“Exhibition Catalogue Project”

This assignment about a modern art artists I will choose 2 of them to compare. 

short (2-3 pages or circa 1200 words)not less than 1200 words essays on an individual artwork by this artist which compares this artist’s artwork to another work that we have studied or will study in class.  

1- the first art work of the artist i choose is ( Diego Rivera symbolic landscape) 1940

2- work that we have studied or will study in class ( Max Ernst Europe After the Rain ) 1940 42 

I choose them because of of these at least apply to them :    

The best visual comparisons are chosen carefully. Comparisons work best when you look for a major commonality that links the two paintings. You must follow ONE of the following criteria in choosing which paintings to compare:

1). Choose two paintings that have very similar or identical subject matter. (This commonality usually

makes for the clearest comparisons).

2). Choose paintings from the same year and focus on the differences between them.

3). Compare two works by the same artist, one early and the other later in her/his career (as per Sayre); this will necessitate that you work closely with another colleague who is writing on this earlier or later painting. Possibilities for such a comparison are Picasso, Diego Rivera, Kahlo. 

4). Choose a  painting that reminds you of the interests of a particular direction of avant-garde painting we’ve studied in class or we will study.

5). Choose a painting that seems to follow a similar formal direction in abstraction (for example: geometric abstraction; expressive abstraction; cubistic forms; de Stijl).

Be sure to spend a good amount of time looking over your chosen artwork carefully (about an hour). Write a brief (2-3 page) visual analysis that compares and contrasts your painting’s composition and its major themes with that of a related work we have studied/will study in class. You should also do a very basic sketch of your chosen artwork to include in your catalogue essay, to help you focus on the work’s composition.

 Titles of works of art MUST be italicized or underlined within your essay. You must include a reproduction of the artworks you are discussing in your essay; be sure to insert them where you are discussing them in your text and LABEL them clearly so that it is easy for the reader to find when you refer to them in your text (i.e., “Figure 1”, etc.). 

Your informed discussion of the visual elements and principles of design in your chosen artwork must take into account the following “questions”:

I. Visual elements: (Sayre Ch. 2) How do space, shape, modeling and mass, color, and texture work together in each work to form an organized whole?

II. Principles of design: (Sayre Ch. 2) Are scale and proportion used to create certain effects in each artwork? How does the artist of each work make use of repetition, balance or contrast among elements, and WHY does she/he do so? Are the works similar or different in terms of how principles of design are used by each artist? 

III. Interpretation: (Sayre Ch. 4) What do you think is the significance of each artwork? Does each present any theme consistently? Are the paintings similar or different in the theme they focus on?

IV. a Title: Give your essay a catchy or provocative title which points to your thesis, that is, what you think is most significant about the comparison with your selected artwork and what you have learned from it. Your title should make your reader want to read your essay.

**Citations**

You MUST CITE the sources (books, journals, magazines, museum publications, museum wall labels) of information you have quoted or cited in your paper in endnotes. The undocumented use of published material by another author constitutes plagiarism. NO INTERNET SOURCES will be accepted; you may however use images from the internet for your essay.