Back To Class Index

ART 308 / Advanced Studio

Guidelines for Research, Analysis, and Intention Statement Writing Assignments

Each of the semester’s four studio projects is to be accompanied with three different types of writing assignments. What follows is a detailed guide stating expectations and examples to help you better understand how to successfully complete each type of writing. Note that the writings for the final, self-generated project are slightly different than what is outlined below (see project #4 page for more details)

Research Writing / Analysis Writing / Intention Statement Writing/ Art Event Writing

Research Assignment

Each project’s research assignment should include two artists from lists provided (you can select an artist of your choosing but you need to clear it with me). The minimum length of the final writing should be no less than 650 words per artist. (I will be checking!)

Do’s and Don’ts about research:

Research is NOT…

· Just posting pictures with captions

· Personal opinions

· Regurgitating stuff that you read as you read it (that is note taking)

Research IS…

Processing, organizing, analyzing, synthesizing what you read including:

· Organizing your writing according to topic (not as you read it.)

· Phrasing ideas in your own terms including defining key terms.

· Understanding and articulating the relationship between ideas such as the relationship between an artist’s intentions and what they do (what they create, how they create, etc.)

Sources: For each artist use no less than four sources and always include correct citations (simple inline footnotes accompanied by a bibliography will suffice). Because these research assignments happen on a condensed schedule you are allowed to do all web-based research (except for project 4, see below). These days there are plenty of meaty web sources but it takes some searching to find them. A web site with two paragraphs and a picture does not constitute a source so look at the pages I list as a first set of sources.

Cite Examples:

Your goal is to apply broad statements of an artist’s intentions to specific instances. In other words, to be able to explain how a conceptual idea is manifest in actual artworks. You may include two images of specific artworks to exemplify your points. Remember, simply stating that a work is a ‘good example’ of whatever idea you are discussing isn’t enough; you need to explain how it is an example. Both assignment samples below are fine instances of exemplifying ideas through the instance of a specific work. Always correctly attribute all images including the web site or book from which it was taken and labeling each image with title, date, and material.

Content:

1. An overall characterization of the artist’s work by briefly describing the work and summarizing the artist’s concerns and intentions.

One of the primary challenges when citing multiple analyses of an artist’s work is to fully understand what each is talking about so to avoid falling prey to simply stringing together ideas that are not particularly related. A good example of from a student writing:

“Scotch Tape, Styrofoam cups, and straws to most people seem like simple household items, but for Tara Donovan they are objects that when accumulated in vast quantities are a means of exploring the very essence of organic structure (James Elaine). To begin her process she takes a mass quantity of an item and places it in a repetitive way where “the final form evolves from the innate properties and structures of the material itself.” (Paul Brewer) Donovan says of the biomorphic quality of her work “My work might appear ‘organic’ or ‘alive’ specifically because my process mimics, in the most elementary sense, basic systems of growth found in nature.” The resulting patterns simultaneously evoke nature on a micro and macro scale. For instance, Transplanted (2001), a work constructed from ripped and densely stacked pieces of roofing tarpaper, grows like successive topological layers of earth and thus suggests a vast landscape. Whereas Donovan’s untitled work of 2003 made of clusters of Styrofoam cups reminds me of an enlarged view of cell clusters. But in keeping with these shifts of scale, Paul Brewer says of this same sculpture with its glowing mass of glued together cups suspended from a sky-lit ceiling, that it is an “obvious reference to a billowing cumulus clouds.”

2. Explain the specific way the artist’s work engages/defines the project issue in question using specific artworks to exemplify.

Note that the following example has lots of research information, not just speculation. Making comparisons with other artists or from one work to another can be a helpful way of shedding light on this question (comparisons help you make important distinctions). For instance, in the example below, it would be great to consider how Winsor’s focus on labor differs from someone like Ann Hamilton’s engagement of labor.

“Jackie Winsor’s art, particularly her early sculpture, is process oriented in that it is the direct result of repetitive, labor-intensive actions. She uses simply manipulated materials and engages herself and her body directly with the process of making unmediated by tools or plans. In creating her work, Four Corners, Winsor made no sketches and used no assistants. Focusing on the process of lashing four logs together with hemp, she simply lets the piece evolve as the repeated action dictated. As she continued to wrap, the logs became more and more covered until a point where the joints are no longer visible. Her own hands created a work that in-itself speaks to progression and accumulation. Winsor’s repetition of a simple binding motion infuses a sense of primitive, direct labor of into the content of her sculpture. Labor is clearly her focus considering that she doesn’t just use twine to wrap these pieces; she labors and untwists each piece from thousands of thicker pieces of rope.

