Paper, Order, or Assignment Requirements

Textbook: Living With Art

You are to either: go to Jackson Fine Arts Gallery in Atlanta, Georgia, or look at their website at: jacksonfineart.com. If you choose to go in person, the gallery hours are also listed on the website. Attending the gallery in person is best because the gallery attendants are incredibly helpful and seeing art in ?real life? offers a far more intimate and profound experience than seeing it on a computer. However, I completely understand that many are simply not able to attend in person and therefore have given the option of viewing the exhibitions on-line.

When attending the exhibition or viewing on line, pick a single piece, or collection of pieces by a single artist to write about for your final paper. Once you have found the work you want to write about, find some way to document it for your records and for my reference when I?m reading your paper. If attending in person, ask permission before photographing the work in the gallery. Images of the work are also available on-line with simple Google searches, so don?t worry if you either cannot attend the gallery or if you are not allowed to photograph the work. Simple note the title and look it up. Then download the image and transfer to your paper.

Moreover, you must research the artist and the work that you have chosen. The artists exhibited in the gallery are all written about fairly extensively and have associated websites. Sally Mann, for example, has been featured on Art 21 (a video TV series that can be found on YouTube among other video sites) more than once in addition to the critical reviews of her work that you should be able to find. From your research you need to be able to access and understand the artist?s intent, what is the work supposed to be about, what is the meaning of the work. Then, you will also need to critique this work based on the visual and design elements discussed at length in your textbook. I highly recommend that you refer to these chapters and simply go line by line, term by term describing the visual elements as you see them and using the proper terminology for each. Visual elements are things like: line, shape, texture (actual and visual), mass, and color. Design elements are things like: proportion, rhythm, repetition, balance, and so forth. Then, you need to discuss the context of the work. For example, this work is being shown in a commercial gallery for collectors and critiques (people that collect art and people who write about art) as well as the general public. The work is contemporary, being created now and about current life. This is different than work that, for example, was created in the Renaissance or middle ages, or work that perhaps was created for a church or a school. Finally, you are to write your personal reaction to the work. Include whether or not you liked it, but also make sure to express the why or why not. Also discuss whether or not you believe that the artist successfully expressed his/her intent, and again, why or why not.

Your paper should be written at a collegiate level, free of any grammar or spelling errors, with proper in-text citations
(what ever method you choose as long as you are consistent and correct), and it must include a bibliography or works cited page. Moreover, you must thoroughly answer the discussion topic including both a formal analysis of the technical aspects of the work as well as a conceptual critique of the ideas behind the work and its relevance to society. You must include a photo of the art you choose to write about for my reference. And you must put your name on your paper