A visual analysis is an essay discussing an original artwork that youhave seen in person. Follow the instructions below to see what you needto include in your Museum Paper. Allow at least 45 minutes to look atyour artwork. Bring a notebook and this handout to the museum, so youcan take notes.

Follow these 10 points to get a good grade on this assignment.

1. Choose one museum from the list of museums, visit it and choose one work of art from out period (1250 to 1900) for your paper. Keep the ticket for later.

List of Approved Museums for this Assignment

Norton Simon Museum of Art

http://www.nortonsimon.org/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. phone: 626-449-6840

Los Angeles County Museum of Art

http://www.lacma.org/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. phone: 323-857-6000

The Getty Museum

http://www.getty.edu (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. phone: (310) 440-7300. This museum is free! Call for parking.

2. Your artwork should be from the time period covered in this class(1250 to 1900). Most of the artworks can be viewed on the respectivemuseum websites. This will give you a first glimpse and facilitate yourchoice. It will NOT, however, replace the actual museum visit. Do NOTtouch any of the artworks in the museum.

3. Describe the artwork briefly. In your paper your description shouldnever be longer than one page. Write down your observations on a notepad. Identify the artwork and give the medium (painting, oil on canvas,sculpture, etc.) and dimensions. Try to conquer space with your words.If you give information about objects or people depicted in yourpicture, try and locate them in the picture space.

4. Analyze the artwork as you are standing in front of it. These ideas might help:

Are there elements to this artwork that seem unusual, odd, orotherwise noteworthy? If so, this is the path to research. Why are thesequestions coming up? Where will you find answers? It is not enough justto ask the questions. You have to do research to try to find answers.

Some questions might be similar to these: If there are peoplerepresented, what are their expressions, relations to each other? Whatis the story? What colors does the artist use? How does the artist uselight in this work? Is there three-dimensional perspective shown in thework? For sculpture: How much space does the work occupy? What does theframe or display case look like? Does the way this work is displayedhave an effect on its appearance? Where is the best place to stand tosee your artwork? Are you at eye-level, higher or lower?

What is depicted in your artwork? Is there a story or an event? Thetitle may help you here, but you may need to do further research to getall the details of the subject. How is the work represented? Is itrealistic or abstract? What kind of texture does the work of art have?Does it look rough, smooth, etc. (Do NOT actually touch the artwork!)Can you see brushstrokes? These and other questions might come up.

5. Take these questions home and to the library and start yourresearch. Try and find answers to these questions. Consult academicsources to find answers to your questions. You might find e-books andarticles via the college library website but in general a visit to thecollege library is the way to go.

6. What are admissible sources for this assignment, and how do you quote them in your paper?

I would like students to use CHICAGO-TURABIAN-STYLE FOOTNOTES. This is what they will look like.

Admissible Sources for this assignment:

Book

Author [or editor], Title [underlined] (City of publication[include state or country if not commonly known]: publisher, date ofpublication), page numbers.

example:

1. Michael Hays, ed., Architecture Theory since 1968 (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1998), 83-86.

Journal Article

Author, "Title of article [in quotation marks]," Journal Title [underlined] volume #, issue # (month of publication, year of publication), page numbers. example:

Jennifer Hock, "Jane Jacobs and the West Village: The Neighborhood against Urban Renewal," JSAH 66, no. 1 (Mar. 2007), 16-19.

Essay in a Collection

Author, "Title of article [in quotation marks]," in Title of Collection [underlined], Name of editor (City: publisher, date), page numbers. example:

Frank Lloyd Wright, "The Art and Craft of the Machine," in America Builds, ed. Leland Roth (New York: Harper & Row, 1983), 364-76.

Electronic Sources

You can only use peer-reviewed sources (books, journal articles) that are available online.

Provide all of the relevant information mentioned above for the mediatype (books, articles, etc.). Also provide the complete URL and dateaccessed. example:

Alison McQueen, "Empress Eugénie's Quest for a Napoleonic Mausoleum," Nineteenth-Century Art Worldwide 2, no. 1 (Feb. 2003), http://www.19thc-artworldwide.org/winter_03/articles/mcqu.shtml (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. (accessed 5 Apr. 2007).

Short Form

Short forms of citation may be used for repeated sources. For short form, include author's last name, title, and page number.

Sources that are NOT ALLOWED for this assignment:

Newspaper articles, articles from non-art-related periodicals (TimeMagazine, Newsweek, San Diego Reader), generic online sources such asmuseum websites, Wikipedia, encyclopedias (online or print),dictionaries, etc.

7. After you have done some research you will start to write your paper.

Formal Appearance:

Length: 1100 words of text (no footnotes, cover page), double spaced, font 12 pt, Times New Roman or Courier.[1]Please, attach a cover sheet indicating your name, my name, the name ofour course, course meeting times, the artist and name of the work ofart you picked, as well as the museum where this work is located. Thiscover sheet does NOT count as one of the 3 pages required to pass thisassignment! Proof of your museum visit must be attached to your paper!If you visit a museum on a free day, ask for a date-stamped receipt; youcan also buy a small item in the gift shop and use this receipt. Thepaper must be written in a flowing essay style. Have somebody read yourpaper for language mistakes. Consult the writing lab for proof-reading.Grammar mistakes, major errors in sentence structure or typing mistakeshave no place in a college level research paper. Papers with more than 5language errors will be severely graded down.

