Art History Project
Stage 1: Proposal
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Each student will select a theme and act as a research curator to produce a formal research paper connected to a 3-5+ artwork exhibition of that theme in a virtual “room.” Your research papers will form specific arguments to connect the 3-5+ artworks to your theme. You will conduct academic research to support your arguments.
Students become the researchers collecting artworks illustrating and supporting your theme. The goal is for students to become museum curators, forming a presentation highlighting a theme from prehistory to 1400 CE [in Europe and/or the Middle East only]. You may discuss its connection to contemporary culture through the display of some additional artworks.
You will each work to develop an exhibition in which your “room” expresses a your topic expressed through an argumentative curatorial research paper and emphasized through the digital display of the artifacts. You may use Powerpoint or Google Sites, Art Steps, or Prezi software (Free with student email) to present your exhibition room.
The next section includes all information related to the course research project. This project is divided into 7 Weekly Stages which cumulatively add up to the complete exhibition project, due at the end of class, July 16.
Stage 1: Project Proposal
To begin, select an theme focusing on artworks created between from prehistory and 1400 in Europe and or the Middle East. You may look for a connection between pre 1400 cultures and the contemporary world. For example, you might look at classical Greek architecture and the parallels to more recent architecture. Or, you may look at Gothic cathedrals and look for parallels in today's world. The idea is to show the influences of these now historic cultures on contemporary symbolism and culture. I will provide a list of suggested topics, and links to some exemplary museum exhibitions which have accessible online content.
In a paragraph, explain why you chose this theme that you might explore. Submit by the end of week 2 to the discussion forum. Discern whether you will be able to find sufficient research material to organize an exhibition around this artist and possible topic. List at least 2 of your authoritative references with a brief sentence or two describing the content of and connection to your theme for each. The Librarian visit Week One, will help you learn to work with authoritative references. The Writing Specialist Week Two will work with you to develop your argument. I will provide feedback on the feasibility of your chosen topic. Once we agree on your topic, you will build on that same topic for the rest of the term.
Deliverables:
Statement of Interest and a Possible Thesis Statement
2 Authoritative References Cited in MLA or APA format
Critical analysis of referenced authoritative materials
Stage 2: Finalized Theme and Critical Bibliography
Finalized Theme and Critical Bibliography [not Museum Trip]
Based on feedback from your professor and your initial research in the UMUC library, other university websources and art museums, write a paragraph explaining specifically what aspect of the theme your exhibition will cover or what question about your theme you will try to answer in your exhibition. In addition, list at least two new resources (not encyclopedia) articles that you have found in the UMUC online library. Provide a brief summary of the content and points of interest of the articles to your chosen theme.
Submit by the end of week 3 in the provided Discussion area.
Deliverables:
Finalized theme description (Mission statement)
2 authoritative resources related to the exhibit cited in APA or MLA forma,t with a brief summary of the content and points of interest to your chosen theme.
Stage 3: Contextual Analysis
Write a brief contextual analysis of your theme looking both at the past and the present. Seek out the larger sociological, religious, and political concepts that may influence the formal and thematic qualities in the artistic artifacts you wish to provide in your exhibit. Your contextual exploration should be about two pages long, double-spaced. Use at least 4 of your references; add more as needed. Submit by the end of week 4 to the provided area.
Deliverables:
2 Page paper in MLA or APA format with minimum of 4 authoritative references cited properly.
Stage 4: Curating and Exhibition Draft
Now you are ready to select the artworks that will be in your online exhibition. Choose a minimum of three and a maximum of five works of art that fit within your chosen topic. Conduct research on these works of art and write a brief commentary for each artwork for your online exhibition. You will want to include some combination of describing, analyzing, interpreting, and drawing conclusions. You will certainly want to make clear how the work of art relates to your overall theme. Make comparisons among the works you have chosen.
The Caption or header: Each work of art will need its number, title of the work of art, its date, its medium, its size, and the institution/individual that owns the work of art. Place this information just below or next to each included image. This should be provided in MLA or APA format, as suggested by the UMUC Librarian
Place these into a presentation platform, and provide a link in the Discussion area.
