MUSEUM MUSINGS
Visit
Dallas Museum of Art
1717 North Harwood
Dallas, Texas 75201
214-922-1200
NOTE: (If you must substitute a visit to
an art museum other than the Dallas Museum of Art, the alternate museum's collection
needs to be large enough for you to satisfy all of the requirements of the
assignment. In addition, in order to fulfill assignment objectives, it
important that the museum you visit offers a wide variety of styles and art
forms to make this an interesting and rewarding experience. Finally, you must furnish an image of each of
the pieces you reference in this assignment in addition to the all other
assignment guidelines.)
FAQs
about the museum:
Q: How much will this
visit cost me?
A: Except for the special exhibits, admission to the museum is free.
Q: When is the Dallas Museum of Art
open?
A: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday,
Saturday, Sunday: 11:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m., Thursday: 11:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m.
Closed Mondays,
July 4, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day
*Late Night Fridays (third Friday of the month, excluding December), the Museum
is open until midnight.
Q: Can I take photographs of the works and plaques?
A: You may ONLY take photos of the works owned by the museum
(see plaque info), and you may NEVER use a flash when photographing artworks.
Q: Can I use my smart phone during my visit to the museum?
A: You can use your Wi-Fi-enabled phone or media player
to access interactive content on selected works in the DMA collections. You can
also borrow an iPod Touch from the Visitor Services Desk.
Q: How can I get more information on the elements and
principles of art/design and learn more about how to analzye and interpret art?
A: If you need more training on how to look at and interpret art and how to apply the elements and principles
of art/design, here are some websites that should help:
wikipedia design/art elements & principles
http://www.getty.edu/education/teachers/building_lessons/elements.html
http://www.mariaclaudiacortes.com/colors/Colors.html
https://pantherfile.uwm.edu/wash/www/Objects/lookset.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLaQJ_Kr0UM
http://www.artbabble.org/video/ngadc/self-portrait-1889-vincent-van-gogh
http://www.artbabble.org/video/ngadc/self-portrait-1659-rembrandt-van-rijn
http://www.artbabble.org/video/ngadc/ginevra-de-benci-c-14741478-leonardo-da-vinci
Q: Which parts of the assignment am I
supposed to complete?
A: You should complete all three parts, but within each part,
you have various options, so be sure to read the entire assignment thoroughly
and carefully. If you don’t read
directions, you will end up doing more work than need be; plus, you’ll probably
miss important guidelines that will be factors in determining your grade.
Directions:
·
Complete all three parts and be sure
to read directions in each part.
·
Assignment must be typed and
submitted via turnitin.com via Blackboard. Since I have linked it through Blackboard,
there is no need for a password or key to enter your work to turnitin.com's website.
·
This assignment requires standard
college essay format and style. This
means that you are expected to use Standard English conventions and refine your
work so that it reflects college level writing and creative thinking skills as
well as providing interesting insights and ideas.
PROOF OF ATTENDANCE: (Worth 50 points)
You MUST take a photo of yourself INSIDE the museum as proof of attendance or you will NOT earn these 50 points. Moreover, you will NOT be allowed to make an A in the course unless you visit the museum and provide proof of attendance. No exceptions!
PART I: “Scavenger Hunt” (worth 50 points)
Directions:
o
Write a short paragraph reflecting
on at least five of the ten prompts below.
o
Give the title, date, and medium (what type of art it is and what it's made of, i.e. painting-oil on canvas or charcoal sketch on paper or marble sculpture, etc.) of your 5 selections.
o
Elaborate as prompted in the
parentheses.
Find and
explore a piece of art that
1)
you don’t consider to be art at all (briefly explain why!)
2)
made you think of your childhood (what memory was sparked?)
3)
reminded you of someone or something (who or what did it remind you
of?)
4)
made you smile (why?)
5)
grossed you out (in what way?)
6)
gave you a sense of excitement (why?)
7)
mirrors your own spirituality or
lack of it (explain)
8)
you would like to own (why?)
9)
looks like a child painted it (what qualities does child art have
that other art doesn’t? Picasso said
that when he as 12 he could paint like the masters, but it took him his whole
life to learn to see as a child. What do
you think he meant?)
10) is
the most realistic or representational (How can you tell it isn’t a
photograph? Do you see brushstrokes?)
PART II: “Power Play” (Worth 50 points)
Directions:
o
Choose at least 5 of the following types of power. (You may choose
to do more to earn bonus points.)
o
Identify one art work that you
consider to be the best representation of each of the forms of power you've
selected.
o
Briefly explain the essential nature
and circumstances of the power structure you’ve selected and then go on to
explore in depth how each piece represents that specific form/type of
power.
EGYPTIAN POWER
ROMAN POWER
GREEK POWER
MEDIEVAL POWER
SPIRITUAL
POWER (You may not select this one if you choose to complete the art and
religion essay in Part III below.)
