VISC 1001: Global Visual Material Culture: Prehistory to 1800 to 1800

VISC 1001: Global Visual and Material Culture: Prehistory to 1800 Prof. Carson Research Essay (20%) Due at the start of class on Tuesday, November 14, 12:50 pm The objective of this assignment is to construct and complete a research paper on a specific work of art or design of your choosing that relates to the genre of Portraiture. You are to select an object in response to one of the three questions below, each of which highlights a particular facet of portraiture. You are to analyze and contextualize your object by researching its historical and art-historical context. The finished paper will provide a rich, thoughtful discussion of your object. Question 1 How does your chosen object convey the social status and character of the sitter? How was this information most commonly presented to the viewer in this period? (i.e. What elements of the work reveal the sitter's status? What elements convey a sense of their character?) Question 2 How does your chosen portrait reflect the time and place in which it was made? Does it represent any changes taking place within portraiture at that point? (Did the artist challenge tradition in this work?) Question 3 What were the uses and functions of portraits that are similar in nature to your chosen object? (i.e. other ruler portraits; miniatures; medallions; icon paintings, etc.) What role does the medium, size, function, and/or material play in how your chosen art object would have been experienced? (Your answer should focus on the context in which your chosen object was created.) Method: 1. Choose an object in the Royal Ontario Museum, Art Gallery of Ontario, Textile Museum of Canada, or the Aga Khan Museum in relation to one of the above questions. Your chosen work of art must fit the chronological scope of this course (that is, you must select a European, non-European, or non-Western object manufactured before the year 1800 CE). The object can be part of the museum’s permanent collection or part of a temporary exhibition, but the object MUST BE ON DISPLAY—you must study the work of art in person and not simply online. Keep your admission ticket to submit with your paper. 2. Research the art-historical context of your chosen object. Students must use a minimum of three academic sources (i.e. peer-reviewed scholarly journal articles, books, or exhibition catalogues). You may consult your textbook, but for the purpose of this essay, it will not count as one of your academic sources). Academic research databases subscribed to by OCAD University such as JSTOR, and others listed on the Dorothy H. Hoover library website, may be used freely to find scholarly articles, such as the Grove Dictionary of Art available through Oxford Art Online. Wikipedia is not an appropriate academic source. If you find useful information that is located in a potentially untrustworthy source it is your task to track down a better source. Regardless, you must honestly report or cite any source from which you have borrowed information or ideas, including Wikipedia. Furthermore, you should only consult the museum website to verify the artist’s name, title, medium, dimensions, date and/or place of production of your object, and to find an image of the object to include with your paper. 3. Write a research essay that responds to this question by situating your chosen work within its historical and/or art-historical context. Important: 1) Your essay must be 5-6 pages (c. 1250-1500 words). It should be double-spaced, with 1” margins, using a 12-pt font in Times New Roman on 8 ½ x 11” pages. It should be page numbered. Please include your TA’s name as well as your name and student number. Papers that do not adhere to the above format will not be accepted. You must staple your admission ticket to attach to your paper. 2) Include a clear and assertive thesis statement at the beginning of your essay. 3) Include a reproduction or rendering for your object, along with complete information (artist, title, date, medium etc.). Please ask for permission before taking a photograph of any object on display. Students are also free to print an image of the object from the museum website, to submit a postcard of it from the museum gift shop (or, with express permission of the shop owner, photograph the postcard in the gift shop), or photocopy it from a museum guide or catalogue. 4) Include a bibliography of works cited AS WELL AS citations (either footnotes or in-text parenthetical references) using either the Chicago Manual of Style or MLA. 5) The largest part of your mark will be calculated according to the content of your essay, but the organization of your discussion and the style of your writing will also be considered. Good luck, and be sure to pick an object that fascinates you!