Museum Paper/Formal Analysis: Art and Society at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
This assignment begins with a hypothetical: you have the chance to organize a nationwide media campaign (billboards, newspaper advertisements, email and website, etc.) in support of a cause or social issue that is important to you. If you can’t think of a cause you especially care about, you can pick one of the topics listed at the end of this handout. You need to choose one image (one work of art) to represent your cause and your campaign on behalf of that cause, something that captures the heart of the issue and provokes a positive response from those who see it. In other words, pick an artwork (an image – either painting or sculpture) that will make other people care about the issue as much as you do. Choose this work of art from the collections at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Your assignment is to construct a thesis and to support that thesis through a formal analysis using only visual evidence related to the central theme of the course, ‘individual and society.’ Describe and discuss your artwork in detail, and explain exactly which features of its content and composition you, as an individual, think will have the greatest impact on public opinion regarding the social issue you’re addressing. Writing is a multi-stepped process and the assignment is broken down into several stages, beginning with your visit to the Met to view the art. The assignments—with due dates, guidelines and writing pointers—are outlined below.
SCHEDULE OF PAPER ASSIGNMENTS:
STAGE 1: 4-paragraph (ca. 2 pages, double-spaced) description/discussion of the work of art, AND two sketches of the artwork, AND a dated receipt from the museum: due during discussion sections in week 7 (following the lecture on March 9). In the first paragraph, you should include a brief introduction of the work (title, artist, medium, date, place), followed by an underlined thesis statement. In the following three paragraphs, discuss at least three pieces of visual evidence you plan to focus on in the final paper. What, specifically, about the work of art you chose makes it suitable for your media campaign? All elements of this assignment must be stapled together and the text should be double spaced, in 12 point Times New Roman font, with 1-inch margins on all sides (default Word margins).
the paintings are
1:The Forest stream by jacob van ruisdael
2: the cattle in a meadow by paulus potter