8. Outline

8.1. Introduction; never longer than one paragraph. Identifythe museum, exhibit title, and content and scope of the exhibit.Describe the gallery(ies). What color are the walls? How is thelighting? Is the physical space intimate or airy? How are the artworksdisplayed (frames, pedestals, single wall, partitions?)

8.2. Brief description of the artwork, NEVER longer than a page, ideally shorter.

8.3. Analysis and presentation of research. Try to findliterature (books, peer-reviewed articles, etc., NOT a generic websitesuch as Wikipedia!) that mention your artist/artwork. Access JSTOR orEBSCO Host for peer-reviewed articles through the College Library site.Your research must be based on the work of art used in your MuseumPaper. The research discusses a number of aspects of the work of art,such as the time period, style or related ideas. Give the authors’opinions and quote them correctly as follows. All this comes BEFORE yougive your own opinion. If you would like to voice an opinion it willcome AFTER you presented your research. You can agree or disagree withother authors but remember to present facts in any case, not just a gutfeeling.

8.4. Quote your sources using Chicago-Turabian-style footnotes. If you don’t know what Chicago-Turabian-style footnotes look like consult The Chicago Manual of Style.Basic formats, however, are shown under ad 6) on page 1 and 2 of thishandout. This website might help you to format your footnote correctly:

http://www.citationmachine.net/turabian/cite-a-book (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

8.5. Summary.

8.6. Bibliography: As a separate page your paper will write abibliography. The bibliography must have at least three sources. It isimportant for you to visit a library and learn how to use it correctly.List your sources in alphabetical order according to the author’s lastname. You will display this information like you did in your footnotes.Be advised that you cannot put sources in your bibliography when you don’t quote them in your text.

Be sure to use peer-reviewed, academic sources! General informationfrom websites (even museum websites!) or the public domain are NOTAPPROPRIATE for an academic research paper. You will lose a substantial amount of points if you use inadequate literature for this assignment!Peer-reviewed publications provide a stringent editorial process thathas a quality control function. The internet does not provide this.There is a lot of wrong or irrelevant information out there. We want toconsult experts in their field and find out what they have to say about asubject matter.

9. Your paper has to be submitted electronically via Canvas by thedeadline. Paper copies are not accepted. Access Canvas, go to “MuseumPaper”, and follow the directions for submitting your paper. Please,scan in your photograph, your ticket stub and the museum setting pageand submit everything together AS ONE DOCUMENT at the same time. Latesubmissions or submissions of parts of your paper via email or otherchannels are not accepted.

10.Some common missteps to watch out for:

Avoid first or second person speech in academic writing. This paperis about an artwork, not about you. The most important person in thisproject is YOUR READER. The objective is to help your reader understandan artwork. Use fact-based, detached, and objective language.

You have to make sense in your writing. Please, stay away fromnonsensical statements or statements that do nothing for your subjectmatter at hand.

Avoid overly emotional expressions. Your reader does not want tolearn about your rich inner world. He/she wants to learn objectiveinformation about an artwork.

You will use substantial points if your paper contains grammar, punctuation, and/or syntax mistakes.

Your writing has to make sense. Grandiose-sounding, derivative language does not impress your reader.

Stick with facts.

The literature you quote in your text has to make sense in contextwith your general argument. An academic paper is not a collection ofisolated, nice-sounding quotes from other people’s work.

Don’t wait until the last minute to write this paper. Take thisassignment seriously. Writing in academia is NOT like writing an essayin high school.

Checklist:

□ 1 Cover sheet with your name, name of class, name of school, name of art work,

□ A minimum of 1100 words of text with at least 3 footnotes usingChicago-Turabian-style at the bottom of the page, (include a wordcount!)

□ 1 Photograph of your art work,

□ 1 Bibliography with at least 3 peer-reviewed literary sources,

□ 1 Museum Setting Paper,

□ Proof of museum visit (ticket stub).

□ Put ALL THESE ELEMENTS into ONE pdf file and upload only ONE fileto Canvas. The system will not let you upload multiple files.

Have fun with this assignment!

Museum Setting

Please, attach this sheet at the end of your Museum Paper.

Obtain the information from the museum labels on your visit.

Papers will not be accepted without this form attached and completely filled in.

Museum:

Title of artwork:

Artist (or culture):

Date:

Medium:

Dimensions:

Acquisition Number or Collection Information:

Frame/Pedestal:

Wall Color:

Lighting:

Gallery Name or Number:

Work of Art to the Right:

Title:

Artist (or culture):

Date:

Medium:

Dimensions:

Acquisition Number or Collection Information:

Frame/Pedestal:

[1] Please note that I will deduct points if your paper is longer or shorter than the required 1100 words!