Select a work from a local museum, architectural monument or the artworks exhibited in a local gallery or municipal building. (Remember, you must get the approval of the instructor.)
When you visit the chosen artwork or monument, allow adequate time to view it and take notes. You may consider taking digital photos if allowed for further reference and inclusion in your project. A second visit is strongly recommended.
Make sure that you read the gallery or exhibition label and if it is an architectural monument, the dedication plaque or any other on-site marker providing relevant information. It is strongly suggest that you either might digital photograph the work to include in your written work or that you ensure that a copy of the work is represented in your paper or an internet link provided to it.
Visit a museum, art gallery or monument. Provide the title and date of the art object or monument and the name of the artist or architect and where it is located. Select a topic and summarize the overall appearance of the object or monument in a paragraph that will be the foundation of your paper. View the artwork or monument from as many perspectives as possible. Give the details related to the art object or monument and the name of the artist or architect. You will need to revise this paragraph if you use it as the introduction to your paper, as it will need to tell the reader just what you intend to accomplish in your paper.
Think about answering the following 6 questions in relation to the work and your topic:
What is the form or genre of art that you see in front of you—painting, drawing, sculpture, monument as architecture, etc.?
What are the media—paint, clay, stone, steel, etc.—used in its creation? What are the techniques—tools and processes—used in its creation?
What is the size and scale of the artwork or monument in relationship to a person, a building, or other works of its kind?
What are the objects, persons, and general shapes within its composition? If it is an architectural monument, what are the parts or spaces it is composed of?
Select a work from a local museum, architectural monument or the artworks exhibited in a local gallery or municipal building. (Remember, you must get the approval of the instructor.)
Describe the formal visual elements in the artwork in front of you: line, perspective, shape, mass, texture, time, space, color, and light. Remember that some of these may not be applicable to the chosen subject of your paper.
Describe the basic principles of design in the artwork or monument in front of you: balance, scale and proportion, unity and variation, focus, emphasis and subordination, rhythm, and pattern.
If the object is a two-dimensional work of art, answer the following questions:
What are the most distinctive features or characteristics of the artwork?
Are the forms in the piece realistic or abstract? Does the piece represent one style or does the artist mix the two?
What is the effect of the particular medium or media used? How does it affect the viewer’s impression?
If the piece is a three-dimensional work of art, answer the following questions:
What are the most distinctive features or characteristics of the artwork or monument?
What is its function? How does its form complement its function?
In what setting is it placed? How does the setting affect its appearance?
Is the piece representational or abstract? Does the artist explore forms or space within forms?
If it is an architectural monument, how do people move throughout the structure? Are there significant accommodations or limitations to this movement?
What role does light play?
Remember that some of these may not be applicable to the chosen subject of your paper.
Describe the basic principles of design in the artwork or monument in front of you: balance, scale and proportion, unity and variation, focus, emphasis and subordination, rhythm, and pattern.
If the object is a two-dimensional work of art, answer the following questions:
What are the most distinctive features or characteristics of the artwork?
Are the forms in the piece realistic or abstract? Does the piece represent one style or does the artist mix the two?
What is the effect of the particular medium or media used? How does it affect the viewer’s impression?
If the piece is a three-dimensional work of art, answer the following questions:
What are the most distinctive features or characteristics of the artwork or monument?
What is its function? How does its form complement its function?
In what setting is it placed? How does the setting affect its appearance?
Is the piece representational or abstract? Does the artist explore forms or space within forms?
If it is an architectural monument, how do people move throughout the structure? Are there significant accommodations or limitations to this movement?
What role does light play?
