Writing Art Criticism

This paper is meant to be a research paper. It is very important that you cite all of your sources for a research paper. Failure to cite sources is tantamount to plagiarism. See the student handbook for the consequences of plagiarism and academic dishonesty. Basic Information: When writing about a piece of art, you first need to introduce your reader to some basic information about the art object. Be sure to include each of the below: The title of the work goes in Italics. If you are writing about an individual work, include the artist's name eg: Red Studio, Henri Matisse. Date the work was completed, or the historians/scholars best guess (tell us whose guess it is if possible, tell us how this date was arrived at). The medium of the work(s) (bronze, watercolor, color or black and white photograph, ceramics, etc.). Include particular materials, if identifiable. The size of the work(s). Give height and width of 2-D work (in that order), add depth dimension for 3-D. If from a source other than our book: Where (and when) the work or exhibition was seen (or the name and issue of a publication).

The text: Tell us the art-historical importance of your artwork. Please do not write a biography: your paper should be about an artwork, not person. (This goes for the artist interview, as well! Biographical information should relate directly to the art object.) These items are individually listed, but in writing they may be blended or approached in a different order, as common sense dictates. Approaching this list in the reverse order might work more effectively for many. It is not necessary to answer all of the questions below- this is only a guide to help you to begin your paper. (1) Why did you choose this work or artist? What were your initial reactions? This information may be noted on the side and later used for the paper, or, you may just use it for a comparison to see how your understanding has developed.

(2) What is the Function and general style of the work? Why do you think so? Art works function in one these broad categories: physical, social, or personal. Style refers to characteristics of a work that relate it to other works that have some similar qualities. A style can be descriptive, formbased, expressive, or surrealistic. It can also refer to a type of work done by a specific group or even an individual. (3) What other art works can this work be compared to? Why? For the purposes of this course, this is a very important item from the list to incorporate. (4) How has the work used materials to communicate ideas? Do the materials provide character or are they used anonymously? (5) How has the work used the process of making to communicate ideas? Is the making process obvious and supply an important quality, or does it act "behind the scenes." (6) How has the work used composition to communicate ideas? Describe the basic type of composition and its most dominant or important elements and visual methods. (7) What reasons might the artist have had in dedicating his or her life to making such art work? Personally functioning art relates to a person's ultimate concern. Social art works speak to the concerns of groups or clients. Physically functioning art works must solve a need such as a tool or dwelling. In doing this they also transcend being merely functional and become a visual/tactile art-expression or experience of the group that uses them. (8) What is the cultural context of this work? That is, how does this work relate to the culture it was made in and shown to? What does it say to or about that culture and how might it be received by that culture? How widely will it be seen and by what group? This last question may be the single most important for our purposes.