For Prof. Eliud Peterson only

Museum Paper—see syllabus for due date You may turn in the assignment earlier during the semester. Format: 1 ½ to 2 page, double-spaced, size 12 Times New Roman or Arial font Topic: Visit a gallery/museum of your choice and write a formal analysis about one work of art. Reminder: Formal analysis=Analyze the following:

1. Subject 2. Form=Elements of Art and Principles of Design 3. Content

Paragraph 1: usually 1 page-1 ½ pages Discussion of subject + form: 1. Introduce the work of art in terms of basic information: artist, title, medium/media, size (if available), and year 2. Identify the subject matter and how it is represented (representational, abstract, non-objective/non-representational), then explain WHY (use examples from the work for support). 3. Describe the work in detail using relevant Elements of Art and Principles of Design to support your description. Elements of Art: line, shape, value/tone, texture, color, (space) Principles of Design: balance, emphasis, proportion and scale,

rhythm and repetition, and unity and variety HINT—in your analysis, don’t define the vocab words or simply list vocab, reinforce your use of vocab with a detailed description of how that term applies to physical examples found within the work itself. For example, this statement would be too vague—“The painting has a focal point.” Be sure to identify the focal point in terms of subject matter, identify its location, and explain how the artist visually created a focal point. Paragraph 2: usually about a half page long Discussion of CONTENT (meaning) 1. Address what you think the work is about in terms of meaning. You may consider what the message is, how the work of art makes you feel— anything connected to meaning, emotions, ideas associated with the work. 2. When in doubt, think about the ROLE of the artist.

3. You MUST reinforce your interpretation with: a) visual examples from the work (subject matter, images and/or symbols)

b) formal qualities from paragraph 1. Ex: how do the colors present influence your interpretation of meaning?

*If not selecting work from SAMA class trip, please provide proof of your gallery/museum visit with pamphlets, admissions ticket, etc. You may not use internet galleries or art that is not housed in a museum or gallery setting. *See instructor for discounted days at specific museums and regarding any conflicts regarding transportation. Only hard copies will be accepted, emailed papers will not be graded.