In this essay, you will write about a work of art–music, literature, drama, sculpture, painting, or architecture featured in chapters 7-11 of the textbook. Please describe the work in specific detail. Then, using research, analyze and interpret the work. Next, explain the specific social and/or cultural connections of the artwork to the time period and the artists viewpoint about what is going on in the world during that time. In other words, how was the artists work inspired/influenced by what was going on around them? How can this be seen in the art?
Please use headings for the sections of your essay.
1. The first heading says Description. When you describe, give as much detail as possible about the work you are observing and your first reaction to it. Imagine your reader has never seen, heard, or read the work you are describing. If it is a work of visual art, check to see if it is on Google Art, so you can get a really good look at it. Describe in as much detail as you can the content of what you read/saw/heard. Include titles of works, plot descriptions, subject, color, instrumentation, ideas, language, style, etc. Explain your response to the work: what you thought and felt. Explain what you found confusing, infuriating, beautiful,etc. Explain what you think the artist intended, what you thought the work meant, what its message or point might be. [Note: you might use the questions under the first module to help you think about this.] This aligns with SLO 1, describing a significant work of art in a college level essay.
2. The next heading is Analysis and Interpretation. When you analyze and interpret, provide your research. I suggest at least three sources for this, and I highly recommend using the college library databases (I love Jstor!) and the catalogue of books for your sources. Please no Wikipedia! Or Sparknotes! You can start there, but please find some more academic sources. You can use the “Ask a Librarian” feature in the class, if you need a little help. You can use websites, documentaries, and so on, but be sure they are reliable sources. You are required to use one source from my lecture on Canvas. Your purpose in this section is to find out more about the work, the artist, his or her other works, the time, and what the critics think about him/her/it. This aligns with SLO 2, analyzing and interpreting a significant work of art in a college level essay.
3. The third heading is Historical Era. Connect the work to the era it comes from. Name the era. What was going on in the world at that time? How are those ideas or events apparent in the work? For instance, if you are researching a Gothic cathedral, explain why it fits into the era of Gothic and the qualities that make it that. You can refer to the chart “Artistic Periods in the West” in the “Getting Started” module. This aligns with SLO 3, connecting a work to the historical era in which it was produced, explaining the concepts that define the era, and the artists who produced the works. [Note: In an online class, you could refer to the discussion for that module to find these points. They will also be discussed in the module and text. In a face to face classroom, these points would be part of the classroom discussion and are also in the modules and texts and chapter outline.
4. The fourth heading is Evaluation. In this section you evaluate. What questions do you still have about the work? What did you learn? Do you like it? Why or why not? What do you want to know more about? Is it like other works of culture you have experienced? Why would it be considered a good work of art? Why not? Consider the image/text/composition/building. How do the parts reflect the overall meaning of the work? What do you think it means now that you’ve studied it?
