AP Art History Summer Viewing Assignment
Viewing a work of art in person is very different than seeing it in a book or projected on a screen, so in preparation for this class, instead of reading a book about art, you will go look at some actual art at the Princeton University Art Museum. Admission to the museum is free.
Part I: Selfie Scavenger Hunt
You must find the 20 works of art listed below at the museum and take a selfie with each one. You will then put together a Google Slides presentation of the selfies, which you will then share with either Mr. Oosting or Mr. Lugo (whoever your teacher is). PRESENTATIONS ARE DUE TO YOUR TEACHER BEFORE THE FIRST DAY OF CLASS.
Each of these works is directly or indirectly connected to works of art that we will study this year by either the artist, subject, or concept. When you find the work of art, spend some time looking at it and think about some of the following questions.
NOTE: You do not need to provide a written response to these questions, but you should be prepared to participate in a class discussion based on them on the first day of class.
-FORM
What does it look like? Look at color, shapes, texture, medium, etc.
-CONTENT
Who/what is the subject? What do they represent? Is there a narrative/story?
-FUNCTION
What was the work made for? Was it religious, utilitarian, political, or just for making art?
-CONTEXT
What does this work tell us about the time, place, and culture that produced it?
Were there any outside/external influences that impacted the work? Is there a backstory that helps explain what’s going on? Look at the wall plaques for this info.
-Do you believe it is any good? Why or why not?
Part II: Personal Reflection
The museum is a phenomenal resource. It has way more works of art that directly relate to works of art or artists that we’ll study this year (over 40), and many more that don’t but may still interest you. Therefore, in addition to finding the above works of art, you also need to select two other works of art and take a selfie with each.
-The first work should be something that you think is awesome. The second should be a work of art that you think is terrible, is not art, and has no place in a museum.
-For both selfies, write ONE paragraph explaining why you chose it, why you believe it is awesome, or why you believe it is not art at all. Think about what qualifies something as a work of art, and what makes it good or bad. This should be included in your Google Slides presentation.
Summer Viewing List
1. El Anatsui - Another Place
2. Bill Viola - Six Heads
3. Shirin Neshat - Sayed, from Our House is on Fire series
4. Kiki Smith - Untitled
5. Egyptian Sarcophagus
6. Assyrian wall relief from palace of Ashurnarsipal
7. Roman fresco - Fragment of a Wall Painting
8. Arabic Calligraphy - Folio from the Quran
9. Igbo peoples – Ikenga
10. Bamileke peoples - Elephant Mask
11. Tlatilco Double-faced female figure (One of the 250 on the curriculum!)
12. Mayan Stela
13. Maria Montoya Martinez - Black on black pottery
14. Auguste Rodin - Age of Bronze
15. Studio of Jacquez-Louis David - Death of Socrates
16. Cezanne – Mont Sainte-Victoire
17. Il Baciccio - The Triumph of the Name of Jesus
(This is the preparatory sketch for a huge ceiling fresco we will study)
18. Chartres Cathedral - Martyrdom of Saint George
19. Andy Warhol – Marilyn
20. Zhang Hongtu - Six Pack of Kekou Kele
NOTE: Some of the works above may not be on display depending on how early you go during the summer. This list is current as of June. The front gallery changes more frequently than the others, so the first four works on the list are the most likely to have changed. If they are not on display, please email me to let me know.
Analyzing Works of Art
When analyzing works of art, students must think critically about form, content, context, and function. The following is from the AP Art History Course and Exam Description:
1. Form describes component materials and how they are employed to create physical and visual elements that coalesce into a work of art. Form is investigated by applying design elements and principles to analyze the work’s fundamental visual components and their relationship to work in its entirety.
Line: horizontal, vertical, diagonal, or curved lines?
Shape: height, width, geometric, or organic?
Space: positive, negative, or three-dimensional?
Color: hue, value (light or dark), or intensity (dull, bright, warm, or cool)?
Texture: two dimensional or surface texture?
2. Function includes the artist’s intended use(s) of the work, which may change according to the context of audience, time, location, and culture. Functions may be for utility, intercession, decoration, communication, and commemoration and may be spiritual, social, political, and/or personally expressive.
Why did the artist create the work?
For religious worship?
To entertain or please the eye?
To tell a story?
As a form of scientific study?
Where did the artist originally intend to place the work?
Made for a competitive exhibition?
And many more…
3. Content of a work of art consists of interacting, communicative elements of design, representation, and presentation within a work of art. Content includes subject matter: visible imagery that may be formal depictions (e.g., minimalist or nonobjective works), representative depictions (e.g., portraiture and landscape), and/or symbolic depictions (e.g., emblems and logos). Content may be narrative, symbolic, spiritual, historical, mythological, supernatural, and/or propagandistic (e.g., satirical and/or protest oriented).
Subject: what/who does the work depict?
Iconography: what do the figures and objects in the work represent?
Narration: what event or series of events does the artist present?
4. Context includes original and subsequent historical and cultural milieu of a work of art. Context includes information about the time, place, and culture in which a work of art was created, as well as information about when, where, and how subsequent audiences interacted with the work. The artist’s intended purpose for a work of art is contextual information, as is the chosen site for the work (which may be public or private), as well as subsequent locations of the work. Modes of display of work of art can include associated paraphernalia (e.g., ceremonial objects and attire) and multisensory stimuli (e.g., scent and sound). Characteristics of the artist and audience – including aesthetic, intellectual, religious, political, social, and economic characteristics – are context. Patronage, ownership of a work of art, and other power relationships are also aspects of context. Contextual information includes audience response to a work of art. Contextual information ma be provided through records, reports, religious chronicles, personal reflections, manifestos, academic publications, mass media, sociological data, cultural studies, geographic data, artifacts, narrative and/or performance (e.g., oral, written, poetry, music, dance, dramatic productions), documentations, archaeology, and research.
Artist: Who created the work?
What is/was the artist’s status in the culture?
What else is known about this artist?
Culture: When was the work created?
Where was the work produced?
Religious beliefs? Political or philosophical ideologies?
Impact: Inspire or influence other artists?
Seen by a large number of people?
Cause controversy? Alter fashion or taste?
Function: See function above.