of a complete and properly Works Cited page.  In terms of quality, I will be looking for a well-written paper that reflects a thoughtful and thorough analysis of the subject matter (the art you have chosen to investigate), supported by your outside research.

Links to local libraries:

San Antonio College

http://www.alamo.edu/sac/library/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

San Antonio Public Library

http://www.mysapl.org/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Trinity University Library

http://lib.trinity.edu/