California Art Analysis: Due Tuesday, January 28th, 2020
California Art Analysis
This assignment will demand that you spend some time perusing California art, that is visual pieces that somehow capture some element of the California experience. This may include California’s imaginative, geographical, or human landscape. Visiting a museum is ideal, partly because it becomes a fuller art experience, but for this three-paragraph assignment, you may access the piece of art you decide to write on via online resources. And even if you’re only able to peruse art by visiting museum websites, you are likely to still enjoy the various examples of art. So, here’s the assignment. You are only working with one painting (for this assignment, your subject must be a painting versus sculptures, film, etc.; however, in the spring, during our visit to LACMA, you will have the opportunity to work with other types of art). The following parts should be fully developed and your final copy should be revised and edited prior to turning it in on Monday, January 27th.
Part 1: (Introduction paragraph) Please answer the following question for your introduction paragraph: “What does art provide for us as individuals and for us as a whole society, particularly as residents of a unique state like California?” Make sure to have some form of thesis that mentions the name of the painting you’ve chosen to work with, the date of its completion (if available), and of course the artist’s name.
Part 2: (Analytical body paragraph) You will write one college-level body paragraph for this part of your response. The first sentence for this paragraph should once again include the name of the painting, the artist’s name, and where you accessed the art piece. For this body paragraph, you need to include three different elements. First, you need to discuss the objective aspects of the painting. The objective parts are the facts of the painting that can be identified through the naked eye. This includes the subject(s) of the painting, the colors used, the simple artistic techniques used, the type of paint(s), and the various mediums used. The second element in the body paragraph is the interpretive part. This part includes your interpretation of the art piece. Is it a painting that reflects a particular theme, idea, issue, part of history, or people? What is the possible message being conveyed by the painting? Finally, the third element is the subjective part. This requires you to discuss how the painting affects you on a personal level. Does it create a certain emotion for you? Does it remind you of something in your past? Does it create a new idea or perspective on life for you? Remember, you need to include all three elements for this analytical body paragraph—yes, if done properly, it will be a full, collegiate-like paragraph reaching close to a page or so.
Part 3: (Conclusion paragraph) Considering the changing dynamics of the Golden State, please write a reflection on what art needs to capture in terms of the current California zeitgeist (spirit of the time). You should also take into account how the painting of your choice fits into the California imaginative, historical, social, or cultural landscape.
http://www.pacificstandardtime.org
https://www.moca.org/exhibitions
https://archive.org/details/madeincaliforn00barr_/page/292
Below are just a few pieces that I find remarkable:
“Bridges” by James (Jim) Doolan—for more info on this former UCLA instructor: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-seed/james-doolin_b_1653826.html
“Splash” by David Hockney—for more information on this L.A. transplant: https://www.metmuseum.org/metmedia/video/collections/modern/david-hockney-preview
“No Splash” by Ramiro Gomez—for more information on this local boy: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/aug/22/ramiro-gomez-latin-american-art-los-angeles-david-hockney
“A Particular Kind of Heaven” by Ed Ruscha—for more information on this L.A. cool dude who did a whole series on Kerouac’s On The Road: http://edruscha.com/featured-works/
“California Grapeskins” by Ed Ruscha—for more images based on Jack Kerouac’s On The Road: https://hammer.ucla.edu/exhibitions/2011/ed-ruscha-on-the-road/#gallery_fffe527bf7a14fde5ee09985fff85356269dba3b
And, Ed Ruscha hanging out with Anthony Kiedis (Red Hot Chili Peppers)—for a cool conversation on words as art, check out this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W693tnEJ4k0
calitexperience 