Unit 3: Art History

In Unit 3, our focus will move to the study of visual art. Using the same strategies we applied to literature and history in units 1 and 2, we will work together to determine what counts as evidence and proof in the academic discourse of art history. We will then use this knowledge both to understand your favorite artists’ work and to understand and appreciate the work of artists with whom you are unfamiliar. You will present many of these arguments using software called VoiceThread, which will allow you to easily create mini-documentaries about your chosen artist’s work.  

Feeder 3.1

Do you have a favorite visual artist? If so, search for his or her work on the internet and check out some images. If not, try searching sites like the-artists.org for an artist that you would like to write about.

Much like earlier feeder assignments, for this post you will identify and summarize a scholarly article about the artist you chose. There are numerous electronic databases of academic art history articles listed on the library's web site, but you may want to start with Art Full Text, the first database on the list.

Once you find an article about your artist (make sure it's from a scholarly art history journal!), you can begin by determining the author's thesis statement. What is the controversy or debate into which s/he is entering? What is his or her position? How do other art historians differ in their opinions?

Once you have determined the author's thesis statement, compose a post (length: equivalent to 2-3 typed pages) summarizing the article's argument for your blog's audience, noting the main theses of each article and what kinds of evidence and arguments the author employs. Is any piece of evidence particularly convincing or unconvincing? Why or why not? Feel free to express your own opinion if you deem it appropriate.

Feeder 3.2

Now that you've gotten your feet wet in art history, it's time to do a little criticism of your own. Choose a different image by the artist you wrote about for Feeder 3.1 and compose a VoiceThread that contextualizes that image within a specific historical, artistic, or cultural context. Think about what supplemental information could help your audience understand and appreciate the piece more fully. For example, you might explore the connections between your piece and works of art from similar movements and/or time periods or you might give your audience information about the historical or political circumstances in which the piece was created. Though your VoiceThread will probably include other images, sounds, etc., your focus should be the formal qualities of the work you are attempting to explain. In other words, try to make clear, specific, and detailed connections between the formal choices the artist makes (colors, framing, medium, etc.) and the contextual material that you present. The audio track for your VoiceThread should total 3-5 minutes.

Unit Project (DUE DATE: December 7)

For your Unit Project I would like each of you to visit the Ackland Museum on campus and compose a VoiceThread (length of audio track: 4-7 minutes) that contextualizes one of the pieces of 20th or 21st-century art currently on display in the museum. (Note: the museum has strange hours and is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, so don't wait until the last minute! You can see their hours here). You will want to include a digital image of the piece from the Ackland's web page in your VoiceThread.

As for the content of your VoiceThread, I would like you to argue that, through the piece you selected, the artist has attempted to achieve a particular social or aesthetic goal (examples: documenting the plight of slaves across the Middle Passage; illustrating how our perceptive faculties impact the way we see the world; exploring how 3-dimensional objects are represented in 2-dimensional space) and assess whether the artist achieves that goal. While you might include some historical, biographical, or other contextual information, your VoiceThread should consist mostly of a sustained analysis of the piece's formal qualities.

A successful VoiceThread will (in order of importance):

1. Be focused around a sophisticated, surprising thesis about the author's political, social or aesthetic motivations.

2. Include thoughtful, sustained analysis of the chosen piece of art.

3. Include and address potential counter-claims to the author's argument.

4. Cite all sources in a manner appropriate for the blog and its audience.

5. Be delivered in a lively, engaging and authoritative style.

6. Be free of errors in spelling and grammar as well as visual formatting.