HOMEWORK: MASTERWORK ESSAY
(for Museum Gallery Card)
after The Met Field Trip
CONTEXT
You have critiqued and discussed many artworks. You have studied design/composition, techniques, and meanings. This project challenges you to apply your understanding of these important aspects of looking at and making art.
ASSIGNMENT
Write a critical essay about a master artwork. This is to be one page, typed (Times New Roman, 12 pt font, single spaced). Be observant, thoughtful, and concise, so that the text is rich in content but does not go over a page in length. This will be used as a "museum label" to hang next to a reproduction of the artwork as part of an in-school “BHS Art Museum” exhibit.
DIRECTIONS
Base your writing on the artwork at The Met on which you answered questions for the field trip assignment, OR an artwork or artist you loved from our study of art history and its slideshows, OR from this Artist List or Masterworks collections. You can also find artists using the books in the art rooms.
In any case, the masterwork should be by a historical or contemporary artist, and one to which you respond strongly, to which you feel a personal connection, to which you are drawn. Research that work and that artist.
Check to see if a reproduction of the artwork is available for purchase (on the museum website or through Amazon or another online store), as your essay is meant to hang in the school hallway alongside the framed artwork. Include a link to the reproduction when you turn in your essay.
This is to be one page, typed (Times New Roman, 12 pt font).
DO NOT COPY TEXT FROM ONLINE OR BOOKS, although you should definitely research. This is an original essay. Make your own observations.
EXAMPLES
Examples of teen-written museum cards (These are typically shorter than yours should be.)
Examples of professional museum cards
FORMAT
a. At the top of your page, above the body of your text, include the following information, in this format:
Artist’s Name (First Last)
Nationality, Year of Birth - Year of Death (example: American, 1922 - 1970)
Title of Artwork, Year(s) Created
Medium (example: oil on canvas)
Name of Institution or Private Collection Housing Artwork, City Where Institution or Private Collection is Located (example: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)
b. Begin with an introductory paragraph explaining why you selected this particular painting. You might include the first thing that struck you about the painting.
c. In the second paragraph, place the artwork in context. What did you learn about it from your research?
d. In the third paragraph, write about any of the following: content (subject/meaning), composition, nature of light and form, color, expressiveness, style, and/or technique. Use appropriate vocabulary (Some of the terms below may be helpful, and you may also use this Art Word Bank for additional ideas. Whenever you use an art term, make its meaning clear.
chiaroscuro
dynamic
positive and negative space
balance
emphasis
contrast
pattern/repetition
rhythm
variety
unity
implied triangle
harmony
movement
depth
color scheme
natural framing
leading lines
contour
value
warm, cool
complementary
analogous
monochromatic
neutral
triadic
figure/ground
aerial/atmospheric perspective
Relief
Representational/ figurative
Realism
Idealization
Stylization
Abstraction
Nonobjective/ nonrepresentational
Fine art
Applied art
Private art
Public art
Contemporary art
Conceptual art
Installation
Social/political content
Power and propaganda
Spiritual purpose
Inner experience
Traditional
e. You may go anywhere you wish in the concluding paragraph of the essay. It may be more personal, or you may conjecture (guess). Some possible topics: What do you think the artist was up to? Why did he or she paint it? What might be its purpose? What might have been the greatest challenge for the artist? What did the artist need to know before approaching this project? What is your response to this painting on a gut level? How do you think this painting was a product of its time or place? What might have been the artist's influences? How do you think this artwork, or the artist's work in general, influenced what came after? How would you approach the subject yourself, if you were to paint or sculpt it? What have you learned from looking closely at, reading about, or studying this painting?
If you are stuck for what to write about, you can refer to these questions that art historians and curators ask.
f. Finally, include a link to where a print reproduction of this artwork can be purchased. If one cannot be found for purchase, include a link to the best (highest resolution) image of the artwork you can find.
