Overview
This assignment is designed to help us reflect on how museums shape our experience of artworks. It will require you to visit a museum (either in person or via an online interface) and pick a single artwork within the museum that captured your attention. You will then answer the following question: “How does the artwork’s display impact how you see and understand it?” Your response should take the form of a short essay (900-1200 words) that analyzes the artwork’s form and the impact that its curatorial context (physical or virtual) had on your viewing experience.
Instructions
Given the current circumstances, you have two options for a museum visit. You can select any art museum that is open to the public and visit. The Harn Museum on the University of Florida campus is open and welcoming visitors, for example. Or, you can choose to visit one of the approved online exhibitions listed below and carry out your visit virtually. Please select one of the two options listed and follow the instructions. Regardless of how you visit, the goal of your essay will be the same.
In-Person Visit Instructions
Step 1: Locate and Visit a Museum: First, you should select and visit a museum in your area (following standards for safety and social distancing, of course). For those of you in Gainesville, I recommend visiting the Harn Museum of Art which is free for all students. The Harn is an amazing resource (for this assignment and beyond). You can find more information about the Harn at their , including everything you need to know to.
Step 2: Study Your Own Museum Visit: During your visit, I want you to study how the museum scripts and influences your experience. I suggest you start taking notes and pictures as soon as you arrive at the museum (think about the museum’s faade and how you enter and choose your path, for example). Observe how you are led through by guides–written and architectural–that inform your interaction with the objects on display. Use the
document to help you determine which things to pay attention to and what to take notes on. Those notes will help you write your essay after you are done. Some museums allow photos, which can also help as you write your essay. Ask at the front desk about the museum’s policy on photography, and be respectful during your visit. Try not to disturb the other visitors.
Step 3: Select a Single Artwork: Once you have had a look around, select a single artwork to analyze within its immediate museum context. First takes notes on that artwork itself that will allow you to do a formal analysis of it later. Take a photograph, if allowed. Then, carefully consider the way a curator made choices about its display and presentation, and how those choices impact the way you see it. Ask yourself: does the artwork belong to part of an exhibition, what “didactic materials” are included in the exhibition, and how do they inform your experience? Is the artwork alone on a wall or crowded among other artworks? How do the colors, lines, and other formal elements in the artwork connect or contrast with those in the nearby artworks? How does the viewing experience feel for you? Do you need to back up to see the artwork because its big or inch closer to see details because its small? Is there a bench nearby where you can sit? Ask lots of questions and take lots of notes.
Virtual Visit and Online Exhibition Instructions
Step 1: Visit an Exhibition Listed Below: During the COVID-19 crisis it might not be possible for us all to visit museums in real life. If you would prefer, you can choose to complete the online version of the assignment. For this version, you must visit one the following online exhibition hosted by the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) in Melbourne, Australia (visits to other online exhibitions will not be accepted):
- There are exhibits/artists to choose from the following
- “Natural History, Fallen Fruit” Pick any one of the artworks in the exhibit, but be sure you can identify the artist, title, and date in the label.
- “Botanical Pavilion, by Kengo Kuma and Geoff Nees” The whole exhibit is one artwork.
- “In the Middle but in the Corner of 176th Place, by Diamond Stingily” The whole exhibit is one artwork.
- “Venus by Jeff Koons” The whole exhibit is one artwork.
- “Plastocene–Marine Mutants from a Disposable World by Porky Hefer” Pick one of the sculptures to focus on. Their titles are on the labels on one of the walls.
- When exploring each “gallery space” be sure to pick a single artwork and one that has legible wall text that identifies the work.
Step 2: Study Your Own Museum Visit: During your visit, I want you to study how the museum scripts and influences your experience. When visiting the virtual exhibitions, think about arriving at its homepage as the same as arriving at its front door. Explore the page and think about how it sets you up for your visit. Then select the artist if your choice and enter the virtual exhibition by clicking the play button or the Explore 3-D Space.” Once inside the 3-D model of the exhibition, think about your visit online as parallel to a physical visit to a brick and mortar building. Observe how the artworks are arranged within the room. Use the
document to help you determine which things to pay attention to and what to take notes on. Please note that you can toggle back and forth between modes of viewing in the lower left corner- getting a floorplan view for better context and the in-person experience to imagine what the exhibition would feel like if you were there. Take notes on your visit and the things that jump out to you.
Step 3: Select a Single Artwork: Once you have explored the exhibition, select a single artwork to analyze within its immediate museum context. First takes notes on that artwork itself that will allow you to do a formal analysis of it later. Take a screenshot to include in your final paper. Carefully consider the way a curator made choices about its display and presentation, and how those choices impact the way you see it. As yourself: does the artwork belong to part of an exhibition, what “didactic materials” are included in the exhibition, and how do they inform your experience? (Note that not all of the wall text is visible in the online visit- so focus on an artwork that has visible wall text). Is the artwork alone on a wall or crowded among other artworks? How do the colors, lines, and other formal elements in the artwork connect or contrast with those in the nearby artworks? What draws your attention to this artwork? How does it fit into the space? Does this style of exhibition connect to any particular style of exhibition from our Museum Histories module? Ask lots of questions and take lots of notes.
