Follow directions below very clearly. Primarily focus on Step 4 about how to write the essay. The previous steps are more so about gathering info and notes for the actual essay.

This essay should not be informational. It should not be a research paper. Rather it should carry the feeling that is is a paper based on the student’s observations of the Art / museum as well as architectural features. APPLY THE VOCAB AND CONCEPTS IN THE ATTACHED DOCUMENTS TO THE ESSAY.

FULL INSTRUCTIONS:

For this project you must select any art museum that is open to the public and visit.

Step 1: Locate and Visit a Museum: Museum of Antioquia in Medellin, Colombia

Step 2: Study Your Own Museum Visit: During your visit, I want you to study how the museum scriipts and influences your experience. I suggest you start taking notes as soon as you arrive at the museum (think about the museum’s façade 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 Tips and Terms for a Museum Visit 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.

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?

Step 4: Writing Your Essay: After your visit, you will write an essay that 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, and date).
* Include a bolded thesis statement that 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.
* 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 descriiption 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 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.
* Include an image of the artwork (and preferably of its display) in an appendix at the end of the paper.
* Follow standard academic guidelines for an essay, including formatting (Times or Helvetica, 12pt, 2x space).
* 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