Grading Criteria for Essay:
Introductory information 5%
Each unique, thoughtful, observant, clear statement 5% (up to 85%)
Spelling and Grammar 10%
(for Museum Gallery Card)
after The Met Field Trip
CONTEXT
You have critiqued and discussed many artworks. You have studied design/composition, techniques, and meanings. This project challenges you to apply your understanding of these important aspects of looking at and making art.
ASSIGNMENT
Write a critical essay about a master artwork. This is to be one page, typed (Times New Roman, 12 pt font, single spaced). Be observant, thoughtful, and concise, so that the text is rich in content but does not go over a page in length. This will be used as a "museum label" to hang next to a reproduction of the artwork as part of an in-school “BHS Art Museum” exhibit.
DIRECTIONS
Base your writing on the artwork at The Met on which you answered questions for the field trip assignment, OR an artwork or artist you loved from our study of art history and its slideshows, OR from this Artist List or Masterworks collections. You can also find artists using the books in the art rooms.
In any case, the masterwork should be by a historical or contemporary artist, and one to which you respond strongly, to which you feel a personal connection, to which you are drawn. Research that work and that artist.
Check to see if a reproduction of the artwork is available for purchase (on the museum website or through Amazon or another online store), as your essay is meant to hang in the school hallway alongside the framed artwork. Include a link to the reproduction when you turn in your essay.
This is to be one page, typed (Times New Roman, 12 pt font).
DO NOT COPY TEXT FROM ONLINE OR BOOKS, although you should definitely research. This is an original essay. Make your own observations.
EXAMPLES
Examples of teen-written museum cards (These are typically shorter than yours should be.)
Examples of professional museum cards
FORMAT
a. At the top of your page, above the body of your text, include the following information, in this format:
Artist’s Name (First Last)
Nationality, Year of Birth - Year of Death (example: American, 1922 - 1970)
Title of Artwork, Year(s) Created
Medium (example: oil on canvas)
Name of Institution or Private Collection Housing Artwork, City Where Institution or Private Collection is Located (example: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)
b. Begin with an introductory paragraph explaining why you selected this particular painting. You might include the first thing that struck you about the painting.
c. In the second paragraph, place the artwork in context. What did you learn about it from your research?
d. In the third paragraph, write about any of the following: content (subject/meaning), composition, nature of light and form, color, expressiveness, style, and/or technique. Use appropriate vocabulary (Some of the terms below may be helpful, and you may also use this Art Word Bank for additional ideas. Whenever you use an art term, make its meaning clear.
chiaroscuro
dynamic
positive and negative space
balance
emphasis
contrast
pattern/repetition
rhythm
variety
unity
implied triangle
harmony
movement
depth
color scheme
natural framing
leading lines
contour
value
warm, cool
complementary
analogous
monochromatic
neutral
triadic
figure/ground
aerial/atmospheric perspective
Relief
Representational/ figurative
Realism
Idealization
Stylization
Abstraction
Nonobjective/ nonrepresentational
Fine art
Applied art
Private art
Public art
Contemporary art
Conceptual art
Installation
Social/political content
Power and propaganda
Spiritual purpose
Inner experience
Traditional
e. You may go anywhere you wish in the concluding paragraph of the essay. It may be more personal, or you may conjecture (guess). Some possible topics: What do you think the artist was up to? Why did he or she paint it? What might be its purpose? What might have been the greatest challenge for the artist? What did the artist need to know before approaching this project? What is your response to this painting on a gut level? How do you think this painting was a product of its time or place? What might have been the artist's influences? How do you think this artwork, or the artist's work in general, influenced what came after? How would you approach the subject yourself, if you were to paint or sculpt it? What have you learned from looking closely at, reading about, or studying this painting?
If you are stuck for what to write about, you can refer to these questions that art historians and curators ask.
f. Finally, include a link to where a print reproduction of this artwork can be purchased. If one cannot be found for purchase, include a link to the best (highest resolution) image of the artwork you can find.
Grading Criteria for Essay:
Introductory information 5%
Each unique, thoughtful, observant, clear statement 5% (up to 85%)
Spelling and Grammar 10%