Project Components
Exhibit Introduction: As a group, please compose a 1500-3200-word article (each person should write 500-800 words; some groups are larger than others) that introduces your art exhibit. Your introduction might include information on the associated artistic movement, the lives of specific artists or models, the style of painting or illustration, the technology involved in the creation of the images, general patterns of representation, or any other information that the group feels would be useful for a viewer to have before looking at the specific images that each group member will analyze in depth.
Each group member should cite at least three scholarly sources in their section of the article (the group can share sources so that each member cites the same three sources if they choose), and citations should be documented in MLA style. Please include a collective works cited list at the end of the introductory article.
The style of the introductory article should be uniform, with no noticeable shifts between authors. Do not use first-person, and paraphrase secondary sources when possible (primary sources can be quoted directly). Mark subtopics with headings (each group member might have more than one subtopic in their individual section).
Each group member should embed at least two images in their section of the article. These images should not overlap with any of the images that are analyzed in detail in the exhibit. Please provide attributions for all images.
For an example of introductory material for an art exhibition check out the V&A’s “Features” articles for Filthy Lucre, a contemporary artist’s response to an infamous late-19th-century decorative arts fiasco: https://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/filthy-lucre .
Image Analysis: Each group member should choose one image to analyze in depth (no two group members may write about the same image) and write a 700-1000-word analysis of that image. Your analysis can include information on how the image was created; on how the image is representative of the artist’s work or the artistic movement with which it is associated; on the reception of the image; on the image’s relationship to works by other artists, writers, or composers on the same subject; or on anything else that will help viewers better understand the image.
You must also include some formal analysis of the painting, illustration, or photograph. Think carefully about the artist’s use of color, line, space, and perspective. How does the artist use these elements to create a specific idea about the woman portrayed?
Lastly, your analysis must explain what ideas about women the image conveys. Questions you might consider:
- How is the woman dressed? Are her clothes typical of the fashion of the period? If not, how do her clothes contrast with what was in style? What might these contrasts suggest? Make sure you pay attention to the decades in which the images were produced so that you can determine whether the clothes in the images were in style at that time.
- How is the woman’s body depicted? Is she given a realistic shape? Which parts of the body are emphasized?
- What hairstyle does the woman wear? Does her hair follow the popular styles of the period? If not, how does her hairstyle contrast with what was expected? What might these contrasts suggest?
- Which colors does the artist use? What effects do those colors create?
- What sorts of background or setting is the woman placed in? What is she doing?
- How does the composition of each piece (the use of line, space, positioning of figures, etc.) draw your eye?
- How would you characterize the woman’s facial expression? What emotions does the image convey?