Art History 380 Interpretive Essay Paper Assignment
Art History 380 Interpretive Essay Paper Assignment
For your paper assignment this quarter, I am asking that you visit one of two local museums and choose a work that captures your interest. You will write a 4 to 5-page essay on this work. In this essay you should attempt to interpret the “meaning” of the work. Rely primarily upon the interpretive tools you have learned in class to explain how the artist’s handling of the formal elements (line, shape, color, composition, etc.) modifies or emphasizes aspects of the subject matter of the work. You should also be able to interpret the symbolism of the work, should any be included. Finally—and this will require that you to some basic research about the artist and/or the context in which the work was produced—you should attempt to explain how the historical context may have contributed to how the subject matter of the work was represented at this particular time.
Local Museums:
-Seattle Art Museum, 100 University (654-3100) seattleartmuseum.org
-Frye Art Museum, 704 Terry (622-9250) fryeart.org
Format: 4 to 5 pages, double-spaced, 12-point font. Please include a bibliography and cite your references in any standard citation format (Chicago, MLA, etc.)
You may also want to consult https://owl.english.purdue.edu/
Feel free to look up images on the web as reference instead of visiting the museum.