Art 10000 Paper Assignment 1 Paper Due: Thursday, October 9 by midnight via Blackboard. No late papers will be accepted.

Staple your admission receipt to this worksheet and bring it to class with you on Oct. 10. I will NOT accept any papers without the receipt stapled to the front of the paper. Assignment: Visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art on a day when you have 3-4 hours for transportation and being in the museum. (Admission is suggested: ie pay what you wish) Using these instructions, the Museum Notes Worksheet, and the relevant readings in Barnet as guides, write a visual analysis of ONE of the works listed on the next page. Required Background Reading: Refer to Barnet, chaps. 1-4 and 8-9. Adapt his methods to suit your needs. You may want to read these sections before you visit the museum, and again when you start putting your paper together. NOTE: Your paper should be written in the third person (he, she, one), which is a more objective mode of presentation than the first person (I). Your main aim for the visual analysis essay is to recreate in words the visual experience of your selected object. What does it look like? Your words should represent the artwork as an image in the mind of your reader. Thus, you must reconstruct in writing the act of seeing and experiencing the artwork. You do not necessarily need to report each and every detail but rather those that will give the reader enough information to comprehend the objects appearance. Develop and write an analytical essay with a strong thesis (please underline) and clear, thorough supporting paragraphs. Analyze the work in- depth and use art historical vocabulary when applicable. Reference the starter kit in the Stokstad book as a guide. Use your Museum Notes Worksheet to make notes and sketches to record the visual evidence you will use to write your description. Describe the artwork so that a friend who has never seen it could pick it out in the museum or draw a picture of it based on your words. Your essay should be based on your own observations of the work. Everything you need to write your analysis can be found in the artwork itself. No research is allowed. Keep in mind that visual analysis should rely on what you can glean from an object based on its appearance alone, rather than on researched information. Thus, please do not research the object beyond reading the museums wall labels. Format: your paper MUST be 2 typed, double-spaced, stapled, and numbered pages with standard margins (1- 1 in.) and font size (Times New Roman 12 pt.). Include the artists full name, the works title, its date, and its medium in the introductory paragraph of your paper. Please provide a cover page with your name and the title of your paper.

Currently on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Ave. @ 82nd St. (4-5-6 to 86th St. or 6 to 77th St; M79 or M86 to 5th Ave. CLOSED Mondays.) Choose ONE of the following (ensure that you have the correct work by matching the accession number on the label to the one listed below in parentheses): 1. Chinese, Female Dancer, 2nd century B.C., (1992.165.19) 2. Egyptian, Scribes from Meketres model granary , Middle Kingdom, ca. 1975 BCE (20.3.11) 3. Japanese, Portrait of a Zen Master, 15th cent. CE, lacquered wood (63.65) 4. Nepalese, The Goddess Durga as Slayer of the Buffalo-Demon Mahisha , 14th-15th c. (1986.498) 5. West Central Asian, Stone seated female figure, late 3rd-early 2nd millennium BCE (1989.281.41ab) 6. Cycladic, Marble Female Figure, c. 4500-4000 BCE (1972.118.104) 7. Ancient Near Eastern, Kneeling Bull Holding a Spouted Vessel , 3100-2900-BCE, silver (66.173) 8. Greek, Marble Relief with a Dancing Maenad , Roman copy (c. 27 B.C.- A.D 14) of a Greek relief (c. 425-400 B.C.) (35.11.3) 9. Greek (Hellenistic), Statuette of a veiled and masked dancer, 3rd-2nd c. BCE (1972.118.95) 10.French Gothic, Column Statue of an Old Testament King, ca. 1150-1160 (20.157) 11.African (Djenn-Jeno/now Mali), Seated Figure, 13th c. (1981.218) 12.African, (Niger Valley/now Nigeria), Standing Warrior, 11th-17th c. (1977.173) 13.Mesoamerican (Veracruz, Mexico), Smiling Figure, 7th- 8th century (1979.206.1211) 14.Mesoamerican (Nayarit, Mexico), Pair of Ancestor Figures, 1st c.- 2nd c. AD (1978.412.156) Please do not leave this assignment for the last minute! You should write at least one initial draft, one or more rough drafts, and a final version. The more you revise, edit, and proofread your paper, the better it will be. Please visit me and/or the Writing Center with questions, concerns, and hard-copy drafts for review. To request an appointment, go to http://www.ccny.cuny.edu/writingcenter/. ______I have described and analyzed my chosen artwork so that someone else could recognize it ______My essay is written in the third person. It does not contain the words I, we, or you ______I have proofread my paper (reading out loud to catch mistakes) ______I have not used contractions, that is, I have spelled out combined words like: its (it is), dont (do not), cant (cannot), etc. ______I have not used the phrase piece of art or art piece. The museum object is a work of art or a sculpture.

______I have either underlined or italicized the title of the work of art ______I have numbered the pages of my paper and stapled them together with my button ______I have not used any unauthorized sources or passed off anothers work as my own

Art 10000: Museum Notes Worksheet Use this worksheet to make notes on the work of art you have chosen for your paper assignment. Use both sides of the paper if needed! You may want to take an additional copy of this blank worksheet with you, in case you change your mind about your subject. These questions are designed to be a starting point in your note-taking process; you should also develop some of your own questions to ask and answer of your chosen artwork. You must submit this Notes Worksheet at the beginning of class on the day your final paper is due. Artist and title of object: _________________________________________________________________________ Date of object (not the same as the artists birth/death dates): ____________________________________________ Accession number (confirm against number on handout): _______________________________________________ Original Location/country of origin: ________________________________________________________________ SUBJECT MATTER: What do you see? Other than the title, how do you know? Do you need to consult a reference work to identify/understand the subject/story/characters beyond what is mentioned in the museum label?

SIZE/SCALE & PROPORTION: How large is the artwork? Does it seem to be heavy (as perceived by looking, NOT by touching)?

MEDIUM: What materials has the artist used? How does the artist handle these materials what equipment did s/he use? What is the works texture (as perceived by looking, NOT by touching)? Is it smooth? Shiny? Rough?

CONDITION: Has the object survived well over time? Are parts damaged, broken, or missing?

COLOR: Does the objects color(s) result from the material chosen, or has the artist used additional pigments? What are the main colors used?

OVERALL SHAPE AND DESIGN: Sketch the main outlines and twodimensional formations and patterns that you see. How do the figures/objects/forms/lines relate to each other?

INDIVIDUAL DETAILS: Identify the different parts/elements/components of the artwork. What are the individual details that make up the whole?

SCULPTURE What is represented? Is it a single figure or multiple figures? What, if anything, is the figure wearing? What is the figure doing? How many sides can you see?

FINAL THOUGHTS AND CONSIDERATIONS: when you are at home writing up your description, you will be relying on these notes (and perhaps a photograph or two that you took at the museum). Check over your notes to ensure that you have looked and recorded enough. When writing your description, you should:

write assuming your reader has never seen the object

summarize the overall appearance in general terms before describing individual details. Set the scene broadly, then go into more detail

describe the composition (who is doing what to whom and where)

describe the materials used

think about how you order your description. It may make sense to move from one side of the object to the other (top to bottom or left to right) but it is usually better to focus on what seems to be the most important aspects first (where does the artist want us to look most?) followed by the secondary and tertiary elements.

** You will not necessarily include every detail you have noted on this worksheet in your description** **Choose the most relevant and useful details to develop your description**