The Form and Content Essay will include comments on the formal qualities of a work (form) and your reaction to and interpretation of a work’s meaning (content). It is required to pass Art Appreciation.
View the documents about museums to learn where to view a work of art in person. Plan your visit to see the work in plenty of time to observe and write about your chosen work. Look at this work with care, and analyze it based on the elements, principles and modes of creation we are studying. Then discuss the form and content of the work in a two and one-half to three-page paper (double-spaced). This brief paper means you must choose your words carefully to condense all the important information. The Art department requires that you see the work of art in person at a museum for your essay.
The form will include what you see in the work, such as line, shape, color, texture, balance, rhythm, proportion, etc. These are the elements and principles you have been reading about. Demonstrate your understanding by including at least three elements and three principles (listed on page 41 in your text). In some works there may be many important elements and principles to include. In others there may be few. Also include the medium and scale of the work. Mention whether it is two-dimensional or three–dimensional. Is it an installation, kinetic, ephemeral or some other unique form?
The content is mainly the feelings, theme or meaning you derive from it – your interpretation (chapter 1.10 may help in understanding this). Page 176 explores some specific ways of gaining meaning through iconographic analysis, biographical analysis, feminist analysis, etc., although you do not need to adhere to these specific modes. You might just react to the feelings and meaning you personally gain from it.
Be sure to include the artist who created it, or if this is not known, the culture, location or time period. It is so much more interesting if you give your paper an interesting title- not “Form and Content Essay.” Also include a jpeg image of the work with your essay. This makes it much easier to view the art at the same time I am reading your paper.
Your essay should deal with one chosen work of art, which you analyze in depth. Please do not choose two or four or many works! You will have to rewrite your paper. It is hard to choose from so many exciting works, but write about only one!
The following comments are tips to enhance your essay:
1. Make use of your art terminology, because it is one of the required outcomes of the course. For example, instead of saying “there is shading” in the work, use the correct term “value,” and describe how it is used. Know the difference between “two-dimensional” and “three-dimensional.” This is the most frequently made error in art essays I have received.
2. If a work is a landscape, please do not call it a “portrait” throughout your essay. Portraits are generally recognizable works of people.
3. When you speak of artists, do not refer to them as “authors.” This has also been done often in student essays, but it takes away from the authority of your writing.
4. Please Note: The form of a work of art is not the people, animals, trees, sun or anything else you recognize. It is broken down into the basics- lines, shapes, textures, colors, balance, variety or other aspects you see. Think basics! It is not enough to say a work is balanced. What type of balance does the artist use? What shapes or colors balance each other? Instead of saying the work has lines or shapes, say specifically what type of shapes are used. Point out examples to substantiate what you say. This applies to any element or principle you include. What are they specifically? For more information, read Planning Your Visit to the Museum. At the end, there are questions, which can guide you.
5. This paper does not require research, but if you wish to introduce the work with information on the artist’s life, the background of the times, symbolism or any other research, please provide the appropriate citation. Plagiarism will not be tolerated. Any essays, which include information from other sources and do not cite the sources will receive a grade of “0.” Essays should reflect the observations and opinions of the writer, unless the writer indicates otherwise. I am much more interested in what you personally think and feel.
There is an extra credit quiz you can take to help you avoid plagiarism. You can receive 4 points extra credit, if taken before submitting your essay.
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