For the Research Project, you can complete a mini art exhibition, a video guide, a podcast guide, or propose something different.
For the research project, you can use research already gathered, organized, and published by others (secondary). The secondary information you collect must be academic (no blogs, Wikipedia, magazines, or newspaper articles). You need a total of 5 sources for this project. Do not use AI-generated research. Do not use Smart History, Khan Academy, Art Story, Wikipedia, or any other encyclopedia source for your 5 sources. You can research the bibliographies of those sources mentioned earlier but you cannot cite the content. You will notice that some of the information in the bibliography is from outside academic sources. You should not use those sources.
The goal is for you to develop your own original idea based on your research and visual observation of the artwork you have already written about. For this paper, your thesis will be based on a combination of your research and the artwork's formal elements. Here you can include iconography, symbolism, historical information, biography, etc. However, the research and the formal analysis should guide your thesis. You will lose points if your project includes irrelevant information that does not support your thesis. You will lose points if your project includes much irrelevant information that does not support your thesis.
The project should include the following:
1. Your project should be titled.
2. A thesis statement (an argument) developed by you from the research you gather and the visual information in the artwork.
3. A detailed analysis of the formal characteristics of the work and how it relates to the information you have uncovered.
4. Use your own words. Limit the use of direct quotes. However, you still need to cite facts and ideas that are not your own.
5. The project should have a supporting essay (750-1000 words) that explains the theoretical framework and research. It should be double-spaced, have 1-inch margins on all sides, and you should use a standard font no larger than 12 pt. It should also be free of grammatical errors and have proper punctuation, capitalization, italics, and citations.
Please consult the resources in your BrightSpace module to help you create your project. Please consult Prof. Jones if you are having difficulty developing an idea, but start with your visual analysis object and some of the questions that come up for you while looking at it. Please consult your Librarian, Prof. Rode, if you need help finding sources for your project.
Please see the assignment in Brightspace for detailed instructions on each project option.
Each project option includes a 750-1000 word essay and one page bibliography
Research Project Parts:
Proposal: Two to Three sentences about the subject of your project (artist, style, medium, culture, subject, iconography etc). and how you will present it (mini-exhibition, podcast, video etc.)
Annotated Bibliography: See example in BrightSpace: An annotated bibliography summarizes the content of your source and how it works for you. Annotated Bibliography: An annotated bibliography entry consists of two components: the bibliographic citation and the annotation. The citation can be formatted in any bibliographic style you choose: APA, MLA, and Chicago. For this project, the annotation should be approximately 300 words in length (one paragraph). It should include a summary of the source, why the source is relevant to your project, and your personal conclusions about the source.
Research Outline: This is the outline for your project It is a map of what you will present, be it a mini-exhibition, podcast, video. It will be an outline of your labels, and outline of your podcase or video script.
Final Project with Essay: Submit the final version of your mini-exhibition, podcast, or video. The essay should explain the concept of your project and summarize it. It should also have citations.
Before you begin conducting research, it’s essential to ask yourself a few questions:
1. What’s my topic? Review your assignment carefully and select a suitable topic. Is this topic about a single artist or an art movement? Is it a study of one work or a body of works? How long is the paper—will you need a basic overview, or a detailed analysis? Guiding questions like these can help you determine the best approach for your research. If you aren’t sure where to start, you can ask your professor for guidance, and you can always contact our librarian.
2. How will I manage and cite my sources? When you turn in your paper or presentation, you will need to provide citations in keeping with the preferred citation style. Keeping track of your citations as you work through your research will save time and stress when you are completing your project. For a quick guide, see How to Cite Your Sources
*Please note that the ARTSTOR citation tool is not 100% correct (e.g. all citation formats should list author last name as first element).
These sources do not provide scholarly articles, but are good places to get started and review terminology, themes, and periods.
The Thames and Hudson Dictionary of Art Terms
by
* Over 2000 authoritative entries and 400 illustrations, including diagrams for comprehensive treatment of architectural terms * Covers painting, sculpture, architecture, photography, the decorative, applied and graphic arts from all periods throughout the world up to the present day: there is even a table of the dynasties of Ancient Greece, Ancient Egypt, China, India and Japan * This new edition features entries connected with the use of computer technology in the art world and includes today's influential groups and tendencies From the Preface: This dictionary is compact, because our experience of the arts is gained in so many places - in exhibitions, in museums, touring with a guide book - and no one wants to tour with a reference library. It is also comprehensive, because neither in real life nor in books are the various arts neatly segregated. More than 2000 entries therefore define and explain terms from painting, sculpture, architecture, the decorative and applied arts... With this dictionary at hand, the reader should be able to puzzle out any art text, however technical, and the collector or exhibition-goer should feel at ease with any auction or museum catalogue, no matter how recondite.
The Oxford Dictionary of Art
by
Ideal for students, picture researchers, and enthusiasts of all kinds, this third edition of The Oxford Dictionary of Art reaffirms the unrivalled position held by this authoritative one-volume guide to the art of the western world. It provides a careful balance of fact and critical appraisal ranging across painting, sculpture, drawing, and the applied arts from classical times to the present. Almost 3,500 entries provide the reader with instant information, written in succinct and readable prose, about styles, techniques, collections, artists, and historians. Includes a practical reference section with a fully updated and expanded Chronology, and an Index of Galleries and Museums around the world. There is also a Classified Contents, enabling the reader to search for entries within a particular subject area or period.
Giuseppe Arcimboldi (c.1527-1593). Fire (Allegory of Fire). oil on limewood, 1566. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria, JSTOR, https://jstor.org/stable/community.18150957.
