a critique of an art paper!! only 1.5-2.5pages

this is a critique of an art paper, for this paper, you will help me write 1.5-2.5pages to choose one of the painting to describe it!

you don’t have to do the title page for me!

Your critique should be presented as professionally as possible. It must be double-spaced, 12 point, Times New Roman font (no bold type), with correct spelling, punctuation and grammar.  Do not put extra spacing between paragraphs.

 The paper must include a title page, plus 1.5 to 2.5 pages of text, (not to exceed 4 pages), and a Works Cited page. The MLA format should be used. You may use online sources for the MLA style. (Google: OWL at Purdue) It is not necessary to include the image of the work of art you are analyzing, but it is fine if you do. If you include an image, use a separate page after the title page and before your critique text.  Do not include an image on the title page. You will be required to use at least one citation and a Works Cited page for this critique.

 

Analysis of the Work of Art:

Your analysis of the works of art you have chosen to write about should include a formal, analytic description of the work as well as a personal interpretation. In all, the analysis must have 5 main sections: Description, Medium, Style, Elements & Principles, and Personal Interpretation.

1. Find the painting on your bblearn site that you wish to write about. You must choose from the paintings provided; no others will be accepted. The first paragraph of your paper should be a detailed description of the painting you have chosen to analyze. These descriptions must be thorough enough that the reader-graders should be able to visualize the painting based on what you write.  A short background on the artist and/or the story behind the painting may be included, but remember that this is not a report on the artist’s life and that any information used must be cited and a Works Cited page must be included.  I do not accept Wikipedia as a source.

2.  In the second paragraph, describe the medium (type of paint and the surface painted on) used in the work of art you are analyzing. The description of each medium must also include your opinion regarding why the artist chose the particular medium he/she used in the work of art. For example, one artist may choose to paint in acrylic for durability, while another artist may choose to paint in watercolor because it is more direct and expressive.  Explain how the chosen medium enhances the statement the artist makes in the work you analyze.

3.  In the third paragraph, analyze the style of the painting.  Is it realistic, idealistic, abstract, or non-objective?  Discuss when the work you have chosen to write about was produced. What does this work express about the time and culture in which it was created?

4.  The fourth paragraph of your critique should be an analysis of the formal elements and principles of design used in this work of art.  Remember, you must discuss at least four (4) elements or principles and use them with the correct meanings. You must support your opinions. Your vocabulary should use terms for 2-D art.

5.  Lastly, please give your personal interpretation and opinion of the painting you have chosen. Explain why you chose this particular work from those available. Discuss such matters as:  What is it about the work that appeals to you or displeases you?  How does this work make you feel?  Does the work evoke emotions, such as laughter, boredom, disgust, delight?  Why?  Why do you think the artist created the painting?

Please see the grading rubric for a clear outline of what must be included in your critique, and the point values assigned to each section. 

Please note:    When you use direct quotes or information drawn from research sources, or paraphrase any source, those sources must be cited in-text and in a Works Cited page in the MLA Citation Style.  If you do not cite quotations or the source(s) of specific information, you are plagiarizing!  Please read the link called Preventing Plagiarizing.

Evaluation of the Critique:

 

• The critique will be graded according to a rubric. There is a link to this you should read.
• Critiques may NOT be re-written for a higher grade.  
• You may consult the Instructor or the Reader-Grader for assistance prior to turning in your critique.
• If you need assistance with grammar, spelling, or punctuation please contact the Learning Assistance Center for tutoring.
• Plagiarism or other forms of cheating will result in a failing grade for the assignment and, possibly, the entire class. It is very easy for us to check on this.

How to Write an Art Critique

Tips for Earning an A

This is an example of the painting critique but the basic rules apply to the sculpture critique too.

The Painting:

Title Page: What to Do

Title Page: What NOT to Do

Description: What to Do

Description: What NOT to Do

Medium: What to Do

Medium: What NOT to Do

Style: What to Do

Style: What NOT to Do

Elements & Principles: What to Do

Elements & Principles: What NOT to Do

Personal: What to Do

Personal: What NOT to Do

Citation: What to Do

Citation: What to Do
Here are some common features you should try and find before citing electronic sources in MLA style. Not every Web page will provide all of the following information. However, collect as much of the following information as possible both for your citations and for your research notes:
Author and/or editor names (if available)
Article name in quotation marks (if applicable)
Title of the Website, project, or book in italics. (Remember that some Print publications have Web publications with slightly different names. They may, for example, include the additional information or otherwise modified information, like domain names [e.g. .com or .net].)
Any version numbers available, including revisions, posting dates, volumes, or issue numbers.
Publisher information, including the publisher name and publishing date.
Take note of any page numbers (if available).
Medium of publication.
Date you accessed the material.
URL (if required, or for your own personal reference; MLA does not require a URL).
Aristotle. Poetics. Trans. S. H. Butcher. The Internet Classics Archive. Web Atomic and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 13 Sept. 2007. Web. 4 Nov. 2008. ‹http://classics.mit.edu/›.

Citation: What NOT to Do
Do NOT simply put:
Google.com
Wikipedia.org
Art Book
Internet

THE FORMAL ELEMENTS

 

 

Line –

· Includes actual lines, implied lines, lines formed by edges, directional lines, and lines forming pattern, texture, shading, and contour lines creating modeling

· Strictly defined: a line is a path traced by a moving point

· Can be organic or straight

· Popular among artists utilizing contour lines such as Matisse

 

Shape –

· A two-dimensional area having identifiable boundaries, created by lines, color or value changes, or some combination of these

· Form: deals with composition and the physical appearance of a work of art relating to materials and style

 

Mass –

· Three-dimensional form, often implying bulk, density, and weight

 

Light –

· Actual light, illusion of light

· The contrasts created by light and darkness (related to value)

· The origin of light and how that effects the interpretation of the work

· Rembrandt is well known as a painter of light.  He uses small beams of light as emphasis in his paintings, creating shadows.  He plays with light in such as way so that the light itself actually becomes a character in the painting.

