Survey of the Arts ARTS1100
Research Paper
Project Introduction:
In this project, you need to choose an artist or an architect of your interest, research representative professional work, and write about this subject’s achievements in the world of art and architecture. The instruction are broken down into three task to help with the process, but there is only one paper. In the first task of the project, you will complete the research on the chosen subject and will select two representative buildings if the subject is an architect or three works of art if the subject is an artist. Finally, you will analyze the pieces in terms of their formal qualities and design. In the second task of the project you will consider issues, such as the characteristic style, preferred techniques and methods of work, and sources of ideas and inspiration of the artist or architect. The second part will also examine your personal response to the chosen subject and the representative work.
Task 1:
The first step in the process is to find an artist or and architect that interests you. Begin by flipping through your textbook or other art and architecture book. The local bookstore or library is a good place to browse. Do not feel that you have to research an artist that is “old”. Select a person about whom you can find research material to allow you to complete your paper. Ideally, you should perform some preliminary research before settling on a topic. Otherwise, you could end up with a paper topic that has little material available to you.
After you have found a subject to investigate, you will need to research the person’s professional life and work. Start with the most general resources, and gradually seek out more specialized resources. There are numerous Web resources available, either through the South Louisiana Library or a search engine. One of the best online starting points is Wikipedia. After you have gathered general information about your topic, delve into more specialized resources. You may use archives of several periodicals, journals, and other resources that possibly contain information on you topic area. While searching these sources, it is best to use simple search terms. Doing so will produce more “hits”. Your final resource should be books or other texts. These can be excellent resources for very specific and detailed information but are not great sources for getting your bearings in a topic. Keep your search terms very simple. Another important resource is the “Further Reading” list in the back of your textbook, which list important general works.
Task 2:
For this part of the project, you need to produce a well-written paper that focuses on two buildings if you chose an architect or three works of art if you chose an artist. Try to select famous examples of your chosen artist or architect’s work because these will be better documented and researched. Remember that you will use these same artworks or buildings to discuss the style, creative methods, and sources of inspiration of their creator in the second part of the paper. The primary objective of this paper is to demonstrate your knowledge of the subject and your acquired skills of research, art analysis, and art appreciation.
Make sure that you address the following questions for each artwork.
1. What does it look like?
2. How would you categorize its style?
3. What is the subject matter? What is the content?
4. Does the form reflect the content? How?
5. What visual elements and design aspects are emphasized? Why?
6. How does the artist manipulate the technique or techniques to achieve a desired effect?
Make sure that you address the following questions for each building:
1. What does it look like?
2. How would you categorize its style?
3. What is the function? What is the setting?
4. Does the form reflect the function? How?
5. How does the architect manipulate construction methods and techniques to achieve a desired effect?
Remember to provide the following information for your chosen artworks or architectural examples: title, artist or architect, date, medium, and location.
Task 3: For this part of the project, you need to produce a well-written paper that analyzes in detail three important aspects of the professional life and work of your chosen artist or architect. These are:
• The style of movement with which the majority of the work is associated.
• The artistic technique or techniques, methods, or systems of construction with which the majority of the work is produced.
• The ideas and sources of inspiration that can be detected in the artistic or architectural output – you can focus primarily but not exclusively on examples you discussed in part I of the project.
This part of the project also gives you the opportunity to go beyond the informed description and offer your own opinion about the work of the artist or architect. In order to do that, consider answering the questions:
• What do I like about the artist or architect?
• What are the qualities that I find most attractive in the work of the artist or architect?
• What is my judgement about the originality of the artwork of this artist or architect?
Deliverables and format: Submit your papers in a Word document between 1200 and 1500 words.
Font: Arial; 12
Line Spacing: Double
Assigned and Due Dates:
Date is set in Canvas
Grading Weight: 25%
