Posted: April 7th, 2015

Object Project Assignment

Object Project Assignment

The purpose of this paper assignment is to give students experience in researching, analyzing, and discussing a single work of art.  A key component of one’s relationship with any work of art is the visceral experience of engaging with it directly—i.e., standing right in front of it, walking around it and/or past it, etc.  For this reason, students MUST select a work of art located in the University of Arizona Museum of Art from the “pre-approved” list that will be provided.

In Friday section meeting on January 30 we will visit the University Museum of Art and students will choose a single work from the list of “pre-approved” works The list will be provided that day and be available on the content section of D2L. The paper will cover
The paper will consist of these parts:

1)  Formal Analysis
The formal analysis is an objective description of the image/object. Imagine that you are describing to someone who cannot see the work of art. Avoid subjective description (beautiful, ugly, etc.,) and any kind of qualitative judgment. Use the terminology of art—take a look again at the introductory chapter, AND the pdf Visual Analysis Starter Kit that is under Object Project in the content section of D2L

2) Iconography
This is a discussion of the subject matter and your approach to it will vary with the work you select. If you select a religious work or a history painting (history painting represent some kind of literary text or historical event) you will need to find the biblical/canonical, or mythological or historical source. What moment of the story does the image depict?  If your subject is non-narrative, such as a portrait or still life you will need to relate the work to its genre and discuss specific subject matter, such as the sitter or the objects/landscape etc.  If it is an abstract work you will need to discuss the formal elements important to the work and if there are any secondary meanings embedded into the work—i.e. meant to evoke meditation, spirituality, etc.  The work selected may or may not contain implied or overt social criticism.  All this falls within the realm of iconography.

3) Art Historical Context
In this section you will discuss your work within the larger context of the history of art.  What style does it represent and why? What works could be considered comparable. Think of this as similar to an unknown slide identification.

Some research will be necessary for parts two and three and you will need to include a bibliography of all works consulted, even if you did not cite the works in your paper.

Paper Specifications:

•    The art object selection is due Monday February 2 in lecture and in the drop box, which will close at 2:00 PM.

•    A preliminary bibliography is due February 13 in section (hard copy) and in the drop box, which will close at 2:00 PM.

•    The paper is due April 10 in section (hard copy) and in the drop box which closes April 10, 2:00 PM.  Late papers will be accepted with a 5-point penalty per day late.

•    The paper should be a 5 to 6 page long.  Cover page, illustrations, endnotes and bibliography do not count toward this page limit.

•    For those of you who would like substantive feedback on your paper before it is due, you may turn in a draft.  This version of the paper should be no less than 4 pages long and fairly polished in order to be read and evaluated.  The optional draft is due March 2, and will be returned by March 13 giving students ample time to incorporate changes.

•    We will return optional drafts by March 13.  When you turn in your final draft, please attach the copy of the rough draft with your TA’s marks.

•    The paper must be at least 5 full pages long.  I will deduct ten points for every missing page, after the paper is graded.  (I.E. if your paper earned an 80 but it is only 4 ½ pages long, we will deduct 5 points, making it a 75).

•    Papers must be typewritten.  Please format the paper as follows: Times New Roman, 12-point font size, double-spaced, with one inch margins, top, bottom and margins.

•    Paragraphs are indicated by an indention of 5 spaces (a tab); do not use an extra line between paragraphs.

•    Please include a cover sheet which lists your name, section number and TA’s name, and the title of the paper (the title should be descriptive—don’t sweat over making a creative title unless you really want to.  We just want to know what we’re going to be reading about).  Don’t put your paper in a folder or plastic cover—a single staple is sufficient.  Do not repeat your name, course information, etc. on the first page of the paper—just put it on the cover page.

•    Page numbers should be in the upper right-hand corner.

•    Final papers must include citations to ideas or quotations. You may use either endnote form Chicago Manual of Style or (parentheticals), MLA (Modern Language Association) style. Endnotes are indicated in the text by an Arabic superscript number (not Roman numeral or letter) and the citations are then listed at the end as endnotes. Do not use the footnote format where the citations appear at the bottom of each page.

•    Information about formatting of these is provided in a separate document, Guidelines for Papers and should be followed carefully.

•    Your paper must include a minimum of six sources beyond our own textbook and lectures (although you are certainly free to make use of these sources)! The more sources the merrier since it indicates that you took the time to do more than minimal research!

o    You may use a maximum of four websites as a source.  Choose them carefully!  Anyone may post information on the web, so there is a lot of junk out there. Avoid blogs, Tumblr, Pinterest, or other non-scholarly/educational source. Museum websites are reliable sources of information and it is also fun to see other works of art!
o    The remainder of your sources should be scholarly journals, books, or other publications.  Many of the articles in scholarly journals and books can be found online. If the article (for example those articles provided by J-Stor or other delivery services) or book is simply delivered on line but originated as an article or book, it is not considered as a website.
o    Wikipedia cannot be used as a source, but it is a good place to find other bibliographic references.  Popular magazines like Time, Newsweek, or Smithsonian (among others) are also not appropriate.

•    You must cite all information you take from your sources, even if you are not directly quoting or paraphrasing.  If the information cannot be considered “common knowledge,” you must tell us where you found it.  Failure to cite sources is considered plagiarism and is taken very seriously.  Likewise, if you take words directly from a source, be sure to put quote marks around them—otherwise you are passing them off as your own words.

•    Keep direct quotes to an absolute minimum of no more than two sentences.  I want to hear from you, not from your sources.

•    Please include illustrations of all works you discuss in your paper.  You may simply staple them to the back of the paper (no fancy page layouts necessary), but you should reference them as Figure 1, Figure 2, etc. in your paper.  Black-and-white photocopies are OK; we just want to be able to look at the piece while you discuss it. There is no minimum for the number of illustrations, but you will probably want to have comparative material.

•    Please take care to use proper punctuation, spelling, grammar and mechanics.  If you have concerns about this, please make an appointment at the university writing center: 621-3182.  Keep in mind that submitting the early rewrite version of your paper can only help you, as we can work through any problems you may have prior to your final submission of the paper.

•    Get started early!