EASSY of Comparison and Contrast of Pictures for Guggenheim and Louvre Museums

Visual Analysis Assignment Sheet

The student will write an MLA style, argumentative visual analysis of at least 750 words, which will include at least one source quoted inside the essay and cited in the Works Cited page. The student will choose to describe, compare and interpret two images from Carrie Mae Weems’ collection: http://carriemaeweems.net/work.html

The goal of the essay is not to simply compare and contrasts but to come up with an interpretation of the artist’s intended social message.

NOTE: Successful students will trust their own interpretations and provide an original visual analysis. Unsuccessful students will allow outside sources to interpret the images for them.

**Please include the images you are analyzing inside your word document and cite them in the works cited page. See sample citation below:

Weems, Carrie Mae. Ain’t Jokin 1987-1988. Center of Contemporary Art, Seville, Spain. CarrieMaeWeems.net. Photography. Accessed 24 May 2019. http://carriemaeweems.net/galleries/aint-jokin.html

Grade Breakdown

Introduction (10pts):

· Grab the reader’s attention

· Introduce the name of the artist and give biographical information such as her style and way of thinking

· Provide the name of the instillation as well as the names of the two selected images

· Include a three part thesis that points to the images’ major similarity and major difference, followed by what you think the artist’s intended societal message is when combining the meaning of both images.

Body paragraphs (50pts):

· The student describes and analyzes image one

· The student describes and analyzes image two

· The student must compare and contrast the images. The goal is not compare/contrast superficial differences (in on image there is dog and in the other image there is not), but compare/contrast significant differences related to the expression of meaning and societal message.

· The student interprets both images in conjunction, as part of a series of images that together convey a significant societal message. Students will use visual evidence to make connections between the images in order to prove that the social commentary that the student thinks is being conveyed by the images is true.

Conclusion (10pts): The student will write an inspired and well-developed paragraph that emphasizes the main point of the essay, gives significance to the social message explored, and provides explanation as to why art is important for society.

MLA (10pts): Student follows proper MLA style, including headings and title, Times New Roman 12pts font, double space, and a Work Cited page.

Mechanics and Word Count (Worth 10%): the student meets the 750-word count (counted from the first word in the intro to the last word in the conclusion). The student carefully revises the essay, contains minimal grammar mistakes; the student uses proper punctuation, has varying sentence structure and lengths and each sentence can be clearly understood the first time read.

Organization (Worth 10%): The student has a well-organized essay that contains all the elements required. There are effective paragraph breaks and transitions between ideas. The essay flows, seamlessly connecting one idea to the next, and fulfills reader expectations by presenting old information before new information.