1. Who – did the art (artist’s name)
2. What – title of Exhibit
3. When – was the work done; is it a body of recent work done during the last several years or is it a retrospect of the artists work
4. Where – was the exhibition
The above four questions should be answered in the first paragraph
5. What – was the art work(s) – photos, paintings, etc.
6. Why – do you think that the artist(s) did the art
7. What – do you see in the work (it may be very different than what the artist was trying to convey)
To answer questions 5 – 7 see the following:
A How does the exhibit strike you?
As you first viewed the show, what were your impressions? Like, dislike, boring, stimulating?
B How does the work look? – formal (canon) evaluation
Examine the work more carefully, read the titles, then read any available material about the artist and her work. Discuss some of the following:
Describe the art objectively as to:
1 What is it?
a 2D or 3D
b. painting, sculpture, mixed media, craft, etc.
c. What material(s) is it made out of?
2 Describe the art in term of how it looked to you – was it colorful did it look depressing or puzzling, did it make you feel any certain way, etc. These are only a few suggestions and your critique is very subjective.
C What is the art about?
A Subject matter – what it is about
B Symbolism – what does the subject matter seem to mean?
Is there a subtext, a ‘reading’ from the work?
Is it saying something to you that is not overt or is different than what the artist has stated
3. Style – does the style help get the message across to the viewer
D. Does the artist’s work in any way reflect the place or time in which they live: in other words, the cultural context in which it was produced? This is evaluating the art from the point of view of Critical Theory.
E. Compare this work to another artist who works in the same medium. What commonalities does it share? And how is it different?
A-E will cover a discussion of the exhibit in general, which is what you want to do in the first half of you paper.
After researching the media, methods and conceptual basis of the artist discuss:
F. How you react to the work now? Do you feel differently after learning more about it? Do you like it less, more, or the same?
G. Write briefly on the piece that you like the best. If you don’t like any of the pieces then choose one that you like the least. (B,C,D,E)