ARTHIS 42B: Arts of China Paper assignment: Visual Analysis Assignment: Write a three-to-four page visual analysis of a contemporary landscape painting on display at the Los Angeles Country Museum (LACMA). In order to write your paper, you must visit the museum and choose one of two paintings to analyze: 1. Zheng Chongbin, Turbulence, ink and acrylic on Xuan paper, 2013 Gift of Stephen O. Lesser (M.2014.99) OR 2. Li Huasheng, 0669, set of hanging scrolls, ink on paper, 2006 On loan from Ink Studio, Beijing (L.2016.17a-d) Both works are in the same room, in LACMAās Hammer Building, level 2. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 5905 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California 90036 (323-857-6000, http://www.lacma.org/plan-your-visit) Hours and tickets: The museum is closed on Wednesdays and open 11:00-5:00 on weekdays, with longer hours on Fridays (11:00-8:00pm) and weekends (Saturday and Sunday, they are open 10:00-7:00). Tickets are $20 for adults; if you bring your student id, tickets are $16. The museum is free on Martin Luther King Day: Monday, January 21, 2019, and also on Presidentsā Day: Monday, February 18, 2019; it is also free on the second Tuesday of every month (February 11th); and it is also free for LA county residents at certain times. Please see the museum website above for details, and also for information on parking. Visual analysis: A visual analysis or formal analysis is an examination of a work of art that explores the meaning of the work and analyzes how that meaning is conveyed in terms of the workās visual components including composition (how the elements of the work are put together), style (the use of color, line, form and shape), media (what materials are used? why is it made from these materials? How do these materials affect the image?), the subject (here landscape), the size, how does it communicate with the viewer? Your goal is to use visual evidence and your general knowledge of Chinese art to explain what the work might mean. The paper should be more than a detailed description of your object, it should say how choices in scale, composition, color, patterns, shapes, line, brush stroke, etc., create a certain kind of image with particular meanings: use your observations to explain to the reader what you think the work is about. Again: your paper should be more than a description ā you should be framing an argument on what the work is about and support that argument with specific observations about the piece. Your paper thus should have a clear thesis and every paragraph of your paper should support that thesis from different angles, i.e. you should have an argument. Your paper should be organized as a logical whole centered on this thesis and argument. Begin by choosing the landscape that intrigues you the most. In this case, these are contemporary landscapes that explore new ideas of Chinese landscape (we will start discussing landscape about half-way through the class). How does the artist in your chosen painting examine or refer to the idea of landscape, and the idea of tradition?
To think about these questions, expect to spend some time looking. Take careful, detailed notes about your object and think about how and why the work inspires a particular response from you and how this serves the workās message (or what you think its meaning to be). Consider how the visual aspects of the work create meaning. Think about the choices the artist has made in terms of shapes, texture, lines, silhouette, patterns, motifs, and how these different things relate to each other, and how all of these make up the workās meaning and impact. Make a sketch ā a sketch is useful in gaining a better understanding of the work, especially its composition. For an example of a formal analysis paper, please see the pdf on the class website, āFormal Analysis and Styleā which also explains what a formal analysis is. This paper requires no research. However, if you do use ANY SOURCE of information, including the museumās wall labels, be careful to note your sources in a footnote according to Chicago Manual of Style. The knowledge you have of Chinese art from class, lectures, and readings you do not need to cite. But if you decide to look up more information on, for example, the artist, please cite your sources if you use it in your paper. Your grade will suffer and you may fail the assignment if you copy a source without citing. Presentation: Your paper should be three-to-four pages, double-spaced, 12-point font, with one-inch margins. Make sure your paper has a title. Provide full information on the work of art you choose, double-check your grammar and spelling. Your grade will suffer if you do not attend to these points. Requirements: Without the following two requirements, you will receive a 0 grade for the paper and fail the course. 1. You must submit your paper to www.turnitin.com the day the paper is due. 2. You must provide a cell phone picture of yourself with your object or in by the exhibition entry to prove you went to the museum. Note: you can take pictures in the museum, BUT do not use a flash as it damages the art work ā you might want to check in with the guard before you take any pictures. Also, if you seek help from the Writing Center, and attach proof of your visit to your paper, this will improve your paper grade: http://www.writingcenter.uci.edu/ Grading: Your paper will be graded on the quality of your thesis, observations and analysis, and also on how well you organize your present and argue your thesis, and how effectively you use your observations and visual evidence to support your thesis and argument. You will be graded on the quality of your writing, the logical flow of your paper and the quality of your thought. The paper is due in class on Monday, March 4th. Only hard copies will be accepted (do not e-mail); late papers will not be accepted.http://www.turnitin.com/
