Assignments

Post 1: How to Post–Due 9/6

Write up a set of instructions, from start to finish, on how to post on our course website.

Post 2: Write up your art story — Due 9/19

This post is inspired by the bell hooks reading. What do we mean when we say Art? What is art to you? How does it fit in to your life? What do you want to learn about in this class? Did you relate to what bell hooks said?

Post 3: Image annotation: Treasures exhibition edition— Due 9/19(we will discuss your objects in class)

Choose any object you want from out trip to the Treasures Exhibition at the NYPL. Mark it up and annotated it to interpret it by highlighting its formal qualities and using that visual evidence to support your interpretation. (Questions to keep in mind: What is it for? How do we know based on what it looks like? What is the maker trying to tell us? Do you think the messaging is successful?) (NB—you should mark up the image with arrows, circle important info, add text where needed, but you don’t necessarily need to write up a more formal written essay with your post. (That’s for the formal analysis paper…)

Post 4: Renaissance and Baroque Art–Due Nov 7

Choose a work of art from EITHER the Renaissance or Baroque period. How does the work reflect the period from which it came? How is it different from the other period? Be sure to cite visual evidence from the work in your analysis.

Post 5: European Art and the Industrial Revolution–Due Nov 21

Choose a work of art from the 18th or 19th century, and discuss how we see changes in society in what it depicts. This could be literal objects in the work, or it could be a cultural critique, a different subject matter (tell me how you view this and include visual evidence), or a different style (again, explain to me how this reflects societal change).

Post 6: Watch a Movie and Relate it to Class–Due Nov 21

Watch a movie of your choice (that has to do with some aspect of class) and then write up how it relates to what we have covered in class. What cultures/civilizations does it relate to? In what way? How did what you watched relate to the art and aesthetics of the specific cultures referenced? Do you think the movie was accurate in its reference and use to antiquity/history/art history?

You must tell me how what you watched related to what cultures, citing a specific moment/screenshot(s) in the film and relate it to an artwork we have seen in class, at the museum, or in the readings. Tell me what you think the references did for the movie in question. Approx. 300 words.

Suggested movies we brainstormed in class (you may choose another one if you wish):

  • Night at the Museum
  • Black Panther
  • Kingdom of Heaven
  • Constantine
  • Bridgerton
  • Oceans 8
  • Monuments Men
  • The Da Vinci Code
  • Chevalier

Post 7: Impressionism and Realism–Due Dec 19

Choose an object from the 19th century that is associated with either Realism or Impressionism. Why is this work a good example of that particular movement? Which of the movement’s concerns does it deal with, and how? What is new for the art work/movement you’ve chosen, and what does it preserve from the past?

Post 8: Modern Materials–Due

What does Modern Art mean? What does it look like, and how does it distinguish itself? Choose a work of art from 1870 and beyond, and elaborate on the ways in which it conveys “modernity” to you.

Post 9: American Art–

Choose a work of art from the United States that demonstrates something about America. What is it? Identify what is American about this work of art? What does the work say about that aspect of Americanness—is it critical? Enthusiastic? Supportive? What sort of story about America and the United States is the work telling, and how does it tell it?

Final Reflection–Due Dec 19

For your final blog post, review the blog posts you have done over the course of the semester for this class. How do they show that you have learned? How can you show (or even prove) to someone that you have learned something? Choose 3 posts that you think best demonstrate something that you learned this semester–posts that highlight your command of the subject matter and your engagement with it. Why were these most meaningful to you? What about them clicked with you and your learning process in relation to art and its histories? Your final post should have an introduction, conclusion, a link to each post, and offer a brief reflection on each.

Happy writing! Last one!

Papers

Formal Analysis Paper—Due Sept 26

What is formal analysis? In your own words explain what we mean when we talk about formal analysis and what different visual elements comprise it. Choose any artwork or object you want from our trip to the NYPL (it just has to have some visual element!) and use it to provide examples of the components of formal analysis and how they impact the meaning of the work. (approx. 500 words)

Final Paper: Past and present–Due Dec 19

For the final: Connect a work of art from MoMA to one that we have already seen in class from the pre-Modern period 1400-1800