Assignment due Wednesday, September 21, 2022 by 11:00pm
Purpose
This assignment asks you to practice the close looking and interpretive skills we’ve been learning in unit two (Visual Art). You will complete a comparative analysis of two works of art, noting their similarities and differences. This is a specific type of #interpretivelens that will allow you to make an argument about how we might understand these works. Your interpretation should be supported by the visual evidence you collect through close looking (session 7) about the formal properties of the work (session 8). Your analysis may also contain social or historical context if available, though this is not required for the purposes of this assignment. You are not required to conduct research or consult secondary sources. The assignment is designed to help you practice your own close looking and interpretive skills. Your analysis should be written to persuade the #audience that your interpretation of the works is plausible based on the evidence you provide.
Task
-** View the following works **from the Dalloul Art Foundation (DAF) online
Art Piece one
• Pick one of the five works above and look closely at the image. Pay special attention to formal elements and themes you notice in the work. What do you think the work is about? What formal elements of the work help convey the theme? What effect does the work have on the viewer, and what formal elements create that effect?
• Write a 150-250 word interpretation of the one work. Be sure to note the title and artist of the work in your first sentence. Use 2-3 pieces of evidence to support your interpretation. The evidence should be formal elements of the work (e.g., the subject/scene depicted, composition, movement, pattern, plane, color, value, use of light, shape line, brushstrokes, materials/medium, etc.).
•
art piece two
and choose a piece of art from the exhibit that you think relates in some way to the first work you wrote about.
• Look closely at the second work of your choosing, again paying attention to its themes and formal elements.
• Write 300-500 words comparing and contrasting the two works you’ve chosen to look at at closely. Note similarities and differences in their themes and formal elements and then explain how those similarities/differences help us understand the works. Remember, your goal is to make a persuasive argument about how the audience should understand these works. You might find some of the following prompts helpful as you think about the two pieces of art in conversation with each other. You do not have to answer all of these prompts. Use the most useful questions as a guide:
• What are the subjects or settings of the works? Are they similar or different?
• Do the works evoke the same affect, mood, or feeling in the viewer? Why? What formal elements contribute to these feelings?
• Do the works have political messages or are they attempting to persuade the viewer in some way? If so, what techniques do they use to do so and are they effective on you as a viewer? Why or why not?
• Do the works use similar artistic techniques or materials? Are they used to the same or different effect?
• Compare/contrast the color palette of the works. Are the colors similar or different? Are the hues bright or muted? Are the colors drawn from nature or are they non-naturalistic? How does the use of color in the works affect the viewer’s response to them?
• Compare/contrast the composition of objects in the works. Where is your eye drawn in each? How are the objects or figures arranged in relationship to each other?
• Compare/contrast the perspective in the works. Is there a depth of field and do objects/figures appear three-dimensional or is there little depth and objects appear flat?
• Before session 10, convert your work into a pdf and upload it to the Dashboard. Be sure to include the title/artist and links to both works in your analysis. Your total word count for this assignment should be: 150-250 words on the theme of the first artwork and 300-500 words comparing/contrasting the two works. 450-750 words total.
Criteria
Your assignment will be assessed for the following LOs:
• #audience -** #medium** -** #interpretivelens** -** #persuasion**
In order to receive a 3 or 4, you will need to submit both an interpretation of one of the five works of art listed in step #1 (“Portrait of a Woman from the South (Fatima),” 1940; “Mourners,” 1959; “The Cactus in Village,” 2010; “Ain Mreisseh Cove,” 2013; or “Anarchism,” 2015** and a compare/contrast analysis of the work you selected and a second one of your choosing from the Barjeel collection**. For example if you select “Mourners” for step one, your compare/contrast analysis should compare/contrast “Mourners” to a work you select from the Barjeel collection. Your interpretation of the first work should include a statement of what you believe the artwork expresses, means, or is otherwise about supported by 2-3 pieces of evidence. Your evidence should be based on close observation of the formal properties of the work (composition, subject, color, medium, etc). Your compare/contrast analysis should make an argument about how the #audience should understand the meaning of these two works in relationship to each other. This means you should have a thesis and 2-3 pieces of supporting evidence based on close observation and a comparison of the formal properties of the works. The work you turn in should be written for a #audience of your peers in this class and the instructor. Your goal is to persuade us that your interpretations are plausible based on the evidence you present.
Assignment Information
Length:
450-750 words total
Weight:
12%
Learning Outcomes Added
• Audience: Tailor oral and written work by considering the situation and perspective of the people receiving it.
• Persuasion: Identify and appropriately use rhetorical appeals.
• InterpretiveLens: Identify how prior experiences and expectations affect inferences drawn from different forms of communications, and react accordingly.
• Medium: Describe, analyze, and utilize distinctive characteristics of communicative and expressive mediums at the level of form and structure.