Museum Research Paper Assignment:
Write an eight-page research paper about a work from the European collection of Renaissance to Romantic art from the Art Institute of Chicago. Your paper should be organized around an original thesis statement that is based on your own visual observations, analysis, and research. You will be required to have five secondary research sources in your Works Cited page. You must cite all sources (Use MLA format). Your paper should also include images of the artworks under discussion.
Learning Outcomes:
• Identify a research question
• Develop a research strategy
• Access and evaluate secondary sources
• Synthesize visual analysis and research to support the thesis
• Communicate effectively in writing
• Properly cite sources
This assignment will be broken down into the following steps outlined below. You will need to turn in your thesis statement, an annotated bibliography, and the final research paper at different stages throughout the semester. Please consult your Course Schedule for these due dates.
Step 1: Museum Visit to the Art Institute of Chicago (you may find information on hours, location, and admission at: http://www.artic.edu/).
Museum Visit—Helpful Hints:
Plan to spend some time looking at the artwork. Bring pencil and paper to jot down initial observations and impressions. Bring a camera or phone so that you can take an image of the work (no flash is allowed) and the museum object label for later reference.
You will want to go to the European galleries, which are located on the second floor of the main museum (Michigan Avenue entrance). The following is a map of the floor plan of the galleries that you should visit.
Make sure to pick a work that appeals to you or that you are interested in. Note the information on the object label: artist, title, date, medium, etc. You should take careful notes about the formal elements: line, shape, color, light, texture, space, and composition. Be a visual investigator. Look at how the work is composed: how has the artist manipulated the formal and material elements of the work? What is emphasized? How is the imagery or symbolism organized? What is the subject matter of the work? Take a non-flash photo and/or sketch the work for later reference. Make sure to read any related museum labels.
Look at the surrounding works; the galleries are generally organized chronologically. What types of works and imagery are represented? This might help you formulate your thesis, by noting similarities and/or differences. You also might decide to select another work from an adjacent gallery to compare and/or contrast with your artwork.
Step 2: Getting Started on your Research and Developing a Thesis Statement
Now that you have selected a work that falls within the guidelines of the assignment, what can you possibly write about it? This assignment is not a description of a work or a report about the artist; it is a research paper, which asks you to pose a thesis and support it with formal and contextual evidence.
The best way to begin is to return to your museum notes and ask yourself a series of questions. The following are some suggested questions:
What struck me about the work? What were my impressions? What was being emphasized?
How might this work have functioned in its original setting or for its original audience? Is it religious, secular, political, etc.?
How are the materials/media used by the artist (either to emphasize function or to represent subject matter)?
How does this work compare and or not compare to a work from a similar time period or region?
How does the work express a larger cultural concept?
Your research question can address the style, subject matter, iconography, or context of the artwork.
Brainstorm and jot down ideas. Do some general reading on the time period/cultural region of work. How do you think work is a product of the culture/time period in which it was made? For initial background information go to more general and broad scope sources: the Metropolitan Museum of Art has a great website devoted to art called the Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History (http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/) survey texts like Stokstad, Grove Dictionary of Art, Oxford Art Online (through Harper Library’s “Articles and Databases,” books on the period/region: e.g. Baroque painting; Spanish painters, etc. Look at the bibliographies of these sources for further research possibilities. Think about how your work might have either been similar and/or unique to other works of period/region. You might also want to look at works that are by that artist so that you can gain an understanding of the artists’ style or treatment of subject matter: go to Web Gallery of Art online to do this: http://www.wga.hu/.
Thesis Statement:
From a closer analysis of your observations and your background reading, a thread of inquiry/investigation should emerge. Are there questions you have? Is something intriguing or unusual? Your analysis/interpretation does not have to be groundbreaking or completely fleshed out but should start to direct your research and preliminary focus. Your thesis should make an interesting claim that you will explain and support in your paper.
We will have an in-class peer review workshop on developing your thesis statement. I have also posted a link to an informative video on generating thesis statements on Blackboard: https://youtu.be/en1xVDU0xlI.
The following are some useful ways to get started:
- My Topic:
- Research Question: _____________________?
- Thesis Statement: ________________________
Step 3: Compiling and Evaluating your Research Sources: Annotated Bibliography
You will need to visit the Harper College Library and select five sources that will help you provide evidence and background information for your research thesis statement. You may want to refresh your Library Informational Session by watching the Harper Library videos on Blackboard for a review of how to access the Harper Library Catalogue and online articles and databases.
