ARTS 1301

WRITING ASSIGNMENT
PROFESSOR-CARLOS HIDALGO

DescriptionThe student must complete a 1,000-word writing requirement in this course. The
assignment is a reaction paper written in response to a specific work of art.

SubjectI have provided a list of artists. The student will pick one topic (one artist) for the
assignment. You may pick any one piece by any of the artists on the list. If you want to write about
an artist that is not on the list, you have to check with me before you can do so. You can also write
on a work of art done by an anonymous artist as long as you clear it with me beforehand. (If you
don't clear an anonymous artist or an artist that is not on the list with me beforehand, I reserve the
right to not accept your paper.)

ProcessLook through the list of artists that I handed out. Almost all the artists on the list are
represented in your textbook. Look through your book for examples of the different artists work
and pick an artist that interests you. Once you have picked the artist you will cover, you need to get
at least one outside source for your paper. You may use your textbook, but in that case you still
need to get at least one other source. Most students usually end up using three or four outside
sources for the assignment. Once you find a source, look through it and find one work of art that
you want to write about by the artist that you have chosen. You may use a piece illustrated in your
book, but you dont have to. Research your topic. Be smart about researching. For instance, you
may not find a book on Hokusai, but you will probably find information about him in a book
dealing with Japanese art. You may also have to look at magazine articles (i.e. Art Forum, Art in
America, ArtNews, etc.) for some artists, particularly the more recent ones. Be extremely careful
using Internet sources. Find reputable sources such as museums, educational institutions, and art
galleries, and don't rely on sources such as Wikipedia.

FormatPlease put your paper in the following order:

1. Cover pageInclude your name, topic and course information.
2. Art Illustration pageInclude a xeroxed or, preferably, a downloaded color image of the
artwork you are discussing.
3. Bibliography pageMLA style bibliography of the sources used in the assignment.
4. Introduction section(About 300-350 words) Type Introduction on top of the page. In
this section you should include some brief background information about the
artwork. This may include such information as the year it was completed, the style
of art that it represents, the artists intentions with this piece, the media used, how
the piece fits into the artists body of work, etc. Do not waste time and space with a
biography of the artist unless some of that information in pertinent to the specific
piece that you are discussing. You will probably only need to cite information in
this section of the paper.
5. Elements section(About 300-350 words) Type Elements on top of the page. In this
section, you must pick three art elements (find them in your textbook and in the first
course's first lecture) and discuss how the artist uses them in the piece. Be specific
and use the terms correctly. Pick any three elements, but make sure that they are
important to the composition of the piece you are discussing.
 6. Reaction section(About 300-400 words) Type Reaction on top of this page. In this
section you will discuss how you feel about the work. I dont want to see I love it
or I hate it on your paper. Art is a very subjective thing. Regardless of what the
artist is trying to accomplish with a piece, the viewers individual experiences will
shape and mold their reactions to the things they see. So I want you to dig deep and
write about how and why the piece affected you. (If it didnt, why did you pick the
piece in the first place?!) Any reaction is valid as long as you have a valid reason
for it and you explain it. (In other words, I will not deduct points if you dont like a
piece, but I will if you write something like my little brother could paint this and
leave it at that.)
*Begin each new section on a new piece of paper, and put the title of that section on top.
*Remember to document all information that is not common knowledge, including
paraphrasing as well as quoted information. When citing, use the following format:
Jackson Pollock developed a technique known as drip painting. (Brown 135)
*I will follow GSU guidelines regarding plagiarized information.

GradingThis assignment is worth one-fifth of your final grade. The writing assignment is worth
100 points (equal to one test.) The grade for the paper will be broken down as follows:
1Introduction (0-30 points)
2Elements (0-30 points)
3Reaction (0-40 points)
*You may lose up to 5 points each (at my discretion) if the cover page, art illustration, or
bibliography page are either not turned in, are in the wrong order, or are
unsatisfactory.

Due DateSee Semester Planner for writing assignment due date. The assignment is due during
that days class meeting. If the writing assignment is turned in late, 5 points will be deducted for
each class meeting that the assignment is late.

HelpI will gladly work with each of you individually. Due to the numbers of students in the class,
however, it is your responsibility to seek help from me if you need it. You can also get help at the
Learning & Tutoring Center, Room 1130.

