Ms de Bethune
Introduction to Studio Art Research Essay Project: 1st Semester
This paper is due on Monday, Jan. 12, 2015 in the Art room (never in my mailbox) (The paper will be marked down 5pts for every
day it is late. I WILL NOT accept it after the end of classes for the 2nd marking period, January 20, 2015. )
This project requires you to choose a gallery (or curatorial department) at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and select an object from
that gallery to focus on, research and tell me about. YOU MUST CHOOSE AN ART OBJECT/IMAGE THAT WAS MADE BEFORE 1800.
To get to the Met: The Museum is located at 5th and 80th street in Central Park. By subway, take the 4 or 5 train to 86 th street, walk
toward Central Park and turn left (south) on Fifth Avenue. The museum will be about 4th blocks away. Or, take the 6 train to 77th
street, and walk west and north 3 blocks to the Museum. The M86 cross-town bus stops right by the Museum, as do the M1, M2, M3,
or M4 5th avenue buses.
Admission*: All New York City public school students may visit the Museum for free*. Be sure to have your student ID with you. If
your family wishes to accompany you, recommended admission is $25/adults. However, the Museum will accept ANY AMOUNT as
admission. You can pay $1.00 to get in.
* From the MET website: The Museum participates in several programs that include free admission for students. All New York City
public school students, along with students from Bard Graduate Center, Barnard College, Columbia University, and the Institute of
Fine Arts at New York University, may visit the Museum for free. Please check with your school administrator to see if your student
I.D. allows free admission to the Museum.
Hours:
Open 7 Days a Week
: Sunday–Thursday: 10:00 a.m.–5:30 p.m.*
Friday and
Saturday: 10:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m.* Closed Thanksgiving Day, December 25,
January 1, and the first Monday in May
*Galleries are cleared at 5:15 p.m.,
Sunday–Thursday, and 8:45 p.m., Friday
and Saturday;
You are responsible for:
GOING TO THE MUSEUM. When you go, you will receive an adhesive sticker and receipt upon admission. You must save and attach
that sticker and receipt to your paper, or you will not receive credit for it.
1.
SELECTING A GALLERY (or curatorial department) from the list of the MET’s Galleries posted on the blackboard. Please
write your name next to the Gallery you have chosen on the sign up sheet, so that I know what you are thinking about. Write the
Curatorial gallery you are thinking of visiting on this worksheet, so that YOU will remember what you were thinking of. You may
also choose from the list of special exhibitions as long as the art featured was made before 1800.
2.
LOCATING THE GALLERY IN QUESTION. Get a floor plan of the Museum. On it, circle the galleries you have visited. This
must be handed in attached to your written project. (2.5%)
3.
WALKING AROUND THE MUSEUM. Explore at least three galleries. Consider a few different kinds of images and/or objects to
think about.
4.
While at the Met, and looking at the artwork in the Gallery you have selected to write about, RESPONDING TO QUESTIONS ON
THIS WORKSHEET. The worksheet is designed to help you collect material for your essay. (See reverse)
This worksheet must be attached to your written project. (15%)
5.
SELECTING ONE IMAGE OR OBJECT TO WRITE ABOUT. Please use the questions on the worksheet to help guide you in both
selecting your image/object and gathering information about it.
6.
DRAWING*, TO THE BEST OF YOUR ABILITY (and I want you to try hard), A SKETCH OF THE ART OBJECT YOU ARE
DESCRIBING. Make this sketch on a separate piece 8.5” x 11” of paper that you attach to your written project. Please do not use looseleaf paper. I can provide you with a piece of drawing paper if you need it. (Please make a drawing while at the Museum. Do not trace
an image from the website.) (5%)
(*FROM THE MET’S WEBSITE, ABOUT DRAWING: Sketching, in pencil only, is permitted in all the permanent collection galleries of
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The use of ballpoint pens, ink, markers, fountain pens, or watercolors is not permitted at any time.
While sketching, please do not hinder visitor traffic flow in the galleries. During periods of high attendance, the Museum reserves the
right to make any necessary adjustments to this sketching policy.)
7.
ANSWERING THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS IN A neatly TYPED 3-page paper, (or 750 words) (775%)
complete with bibliography and footnotes (in addition to the 3 pages) (2.5%).
YOU MAY ANSWER THIS IN PARAGRAPH OR OUT LINE FORM. PLEASE USE COMPLETE SENTENCES AT ALL TIMES.
