Instructions – Paper #1: Outline
Read Paper #1: Final Draft instructions below. For Paper #1: Outline, submit via Blackboard:
-a thesis statement responding to the assignment
-a properly captioned image of the artwork following this model: Figure #. Author, Title of the work in italics, year. Medium, dimensions. Collection.
-a bullet-point list of your body paragraphs’ main ideas
-one fully developed persuasive body paragraph
*you must follow the structure and the style guide, particularly italicizing and captioning, explained in the Paper #1: Final Draft instructions.
Instructions – Paper #1: Final Draft
The purpose of this assignment is to help you analyze art using Formalism. Write an in-depth, 2-3 page long, typed, and double-spaced visual analysis of your favorite work of art (submit via Blackboard). Your essay should be persuasive. In this case, the art object should be a painting, photograph, print, or any other kind of two-dimensional media. In your paper, explain how the visual elements, such as color, light, and/or line help to emphasize the mood, the subject matter, or a larger social or political issue. The final draft must be based on the graded outline.
Methodology
Formalism
Formalism stresses the significance of form over content. This method utilizes discussion of formal elements that include: line, shape, space, color, light, and dark; balance, order, proportion, pattern, and rhythm; the final arrangement made by the artist is called the composition.
Research
You do not have to do any research for this paper since you will rely solely on observing visual elements. However, if you take information from any source, you must write in your own words and provide notes and a bibliography.
Structure
This essay should convince a reader of your interpretation of the work.
Introduction
You should start your introductory paragraph by providing basic information about the work of art in a narrative form (include the full title (italicized), the name of the author, the year and place of creation, and other relevant details, such as medium and style). Then, introduce the context within which you place the work of art you plan to analyze.Finish with the thesis statement that contains a frame of reference (claim) and a list of arguments discussed in the body of your essay.
Body
Make sure that each body paragraph develops only one idea! For this essay, the first body paragraph should be descriptive (provide a detailed visual description of the chosen work of art (use the terms that you learned in class)); the remaining body paragraphs should be persuasive. Persuasive paragraphs help you develop your arguments. A persuasive paragraph has the following layout:
A TOPIC SENTENCE communicates the main idea of the paragraph. EVIDENCE refers to factual information relevant to the paragraph’s main idea. EVALUATION explains how the main idea of this paragraph relates to the main point of your essay or the frame of reference stated in your thesis. A CONCLUDING SENTENCE clearly states your point about the idea you are developing in the context of your thesis.
Body Paragraphs Order
Body paragraph #1 [descriptive]
Body paragraph #2 [persuasive]
Body paragraph #3 [persuasive]
Body paragraph #4 [persuasive]
Conclusion
Restate your thesis and summarize your points made in concluding sentences in your body paragraphs.
Style
-Always italicize titles of works of art.
-Use Simple Past tense to describe the artist’s actions, e.g., Leonardo da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa in the early 1500s. The art object is usually discussed in Simple Present tense, e.g., the painting shows a half-length portrait of a mysterious woman.
-Include images of art objects and include captions following this model:
Figure #. Author, Title of the work in italics, year. Medium, dimensions. Collection.
Figure 1. Nancy Graves, Dingbat, 1988. Cast, patinated bronze with painted elements, 8’ 5” x 34” x 6’ 2” (243.8 x 86.3 x 188 cm). Private collection.
Readings
Getlein, Mark. “Visual Elements.” In Living with Art, 77-119. New York: McGraw-Hill Humanities, 2009. (available on Blackboard)
Getlein, Mark. “Principles of Design.” In Living with Art, 113-137. New York: McGraw-Hill Humanities, 2009. (available on Blackboard)
Greenberg, Clement. ” ‘American-Type’ Painting.” Partisan Review (1955). (available on Blackboard)
