Assignment 1: Analysis of Lecture Artists
Analyze and interpret artists discussed in the lecture through the lens of individualism and the community.
Overview
In the lectures for this Module we have explored how many artists and artistic movements in American art can be interpreted as relating to the themes of individualism and the community.
For this assignment, return to a particular artist or a particular artistic movement that was discussed in one of the two lectures in this module.
This assignment will allow you to expand on the brief introduction and interpret works of art for yourself.
Steps:
1. Looking back at the lectures, select 1 work of art discussed in the lectures that you found to be especially interesting.
2. To start your essay, briefly say how that work of art was connected to the themes of
individualism and community within the lecture.
3. Now move beyond the lecture and interpret that work of art for yourself according to the themes of individualism and community. There are many questions you may have a chance to ask that we may not have had a chance to address in the lecture. The following might be good questions to ask:
A. How can formal analysis (line, shape, mass, color, etc.) help to interpret this
work of art in terms of its relation to the themes of individualism and community?
B. How can symbols, allusions and metaphors help us interpret this work in
terms of our theme?
C. What was my first impression as to how it related to the theme?
D. If I can identify the genre of the work, can that help me relate this work to our
theme of individualism and community?
You don’t have to limit yourself to only these specific questions. They are just questions to get you started on interpreting the work according to our theme. (By the way, it is OK to disagree with my reading of the work of art! As long as you explain your view, disagreeing is just fine, and sometimes shows individual thought and creativity!)
4. Research the artist of the first work you discussed using any search engine or the Las Positas Library Artstor database and find another work of art by this same artist. Compare and contrast that second work of art with the first by looking at the ways in which the two works of art deal with individualism and community. Here are some questions to ask when interpreting the second work you have selected.
A. How can formal analysis (line, shape, mass, color, etc.) help to interpret this
work of art relative to the first work of art in terms of its relation to the themes
of individualism and community?
B. How can symbols, allusions and metaphors help us interpret this work
relative to the first work in terms of our theme?
C. What was my first impression of this work as opposed to the first work as to
how it related to the theme?
D. If I can identify the school or genre, can that help me relate this work to the
first work in terms of our theme of individualism and community?
You don’t have to limit yourself to just those specific questions. They are just questions to get you started interpreting the second work relative to the first in terms of how they relate to our theme.
5. In your concluding comments, say a few words about your opinion on this artist and his or her relationship to the theme, given all your research.
6. Post your assignment to your group discussion board. Either attach both pictures to your post, or give links to both pictures in your post. If you are unable to obtain a picture of the work of art from the lecture, that’s ok but you need to explain why in your post. Your essay is worth 12 points and should be at least 1 ½ pages (500 words).
7. Reply to at least one of your classmates posts. Discuss one or two elements of their
analysis that you found interesting. (replies worth 3 points total)
8. Reminder: If you get any information on your images that is not general knowledge you already knew, it is important to quote your sources. You can do this any way you would like to, just make sure we know where the information came from.
Total Points for assignment
• 12 points for paper
• 3 points for replies
