If students do not follow the format in the sample paper, I will return the paper to you so you can redo it during that last week of the semester–to avoid this, do the paper in the assigned form the first time around.

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Choosing a Work of Art to Write About

I want you to choose a single work of art from the collection of a museum to write about in a 500-1000 word essay. It should be a piece from among the village-based societies and royal kingdoms we studied in class, for example, Bamana art is okay but not Igbo (because we did not study the Igbo). I want you to use the information you learned in the lectures and readings to help you interpret the work of art you choose. Your job is to interpret the meaning of the work within the context of its creation. Please choose a piece of traditional art (as opposed to avant-garde work).

Please pick a piece that was NOT discussed in the assigned readings or in my online lectures. You may write a piece about a Senufo head dress, for example, but not that particular head dress we discussed in class or that appeared in your assigned readings. I want you to apply what you have learned in this class to the interpretation of work not covered in class–as a way of using what you already know, and applying it to a new but related artwork.

Here is a list of the cultures we studied (including all of Unit 4)

Malinke

Fulani

Dogon

Bamana

Senufo

Baga

Dan

Baule

Asante Empire (the “Gold Coast”)

Yoruba Kingdoms

Kingdom of Benin (which is not in the modern country of Benin, but in Nigeria)

Fon Kingdom of Dahomey (the “Slave Coast”– in the modern nation of Benin)

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Okay, I Picked a Piece–Now What Do I Do?

Your goal is to interpret the meaning of the work for the reader. Be aware that there is not one meaning or one interpretation — there are instead many possible interpretations for a work of art,. Your paper should include

Introductory paragraph(s)

Descriptive interpretation of the object

Function of object and how it is used in that society

Comparison with anoher piece (from the same culture, or another African culture we discussed, or an avant-garde piece of African art or a work of art from the Western tradition (i.e. Picasso).

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Use a Professional Style for your Term Paper (not an informal style)

Some students write papers in a style that is too informal. I want you to write your essay in a more formal, professional style of writing used in the publishing industry by critics and art historians. I try to teach you the industry standards for publication in the fields of visual art, art criticism, art therapy, art education and art history.

Pretend that I am not the kindly old professor, but the editor of an art magazine who has never heard of you and you want the essay you are submitting published in that magazine. Do not write it as if it is a casual letter to a friend. Write is as if it will appear in next month’s edition of Art Bulletin or Art in America.