In Person Exhibit Instructions: Step 1: Locate and Visit an Art Museum. First, you should select and visit an art museum in your area. Note: some museums have entrance fees. Step 2: Study
Museums often shape our experience of art. For your final project, you will visit a museum gallery (either in person or online) and pick three artworks within the museum that capture your attention. In your essay, you will answer the following question: "How does the museum's display of these artworks impact how I see and understand them?" This essay will be between 1000-1200 words and will analyze the artworks' form and impact that its curatorial context (physically or virtually) has on your viewing experience.
Instructions
You have two options for a museum visit. You can select any art museum open to the public and visit, or you can choose one of the following online exhibits listed below and visit virtually. Please select one of the options below and follow the instructions. Whichever you choose, the goal of your essay will be the same.
In Person Exhibit Instructions:
Step 1: Locate and Visit an Art Museum. First, you should select and visit an art museum in your area. Note: some museums have entrance fees.
Step 2: Study Your Own Museum Visit: During your visit, think about how the museum scripts and influences your experience. Take notes as soon as you arrive at the museum (think about the museum's exterior, 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. 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. Be respectful during your visit. Try not to disturb the other visitors.
Step 3: Select Three Artworks: Once you have had a look around, select three artworks to analyze within their immediate museum context.
- First take notes on the artworks that will allow you to do a formal analysis of them later. Take some photographs, if allowed.
- Then, carefully consider the way the curator made choices about their display and presentation, and how those choices impact the way you see them.
- Ask yourself: do the artworks belong to part of an exhibition? What "didactic materials" (written information) are included in the exhibition, and how do they inform your experience?
- Are the artworks alone on a wall or crowded among other pieces?
- How do the colors, lines, and other formal elements in the artworks 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 artworks because they are big or inch closer to see details because they are small?
- Is there a bench nearby where you can sit?
Ask lots of questions and take lots of notes.
Virtual Visit and Online Exhibit Instructions
Step 1: Visit an Exhibition Listed Below:
These are all from the Mint Museum in Charlotte, NC. If there is another online art gallery you would like to use, please let me know as soon as possible.
Classic Black: The Basalt Sculpture of Wedgewood and his Contemporaries
Portals to the Past: British Ceramics, 1675-1825
Under Construction: Collage from the Mint
Step 2: Study Your Own Museum Visit: During your virtual visit, study how the museum influences your experience. When visiting the virtual exhibitions, think of the title page as the same as the entrance of the gallery. Explore the page. Think about how the museum uses text and image to encourage you to scroll further. Then enter the exhibit by scrolling down. Consider these questions as you explore the exhibit:
- Does the gallery have a theme that holds all the artworks together?
- Did the curator have a message when choosing these artworks? How was that message visually expressed?
- Did the curators/exhibition designers use wall color or artworks to draw you through the space?
- Is there an overall feeling or impression of the gallery space?
- Is the gallery crowded with artworks, or relatively sparse. How does that impact your viewing experience?
- How have the curators delivered their didactic texts (the information about the artwork) to the audience? Does the text add to the visual impact of the artwork or distract in any way?
- Are there specific ways that the text enriches the experience of looking at these artworks?
Take notes on your virtual visit and what jumps out to you.
Tip for both In Person and Online Visits:
- Don't just zip through the artworks. Practice “slow looking.” Carefully observe more than meets the eye at first glance.
- What artworks grab your attention? Take some time to look at them without any distractions.
- How do your first impressions change as you keep looking? Are there details, formal elements, or a general impression of the artwork that emerges after careful looking?
- How do you feel after looking for a while? Did the artwork make you feel calmer, more excited, or concerned?
Step 3: Select three artworks. Once you have explored the exhibit, select three artworks to analyze within their museum context. First, take notes on those artworks that will allow you to do a formal analysis of them. Take screenshots to include in your paper. Carefully consider the ways the curators made choices about their display and presentation, and how these choices impact the way you see the artworks. Ask yourself:
- "Do the artworks belong to part of the exhibition, what “didactic materials” are included and how do they inform my experience?
- Are the artworks alone or crowded among other artworks?
- How do the colors, lines, and other formal elements in the artworks connect or contrast with those in the nearby artworks? What draws your attention to these pieces?
- How do they fit into the space?
Writing your essay:
Step 4: Writing your essay: After your visit, write an essay answering the question “How does the museum's display of these artworks impact how I see and understand them?” Answer that question, drawing on your formal analysis of the artwork and your analysis of it its context.
Your essay must:
- Follow standard academic models of organizing an essay, including an introduction, body paragraphs and conclusion.
- Clearly identify the museum you visited (name, city, etc).
- Clearly identify and describe the artwork you chose to study (by artist, title, and date).
- Include a thesis statement that answers the question "How does the museum's display of these artworks impact how I see and understand them?"
- Use key vocabulary (visual elements and design principles) to describe and analyze the artworks' appearance as evidence to support your thesis statement. In other words, explain how the artworks' appearance communicated their message with you. Your description of the artworks should be complete enough that someone who is reading your paper could imagine the artwork you are writing about, even if they've never seen it.
- Use key vocabulary to analyze the way the artworks were exhibited (the wall, the room, the exhibition) and to describe the impact that the exhibition had on your perception of it. Be as specific as possible!
- How did the didactic material provided affect your understanding of the artworks?
- Include images of the artworks (and preferably of their display) in an appendix at the end of the paper
- Images of the artworks should be captioned with the artist's name (if known), the title, and the date
- All outside information, such as information gathered from the museum's information cards or website, should be cited
- Include a Works Cited Page
