An Art Essay of the Artwork "Searching For Africa In Life" by Alfredo Jaar

The artwork I chose for this paper is "Searching For Africa In Life" by Alfredo Jaar. The work is located in The New School University Center Libarary. Photos of the work can be find online.

Site Specific Art at The New School *Please submit this essay as a Word Document & Post on your Learning Porfolio The New School has a longstanding tradition of installing site–specific art in public spaces on campus. For this assignment, you will select and visit one of the site-specific art works from the New School collection (see choices below), and write a short essay (2-3 pages; double spaced; 12 point font) that provides the following information: A highly detailed description of the artwork based on your own observations. This description should include: the materials used and style of the work; a description of the content/subject matter of the work; the ways the form of the work relates to the content; and a description of the physical space the work is located within. At least 2 images of the work taken by you. The goal of these images is capture the way the work you've chosen engages with and relates to the space it is located within. Site-specific works both respond directly to meaning of the place where they are shown, and potentially transform the meaning of that place. Your essay should critically reflect on the ways your chosen artwork engages with the public space that it is set within. How does it shape our experience and understanding of the space? Does the work seem to respond positively or negatively to the space? Does the work reveal things about the space that might otherwise be invisible? These are just some questions to focus your writing, but you are invited to think about the work in relation to its site in any way you feel to be significant. This essay does not require significant research HOWEVER, you should conduct some basic research so that have an understanding of the primary artistic and critical concerns that inform your chosen artist’s work in general. Your essay should examine how the general critical concerns and artistic interests of your artist relate to site-specific work at the New School. Site-Specific Works to Choose From *You must select one of the works from the list below to write about. The attached documents provide details about the works. Please note that there are works discussed in these documents that are not site-specific, so make sure you are writing about a work from this list: Camilo Egas, Ecquadorian Festival (1932), 66 West 12th St. Gonzalo Fonseca, Untitled, (1961), 66 West 12th Martin Puryear and Michael van Valkenburgh, Untitled (1997), 66 West 12th Dave Muller, Interpollations and Extrapolations, (2002-2008), 66 West 12th St. Sol Lewitt, Wall Drawing #1073 A and B, Bars of Color (2003), 55 West 13th St. Kara Walker, Event Horizon, (2005), 55 West 13th Rita McBride, Bells and Whistles, (2014), 63 Fifth Avenue Alfredo Jaar, Searching For Africa in Life (2014), 63 Fifth Avenue Glenn Ligon, For Comrades and Lovers (2015). 63 Fifth Avenue Brian Tolle, Threshold, (2006), 55 West 13th *The works Brian Tolle requires an appointment to be viewed, and you must be accompanied by a faculty or staff member when viewing the work. Please contact Professor O’Dea if you are interested in writing about this work, and he will help you make the necessary arrangements.