Writing for In-Person and Virtual Visits
Step 4: Writing Your Essay: After your visit, you will write an essay that directly answers the question: “How does the artwork’s display impact how you see and understand it?” You must include a bolded thesis statement that answers that question, drawing upon your formal analysis of the artwork itself and your analysis of its context.
Your essay must:
- Clearly identify the museum you visited (name, city, etc).
- Clearly identify and describe the artwork you chose to study (by artist, title (artwork titles italicized), and date).
- Include a bolded thesis statement that directly answers the question “How does the artwork’s display impact how you see and understand it?”
- A good thesis statement will have a cause and effect relationship. For example, X factor of the exhibit’s display impacted Y factor of the viewing experience of the artwork in Z manner.
- A good thesis statement will be specific to your chosen artwork and its context in the gallery.
- A good thesis statement is not a restatement of the question in the prompt. I.e. The artwork’s display impacted how I saw it.
- A good thesis statement requires the evidence in the essay to prove it and leads to a cohesive conclusion.
- If you are still unclear or uncertain about your thesis statement, read through this guide on .
- Use key vocabulary (elements and principles) to describe and analyze the artworks appearance as evidence to support your thesis statement. In other words, explain how the artwork’s appearance communicated its message with you. Your description of the artwork should be complete enough that someone who is reading your paper could imagine the artwork you are writing about.
-
Start with the general elements such as subject matter, size, and composition. Then try to smoothly work towards the smallest and most nuanced details. Write as if you are guiding the reader as you walk closer and closer towards the work. This will help make sure you cover all the relevant elements and principles. Point out all the visual elements that help build to an interpretation.
- If you get a certain feeling about the work, investigate what in the visual details gives you that sense. Try to avoid going into too personal tangents. I.e. this part of the painting reminds me of when I was a kid…
- Show you can concisely and effectively wield the vocabulary you have learned in this class. (You may want to review Module 3)
-
- Use key vocabulary to analyze the way the artwork was exhibited (the wall, the room, the exhibition) and to describe the impact that its exhibition had on your perception of it.
- Review the concepts and terms from Modules 4 and 5.
- Think about how your chosen artwork would appear differently to you if shown in another format as in the examples in the Application of Module 5. This may help the specific design choices of the exhibit stick out to you more clearly.
- NOTE: The formal analysis and contextual analysis are worth 30 points each. This should indicate to you that they need approximately equal space and attention in the essay. Remember, these two parts of the essay should be interrelated to prove your thesis statement.
- Contain between 900-1200 words.
- Include an image of the artwork (and preferably of its display) in an appendix at the end of the paper. Include a full image label with full name of artist, title (italics), date, location (museum it is displayed in).
- Follow standard academic guidelines for an essay, including formatting (Times New Roman, 12pt, double spaced, standard 1 inch margins). Include a heading with your name, the course, and the date of the essay at the top of your paper. Include pagination.
- Follow standard academic models of organizing an essay, including an introduction, body paragraphs and conclusion.
- NOTE: You should review the rubric prior to writing the essay to ensure your success.
Reminders & FAQ
Your writing will be checked for originality by Turnitin. Submitting another person’s writing as your own would be considered plagiarism and would violate the .
Late submissions will be accepted for this assignment, but your grade for this assignment will be penalized 10% per day (each 24 hours after the due date). Submissions will no longer be accepted after 7 days. Late will be considered late, even if it was submitted at 12:01 AM after the deadline. Please plan accordingly so technical glitches do not result in a late penalty.
Any changes to the paper made after the deadline (including minor or major changes) will mean that the resubmitted paper will graded as late and a grade will be applied in line with the last submission.
You dont need to do any additional research for this paper. Your visit to the museum and your own analysis of the artworks is sufficient. If you use information about the artworks from the museum website, you need to cite that source and include a works cited page in a proper academic format (i.e. MLA or Chicago).
First person is permitted in this assignment but to be used sparingly. Since this paper is more of a reflection on your personal experience at the museum, use first person to avoid being unnecessarily awkward. However, it is always best to use the first person as sparingly as possible, since it is implied that all of the observations will be your own and too many uses of “I saw” “I think” “I observed” becomes repetitive. In short, you are welcome to use first person to avoid awkward phrasing, but only use when it is necessary to indicate that it is your opinion/observation versus someone else’s to avoid confusion.
Visits to virtual exhibitions other than those listed above will not be accepted.