PLEASE NOTE THAT I WILL NOT ACCEPT ANYTHING HAND-WRITTEN.
8.
I want your ideas, not those that you have borrowed from the web. I expect any ideas or other material that you have
referenced to be properly cited, so that the source is obvious. Wikipedia may be cited only once.
[The Lehman College Library is a resource for information about an art historic period, an artist or a historic period. If you need
guidance in using any of the databases, ask a librarian at the first floor Reference Desk for help. (HSAS students have access to the
CUNY Portal Databases, but in order to use these from home you must have your permission slips in and the red card filled in.)
Additionally, Janson’s History of Art, which we have 40 volumes of, is an excellent reference. These can only be used in the art room.]
YOUR WRITING ASSIGNMENT:
Cultures create objects and images that we consider to be art for a variety of reasons; some are public, some private, some personal,
some political, some decorative, and some utilitarian. Works of art are like signs that tell us about a specific time and place in human
existence. They also communicate, across time and culture, some of the essential thoughts and feelings about our experience. The
confluence of available technology, materials, intellectual ideas, and cross-cultural influences conspire to create the style in which the
work of art you are considering is executed.
1. Tell me what curatorial department and gallery you found the object/image that you are writing about in. Why did you choose this
curatorial area?
2. Describe your art object or image. Tell me if it is 2-D or 3-D; tell me about the materials it is made of, and its size. Physically
describe it for me in great detail—surface ornamentation, type of brush work, textures, degree of simplicity or complexity, colors
used—are all things to think about when describing it. Does this object or image illustrate anything such as a myth, a historical event,
or a morality tale? What, if anything, is its subject? (Please write at least one sentence to answer each question.)
3. Tell me something about the context that it originated in. Where and when was it made? Who made it? To the best of your ability,
hazard a guess as to why it was made*. (Please write at least one sentence to answer each question.)
4. What was the larger historic context; what was going on in the world at the time this object or image was made. Might this object
or image have had an influence on these events? Might the events have had an influence on the creation of the object or image? Are
there any famous people who might have handled or viewed this object or image when it was new?* (Please write at least one
sentence to answer each question.)
5. What “style” is the object or image executed in? How do you know?* (At least four sentences.)
6. Why did you choose to look at and write about this object or image? What about it appeals to you? If you were to remake this
object or image today, how would it be different? Think about materials, size, utilitarian function, political and social messages to be
communicated. (Please write at least one sentence to answer each category listed.)
7. Lastly, do you think that style matters? Do you think that the way an object or image looks affects how it is used or how the
message it conveys is communicated? Explain your answer; cite examples. (You need to really think about this answer, and use what
you have learned by answering the other questions to make your argument.)
* You must find out the answers to these questions through research. I will reiterate that your writing must be original. I want to
know what YOU THINK about the image or object that you chose to write about. But in order for you to really understand it, you
need to have some historical background.
MET MUSEUM VISIT WORKSHEET: (Bring this with you when you go to the MET.)
Name: ______________________________________________________________________________________ Date: ________
Curatorial Department you chose_______________________________________________________________
Galleries you visited ___________________________________________________
Gallery you are focusing on: ______________________________________________________________________________
What kind of art is in this Gallery: objects of decorative art or objects of fine art _________________________________
What kind of objects are they? (paintings, sculpture, prints, vases, pieces of furniture, etc?)
______________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
How many are in there? ____________________________________
What seems to be their relationship to each other? _________________________________________________________
Choose three objects and/or images to focus on
What are they? ____________________________________________________________________________________
What are they made of? _____________________________________________________________________________
What size are they? ___________________________________________________________
What is their purpose? (Or purposes?) ___________________________________________________________________
Choose one of these objects and/or images. This will be the subject of your paper.
REMEMBER THAT YOU MUST CHOOSE AN OBJECT/IMAGE CREATED BEFORE 1800.
List the title, artist, date made, location made, materials, and size here: __________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Formally describe this object and/or image for me. Think about scale, shapes, form, colors, surface textures, degree of
ornamentation, nature of ornamentation, quality of line, brush stroke, use of space, use of value, etc… No detail is too small to
include in your description.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Remind me: when and where was this object made? _______________________________________________
Is there anything about the object that you think is unique to this particular time and place?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Is there anything about the object that might be found in an object with a similar purpose today?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
If this object or image were made today, would it look any different?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Can you think of any significant historical events that occurred about the time that this object/image was created?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Is there anything about the object that might connect it to this history?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Do you like this object or image? Do you think it is beautiful? _________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________