American Art Project – Assignment Instructions
It is important to remember, represent, and honor a collective
past, but it is equally important to understand a deeper significance to visual
records. In this assignment, you will examine works of art available through
the website of the Architect of the Capitol. The purpose is to emphasize how
art can be used to portray historical events and convey a message when viewed
in the context of the age in which it was created.
This assignment has 2 parts. In Part 1, you will view the
historical paintings that surround the interior space of the Capitol Rotunda
and read a short description and history of the artwork. In Part 2, you will
view sculptures of some famous Americans who have been enshrined by their state
in Statuary Hall. Read through all of the instructions for both parts before
you begin. You will submit both completed parts to Blackboard in a single Microsoft
Word or PowerPoint document.
Part 1
- Click
on this link:http://aoc.gov/paintings-0 - The
page should open for the Capitol’s Historic Rotunda Paintings. - Click
on the individual images for each of the 8 paintings to see them in more
detail and see some information on the piece. - Read
the short article on each of the webpages for these paintings. - Once
you have viewed the images and read the information, choose 4 and write a paragraph for your presentation that
addresses each of the following topics: - Presentation
Questions
1.
What is the author trying to
communicate in the image? Is there a mood or emotion that is being evoked?
2.
When was the image
commissioned and hung? What is the historical context of this painting? What
events were occurring when the painting was created that could have contributed
to its content? How are those connections between content and context most
clearly presented?
3.
Is the artist successful in
communicating contextual influences? Is the message too difficult to understand
for a modern viewer?
- The
questions should be answered in essay form, in a narrative style, not as a
list of direct answers to the queries. You should include the image, its
title, and the artist as a header to each section. - You
will need to include properly formatted Turabian footnotes/endnotes for
each source that you use in the presentation. You will be using the images
from the website, so you must cite those pages as sources. - If
the assignment is submitted in a Word document, each paragraph should be 200–300
words in length, double-spaced, Times New Roman 12 pt. font with 1-inch
borders. The Word document will require properly formatted footnotes for
the sources used. - If
the assignment is submitted as a PowerPoint presentation, each paragraph
should be on a separate slide with the images and artist information on a
preceding slide. The word count applies to PowerPoint assignments and
citations should be included using properly formatted Turabian endnotes. - Be
sure to write your paragraph in your own words and that you proofread your work to
eliminate spelling, grammatical, and punctuation errors. Be sure to review
the Writing Tips document to avoid common errors in academic work. After
you have written your paragraphs for each of your 4 choices, proceed to
Part 2.
Part 2
- Click on this link:http://aoc.gov/capitol-hill/national-statuary-hall-collection/about-national-statuary-hall-collection
- The page should open to the
page for the National Statuary Hall Collection. Once you have read the
short overview and description of the collection, search to find the 2 statues that represent your state.
- Copy the image for each
representative of your state into the presentation. (If you are not a
resident of the United States or do not claim a “home state” for any
reason, you are free to adopt any of the 50 states as your own for the
purposes of this assignment.)
- After the image, include the
individual’s name and the state he or she represents.
- In a 200–250 word paragraph
for each image: - give a short summary of the
individual’s historic significance and - an evaluation of whether
this individual is a good choice to represent your state. - You
will need to include properly formatted Turabian footnotes/endnotes for
each source that you use in the presentation. You will be using the images
from the website, so you must cite those pages as sources. - Be
sure to write your paragraphs in your own words and that you proofread your work to
eliminate spelling, grammatical, and punctuation errors. Be sure to review
the Writing Tips document to avoid common errors in academic work.
These paragraphs will be submitted in the same document as Part 1.
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