 

Value –

· Refers to light and dark, chiaroscuro (movement or gesture of light and shade)

· The gradation of a gray scale or hue, tint and shade

 

Color –

· Local color, emotional qualities of color (the mood), color schemes

· Analogous color, monochromatic color, triads, polychromatic color, absence of color

 

Texture –

· Can be actual or implied through medium, style, composition, value, color, pattern, etc.

 

Pattern –

· Any decorative, repetitive motif or design

· Can create visual texture

 

Space –

· Can be 2- or 3-dimensional, may refer to the illusion of space or depth on a 2-dimentional surface (i.e. perspective)

· The area behind the shape, the background

· Architecture:  appreciating the sculptural masses from the outside, while walking through the shaped space from the inside

· The void within boundaries

· “The works of art take their character from the ways in which they carve out volumes of space within and around them.” (Gilbert’s Living with Art – 6th ed.)

 

Time –

· Variations of light to indicate a time of day

· Popular with Impressionists like Monet (He enjoyed making studies of the same environment or object at different times of day.  He believed that each shift in light created a different subject, as though there were no continuing reality but only a collection of moments.)

 

Motion – Implied or actual kinetic energy, dynamism Popular with Futurists in the early 20th century such as Balla, Calder, and Boccioni due to inventions such as the automobile and airplanes.

PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

 

Unity –

· A sense of oneness, a coherent whole

· Appears almost always with Variety.  Artists strive to find just the right point on the spectrum – the point at which there is sufficient visual unity enlivened by sufficient variety.

 Variety –

· Differences that create interest

 Balance –

· Can refer to symmetrical, asymmetrical, radial, or actual physical balance, such as in sculpture

· Also refers to the visual weight of a piece, the distribution of parts around an axis or point

 Emphasis and Focal Point –

· Can be a center of interest, an area emphasized by directional forces, color, proportion, etc.

· Works with Subordination

 Subordination –

· Certain areas of the composition are purposefully made less visually interesting, so that the areas of emphasis stand out

· Can be just as visually stimulating as the Focal Point, but fades to create an atmosphere or backdrop to the subject matter

 Proportion –

· Relative sizes of objects within the image itself

 

Scale –

· Size of the work of art in relation to external objects in its environment

· Outrageous scale is evident in the work of Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen – Plantoir.

 

Rhythm and Repetition –

· Refers to visual rhythms, repetition of elements in color, shape, size, etc.

· Can be related to Pattern

· An example would be to try to paint music, what kind of patterns and rhythms would need to be present to convey that message? – Lorna Simpson’s Easy to Remember

 
 

Rubric for Evaluation of Critique #1

Critique #1 will be graded according to the rubric below. The number to the left is the highest number of points given for each section of the critique.

Points

5
Title Page: Followed the example of the title page; include all information in the example. (Your name, Art 100, due date, Critique #1, Professor’s name, Analysis of 🙂

15
Description: Described the work of art in your own words so that someone could visualize it from your description.

10
Medium: Described the medium (type of paint and surface material) and why you think the artist chose this particular medium.

10
Style: Identified whether the painting you chose to write about is representational, abstract, or non-objective and explain why you chose that description. Discussed the historical time it was painted.

20
Four Elements/ Principles: Discussed at least four (4) elements and/or principles of design in your critique explaining how each is used in your chosen work of art. Used the vocabulary discussed in class and in your text.

10
Personal: Explained why you chose this particular work of art from those available. Discussed such matters as: What is it about this work that appeals to you or displeases you? How does the painting make you feel? What does it remind you of?

15
Content: These points reflect the overall success of your critique. Did it flow easily from one point to the next? Did your sentences make sense? Did you have redundant ideas? Did your critique make sense?

15
Editing: Points will be deducted for errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Please edit your paper carefully.

100
Total points possible

Please scroll down for Points Taken Off For:

POINTS TAKEN OFF FOR:

-100
Papers not turned in as an attachment in the correct format. Do not write your critique directly onto Bblearn!

-100
Any papers found to be copied from any source is also considered a failure. This is plagiarism! This is easy to check on!

-10
Lack of in-text citation (-5) or Works Citation Page (-5) using the MLA format: When you use a quotation or information from a book or Internet site, you must include in-text citations and a works cited page with your critique citing the source of the information or quotation. This includes paraphrasing. It is necessary to do research to write an excellent critique. When you do research, it must be listed on a Works Cited page in MLA Style.

–5
Using Wikipedia as a cited source.

-20
Number of Pages: The written portion of your critique (not including the title page or works cited page) must be at least 1.5-2.5 pages long, double-spaced, in 12 point Times New Roman font (no bold type), with no extra space at the top or bottom of the page or between paragraphs. If the critique does not meet these criteria, 20 points will be deducted from your overall critique grade.  Please do not exceed four (4) pages in length (not including the title page or works cited page).

Painting Choices—-Fall 2012

Peasant Wedding
, Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1567, oil paint on wood panel

Woldgate Lane to Burton Agnes
, David Hockney, 2007, oil on canvas, two panels

The Virgin of Humility
, Fra Angelico, 1433-35, tempera on wood panel

The Castle of Tin Tin
, Takashi Murakami, 1998, acrylic on canvas mounted on board

The Rocky Mountains, Landers Peak
, Albert Bierstadt, 1863, oil on canvas

Portrait of Marie-Antoinette
, Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun, 1778-79, oil on canvas