History of Western Art
The written component of this course involves the curation of an exhibition of works on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The assignment will be completed in two stages and the entire project is worth 25% of your final grade. The overall goal of the project is to carefully choose and analyze three (3) works of art and to illustrate how together they would make an insightful, relevant and interesting exhibition.
Evaluation: Each part of the assignment will be graded separately. The proposal (5%) must be approved before you can start working on the paper (20%). Late assignments will be marked down one full grade for each day that they are late (i.e. an A assignment turned in one day late will receive a grade of B). Both part of this assignment must be completed in order to pass the course; failure to submit either component will result in a failing course grade.
Organization, syntax, grammar, and punctuation will affect your grade on both the proposal and the final paper, so you should leave plenty of time to proofread and revise your text and should consider consulting the Writing Tutor (who is available to see students immediately after our class) for assistance. Remember to leave enough time for the production of the assignments as well, so that you are not disadvantaged by computer or printer failures immediately before they are due.
Paper Proposal (due in class March 23rd): This should be a 250-word proposal for an exhibition of three works that you would like to curate at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Objects can be chosen from any area that has been covered or will be covered in our class (i.e. ANE, Egypt, Greece, Rome, Medieval, Islamic, etc.). They can be chosen from a single geographical area (i.e. Egypt) or time period (i.e. Republican Rome), or can be related by function (i.e. ruler portraits), style (i.e. classical/classicizing), or media (i.e. wall painting), etc. You must choose carefully and argue lucidly why your three works would make an interesting and insightful exhibition. Aside from the textbook, no outside research is required for this part of the assignment. Please include the accession number and title of your works of art at the top of the assignment (these do not count towards your word count).
A snapshot of your objects should also be included with your submission.
To complete this assignment, you must visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art. You will need to visit the museum in person and must staple your admission receipt to your paper. Looking at works of art in books or on-line is not an acceptable substitute, and failure to attach your receipt will result in a deduction from your grade. You should pick works that you find interesting, but also ones that will serve as an effective springboard for your paper, as discussed below.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is located at 1000 Fifth Avenue (at 81st and 82nd Streets). Hours are as follows: Sunday-Thursday 10:00 a.m.-5:30 p.m.; Friday- Saturday 10:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m. There is a suggested admission for students, but you do not need to pay the full amount; whatever you can afford is fine. Do not forget to save your admission receipt to attach to your paper proposal.
FINAL PAPER
After your proposal is approved you can begin to work on your paper, which should be 1500-2250 words (approximately 6-9 pages). First, the paper requires a careful description of your works of art and should illustrate close observation as well as your ability to look critically at works of art. It will also demonstrate your ability to write lucidly and effectively about art. Second, the paper must include a well-conceived explanation of why your chosen works are going to be displayed together.
Research: ?The second part of the paper may warrant extra research (not necessary in all cases). If you use outside sources you must included a short bibliography at the end of your paper and incorporate relevant citations throughout. Either the Chicago Manual of Style or MLA may be used as long as you are correct and consistent in your citation and bibliographic style.
You can access information on proper citations on the NYU Libraries Citation Style Guide.
Remember that there is a great deal of incorrect information on websites such as Wikipedia. These sites are not subject to scholarly review and hence are not reliable scholarly sources.
Again, you are not required to do any outside research; however, if you have a question about something that relates to the object you have chosen, you should visit the library - not the Web - to find more information about it. If you need additional assistance, you should feel free to ask me, your recitation leader or one of the reference librarians, who will be happy to help you.
Object Analyses:?You should describe your works in detail and analyze their formal and technical elements. Look at the works from all sides and include as many specific observations as possible in your discussion. When choosing and analyzing your works consider the following questions, which will help to get you started:
• What is the subject matter of the work? Who or what does it depict? What was the probable function of the work in antiquity, and where might it have been displayed?
• What is the medium of the work? What materials and techniques were used to make it?
• What is the size of the work?
• Describe the figure or figures, including pose, gesture, clothing and attributes, physique, hair and facial features, and expression.
• If relevant, describe the overall composition. How are the various elements arranged? What are the dominant lines of the composition? How is space treated?
• How well preserved is the work today? Is anything missing that was originally there?
• Analyze the style of the figure or figures. What shapes or volumes are used? What are the proportions like? Are certain elements emphasized or exaggerated? How are the anatomy and drapery handled?
• Analyze the technical aspects of the work. What is the character of the carving or painting (fluid or linear, deep or shallow, etc.)? How is the surface of the work treated? Is it dull or polished? What is its color and texture?
• Important: How does the form of the work (composition, iconography, style, etc.) contribute to its meaning? What ideas do the various formal elements help to express, and what meanings or associations might they have carried for an ancient viewer?
These questions are intended only as a guide; be sure that your final paper does not read as though you are answering a list of questions. Also, it is fine to use "I" in the paper, but remember that this is an academic exercise; please avoid a lengthy narrative of your day at the museum.