There is a lack of visual ‘event’ in Jackie Winsor’s work. She doesn’t make any attempt to create objects that ‘look like something’ or serve a purpose. The focus on process is clear because the creation of the object through repetitive and concentrated labor is all that there is. In keeping with the focus on unmediated action, Winsor often uses simple geometry and grids to give structure to her work. Critic Russell Rock says of the overall directness of the work, “the forms are simple: cylinder, sphere, cube, hemisphere, and pyramid. The materials are straightforward, common building materials: wood, cement, brick, sheetrock, plywood, nails, rope, and paint…the materials are used honestly and possess no structural, visual "tricks." There is a clarity to the relationship of materials that does not leave you questioning the how and why of the fabrication of the forms.”

Sources:

Russell Rock, Jackie Winsor a Retrospective, http://Architronic.saed.kent.edu/v1n1/v1n1. 14d.html

ROBERTA SMITH, P.S. 1 REVIEW/ART; Across 30 Years, Sculptural Solidity, Published: October 31,1997, New York Times

Sobel, Dean, Jackie Winsor, Peter Schjeldahl, John Yau. 1991. Jackie Winsor, Milwaukee Art Museum.

Images:

http://www.bluffton.edu/womenartists/womenartistspw/winsor/winsor.html

http://www.oberlin.edu/amam/Winsor_FourCorners.htm

Analysis Assignment

Write a short conceptual statement (no less than 400 words) that defines and explains the underlying conceptual issue that is the focus of each project (process, audience interaction, site-specificness) including commentary as to the specific ways this concept might manifest itself in specific works of art.

Content:

The goal of this writing is to give you the opportunity to improve your ability to articulate conceptual issues by forming meaningful definitions based on observed distinctions between various practices within the broad categories we are exploring. In other words, write an explanation of the conceptual issue in such a way that helps your reader better understand what this particular art making idea is all about including the different ways different artists apply it in their work.

My initial presentation for each project is your starting point. Note how I attempt to make distinctions that describe the ways various artists explore the idea in different ways. Your writing doesn’t need to address all the distinctions I offer but your writing should explore/define at least a few (maybe even offering up some of your own distinctions or developing and improving the ones I make.) Because you do this writing in the midst of your own studio project, I would recommend that you consider exploring the distinctions that are important when it comes to your own work (but don’t make this an intention statement nor a description of your project.)

As part of your overall explanation of the conceptual issue in question you might address the following:

• How might artworks that emphasize the issue in question effect the way the artwork makes its meaning? In other words, don’t just describe what a process artwork entails; also address how various approaches to process art impart different meanings.
• How do artworks that emphasize the approach in question function differently from those that do not? What are the pros and cons of the approach?

Do’s and Don’ts for Analysis Writing:

Organize your ideas:

Note that this type of conceptual writing cannot be accomplished by free writing. You need to write something that is coherent and develops ideas over a number of sentences. I recommend approaching this as you would a more structure analysis by first developing an outline that clearly spells out the points you want to make and then developing those points in such a way that results in coherent, readable explanations not fragmented, repeating, inarticulate bits. Writing organizations such as topic sentences and single topic paragraphs can be very helpful.

Avoid generalizations and develop effective language:

Writing about conceptual ideas like this can be difficult and quickly become too abstract to follow. Be sure not to generalize, express ideas in your own words, and use specific examples to avoid overly abstract thinking. You will find you need to rewrite sentences a few times before you figure out how to say what you mean to say (again, this isn’t free writing). The intent of this assignment is to both test your understanding and help you learn how to explore and discuss conceptual ideas related to making art. You can cite the ideas others if they are relevant to what you are writing. Remember, more isn’t always better but to some extent, a more extensive investigation can be the key to getting a better grade. A good example from one of your classmates (although short by 100 words)

“One of the major differences between process-focused art and art that does not focus on process seems to be the actual concept of what art is- that is, is art a passive object to be gazed upon, is it static, is its aesthetic value its primary significance? Or is art transient, ambiguous, and independent of aesthetic standards? Most process art does not fit neatly into one of these two groups, but it often can be aligned with the latter. It often emphasizes an idea, a belief, a compulsion, or an action as being the artistically significant component regardless of the product created from it.

The product that is created by process-oriented art is often merely a reference back to that process, a record of an action, or a documentation of the act of making. In this way, the artwork might be the physical evidence of labor, like Hamilton’s multitudes of pennies in honey or Jeanine Antoni’s teeth marks. Or it can be a sequence of photographs recording the process as it happens and preserving the moment in time for future observation, such as Ana Mendieta’s Silueta Series. Sometimes process-oriented art does not point to the artist as maker but rather to independent process as in the melted ice forms in Cai Guo-Qiang’s “Caressing Zaha with Vodka”. What all these works have in common is that their “means” of being is often the very point the artist wants to convey.

