Instructions:
Watch a selection of online videos that showcase the works and art-making processes of contemporary artists on ART21or Craft in America.
Select 2 – 5 videos that showcase artists and their art-making processes (at minimum, approximately 20 – 35 minutes of video content) and analyze their artwork.
Craft a 2 – 3 page (500 – 750 word, double-spaced) paper that discusses the videos you picked in regards to the information outlined in the essay requirements below.
Supplement your writing with citations(when needed) and be sure to provide a bibliography.
Essay Requirements:
Name and provide a brief overview about the 2 – 5 artists picked from the videos you watched, their works of art, and the medium or media they work with.
Describe the art production technique(s) used by each artist.
Compare, contrast, or connect the artists you selected in terms of their art-making processes or techniques. You may wish to focus on one or more of the following:
Guiding philosophies or principles;
Planning processes;
Medium or media used;
Production techniques;
Workshop or studio practices;
Another connection, comparison, or contrast of your choice.
Reflect on and discuss connections or differences that you observed between the art-making practices of your selected artists.
Ensure to build and support your arguments using specific examples drawn from the selected videos.
Please ensure to use standard writing and formatting conventions including correct spelling and grammar, as well as 12pt, double-spaced, regular font types like Arial, Cambria, or Times New Roman. Remember to look at the rubric below when crafting your essay — note that the majority of marks are assigned for parts 3 &4 of the essay requirements, not part 1 (keep this section brief!).
Accessing Videos
There are two (2) online sites that we are using for this assignment, ART21 and Craft in America. Each of these sites has embedded videos on their websites, searchable through headings such as ‘artist,’ ‘medium/material,’ ‘theme,’ among other organizing principles (including broadcast date, as both are originally t.v. programs). While I appreciate that we likely all likely encountered incredible artists through our social media channels or spaces like YouTube, please share these video links with your classmates through our ‘What is Art?’ discussion board and stick to looking at the videos on ART21 or Craft in America for this project. To access the online video at ART21 or Craft in America, click on the blue, hyperlinked name.
ART21
If you are interested in contemporary art, traditional media like painting, drawing, sculpture, or thought-provoking, challenging, and empowering ideas or themes, you want to check out ART21! To access online videos on ART21, you can:
Use the ‘Explore’ tab to check out videos arranged by ‘Theme,’ ‘Medium,’ and ‘Narratives.’ When you click on one of the black bubbles, you will be taken to videos related to the relevant theme, medium, or narrative you picked. Note: videos can be in multiple categories, so you may see some pop up more than once.
You can scroll through the ‘Artist Directory’to find a specific contemporary artist that you may have read about in our course or whose work you are already familiar with.
ART21 also contains a ‘Search’ function if you would like to enter in freeform text. You can also watch the latests videos by pressing on the ‘Watch’ tab. Finally, there is a ‘Read’ tab, which features and gives extra context through written articles.
Craft in America
These aren’t your great-grandparent’s handicrafts! Contemporary craftmakers work in mediums as diverse as glassblowing, textiles, woodworking, furniture making, paper art, metalworking, and clay, creating objects that challenge our perceptions about the distinction between ‘art’ and ‘craft.’ This is also the place to go if you’re interested in architecture, as there are a few architectural videos here as well. To access online videos on Craft in America, you can:
Visit the ‘Artists’ tab, which you can then arrange how you would like to view. You can classify artists by using the tabs on the right side of the page, where you can ‘Alphabetize’ artists by last name or divide artists by the type of ‘Material’ they work with (you can refine which medium you are interested in looking at too).
See the videos by ‘Theme,’ as originally arranged in episodes of the PBS broadcast. To see these thematic episodes, click on the ‘PBS Series’ tab, choose a theme, and view one or more videos related to the specific theme, as arranged on the original tv program.
You are welcome to use video content from bothART21 and Craft in America, should you wish. You are also welcome to use video content from a single site.
Technical Details (aka the “fine print”)
Limit use of direct quotations and paraphrasing. Instead, if you must use content that comes directly from the video, textbook, or online lecture materials, show YOUR understanding of the ideas or content by crafting your descriptions in your own language and referencing the original source.
Cite any sources that you use, including any direct quotation and/or use of ideas or information from a source, including the videos and course textbook.
Provide a bibliography that includes your sources for the essay, including the required videos. For example, if you use Preston Singletary’s glasswork as one of your examples, the citation (footnote, in the body of your essay) and bibliographic entry (separate list following your entry) would look as follows from the artist’s entry on the Craft in America website (based on Chicago-style citations):
Footnote:
Preston Singletary, “Glass artist Preston Singletary, NATURE episode,” Craft in America, YouTube video, 11:57, April 24, 2017, https://www.craftinamerica.org/artist/preston-singletary.
Bibliographic entry:
Singletary, Preston. “Glass artist Preston Singletary, NATURE episode.” Craft in America. April 24, 2017. YouTube Video. 11:57. https://www.craftinamerica.org/artist/preston-singletary.
Bibliographic entry for entire episode:
Singletary, Preston. artist. Craft in America. Season 8, episode 2. “Nature.” Directed by Carol Sauvion. Aired April 24, 2017, PBS, https://www.craftinamerica.org/episode/nature.
