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English Composition 1 (ENC 1101) Guide

Getting Started

Start by exploring some art @ Google Arts and Culture
 

  • Look through a variety of art including paintings, photographs, sculptures and architecture.
  • Find something that you can relate to or that 'speaks" to you. You are researching and observing that piece of art, not necessarily the artist.
  • Closely observe the art you chose and ask yourself a few questions:

    • Why did the artist create it? Does it have a purpose, was it commissioned, was it just for the sake of making art?

    • Where was it created?

    • What was happening in the world when it was created?

    • What was the culture, (fashions, habits, politics) of the time?

    • What is in the foreground, the background, the negative space?

    • Does the use of color and texture play a part in the overall impression?

    • For architecture: Does the form follow the function or inform the function or is it decorative, fanciful, playful, monumental, pretentious?

Now let's talk about what you are looking at. Visual art has its own vocabulary.
  • Watch the video below to learn what to look for in the art and how to talk/write about what you are seeing.

Further Exploration

Using Library Databases for research has many advantages for finding credible sources. Library Databases provide curated journal and magazine articles, books, images, videos and primary sources. Databases contain scholarly and peer-reviewed articles written by credible authors, researchers and experts in their field. Database search tools help users target the results for the information they need. Most databases provide suggested citations which should be verified using the APA or MLA style manuals.

Tools

Writing the Paper

Paragraph One: The introduction should contain all of the following in four to five sentences.
  1. Name of the artwork
  2. Name of the artist
  3. Date of creation
  4. Materials ot type of work
  5. Current location
Thesis: Traditionally your thesis is at the end of your first paragraph. This thesis should contain the following:
  1. Begin with a description (ex: This self portrait of the artist is done in a monochromatic scheme with light emanating from the subject.)
  2. Present important artistic elements (Use your visual vocabulary from the video.)
  3. Connect the work to a broader, Humanities, context (art movement, politics, time period. fashion, etc.)
Paragraph Two: Describe the overall subject matter of the artwork. Do not analyze it yet. Visually describe what you see.
  1. What is the appearance?
  2. What is the action or event?
  3. Use precise, vivid languages such as: depicts, describes, emphasizes, features, represents, incorporates, evokes, embodies, portrays, accentuates, includes, signifies, exemplifies, comprises of, expresses, reveals
Paragraph Three: Element Analysis Using the Visual Vocabulary video, or a book such as Sylvia Barnett's A Short Guide to Writing About Art, analyze the elements of the work. In paragraph two you described what you saw...person, place, thing, etc. Now put a finer lens to it.
  1. How did the artist make you see this work?
  2. Lines, shapes, colors and space combine to create the image.
  3. Look for the use of space and the creation of negative space.
  4. Where are the lines taking your eye, what draws you in?
  5. How is the use of color creating the mood or setting the tone?
Paragraph Four: Contextual Analysis  Refer to your instructor's assignment directions to see if research is included in this paper. Consider the time period, country, community, social issues or politics that are portrayed in the image. Hint: Biography databases often include much of this information when you look up the artist.

Things to consider and research: Why, where, culture, fashion, habits, objects, politics

  • Why a portrait? No photography then and people wanted a record of their families. Look up portraiture in the 1700s.
  • A woman portrait artist when most were men. Wow! Why, how?
  • The clothes of the time.
  • If it is romanticized, why? The fashion at that time in portraiture? 
  • Why is it outside?
  • Why does it have statuary in it? Jewelry? Pets? To show wealth of the patron? 
Paragraph Five: The Conclusion Summarize the entire essay and rephrase your thesis.
  1. Review what you have written in concise terms.
  2. Emphasize major points; each point can be a sentence.
  3. Add an insight, something new. Write about how this work of art might be viewed in the future or what meaning it might have to future viewers.
Still confused? A few good resources for writing a visual art paper with examples:

How to write a visual analysis paper.

Formal analysis paper examples

Writing a Formal Analysis in Art History

Citing Art from Google Scholar

The suggested MLA citation for a work of art found on Google Arts & Culture:

The artist's name. The title of the artwork in italics. The date of composition. The name of the institution that houses the artwork. The name of the website, URL.

Ex: van Gogh, Vincent. Sunflowers. 1889. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam. Google Arts & Culture, https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/sunflowers-vincent-van-gogh/hwEGmsM-FoHAwA.