Course-Long Project Information

Dear class,

You should begin working on your course-long project, curating your own art collection ASAP! This will be done virtually, so money is no object and neither is geography. Perhaps the only limitation is documentation... the easiest images to collect are to be found online, however, don't rule out images found in books or magazines (you can photograph or scan pages to the best of your ability), or especially art that you view in real life – likely you can photograph it, but make sure you have permission first.

This project will require spending more time on your blog. In addition to the usual at least once a week post responding to the class meeting or findings you make on your own, you must also write a post relating to the new piece you're adding to your collection that week.

Short version: You'll be expected to "collect" ten works of art throughout the semester, and document it in the form of a blog post with images. For this project, I'd like for you to stick with museum-quality artists. (You of course may write about any artist otherwise in your blog!) The SmartHistory website (see links in sidebar) is a good place to start looking for artists.

What To Include

1. The image — go for the best quality image you can find. I'll talk more about this in class.

2. Information about the artwork: Title, artist's name, date the work was produced.

3. Information about the artist, if available: Share as much biographical information as you can, in your own words. I don't want copying and pasting from another source — that is called plagiarism and I will call you on it! Your collection posts' text should be at least 300 words each, if not more.

4. A brief discussion about the piece (again, in your own words!!) — why did you choose it for your collection? What do you like about it specifically? Is it a representative example of the artist's oeuvre in general, or does it seem different from the rest of their body of work? How does it function formally, i.e. using the elements of art and principles of design that I introduced earlier in the semester. Basically, what do you see?

5. When you have a few works accumulated, you can also talk about how works might relate to one another in the collection. Are you collecting a certain genre of work, do you prefer certain styles or subjects, etc.

6. Label each of your collecting posts with the tag/label "collection". That way it is easy to click on that tag in your blog to view all your posts related to the project.

This is NOT a project you want to get behind on! You will be expected to have at least ten separate weekly posts for this project and at least ten works of art. Here is a blog post that is a good example of what I will be looking for, by a former student: Ashley's blog.

I will address specific questions in class, or feel free to email me if you are unsure of any of the requirements. This post will appear easily accessible in the sidebar for the rest of the semester, so no excuses about adhering to the specifications of the project!

I am looking forward to seeing you build your collections! Have fun!