Honors Humanities:
Virtual Museum Project
Essential Question:
“Why Do Humans Create Art?”
Introduction:
Remember that earlier in the year we took a brief look at
the creation of art. Without exception, art and music are a
part of every culture in human existence, from pre-history
to the present. Whether it is a cave painting or
Michelangelo’s work at the Sistine Chapel, humans have
always had art at the core of their societies. This creative
project will ask you to look into the history of art in a region
we are studying this year.
Description/Task:
You will be asked to do a brief study of one of the periods and or movements of art
in a region we study this year, and through this study, act as a curator of a Museum
of The Arts. You will select SEVEN pieces of art, music, literature or architecture
that you think represent your selected period or movement the best. You will then
place these pieces of art in a virtual museum of your creation. Included with THREE
of the selected pieces will be a description of the piece of art, the background of
its creator, and why you think this piece of art was created (how does it
represent the culture in which it was created? What effects did the artist’s
cultural environment have on the piece, etc.?). Finally, you will create your own
original piece of art in the style of one of the artists you’ve chosen to display in your
museum. Your original piece of art may be created in any fashion that you’d like, but
a picture or scan of it must be taken and displayed in one of the rooms of your
museum. Included with your original piece of art is an “Artist’s Statement”. This
statement will provide the museum visitor with insight into your intentions behind
the piece. This is the section of your museum where you get to describe your true
understandings of the characteristics that were common to your selected movement
or period in your region’s art. It will be your homage to the artists of your region.
Format/Creation of Your Museum:
We are going to suggest strongly that you use powerpoint (or keynote) to create
your virtual museum for this project. We will provide you with a step-by-step guide
as to how to use powerpoint (or keynote) to make a very aesthetically pleasing and
quite intricate museum. However, if you would like to create your museum using
other means you may formulate a plan and have it approved before beginning the
project.
Resources:
Art Project powered by Google.
Explore museums from around the world, discover and view hundreds of artworks at incredible zoom
levels, and even create and share your own collection of masterpieces.
ABC-Clio: If you research individual eras and regions on this site you will find links along the left side of
each culture’s main page that offer articles about art and architecture for the selected cultures.
Art History
Artchive by Mark Harden: Information about Artists and their movements with images
Artcyclopedia Excellent art encyclopedia. Search by artists name, title of work, or art museum
Art History Resources on the Web: From all time periods throughout the world
Artist a Day: Get to know the work of some contemporary artists and watch excellent videos. This site
includes animators, collage artists, costume artists, digital artists, fiber artists, illustrators, installation artists,
jewelry artists, painters, photographers, sculptors, street artists, and video artists
ArtLex: Dictionary of Visual Arts (articles & images)
Art Masters from the Yahoo directory
Gardner's Art Through the Ages Companion site to this art history textbook
****Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History Metropolitan Museum of Art
Yahoo! Art: Art History
Museums
Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia, PA
Boston Museum of Fine Arts
Brooklyn Museum
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco
Frick Collection, New York
Guggenheim Museum, New York
J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Museum of Modern Art, New York
National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia PA
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Prado Museum in Madrid, Spain
The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia
Virtual Library Museums Pages
Architecture
Building Big from David Macaulays PBS series: buildings, bridges, dams, skyscrapers
Great Buildings Collection
The Pritzker Architecture Prize
World History Online Resources (Text Books)
A Comprehensive Outline of World History
A Short History of the World (Published 1922 – Be aware of this)
OpenSourceWiki Art History Text Book
*SCROLL TO THE NEXT PAGE TO SEE THE PROJECT CHECKLIST. USE THE CHECKLIST
TO KEEP TRACK OF YOUR PROGRESS.
VIRTUAL MUSEUM PROJECT CHECKLIST
_____ MUSEUM THEME (IS THERE AN ELEMENT THAT CONNECTS ALL PIECES IN YOUR
MUSEUM TOGETHER? )
______ AESTHETICALLY PLEASING MUSEUM DESIGN/LAYOUT (DOES THE VIRTUAL
MUSEUM LOOK GOOD?)
_____ 7 PIECES OF ART/EXHIBITS (AT LEAST)
_____ 3 ART ANALYSIS DESCRIPTIONS (CHOOSE 3 PIECES
BETWEEN 100 AND 300 WORDS)
FROM YOUR MUSEUM –
_____ DO YOUR DESCRIPTIONS MEET THE FOLLOWING? - description of the piece of art,
the background of its creator, and why you think this piece of art was created? -How does it represent the culture in which it was created? What effects did the
artist’s cultural environment have on the piece? – If the artist is unknown,
research a typical person from that area and time period.
_____ ARTIST’S STATEMENT IS PRESENT ALONG WITH AN ORIGINAL PIECE OF ART THAT
YOU HAVE CREATED IN THE STYLE OF YOUR MUSEUM’S THEME. THE ARTIST’S
STATEMENT SHOULD DESCRIBE WHAT YOU ATTEMPTED TO CREATE IN YOUR ORIGINAL PIECE.
IT SHOULD ALSO DESCRIBE HOW THE THEME THAT YOU’VE CHOSEN TO DISPLAY IN YOUR
MUSEUM CONNECTS/RELATES TO OUR STUDIES IN THE COURSE THIS YEAR.
_____ IN-TEXT CITATIONS ARE PRESENT ON ALL THREE OF YOUR EXHIBIT DESCRIPTIONS.
(MLA – IN-TEXT CITATION HOW TO)
_____ WORKS CITED PAGE SLIDE IS PLACED AT THE END OF THE SLIDESHOW
(MLA – END NOTES HOW TO)
_____ TESTED LINKS TO MAKE SURE THEY WORK PROPERLY (CAN CHECK BY RUNNING THE
SLIDESHOW IN KEYNOTE)
_____
SAVED AND POSTED YOUR MUSEUM TO OUR ONLINE GALLERY DISCUSSION BLOG ON
MYBIGCAMPUS (MAKE SURE YOUR NAME IS CLEARLY DISPLAYED SOMEWHERE WITHIN
YOUR MUSEUM & WITHIN THE TITLE OF YOUR MUSEUM FILE)