ART
Your essay should be no less than 2 full pages (1-inch margins, 12-point font, double-spaced). Most students do one page per artwork to maximize the opportunity to talk about each one, but you are free to discuss your works separately or together.
Do not include a header or title. You need 2 full pages of text.
To complete the Essay follow these instructions:
1. Go to https://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/2018/outliers-and-american-vanguard-art.html
2. Scroll down to the slideshow function. Click on the slideshow to enlarge the images.
3. Browse the 22 artworks in the slideshow.
4. Select 2 artworks you find interesting and intriguing.
5. Write a two-page essay explaining your selected works to a friend. Assume your friend knows nothing about art but is curious to understand the two objects you selected. Explain what these objects are, what you think they express (what they are “about”), and how they express whatever you think they express.
TIPS:
Remember that your friend doesn’t know anything about art, so start with the basics: discipline, medium (materials and techniques), and formal characteristics
When you talk about what the artworks express (their meaning), make sure you help your friend understand how an artwork can be expressive: how do artworks actually “say” something?
Stick close to the artworks: look closely, describe carefully, and ground everything in specific details you can actually see and point out in the artwork.
Don’t forget the magic of art! Help your friend see what is so interesting about the artworks you selected.
All work must be your own.
You will not be graded on what you know about the artists or the artworks. You will be graded on how well you use the information, knowledge, and skills from the class to explain the works. So do not bother looking these things up online. Essays that use outside information will be downgraded.
