HA 341 MODERN ART IN THE 20th-CENTURY MUSEUM PAPER SPRING 2017
Select one pair of works on view at the Museum of Modern Art. The works must have the same medium, must be executed between 1900 and 1965, and must be executed within 10 years of each other.
The Assignment:
The purpose of this paper is to discuss in your own words the differences and similarities between these two works regarding style, content, artistic intention, and historical context. Your conclusions will be based on your own observations together with information which you read about the artists and their work. Begin your paper with your thesis or argument and then proceed with a detailed discussion of information supporting your introductory opinions, ending the paper with a conclusion. Be sure to italicize titles of art works and include color images of the works you select.
Your paper needs to be 5-6 pages long and, additionally, include footnotes and a bibliography. Papers must be typed and the pages stapled together (no paper clips). Be sure to double space, use a 12-point font and include margins no larger than one inch. This assignment is due in class on April 24. Late papers will not be accepted – no exceptions!
The following points should be covered in your paper. It is essential that you consider the works (and the movements they represent) in relation to each other, thinking about ways in which they are different or alike.
- Based on your examination of the work in the museum, explain carefully how the images are presented. Describe the composition, brushwork, color, spatial depth or surface pattern, and use of line. Where appropriate, discuss the various materials used. If you are writing about sculpture, discuss differences in handling materials, surfaces, and the relationship of the figure to the surrounding space and viewer. Most importantly, explain how these technical and stylistic choices help create the overall expressive effect of the painting or sculpture. What do you think the artist was trying to communicate to the viewer?
- You must also discuss the content and meaning, and how it is related to (conveyed by) the formal elements of the work. What ideas motivated and preoccupied the artists? Were they reacting against (or, alternatively, influenced by) earlier artistic movements or contemporary events? You should consider the following questions: Did the artists have a political or social goal in mind? Were they interested in philosophy, religion, music, science, psychology, or current events? Were new materials or figural distortions a particular concern? Were the works part of a series or related to other paintings/sculptures by the artist? Did the works represent a change in the artists’ styles? How do the paintings/sculptures typify the movements with which they are associated? How were the works interpreted and received by critics and the public? Have these opinions changed over time? This part of your paper must demonstrate an understanding of the published information which you have researched.
Whenever possible, be sure to include statements by the artists themselves regarding their intentions and priorities, as well as responses by critics and historians. Be sure to footnote all direct quotes and original ideas taken from other authors. Above all, your paper must be written in your own words. Remember, we are interested in how you reason about the art and how you evaluate what you read. For further questions, consult Sylvan Barnet, A Short Guide to Writing About Art, N.Y.: Longman, 1997.
REQUIRED READING:
You must consult at least three books outside of the class’s required readings for each of the selected works. Of these, at least one must be a monograph (i.e. book written about a single artist). Internet sources may be consulted but do not count toward these six required texts. Please also find out the MOMA catalog.
GUIDELINES ON RESEARCHING AND ACKNOWLEDGING SOURCES:
In acknowledging sources there are a few rules to remember. In scholarship of any kind a distinction is made between common knowledge (facts) and ideas developed by different authors. Common knowledge does not have to be noted. However, when you are influenced by an interpretation of those facts, or an idea, you must reference the author and the book with an endnote. This is done by either quoting the original statement verbatim (with quotation marks around the passage cited, or by paraphrasing the author’s idea; then place a note number at the end of the sentence. You may cite the source at the bottom of the page (footnote) or the end of the paper (endnote).
In addition to endnotes or footnotes throughout your paper, at the end of your paper you should have a bibliography, which is a list of all books and articles which you have consulted, even if you didn’t use some of their ideas directly. Organize your bibliography alphabetically according to the last name of the authors.
Sample endnote for a book: Robert Rosenblum, Modern Painting and the Northern Romantic Tradition (New York: Harper & Row, 1975), p. 173. These notes must be numbered in succession.
Sample endnote for an article: Steve Edwards, “Photography, Allegory, and Labor,” Art Journal, Summer 1996, Vol. 55, No. 2, pp. 38-44.
Sample bibliography entry: Rosenblum, Robert, Modern Painting and the Northern Romantic Tradition, New York: Harper & Row, 1975.
When citing an article in a bibliography, the format is the same as the endnote, except that the author is listed last name first.
AGAIN IMPORTANT*paper has to be really specific / own reading sources / based on the facts (both visual and historical) / Personal perspective, own opinion doesn’t need a lot / textbook, context, contents, historical facts important / Must find and refer to the MOMA catalog
1st Painting / Painter:
Henri Matisse
The Red Studio
Issy-les-Moulineaux, fall 1911 (MOMA) NEWYORK
2nd Painting / Painter:
Pablo Picasso
Green Still Life
Avignon, summer 1914 (MOMA) NEWYORK
