Art Essay

Article Review and Response Assignment 

Directions: Critique a review of a current or very recent art exhibit.  Students may choose a review from either a print or online source (if the article is from a printed source you must turn in a copy of your article to turn in alongside with your review.) Students will submit a link of the article and their critique.  Your critique must be 2 pages in length, double-spaced, and in 12-pt. font. Please run spellcheck and proofread for grammatical errors. Please save as a Word doc and turn in to your professor or upload on our Blackboard course site.

Objective: To evaluate a professional critic or reporter’s opinion on an art exhibit

Before you begin:

• Spend some time searching the web      for current art exhibits or news topics that are related to our course. The      article you critique must not be older than 1 year old. (Suggestions      for sites you may want to explore are listed at the end of this document).      Take time to notice the publisher in order to discern what type of      audience the article or review is directed towards. For example, if the      article stems from a news media site, it may be directed towards the      general public, whereas a museum or academic site may be tailored towards      professors or students.

Questions to consider for your paper:

• Who is the author’s audience? 
• Are the author’s statements factual      or based on opinion? Does the author make any grand generalizations of the      work being discussed?
• Do you agree with the author’s      opinions? Based on your own knowledge and observations, would you have      written the article differently?
• What is the author’s background?      Journalism? Art History?
• Why should readers care about the      art on exhibit? Is the author convincing as to why the art is significant      or important?
• Is the material reviewed difficult      to grasp or analyze? What strategies does the author use to explain the      material?
• How is the exhibit or topic related      to our course? How does it impact the field of Art History?

**Make sure that you indicate in the beginning of your paper the following: the author’s name, the date and location of the exhibit, and the title of the exhibit being critiqued.

Suggestions for beginning your search:

• Consult museum websites for current      exhibitions that may contain links to reviews: Metropolitan Museum of Art,      National Gallery of Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), The Art      Institute of Chicago, The British Museum, etc.
• www.bbc.co.uk/news/
• www.globalmuseum.org
• www.nytimes.com (art page)
• www.newyorker.com
• www.npr.org (arts & life page)
• www.art.newcity.com/art-calendar/
• www.latimes.com

Remember, the above sites are suggestions. Consult your news source of choice for additional reviews, both national and local