Another way of thinking about process versus product is in terms of grammar. Object-oriented artwork is generally a noun, while process art is a verb. For example, a painting by Manet is a noun (Olympia), while Joseph Beuys’ “How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare” is a verb (explaining), and Serra’s lead corner piece is also a verb (splashing). Object-orientated art might be said to reflects life, while process-oriented art partakes of it.”

Intention Statement Assignment

Write an intention statement with assessment to be no less than 550 words to accompanied by good quality images of your project.

Content:

• Explain your overall intentions
• Characterize and comment on the specific way you engaged the project focus concept (process, interactivity, place) in your sculpture
• Explain the specific choices you made in terms of how they achieved your expressive goals
• Assess/critique aspects of the work in terms of what is and isn’t effective in achieving your goals
  
  

Do’s and Don’ts for Intention Writing:

Intention writing is not simply a description of what you did but rather a statement of expressive intentions and how your design choices were motivated by these intentions. In other words, begin with a goal statement and then support that with the example of what you did.

Example:

…I wanted to contrast the fixed nature of the materials (dowels. pipe etc) to the more open-ended, natural act of weaving…so I let the process and pattern happen naturally without trying to control the spacing between the woven rows of wire.

Or

…even though I wanted to use a mode of connection that was more random, I did want some degree of relationship to the overall structure… so I imposed the simple weaving rule of back and forth between the rods and then back and forth again.

Here is a good example note how it is not just recounting of how the work was made:

“In this particular work, I chose to focus on my own personal process of being a passenger in a car. In order to make a work about the process, I decided that the product should be a visual record of that process. For the visual language of the piece I chose to operate within several vernaculars simultaneously: a cartography vernacular, a medical vernacular, and a seismographic vernacular.

By holding a pen to graph paper and recording both the bumps, turns, and other movements of the vehicle and my own response to those movements I was able to make a mark that combined the processes of both getting from one location to another and my psychological state throughout the ride. The movement of the car caused the pen to move along the paper, recording distance as well as changes in the car’s position and speed, two things that I am normally hyper-aware of as a passenger. I engaged in the process five times with three different drivers, and to a variety of locations. I tried very hard not to look down at the paper, in case I would unintentionally affect the process. The lines were made with a fine point black pen, and imitated the marks made by machines that measure stress levels of the body (polygraphs), the heart (EKG machines), and earthquakes (seismographs). I felt that this was an appropriate way to record the process of me being a passenger because it is an extremely stressful process for me, and the level of stress I experience usually depends on the driver and the choices they make involving speed, changing lanes, running lights, etc. I like that all of the marks are located on the same sheet of graph paper, because I feel that it gives the aura of a printout made by one of these machines.

I feel that the weakest part of my final product is the mapping element. My psychological processes are shown, I believe, very clearly by comparing the five sets of marks, however the viewer is not given much information about the actual journey other than the labels I provided with each line, giving the departure location, destination location, and driver. If someone is familiar with the area in which the process was recorded (all of the destinations were located approximately fifteen minutes from their departure points, and therefore extremely localized), he or she might be able to make more meaning from the piece in a cartographic sense- for example, the mark that represents the trip to Webster Field, which is on a long, winding road in a rural area, is notably different from the marks made by trips into more urban and commercial areas that necessitate more stops and lane changes. However, there seem to be more similarities between marks made by the same driver than between marks made on the way to similar destinations. If I could develop a more standardized way of measuring distance, for example utilizing the graph paper as a tool and not just as an aesthetic reference or providing information such as mileage, actual time, or number of songs played on the radio, then perhaps I could resolve this issue.”

Art Event Write Ups

As a way to broaden your art experiences, you are required to attend at least four Art Department or off campus art events. Three of these four must be events sponsored by the Art Department or Boyden Gallery. The fourth event can be your own independent visit to off-campus art venues such as museums and galleries). Because these events take place outside of class time, you should plan ahead which events you will attend based on interest and your schedule. An events calendar is available on the department web site or via a link on our blackboard site.

Art Event Write Up Assignment:

Write a minimum 400-word summary and reflection for each of the four events you attend. A quality event write-up should include:

Event Summary:

· Specific accurate event information (names, terms, references, dates etc.)

· A brief description of the specific content

· Summary of overall points

Reflective Commentary:

· Connections/ relevancy to your own art making activities

· What you found particularly interesting and why

Evaluation:

• ‘B’= Meeting minimum assignment requirements
• ‘A’= Exceeding basic requirements (for starters must be more than 400 words.)

Submit: Submit these writings by posting them on the art event summary page of your online class portfolio.

Back To Class Index