FEMALE POWER
ASIAN POWER
AESTHETIC
POWER
PATRIARCHAL
POWER
NATURE'S POWER
SEXUAL POWER
MILITARY POWER
POLITICAL
POWER
PART III: ESSAY—>CHOOSE YOUR TOPIC (worth 50
points)
Directions: Write an ESSAY on ONE AND ONLY ONE
of the following options/topics. If you are not sure how to write a college essay, visit the Writing Center and/or read the essay writing guidelines I've posted in the Museum tab on Blackboard. Remember that an essay states a position and supports it. You should have an introduction, argument, and conclusion.
OPTION 1: “Face It" ESSAY
Directions:
o
Select 5 portraits of various styles from a
variety of time periods, cultures, and art forms. (At least one of these should be a self-portrait.)
o Identify title, artist, date, and important info from the plaque accompanying the work. (Be sure to state that you cite any info gleaned
from the plaque).
o
Briefly describe each of the
portraits by discussing the style and techniques utilized by each of these
different portrait artists.
o
What can you tell about each of the
subjects of the portraits, and how are these insights articulated visually by
the artist? (Apply the elements of composition and principles of design to articulate
your own insights into these works.)
o
What can you surmise about the context of the person’s life and how can you tell?
o
Finally, consider which of these
portrait artists you would choose to create your own portrait.
o Why would this artist/artistic style suit you best?
o How would you want to be portrayed? (Formal or
informal? What would you wear? How would
you pose? What setting would you choose? …etc.)
Below, I have
included a few examples of the sort of interpretive analysis I expect to see in
the body of your essay.
Vincent van Gogh's portraits are characterized by bold brushstrokes, thick impasto, and saturated colors. Vincent van Gogh’s self-portraits reveal a palpable intensity and mirror his troubled mind and spirit.
Toward the end of his life, van Gogh painted himself with a bandage over his
partially severed ear in a moment of self-reflection and melancholy. Rumor has it that the
mistral winds coupled with bouts of manic-depression, or perhaps temporal lobe epilepsy, caused him great pain. One day, he severed part of his ear and presented it to the object of his affection, a local prostitute, as a token
of his love.
Rembrandt’s
self-portraits seem to glow from within, imbuing a sense of firm confidence.
Front lit against dark backgrounds, Rembrandt uses a soft tenebrism
to express hope in an otherwise dark and dismal world. Many artists, like
Rembrandt and van Gogh, painted their own images repeatedly over the years,
documenting not only how they themselves changed emotionally
and physically but also how their styles evolved over the years.
Frida Kahlo
(1907–1954) also left behind a sequence of self-portraits depicting pivotal
moments in her life. Her paintings incorporate mythic and symbolic images
rooted in her physical and spiritual suffering. “Self-
Portrait with Cropped Hair” depicts her
rebellious, confrontational visual narratives that chart her personal and
artistic development. This particular portrait captures her response to the
knowledge that her husband, muralist Diego Rivera, had cheated on her. Here,
you see the rebellious fury of a woman scorned as she responds to her husband's
infidelity by sheering her long hair that he found so appealing. At the top of
the painting she transcribes the lyrics of a popular song: “Look, if I used to
love you, it was because of your hair, Now that you’re bald, I
don’t love you anymore.”
2: “Art and
Religion" ESSAY
Religious art
has been used to evoke awe and enhance the ceremony of worship. Whether through
inspiration or outright patronage from the church, artists have produced
religious works in a variety of forms from paintings to sculptures to
illuminated manuscripts to stained glass windows. Art has always been a powerful means by which
to inculcate religious ideals and practices.
Directions:
o
Select 5
works that express religious themes from 5 different
religions.
o
Include the title, artist, and any
other important or noteworthy material provided on the plaque accompanying the
work or that you found on the museum’s website.
o
Use MLA format to cite ALL of your sources, including your textbook, the DMA plaques, and any other sources. Failure to do so constitutes plagiarism and will be handled according to the guidelines set out in your syllabus.
o
Write an essay exploring the use of
art in the service of religion and the power that art brings to religious
experience.
o
Weave in all of the religious works you've selected, but focus your discussion primarily on the one
religious artwork that you believe communicates the most intense spirituality
and explain how the artist has expressed those ideas visually.
o
Address the specific tenets and
beliefs of the various religions you've chosen and elaborate on how they are expressed in the pieces you've selected.
o
Describe, analyze, interpret, and
evaluate the compositions using the elements and principles of art/design.
o
Keep in mind that in tribal
religions, art usually has a ritualistic or fetish role to play in specific
ceremonies, so you'll need to describe the ritualistic design and purpose of
the art work.
o Finally, conclude your discussion with your thoughts about how the artist visually articulated the emotional appeal of the work you consider to be the most spiritually compelling.