4208A/5208A SUMMER 2009

TERM PROJECT/PRESENTATION

Due July 22nd  -- 10 points

Choose your artist from list below by June 15th,

submit Thesis Statement, Annotated Bibliography by June 18th   -- 5 points

                For this semester, you will prepare a sort of preliminary research report on one of the artists on the following list.  Select the one you want and claim them, because no two people will work on the same artist. E-mail me to claim your choice. If the one you want is selected by someone else, you must choose another.  The basis for the list, as well as for the project, is the ways in which these artists have contributed to Modernism in art or the specific ways in which their art was modern. You may have a sub-topic as long as it is also related to the subject of modernism. I have avoided inclusion of the most major artists, so you will not see any of the real giants here.  I have selected ones I know to be of significance, though. Before you claim an artist, make sure that you have found the required research materials, and that they will support an adequate treatment of the artist, according to the project requirements.

                Your report will be posted on the class CourseDen site and everyone will read the reports of the other students in the class.  You will submit it through the dropbox and I will publish it (before I make comments or grade them).  Your work will include the following:

·         A basic research statement (3-4 pages of text : 1200-1500 words) about the Modernism of their work, in which you discuss 3 or 4 specific works by the artist to support your line of argument.  This might address their use of imagery, of media, of formal principles, etc., in ways that differ from modes of previous artists.

·         3-4 images to support your inquiry and statements.  These should be very small (less than 150K, so they will not overload the CourseDen system.  Supplementally or alternatively, you may use references to specific websites (by inclusion of their addresses) or to your text book.  They should be properly captioned as per this sample:

FIG. 1. PABLO PICASSO.  WEEPING WOMAN. 1937.

O/C,  23 5/8 x 19 ¼”  TATE GALLERY, LONDON. (Elberton p. 567)

Caption formula:  Fig. #. Artist/Architect. Title of the Work, Title of Larger Work of Which it is a Part.

Location if Architecture. date, medium, size. Museum location of object.

(source of your image -- abbreviated, with full citation in the bibliography)

·         An annotated bibliography, with 5 references:  2 scholarly books and 3 scholarly journal articles (you may add websites only if they are scholarly, and only in addition to the 5 required here) instructions for annotation below. You can or should have sources for images that are used for only that purpose, not for research. List them as bibliographic entries, but they do not need annotation other than to say they are used for images, if that is all they are used for.  They are then not part of the required 5 sources.

Clearly, a report of this short length cannot be exhaustive, but it should be insightful and to the point.  It should not be primarily biographical nor anecdotal, although those issues may be a minor or explanatory part of your discussion.  Your writing should be based in your research about the modernism of the artist’s works.  You may select your few works and discuss them and their significance without drawing general conclusions about all of the work of the artist, as long as what you say is accurate and meaningful.  Your writing should be based firmly in the scholarly sources you use, rather than too-creative or showing conjectural interpretation.  And make sure you acknowledge the ways that you are using those sources.  AVOID QUOTATION.  Rather paraphrase what the scholar has said and credit them with the thought.  Clearly distinguish any of your own thinking from what you have read.

Graduate Students:  Double the length and number of sources, add more images (up to 8), and intensify your examination   of sources and images.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

WHAT IS AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY?

An annotated bibliography is a list of citations to books, articles, and documents. Each citation is followed by a brief (usually about 150 words) descriptive and evaluative paragraph, the annotation. The purpose of the annotation is to inform the reader of the relevance, accuracy, and quality of the sources cited.

ANNOTATIONS VS. ABSTRACTS

Abstracts are the purely descriptive summaries often found at the beginning of scholarly journal articles or in periodical indexes. Annotations are descriptive and critical; they expose the author's point of view, clarity and appropriateness of expression, and authority. Relate the value of the source to its importance in your study and your use of it for this project.

THE PROCESS

Creating an annotated bibliography calls for the application of a variety of intellectual skills: concise exposition, succinct analysis, and informed library research.

First, locate and record citations to books, periodicals, and documents that may contain useful information and ideas on your topic. Briefly examine and review the actual items. Then choose those works that provide a variety of perspectives on your topic.

Cite the book, article, or document using the appropriate style. (Chicago style)(find on UWG library website or Google to find on another university website) DO NOT USE PARENTHETICAL REFERENCES, use footnotes (preferred) or endnotes.

Write a concise annotation that summarizes the central theme and scope of the book or article. Include one or more sentences that (a) evaluate the authority or background of the author, (b) comment on the intended audience, (c) compare or contrast this work with another you have cited, or (d) explain how this work illuminates your bibliography topic.

The above paragraphs are taken from the website: http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/research/skill28.htm#what

For further information on how to create the annotated bibliography, visit that site.

ARTISTS: mostly painters and sculptors, a few other media.  Selected in the hope that you are not too               familiar with them, that you will become more acquainted with someone new.  Do not pick someone that you           have already researched for another class.  If there is someone off the list that seems to fit the framework                      of the project, you could ask to do the study on them, subject to my approval.                                                         Submit your requests through the class WebCT e-mail.  First come, first served.

I will post your name next to the artist you will research. Please make your selection by June 15^th, 5pm.

The following is the scheme I use for grading:

TERM PROJECT ASSESSMENT

Intellectual Content/Artistic Relevance 50%

Presentation/Following Directions 25%

Structure/Grammar/Writing 25%

Overall Grade:                                                              Points:       

HEED ALL WARNINGS ABOUT PLAGIARISM.

ANY INSTANCE OF SUCH WILL EARN YOU A

0 (ZERO) ON THE ASSIGNMENT and for the entire course