analyzing painting

Writing 1

Project 3: Visual Analysis (1000 – 1500 words). An analysis of a work of visual art considers its parts–observing specific formal elements and attributes--in order to understand the work as a whole. You will be analyzing a painting of your choice and producing a short analytic paper that examines its formal features and offers an informed interpretation of its meaning or significance.

Background: We have been studying the form and best practices of analytic writing, considering its associated audience expectations, rhetorical movements, and best practices. Analysis shares some general features with review writing but the goal/purpose is distinct: Your task in analysis is not to recommend or rate something; it is to improve your readers’ understanding of it.

Task: Write an analysis of a painting of your choice that is between 1000 and 1500 words in length. You may choose a painting from any cultural/historical context, working within any artistic movement/style.

Helpful Hints:

· You can pick any painting you like for this assignment but it will help if you choose something that you are genuinely drawn to and interested in understanding better.

· You need to decide what you want to write about right away. You should start brainstorming and prewriting this week as we are studying examples/models of artwork analysis.

· Look at the artwork you will write about—really look at it, study it.

Take notes—this will be important. What elements stand out? How does it make you feel? What ideas and emotions does it evoke? How is it specifically constructed to produce ideas and do things to the viewer?

· How will you structure your review? Study how the art analysis samples/models use a very specific structure and shift through considering different elements of the art. How will you structure your review to focus on the features/elements that are key evidence/support for your analysis?

· What elements/features of the painting will you focus on? For example, will you be focusing on line, shape, light, color, texture/pattern, space/time/motion, unity, subject matter, composition, symmetry, emphasis, etc.—your choices will be different depending on the artistic style of your object of study. Choose at least three different elements to support your analysis--do not get stuck just focusing on just one element.

· Consider carefully the important of details in analytic writing. The most convincing analyses consider concrete and specific details as evidence for their interpretations.

Due Dates:

Peer Feedback: Wednesday, 5-8. You must bring two print outs of your review to class to fully participate in the workshop. Be sure that you embed an image of your painting in your rough draft. You will get half-credit for participating if you do not bring printouts to class.

Final Draft: Thursday, 5-9, upload final draft to Canvas by 11:59 p.m. Be sure that you have embedded an image of your artwork in your final draft. Please note that you are allowed to turn in one major writing project up to three days late for any reason without penalty. All subsequent late work will be docked 10 points for each day it is late past the specified deadline.