Observe, record, research, and analyze the experience of a work of art in 2-3 double-spaced pages. We’ve discussed how the environment that surrounds us or our lived experience can also inform the way we approach and think about what we see. This assignment asks you to do two things: First, to analyze your personal experience in viewing this work and connect what you experience to the work’s formal and symbolic attributes. Second, to conduct research on how other people have experienced the work of art at the time it was created;
TO PREPARE: Select a work of art from the following list:
James Turrell, Skyspace
Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Allegory of Good and Bad Government
Fritz Lang, Clip from Metropolis
Kehinde Wiley, Rumors of War (Times Square)
Frank Lloyd Wright, Fallingwater
Mickalene Thomas, Portrait of Mnonja
Once you’ve selected your work of art, spend at least 20 minutes looking at it closely (including looking at it from multiple perspectives or looking at videos of the work if any exist). Carefully observe your physical experience while looking. Are there moments when the work is engaging senses other than vision? If so, what are they? How is the artist using form or symbols to make you feel that way? What about the works, do figures seem to be engaging other senses? If your work is a building, does the building encourage the people inside to have a particular physical experience? It’s helpful to write down notes and observations as you look.