Power & Imagination * Trimble/Kudray

Ethics Art Project: Creating your own Interpretive Symbol

Due: Tuesday, June 7 (finals week! Note schedule difference!)
When describing the creative process (on teams or individually) Roger von Oech describes the
artist role as taking the raw material and creating something new, to pose what if? questions.
As was raise in class, the artist often uses art to get us to think about the world as it is, as it
could/should be. Materials for creation can be close observation, research, what is stewing in
your mind after an experience. For this phase, take your raw material is your observations in
the art museum, the characters in The Dispossessed, our course studies, and create a visual art
piece that is inspired by your visit to the museum, but instead expresses the dynamics of power
that one character experiences in The Dispossessed. This portion of the assignment you can do
individually, or in groups of up to three peers in our class.
You will turn in three parts for this assignment:

The art piece

A written artist description
A photo or link to the original image that inspired your artwork.

You (or your group of up to 3) are to choose an artwork from any one of the European or
American galleries and create a symbolic art piece that is inspired by the original PAM artwork
you chose, but subverts/transforms it to convey a message about power (or powerlessness) that
you see represented in the novel The Dispossessed. (By subvert, think of the examples we have
viewed in the contemporary Native American artists or the works of Kehinde Wiley as shown inclass on the PowerPoint.) Your artwork should focus on a specific character in the novel, playing
with symbols and images in the PAM artwork to show your interpretation of what shapes the
characters status and power (or powerlessness).
Write a brief artist description that explains what is represented in your art piece.
Your work can be in any visual medium (painting, sculpture, photography, computer art, any
combination thereof, etc.); the only limitation is that it must be submitted in a format that we can
view or experience in class during our in-class showing. (You must bring a laptop computer if
you are doing a work that must be viewed onscreen.)
Ideas to explore: You can recreate one of the portraits in the art museum, or choose a specific
iconic symbol in an art work, but create a version that is appropriate to the character you chose.
You can incorporate found images, but please no collages; think more along the lines of the way
modern art changes the image (perhaps approaches commentary that Banksy and others utilize in
Exit Through the Gift Shop).

Your accompanying written artists statement should be an approximately 2-page formal piece
that:
a) Titles your art piece
b) Identifies what influenced your art work: what in your visit to the art museum inspired
this (identify the title, artist, and date of the art piece(s) inspiring your work), or that you
are responding to. What did the original symbols represent?
c) Articulate what the images, symbolism, and other important aspects of your visual piece
are saying about the characters experience of status.
d) Incorporate connections to our course texts (can glean from your observation journal, The
Dispossessed, etc.)
Note on creating the artwork: you do not need to recreate the PAM piece, or even create your art
piece in the same medium. Think of the artwork as inspiration. So if its an oil painting, you
dont need to make an oil painting yourselfyou can do a photograph, or a sculpture, or other
medium.
Note on assessment: I will not be assessing your creativity or artistic talent. I will assess your
written artist statement essay based on the criteria above, and the effort evident in your art piece.
(That is, if it looks like you slapped it together the night before without much thought, it will be
noticed and will be reflected in the final grade).
Make your artists statement a strong example of your writing, using all youve learned from the
year so far (being specific in explaining your ideas, quoting to support your ideas, using clear
written conventions, double spaced in MLA format, etc.).
Class vote: On the day of our gallery salon, everyone will display their art works with artist
statement. There will be a class vote on "Most Creative", "Most Compelling Interpretation of the
Assignment," and "Curator's Choice" (Alyssa and Anmaries vote). These may be displayed
publically in the Multicultural Center.