What better way to discover the history surrounding a work of art than to visit the city where it was originally created? You will choose any artwork from any of the TALK museums to research, but it cannot be the same work you choose for the TALK assignment and the artwork cannot be made in Houston. You will want to print the checklist and itinerary documents so that you can refer to them while you are doing your research.
Art Historians agree that the geographical location in which a work was made affects the work’s style and meaning. Works made in the same general time period often share iconographic elements. Certain materials and techniques may be more prevalent in one geographical region and scarce in another during different time periods. These are the kinds of discoveries you will make in your travels. The TRAVEL documents you print will help you plan your trip so you know what to research in your travels.
Art helps construct the way societies grow and change, creating what is called culture. The values and mores of a society are created and reflected by its art. Patrons such as Kings, Pharaohs, and even today’s middle class patrons can sway the production of one work or one artist over another. Elements of art will last while others will fade away, only to be revived years later after taking a rest from the pages of Art History.
Art remains, however, a connecting force between peoples of all ages, places and especially after long periods of time have passed.
Overview of Assignment
You are going to study one work of art in depth, by virtually traveling to the city in which your one work of art was made. You will study what the city was like when the work of art was made and what that city is like today. Do NOT confuse the city in which the work was made with the city where the work is located today, which is usually in a museum today.
Sometimes it is the most difficult task to determine where your one work of art was actually made. You may need to research this fact first. You will choose any artwork from any of the TALK museums, but it cannot be the same work you choose for the TALK assignment and the artwork cannot be made in Houston. You will want to print the checklist and itinerary documents so that you can refer to them while you are doing your research.
Art connects you to places, people, and events in history.
It is an adventure.
There is no turning back.
TRAVEL: Objectives
Find the original city in which a historical masterwork was created
Travel to the city in which the work was made (virtually on the world wide web)
Distinguish between where a work of art was made and where it is now
Determine the impact of place and time on the content of a work of art
Name the visual characteristics or style for the period in which your one work of art was made
TR
Remember to include one library book citation at the bottom of your 2-page Letter to a Friend and an image of the artwork.
When you upload your assignment your letter will be checked by the Turnitin system for plagiarism. The system will tell you what your similarity score is, you are aiming for under 15%. If your score is higher than 15% edit your letter to reduce its similarity and upload it again. It can take the system a few minutes to check your paper (and up to 24 hours for resubmissions) so if you don’t receive a score immediately remember to check again before the due date. And don’t wait until the last minute!
IMPORTANT: If your submission has more than 15% similarity, your total possible grade will be reduce by the percent match. For example, if you have a similarity score of 25%, that means the maximum grade your paper could earn would be 75% or 75/100 points.
Tip! Students often report that they have difficulty finding the city in which their artwork was originally made without using a library book for background information on the artist and where he lived and worked during the year the work was made.
