Visual Arts includes:

Paintings, crafts, etching, aboriginal art, fashion design, architecture, graphic design, contemporary art, classical art, advertising, landscape design, sculpture, photography

 

Focus of the Essay:

On personal engagement in the topic and on the artwork itself.

 

Graded on ability to show these things:

Develop a personal point of view based on knowledge.

Selecting and using appropriate sources effectively.

Developing a critical argument by using historical and cultural context from 2 or more points of view.

 

Choosing the topic:

Avoid topics too broad in scope.

Avoid topics that focus on the historical or biographical material rather than the art itself.

 

Sources:

Primary Sources: Art exhibitions, Interviews with artists, artifacts, photographs, autobiographical materials, etc.

Secondary Sources: Books, art magazines, journals, etc.

Use online sources sparingly

 

Treatment of the Topic:

Form a question of personal interest.

Visual reference material should be the focus of the essay but is not a substitute for personal verbal explanation and analysis.

Printed reference material should only be used to support personal arguments.

Personal interviews are a way to show personal involvement.

Think about the ways you will interpret the art: historically, psychologically, technically; in terms of color, lines, shapes; influences by events or situations; etc.

Use the visual evidence to support the verbal arguments.

Look for contrasting and conflicting views to show multiple points of view and use them to strengthen own argument.

Do not make any conclusive statements in the argument, wait until the conclusion.

 

Problems in the Past:

Personal viewpoints were often unsupported by secondary sources.  Information was not always put in a broader, contextual scope.  Primary sources are much more effective than secondary sources, and Internet sources can be very weak.  Descriptively linking the topic to its context is very important.