Is your paper written in Times New Roman, 12 pt font, double-spaced?
5. Have you cited any external sources used? Are those sources scholarly and reputable?
6. Is the paper written entirely in your own words (three short, cited quotations are accepted)? Plagiarism and the use of AI/ChatGPT will not be tolerated.
Many websites are excellent (Web Gallery of Art, Met Museum of Art), while many are questionable (Wikipedia, blogs, or journals/articles without sources). Use of questionable or unscholarly source material will result in partial credit. If there is any doubt, please consult me. Students are strongly encouraged to use art historical terms and convey their understanding of art historical concepts and analytical approaches. Additionally, students are only permitted to use three short quotations in this project (which must be cited) – all other research must be paraphrased in the student’s own words. Any citations must be compiled on a separate Bibliography page at the end of the paper – MLA, APA, and Chicago Manual of Style citation formats accepted. Finally, It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that they have submitted the correct file, that their submitted files are uncorrupted, and that the file is in the correct format (Word or PDF). Failure to meet these responsibilities will result in a failure of the assignment.
Themes
Theme 1 – Power & Leadership:
Figures of authority tend to be represented within certain visual conventions. Consider all of the depictions of leaders and elite figures we have seen in this course. What do their representations have in common? What is different? How do these images convey authority? What symbols, if any, do they use to allude to their power? How are different leadership roles visualized? That is, how the conventions of portraying a religious leader differ from those used to depict a king or political ruler? How do materials and artistic techniques affect the understanding of the work?
Theme 2 – Religion & Ritual
How are religious beliefs and practices embodied in art? Is religious imagery representational, non-representational, and/or abstracted? How is art used in ritual contexts? What influence, if any, do power structures have on the use and/or placement of religious art? Is the religious theme, figure, or artistic style indigenous to this culture, or has it been adopted from elsewhere?
Theme 3 – Architectural Innovations:
What do the types of structures people build tell us about them and their society? What role, if any, does religion have on the design or construction of the structures? What significance do materials and technological advancements have in a work’s construction? What, if any, architectural features are shared among different cultures?
Conducting a Visual Analysis
A visual analysis is an explanation of the composition or visual structure of an artwork. It is a discussion of how and why the artist made certain design choices (including the visual elements and principles of design) and how those choices impact our interpretation of the artwork’s tone, meaning, or purpose. Please note: many of you did not thoroughly explore your selected artworks’ visual components in your Unit 1 Essays – please consider using the increased word count to expand upon these points, as this will earn a higher grade!
Please review the “ART 1040 Conducting a Visual Analysis Guide” for a full explanation of the factors you should consider in your analysis. However, some examples of questions to ask yourself when writing your visual analysis include:
• Technique: How was the artwork made? Was it drawn, painted, sculpted, built, etc.?
• Composition: Is there a focal point? Is the composition crowded, open, varied, or repetitious? Is the composition symmetrical or asymmetrical?
• Space: Does the image depict a deep, or flattened space? How does the primary subject relate to the space around it?
• Focus: What areas appear clearest or sharpest? What is fuzzy, or shown in less detail? How does the artist create emphasis?
• Color: Is the image in color, or black and white? Are the hues natural or artificial? How intense is the color? What color scheme is used?
• Scale: What is larger or smaller in the image? Are these naturally occurring relationships, or do they seem intentional?
• Line: Are the lines straight, curvy, thin, thick? Do the lines create direction in the image? Do they outline? Do the lines indicate movement or energy?
• Repetition: are there any objects, shapes or lines that repeat or create a pattern?
• Size: Is it large or small on the page? In relation to article text?
• Style: What style is this artwork created in? What are the style’s defining characteristics? Are there any attributes of this artwork that are unusual for this style?
• Impact: What is the visual, emotional, and cultural impact of the artist’s design choices?