After you have evaluated the credibility and relevance of five sources, you will read the sources and write an Annotated Bibliography to turn in. You will need to follow MLA formatting for your citations and provide a summary and evaluation for each source. You will be given a handout with guidelines, examples of Annotated Bibliographies, and a rubric to follow. (A video on writing Annotated Bibliographies can be found on our Blackboard site: (http://youtu.be/-LpgXJvQnEc)
Step 4: Writing and Revising the Paper
The following essay plan will help you construct a logical structure for your paper: - Thesis Statement: ________________________________
- Proof question: ___________________________?
- Points of proof: __________________
Your proof question comes from turning your thesis into a question: how or why is this the case?
Your points of proof will be the answers to this question and become the evidence to support your thesis; your points of proof will be the body paragraphs of your paper.
Essay Outline:
- Interesting title
- Introduction
Identifies the artwork
Contains brief background information on the artwork
Contains your thesis statement - Body Paragraphs
Body Paragraph One (each body paragraph should focus on one aspect of your evidence or points of proof)
Body Paragraph Two
Body Paragraph Three
Body Paragraph Four (only if you have further evidence that you feel is essential to your thesis) - Conclusion:
A good conclusion does not restate the introduction but provides the reader with how your topic relates to some larger subject or identifies a path that future researchers might take.
Writing Help: OWL: Online Writing Lab through Purdue University (https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/
For further help with the mechanics of writing, please consult Writing About Art under the Student Resources. You may also look at the following books on Reserve in the Harper Library:
Anne D’Alleva, Look! Fundamentals of Art History, Second Edition. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2006. Print.
Sylvan Barnet, A Short Guide to Writing About Art. Boston: Prentice Hall, 2011. Print.
For information, you can visit The Writing Center in F303, call 847.925.6796 or email [email protected]
Format:
The paper should be eight-pages long, typed in Times New Roman, 12-point font, double-spaced, with one-inch margins. You must cite all sources: including text from the object label, quotations, and paraphrased sections of your research. You should use parenthetical citations within (MLA format) the body of your paper. You must also include a Works Cited page with a minimum of five sources.
All images should be included at the end of the paper and before your Works Cited page. At the bottom of the image, identify the image as Figure 1, Figure 2, etc. and include: the artist, title, date, medium, dimensions, and location of the work (museum, collection, gallery, etc.). When you refer to the artwork in your paper, use the artist’s last name and title when referencing works for the first time; you may subsequently refer to them as Figure 1, Figure 2, etc. Examples follow:
Figure 1. Michelangelo, David, from Piazza della Signoria, Florence, Italy, 1501-1504. Marble, 17’ high. Galleria dell’Accademia, Florence.
Figure 2. Peter Paul Rubens, Arrival of Marie de Medici at Marseilles, from the Luxembourg Palace, Paris, France, 1622-1625. Oil on canvas, 12’ 11 ½ “ x 9’ 7”. Musée du Louvre, Paris.
Make sure that all titles of artworks are italicized.
Remember, plagiarism is an automatic F, and I trust that all of you will be fastidious in acknowledging your sources.
The No-No- List:
This is not a report on an artist or time period; craft an interesting paper topic that you can support throughout your paper.
Do not supply biographical information on artist unless it supports your thesis.
Do not cobble and cut and paste your research sources; paraphrasing is useful in small amounts; too much can border on plagiarism.
Trust your visual instincts. More you can visually analyze the work as support for your thesis, the better.
Try to do too much; less is more. Stick to one line of inquiry; be focused.
Please note the following checklist to make sure that you have successfully completed the assignment:
Eight pages in length, numbered, and stapled (no title page or report cover necessary)
You have an interesting title
You have a Works Cited page with five sources
You have images that are clearly labeled
You have an introduction that includes your thesis statement
You have at least three unified body paragraphs that support your thesis statement
Your paper is logically organized
Your paper includes a formal analysis of at least one work of art
You have transition sentences for each of your paragraphs
You have a conclusion
You use parenthetical citations when you have a direct quote or paraphrase one of your sources
You use formal language in your paper
You follow MLA formatting for your in-text citations and for your Works Cited page
Sample Solution
