The essay about comparison and contrast of two art works

LA8016:  Art  History  II   Fall  2016   Instructor:  Kavior  Moon     Writing  Assignment  #2     For  this  assignment,  you  will  be  writing  a  comparative  essay  on  two  artworks:  one  artwork  on  view   at  the  Doug  Aitken:  Electric  Earth  exhibition  and  another  artwork  of  your  choosing.  This  second   artwork  could  be  another  work  on  view  in  the  Doug  Aitken  exhibition  or  a  work  that  you  have   learned  about  during  lecture  or  in  one  of  the  readings.     When  you  visit  the  Doug  Aitken  exhibition,  take  your  time  to  get  a  sense  of  the  entire  exhibition.   Select  a  few  artworks  that  you  are  drawn  to  and/or  puzzled  by,  ones  that  you  want  to  explore   further.  Take  notes  on  the  installation  of  the  artworks,  their  different  components,  their  conceptual   structures,  their  narratives  (if  applicable),  your  perceptual  experience  of  them,  and  any  other   thoughts  that  come  to  mind.  You  may  want  to  take  photographs  of  the  artworks  to  accompany  your   note-­‐taking  and  for  reference  later.       When  you  return  home,  begin  the  assignment  by  brainstorming  what  two  artworks  you  want  to   compare  and  contrast.  The  two  artworks  should  relate  to  one  another,  yet  fundamentally  differ.   (Think  about  the  slide  comparisons  we  have  discussed  in  lecture,  or  that  you’ve  written  about  for   quizzes.)  What  concept,  issue,  or  physical  material  do  the  two  artworks  share?  How  do  these   artworks  speak  differently  about  their  shared  concern  through  their  physical  forms,  spatial   organization,  and  conceptual  structure?     The  assignment  should  take  the  form  of  an  essay,  with  an  introduction  that  ends  with  a  thesis   statement,  multiple  body  paragraphs,  and  a  conclusion.  Each  paragraph  should  be  focused  around   one  topic  sentence.  The  body  of  your  paper  should  begin  with  a  formal  description  of  each  artwork,   in  terms  of  its  visual,  physical,  and  spatial  qualities.  Then,  you  should  begin  interpreting  the   artworks  by  comparing  them  through  their  shared  concern.  Strengthen  your  interpretation  of  the   artworks  by  then  contrasting  them.  Finally,  conclude  your  paper  by  reinforcing  your   interpretations  of  the  two  artworks  based  on  the  term  that  they  share  and  how  they  represent  or   carry  out  this  term  differently.     Your  final  paper  should  be  5–7  pages  in  length,  double-­‐spaced.  It  will  be  graded  holistically,  with  a   focus  on  the  following  aspects:  clarity  of  thesis  statement,  vividness  and  coherence  of  artwork   descriptions,  logical  comparison  and  contrast  of  artworks,  convincing  interpretations  of  artworks,   grammar  and  other  mechanical  issues.       DUE  DATES:  

  *First  draft  (2  hardcopies)  due  at  the  beginning  of  class  on  Thurs,  Nov.  17.  To  receive  full   credit,  this  paper  must  be  at  least  3–5  pages,  double-­‐spaced.  One  hardcopy  will  be  used  for  an   in-­‐class  peer-­‐review  session  that  day,  and  I  will  collect  the  other  hardcopy  and  comment  on  it.    

  *Final  draft  (1  hardcopy)  due  at  the  beginning  of  class  on  Thurs,  Dec.  8.  NO  LATE  PAPERS   WILL  BE  ACCEPTED.