Outside Writing Assignments 1 and 2

The Formal Analysis

Outside Writing Assignment #1

Due Monday, March 2 at the beginning of class

NOTE: This assignment may be submitted in class on March 2, OR it may be submitted via Blackboard IF and ONLY IF the online submission INCLUDES your drawing of the work of art that you are analyzing. You may not submit a photograph.

For the first outside writing assignment you may choose one work the exhibition in UALR Gallery I.

January 12 – March 10, 2009

“Input/Output”

Dave Anderson

Outside   Writing Assignment #2

Due Monday,   April 6 at the beginning of class

NOTE: This assignment may be submitted in class on April 6, OR it may be submitted via Blackboard IF and ONLY IF the online submission INCLUDES your drawing of the work of art that you are analyzing.

Choose one work in the exhibition at the Arkansas Art Center:

March 20 – May 17, 2009

“Warren MacKenzie: Legacy of an American Potter”

For examples of students' formal analysis papers, see:

http://ualr.edu/art/index.php/home/art-history/writing-resources/

Guidelines for both assignments

The outside writing assignments for ARHA 2310 are designed to develop your skill in analyzing and writing about works of art. Each formal analysis will follow the guidelines stated below. Papers must be typed or word-processed in 12-point type and be double-spaced. Allow sufficient margins for comments, about one to one and a half inches on each side.

Keep in mind that a formal analysis is not a research paper; it is an exercise in perception and articulation. A formal analysis requires you to be aware of what you are seeing and to understand how and why a work elicits a certain response in you, or suggests a particular meaning to you. It includes a description of a work of art, but it goes beyond mere description because it tells how the described object "works." That is, it analyzes how the component parts work together, and how the artistic choices (choices of medium, shape, color, etc.) communicate the message of the work to the viewer.

Choose one work that particularly engages you. Take time to look at the work in detail; make a simple sketch of the work. Ask yourself: "How does the piece ‘work’? What is the artist doing? Why do I have a particular response (such as joy, fear, curiosity)?" Your response is, to a great extent, the result of the choices the artist has made in the process of creation. You will find useful ideas for thinking and writing about works of art in the text which was required for this course, Sylvan Barnett’s A Short Guide to Writing About Art.

The following is a specific outline for this paper. Part of your grade will be determined by how well you follow this outline. Other important aspects are thoroughness, clarity, and a demonstrated sensitivity to the work of art.

1. Include specific information about the work within the first few paragraphs of your essay analysis:title, artist, date, dimensions, medium of the work, and the name of the exhibition in which the work was displayed.
2. Introduce the reader to the work of art by writing a brief, overall description of it.
3. Discuss the Elements of Art and Principles of Design that you think are important in understanding and analyzing this work.
4. Discuss the medium the artist used and how the artist exploited the particular qualities of this medium. Always refer to the artist by her or his last name, not the first name.
5. Explain your personal response to the work based on its form as you analyzed it in the previous sections.
6. Include a rough sketch of the artwork. This must be your drawing, not a photograph. (This will help you see and understand the work. You will not be graded on your drawing skill.)
7. Staple the pages together; make sure your name is on the paper.

The following list of the Elements of Art and the Principles of Design will help you to focus on the most important aspects of the work you are analyzing. Discuss the element or principles that seem to create the meaning of the work or contribute to its aesthetic quality.

1. Elements of Art
   • line
   • shape and mass
   • light, value, color
   • texture
   • space
   • time and motion
   
   
2. Principles of Design
   • unity and variety
   • balance
   • emphasis
   • focal point
   • proportion and scale
   • rhythm

Although different texts may sometimes use different terms, the basic concepts are the same. Stokstad’s book reviews some fundamental terms in the "Introduction" to your textbook for this course. If you should want an additional review of these elements and principles, consult any textbook for a college level Art Appreciation or Introduction to Art course. An example is Gilbert’s Living with Art by Mark Getlein which is used in all UALR Introduction to Visual Art courses. Several of these texts are on the shelves in the Slide Library, Fine Arts 202. This is a non-circulating library; you may read the books in the sitting area of the room.

Keep in mind:

1. Writing a formal analysis does involve your interpretation of and personal response to the work, but your reactions must be supported by referring to specific elements and qualities which you see in the work.

2. Accept the work as it is. Do not "second guess" the artist and make such statements as, "I think the painting would have been better if the artist had . . ."

3. Titles of exhibitions are in quotation marks; titles of works of art are underlined or are in italics.

Common mistakes you will want to avoid:

1. Failure to proofread your paper to check for spelling, punctuation, subject/verb agreement, incomplete sentences, run-on sentences, etc. Don’t rely on your computer’s spellchecker; the computer may not know if you mean "there" or "their."

2. Confusing "it’s" and "its." "It's" means "it is." "Its" is the possessive of "it," for example, "The car is red, and its wheels are green."

3. Referring to the artist by her/his first name. Would you write English literature paper on Romeo and Juliette and refer to the author as "William"?

4. Handing in your paper and asking me if I have a stapler.

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