Deliverables:
3-5 Artworks that tie in to your chosen theme.
Proper MLA or APA captions for each artwork
A brief commentary for each artwork making connections both to the theme and making comparisons across artworks to support your theme and thesis. (Be sure to cite any references properly here as well in MLA or APA format)
Formatted within a draft of your exhibition space with Powerpoint or exhibition software.
Stage 5: Highlighted Artwork
Write a two-page in-depth commentary for one of your artworks that is most representative of your theme and include a fully captioned image of that work. Writing about Art resource posted in Course Content. Submit by the end of week 6 to the proper area. Format, cite, caption, and reference in MLA or APA style with author/date and proper in-text citations required. Use Spell/Grammar check. Save as a Word doc or pdf file.
Need Some Ideas?
So, you are selecting one of your works of art for stage 5 and writing a more in-depth essay. You can include the information you wrote in stage 4 about the one artwork then expand on it; possibly it can serve as an overview or introductory statement. Or, you can mix the content from 4 within the in-depth content for 5. One strong direction will be to bring in an outside and contemporary artworks or works that would make a great comparative study and enhance the narrative with connections between the past and the present. Or, you could further discuss the elements and principles of art focusing on a particular element or principle. Or, possibly talk about the iconography more extensively than the short descriptions written for Stage 4.
Deliverables:
2 Page commentary focused on one work of art in proper MLA or APA format.
Stage 6: Exhibtion Significance
Think about why your viewers might be interested in your topic. In what ways might they make connections with your exhibition topic? To develop your exhibition, you will want to give a full explanation of your topic and its significance. This might include an examination theme through subject matter, style, or choice of media; information on how the topic has been treated by other artists and how they compare or contrast with your theme's exploration of the subject (include images), and historical context for understanding the theme you have chosen to focus on. This section should be about three pages in length, double-spaced. Submit by the end of week 7 to the provided area.
Consider adding interpretive material such as maps, partial timelines, photographs of the area, related music, or other materials to enhance your exhibition room.
Deliverables:
3 Page introductory essay describing the significance of the exhibit for the field of art and art history.
Stage 7: Final submission
You are ready to do the final construction and polishing of your online exhibition! Your exhibition will include all stages, 1-6 (identified and in order), all images, any needed revisions plus any necessary additional information such as the Abstract (assigned for week 8) and a Conclusion (1 or 2 paragraphs) discussing how your exhibition illuminates the topic of the history in the arts and draws logical conclusions from the biography and analysis of the work that you provide.
A Descriptive Abstract about your Final Project should be around 100 words, single-spaced, 12 pt. Times; include 5 keywords). If you want a critique, post by Thursday.
This abstract will appear as the front page of your Final Project.
See this important resource: http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/abstracts/
Here is an example of what a professional database listing with abstract looks like: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09528822.2010.517919#inline_frontnotes
Abstracts are a very important part of academic/scholarly writing, and need special attention, since most everything ends up on the Internet and into databases. Keywords are essential for database searches and can be included within the body of your abstract text. So, choose these words carefully and select what you think will draw people to your work. For this project, include a listing of your keywords (5) at the bottom of your abstract. Citations are usually not included in abstracts as you are simply describing your project. Write in third person, passive tense. What is this? Go to:http://www.squidoo.com/thesisabstract#module11245752
Be sure to consider and incorporate comments and suggestions made by your professor. Your complete References List should demonstrate quality; include at least four authoritative references plus credits for all images. (Encyclopedia type websites are not the best choice for a college level final assessment; Wikipedia is only acceptable for images.) The text for the final version should be about 10 to 12 pages, plus images and Reference List. Submit by the end of week 8 into the properly provided area. Your References cited in text (Chadwick, 48) should be placed in a Bibliography and images that are referenced in-text (Figure 1) should be moved to the end and captioned in proper order to avoid issues with paper formatting when comments are provided.
A template will be provided for the final submission
