World Masterpieces II
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Essay 2 prompt
Length: 3-4 pages.
Format: SEE STYLE SHEET
Art+Lit=Mashup
For this assignment, I want you to propose a mashup of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and a modernist painting from the DIA. The essay should present an argument in which you 1) carefully analyze an artwork of your choice, explicating its major structures and meanings and 2) explain, using close readings of specific passages from the novella, how and why this artwork should be inserted into Conrad’s fictional world.
To accomplish this task, you will need to do the following.
1) Closely read and analyze Conrad’s novella. We will be doing this collectively in our class discussions. As you read, identify passages, characters, themes, and storylines that interest you.
2) Visit the DIA and explore the impressionist, post-impressionist, modern, and African-American collections. For our purposes, modern works were composed from the 1900-1950, while impressionist and post-impressionist paintings date from the last decades of the nineteenth century.
3) Identify one artwork (painting or sculpture) that reminds you of Conrad’s novel. This could be in subject matter (a painting of a ship, for instance, or a portrait of a middle-class woman), formally (perhaps the painting offers intriguing depictions of time or memory), or thematically (paintings of violence, colonialism, racisim, trade, etc.)
Once you have identified a piece that interests you, examine the piece for at least 15-30 minutes (this will seem like an eternity, but you will find it a remarkable experience). As you examine the piece, take notes on its composition. Use the “Guide for Formal Art Analysis,” posted on Blackboard, to help you with this step. Be sure you identify the artist, title, and date of the painting.
4) Using your close reading of the novel and your analysis of the painting, write an essay in which you carefully describe/analyze the painting and then explain how and why you would include it in Conrad’s novella. In your essay, you should quote specific passages and identify concrete situations in which the painting should appear. Be sure to also explain how the artwork’s inclusion would contribute to the overall meaning and aesthetic value of Conrad’s novel.
Possible issues to address in your paper (these are merely suggestions):
- Which character would own the artwork, if any? Why?
- When would Marlow encounter this work? Would more than one character see it? Or perhaps the unnamed narrator will describe the work in some way?
- How does the artwork exemplify major themes or concepts in the novella?
- What does the painting teach us about Conrad’s text? What does the text teach us about the painting? (These last two questions would be useful for your essay’s conclusion.)
For this essay, I do not want you to use any sources other than the “Guide to Formal Art Analysis” (you should also have Works Cited entries for the novel and the painting). This piece is a chance for you to use your imagination and play with Conrad’s text. It should be enjoyable, and I look forward to reading your essays.
As always, feel free to stop by my office hours to discuss your paper in progress.
IMPORTANT REQUIREMENTS: 1) I want you to scan your entry ticket from the DIA and insert this image as an appendix in your essay. Please also include a digital copy of the painting as an appendix.
