Week 1 Project
Artistic Change in
Sculpture
Relative to human history, the period covered in this week’s
study is long. During this lengthy span of years, not only did people change in
appearance, but the way they lived also changed radically. What we have found
of their art and architecture also demonstrates an evolution in these areas.
Using your eBook, find one example of sculpture from each of
the following periods: Paleolithic, Neolithic, and Bronze OR Iron Age.
View these sculpture pieces carefully. Capture an image of
each of the three sculptures and place them in chronological order, from oldest
to newest, in this template. Then, using information from your textbook,
lectures, and other appropriate academic sources, provide the following regarding
each image:
The title of the work, its location, the materials used to
create the work (if known), and the date.
A brief assessment of the visual properties you observe.
Describe the types of lines, shapes, colors and textures (actual and perceived)
the artist has used.
An analysis of the formal structure of each piece. What is
the meaning or importance of how the artist has arranged, organized, or
structured the visual elements in the image?
The natural subject of each piece. Based on your textbook
reading and Internet research, are there any details that have a symbolic
meaning? If so, what?
A five- to seven-sentence paragraph that discusses the
cultural context of each work, based on what you have learned through your
textbook reading, the online lectures, and Internet research. What do the
images tell you about the culture and the people who created them?
List of references, including the specific websites where
you found the images.
Week 2 Project
Instructions
It has been suggested that the art of Mesopotamia often
contains elements that can be seen as fearsome, militant, or political in
nature, while the art of the ancient Aegean is more harmonious, exuberant, and
non-threatening. Using your textbook, carefully examine the art from both
places.
Ancient Near East (Mesopotamia)
Choose three examples from the art of the ancient Near East
that either prove or disprove the statement that the art of this region can be
seen as fearsome, militant, or political in nature. Capture each image and
place it in the Word document provided for this assignment. For each example,
you will need to provide the following information: The title of the work, its
date, its place of origin, a detailed description as to what you see being
depicted in the work of art, 3–5 sentences as to the work’s historical value,
and 4–7 sentences as to how this work of art proves or disproves the idea that
art of this region is fearsome, militant, or political in nature.
The Ancient Aegean
Choose three examples from the art of the ancient Aegean
that either prove or disprove the statement about the nature of the art from
this region—that it is often viewed as harmonious, exuberant, and
non-threatening. Capture each image and place it in the Word document provided
for this assignment. Like with your selections for Mesopotamia, you need to
provide the following information for each work of art: The title of the work,
its date, its place of origin, a detailed description as to what you see being
depicted in the work of art, 3–5 sentences as to the work’s historical value,
and 4–7 sentences as to how this work of art proves or disproves the idea that
art of this region is harmonious, exuberant, and non-threatening.
Download the Word document template and use it to complete
this assignment. Save the template on your hard drive.
Week 3 Project
Similarities and
Differences in Architecture
Use the template provided to prepare a report that details
similarities and differences between religious buildings: A Greek temple, a
Roman temple, an Early Christian church, and a Byzantine church. Follow these
instructions to complete the assignment:
Download the Word document worksheet for completing this
assignment here.
Complete Part 1, Comparison Chart:
From the list of examples provided in the worksheet, choose
one example from each: A Greek temple, a Roman temple, an Early Christian
church, and a Byzantine church.
Carefully examine each building and read about it in your
textbook, course lectures, and through reliable internet resources.
Then, note in the chart the visual characteristics for each
type of religious building that are similar and different.
Complete Part 2, Historical and Social Context: In a
paragraph of at least 8-10 sentences, highlight key similarities and
differences between the four structures, and any social, historical, religious,
and/or political factors that may have contributed to these similarities and
differences. Explain the use and function of each structure, and provide any
additional details that help us understand its full meaning.
Week 4 Project
Exhibition of World
Art
Imagine you are a curator at your local city’s Museum of
Art. You have been asked to organize a small exhibition of objects of art from
the cultures of China, Japan, Africa, and the Americas; you will also showcase
Islamic art. Your exhibition should include representative objects that
highlight significant and essential ideas of each culture. You may plan to
include actual objects in your exhibition, or photographs or models of larger
structures or sculptures.
Survey your course textbook and reliable internet websites
to locate two art objects from each of the following five cultures: China,
Japan, Africa, the Americas, and Islam, that you would like to include in your
exhibition. Your objects must date to the time period we are studying in this
course (Prehistory -1300 CE). You will select a total of ten objects for
display in your “Exhibition of World Art.”
Then, write a “museum label “for each object within a
Microsoft Word document. The following should be on the “label” for each
object:
A photograph of the object
Identifying information:
Name of the artist (if known—otherwise, attribute the
culture)
Title of the work
Date of the work
Medium/materials used to create the work
Current location
A paragraph of 4-5 sentences describing why the object is
representative of its culture and is culturally significant. Briefly explain
why you have selected the object for display.
Finally, in a paragraph of 8-10 sentences, write a
summarizing overview of your “Exhibition of World Art,” highlighting key
similarities and distinctions between the objects you have curated. Imagine
that visitors to your exhibition will read this overview as they enter your
“Exhibition of World Art,” and provide them with any information or context
they may need to fully appreciate the objects on display.
Offer a citation of your sources for each image and the
information provided as appropriate.
Week 5 Project
Travel Journal to
Points of Interest from the Early Middle Ages, Romanesque, and Gothic Worlds
Travel, whether it was to the Middle East to fight in the
Crusades or on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, was an activity that shaped the
Middle Ages.
For this assignment, put yourself in the place of a person
living during Middle Ages who traveled throughout Europe. Select a total of six
representative pieces of art or architecture that date from this period in
history. You should have 2 examples from each of the time periods in the Middle
Ages: two examples from the Early Middle ages, two that represent the
Romanesque, and two that represent Gothic art. Each example should reflect the
essential characteristics of its time period. Your objects need to date between
400 CE and 1300 CE—the time span that encompasses the Early Middle Ages,
Romanesque, and Gothic periods.
When you return from your travels, prepare a journal that
includes the following information for each of your six representative works of
art:
A photograph of the object
Identifying information:
Name of the artist (if available)
Title of the work
Date of the work
Medium/materials used to create the work
Then, write a paragraph of 4-6 sentences that:
Describes the visual characteristics that makes the object
representative of its style
Places the work within its social and historical context and
explains why it is culturally significant
Finally, in a well-developed paragraph of 6-8 sentences,
summarize what you have learned from your travels, highlighting key
similarities and distinctions between the six objects you selected for discussion.