WRITING ASSIGNMENT TOPICS

The following topics will not be accepted: Michelangelo Sistene Chapel Ceiling or Creation
of Adam, Jan Van Eyck Arnolfini Wedding, Leonardo DaVinci Mona Lisa, Pablo Picasso
Guernica, Vincent Van Gogh Starry Night

Ansel Adams, Jean Arp, Francis Bacon, Giacomo Balla, Jennifer Bartlett, Jean-Michel Basquiat,
Romare Bearden, Christian Boltanski, Hieronimous Bosch, Sandro Boticelli, Jonathan Borofsky,
Georges Braque, Louise Bourgeois, Margaret Bourke-White, Pieter Brughel the Elder, Deborah
Butterfield, Constantin Brancusi, Alexander Calder, Caravaggio, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Mary
Cassatt, Elizabeth Catlett, Paul Cezanne, Marc Chagall, Giorgio Di Chirico, Christo (&
Jean-Claude), Judy Chicago, Cimabue, Francesco Clemente, Chuck Close, Thomas Cole, Joseph
Cornell, Gustave Courbet, Tony Cragg, Salvador Dali, Leonardo Da Vinci, Jacques-Louis David,
Stuart Davis, Honore Daumier, Stuart Davis, Edgar Degas, Andre Derain, Willem De Kooning,
Eugene Delacroix, Richard Dibenkorn, Donatello, Jean Dubuffet, Marcel Duchamp, Raoul Dufy,
Albrecht Durer, Thomas Eakins, Eric Fischl, Audrey Flack, Dan Flavin, Jean-Honore Fragonard,
Robert Frank, Theodore Gericault, Helen Frankenthaler, Paul Gauguin, Alberto Giacometti,
Giotto, Andy Goldsworthy, Leon Golub, Bunky Echo Hawk, Arshile Gorky, Adolph Gottlieb,
Francisco Goya, El Greco, Richard Hamilton, Duane Hanson, Keith Haring, Eva Hesse, Ando
Hiroshige, David Hockney, Hans Hoffman, Howard Hodgkins, Katsushika Hokusai, Jenny
Holzer, Winslow Homer, Edward Hopper, Jean A. D. Ingres, Jasper Johns, Frida Kahlo, Wassily
Kandinski, Anish Kaapor, Alex Katz, Anselm Kiefer, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Paul Klee, Gistav
Klimt, Franz Kline, Kathe Kollwitz, Oscar Kokoscha, Barbara Kruger, Dorothea Lange, Jacob
Lawrence, Roy Lichtenstein, May Ying Lin, Rene Magritte, Edouard Manet, Sylvia Plimack
Mangold, John Marin, Robert Mapplethorpe, Agnes Martin, Massacio, Paula Moderson-Becker,
Henri Matisse, James Abbott McNeil, Michelangelo, Joan Miro, Joan Mitchell, Piet Mondrian,
Claude Monet, Berthe Morisot, Henry Moore, Edvard Munch, Elizabeth Murray, Myron, Alice
Neel, Louise Nevelson, Emil Nolde, Georgia OKeefe, Claes Oldenburg, Phillip Pearlstein,
Francis Picabia, Pablo Picasso, Camille Pisarro, Jackson Pollock, Larry Poons, Martin Puryear,
Raphael, Robert Rauschenberg, Odilon Redon, Ad Reinhardt, Rembrandt, Pierre-August Renoir,
Bridget Riley, Diego Rivera, Auguste Rodin, James Rosenquist, Susan Rothenberg, Mark Rothko,
Henri Rousseau, Peter Paul Rubens, Bette Saar, Lucas Samaras, Miriam Schapiro, Sean Scully,
Andres Serrano, Georges Seurat, Joel Shapiro, Sandy Skoglund, Cindy Sherman, David Smith,
Jaune Quick-To-See Smith, Kiki Smith, Frank Stella, Alfred Steiglitz, Tintoretto, Titian, Henri
Toulouse-Lautrec, J.W.M. Turner, Johannes (Jan) Van Eyck, Vincent Van Gogh, Diego
Velasquez, Jan Vermeer, Andrea Del Verrochio, Elizabeth Vigee-Lebrun, Peter Voulkos, Andy
Warhol, Jean-Antoine Watteau, William Wegman, Edward Weston, Andrew Wyeth