Choose one work of public art that will be central to your essay
Art Analysis
Read the prompt again for this progression. Choose one work of public art that will be central to your essay: you might find a work that is curious because of where it is presented; perhaps this work seems inherently connected to an issue that you care about (for example, climate change, oppression, violence, etc); or you might begin with the issue you care about and then research works that seem to or attempt to confront, represent, or even mask the issue. Once you’ve chosen the work you will keep at the heart of your essay (or at least at the heart of this first assignment for now), write at least two pages on that work. Begin by first representing that exhibit as a vivid word image for the reader who has not seen it yet. Present the wider view of the work (what you might see when you first come upon it), and then present the details as you move in closer or see the works in detail. Consider where the work is presented and attempt to describe the public(s) who would normally interact with this work. This descriptive writing will take 2-3 paragraphs. Then provide context (who is the artist, when was it installed, etc.) and begin your analysis. You might use the questions below as practiced in class to help you engage in that process. You might also perform research to help you with that process. Certainly the reader should see your own mind studying the object–so, while you will ultimately include information about the object, those background details that you present will be put to work to help the reader better understand the way that work engages with the public issue and/or the public itself. (Due by the start of class on Tuesday, March 30. We may be sharing these assignments in class.)
Questions for analysis:
Who does the work speak to?
Who does the work leave out?
How does the work perform in the space?
What does its presence invoke?
What does its presence erase?
Who does the work represent?
Who does the work offend?
Who does the work empower?
What does the work have the power to change?
What does the work resist?
How does the work persist?
What makes it a work of art vs. propaganda?
What is the purpose of the work?
How do the materials affect your reading of the work?
What questions does the work compel/provoke?
How does the work get inside you? How does your imagination collaborate with it, respond to it? Etc.
How does the work operate within the small public?
How does affect a wider public?
How did the work speak to the community at the time it was installed? And what might the artist have intended at that time? (Then vs. Now)
Why was the work commissioned for that particular plafstce and how does that add to the meaning of the work?
Answer preview choose one work of public art that will be central to your essay
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