Overview
Original work only
Submission Format:
- Thesis: Write your thesis here so it is clear and easy to recall.
- Introduction: Complete introduction to research paper which includes your thesis
- Visual Analysis: Analyze the artwork in formal terms.
Format: MLA Style, Times New Roman, 12pt, double-space, normal 1” margins
Writing Guide for Each Section
1. Thesis Statement: A thesis is the overarching concept guiding your writing; the main idea you intend to substantiate/prove. Write your thesis with HOW you are going to prove it in mind. Doing so will help you be more succinct, and you only have a sentence or two to state your thesis/argument.
- You will corroborate your thesis with evidence (visual and literary). You will establish a logical line of reasoning to support your thesis by choosing 3 aspects/points/motifs that, as sub-topics, will bear out your main topic: your thesis.
- First sentence -Address the main issue immediately, no filler, thesis can and probably should be your first sentence.
- First few sentences of introduction: Open with your thesis, tell the reader the artwork you are writing about (including artist, title, date), in a sentence, describe the image – condense the visual analysis to its most basics.
2. Introduction Structure
Length: Approx. 275-300 words (1-2 paragraphs, no longer than a page)
- Inference
- Communication
- Problem solving
- Inference
- Communication
- Problem solving
Body of Introduction: You will corroborate your thesis with evidence (visual and literary). You will establish a logical line of reasoning to support your thesis by choosing 3 aspects/points/motifs that, as sub-topics, will bear out your main topic: your thesis.
Support/Evidence/Examples: What points did you have in mind when you crafted your thesis? Drawing on your visual analysis and research, choose 3-5 motifs that support your thesis. Note: Only 3 are required.
- LIST the 3-5 most important banal everyday objects he uses in his artworks (rabbit, poetry, etc). “For my purposes, I will explore Celaya’s use of the X, Y, Z, to determine how the artist infused these common motifs with spiritual meaning.”
- EXPLAIN how each motif you listed signifies deeper spiritual meaning.
- Transition sentence: Close your introduction with a transition sentence that sums up your intro and, at the same time, tells the reader what is coming next. (By examining Celaya’s Thing and Deception, we shall see how Christian beliefs can be embedded in contemporary art.) Note: Close ALL paragraphs with transition sentences.
3. Visual Analysis:
Length: Approx. 250-300 words (1-2 paragraphs, no longer than a page)
Write a Visual Analysis of Enrique Martinez Celaya’s Thing and Deception.
- A Visual Analysis is an integral component of any art history paper: an in-depth description and analysis of every facet of the artwork. This type of art historical analysis is often called formal analysis because it focuses on form rather than subject matter or historical context, this typically consists of two parts: description of the visual features of a work and analysis of their effects. The goal is to explain how the formal elements of a work of art affect the representation of the subject matter. The emphasis should be on analyzing the formal elements—not interpreting the artwork.
- To perform visual analysis, you first need to know the basic visual elements, also called formal elements.
- Line: The most basic visual element, defines shapes & figures, indicates motion & emotion
- Color: Can be defined on several scales, including hue, value, and saturation
- Shape: A two-dimensional area with boundaries defined by lines or colors
- Form: Three-dimensional shape, either real or in illusion
- Naturalism: Making an image look like the “real world”
- Now that you know some of the basic visual elements, we can look at how they are put together in compositions. Composition is the way all the visual elements are arranged to make the whole image. Some of the major compositional devices are:
- Symmetry: Mirroring of two halves of a work
- Balance: An even use of elements throughout a work
- Proportion and Scale: The relation in size of parts of an image to the whole
- Rhythm: A visual tempo set by repeating elements in a work
- Composition: The sum of all the visual and compositional devices