HUM 2301: Foundations of Western Culture 1 term paper

HUM 2301: Foundations of Western Culture 1 – fully online, Summer 1, 2019 Five-page critical analysis paper (100 total points): You must follow these instructions: ? The paper must meet the required length or else it will not be accepted. ? Since the paper has been assigned well in advance of the due date, there will be no extensions or rewrites. ? Five-page critical analysis paper must be completed by 12:59pm on 7/3/2019. Museum assignment: This assignment must be completed at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. You must have your own transportation. (The MFAH may be reached by light rail.) Papers must be submitted to Blackboard’s Turnitin.com drop box. Go to the museum and choose five (5) works of art with a theme reflected in the materials studied in HUM 2301. 1. Study the works of art and compose short essays for each in two parts (see below). Be sure the subject matter has been covered in class. Make sure to limit the art work to items that can be linked to the chapters assigned this semester. 2. The paper is to be typed, double-spaced with one-inch margins in a reasonable font (e.g. Times New Roman 12). 3. Essays for each of the five (5) works should be about a page in length (no more than one [1] page per work of art). PART I: Describe the subject of the artwork. This will include: 1. artist’s name 2. title of work 3. museum collection number and gallery location 4. the date of piece as well as: 1. the medium (oil paint, watercolor, size, shape, color composition, bronze, marble, etc) 2. the scene that artwork depicts (be specific: your description must be full enough to convey the sense of the artwork to a reader who must form an image with the mind’s eye) 2 PART 2: 1. Explain how the artist has adapted this theme. Discuss, for example, how the artist has created the setting/mood/atmosphere to tell the story, and whether the artist has stayed closely to the historical/cultural/mythological/religious event or has chosen to retell it with a different emphasis from what you have read. 2. Consider also how the style of the artwork influences the content. For example, if the piece is a baroque painting, or an art deco sculpture, what does that particular style impart to the story or characters depicted? 3. You must be able to locate (and cite) the event in your textbook. Example (fictional): Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) 1% Nessus and Dejanira, 1920 1% Silverpoint on prepared paper 1% Gallery 502 1% Sayre, 430-432 1% This is a drawing of Nessus, the centaur, half-man, half-horse, holding in his arms the struggling nude Dejanira. Dejanira’s body is drawn in a way that is anatomically impossible, e.g., her head does not seem to come at the end of her neck, her right foot seems twisted beyond belief. 5% The drawing represents the violence attempted against Dejanira by Nessus. After Heracles married Dejanira, they came to the flooded river Euenus. The centaur, Nessus, carried Dejanira across, and then offered violence to her. Heracles shot him with an arrow poisoned with the blood of the Hydra. The centaur, as he lay dying, advised Dejanira to keep some of his own blood, which, smeared on a garment, would win back the love of Heracles if he were unfaithful to her. This she did. Eventually this leads to the death of Heracles. 5% NOTE: 1. Do not use pieces that involve the same theme more than once. 2. Devote at least one page to each piece of art, i.e. do not describe two pieces on one page. 3. Your name on this report is your statement that this is your work not copied from another. 4. For each misspelling and grammar mistake one percentage point will be deducted.