Your initial task for the first writing project of the semester will be to create small groups (3-4 students) and select an art-object from the Sheldon Art Museum Sculpture Garden; the object you collaboratively select will serve as your group’s object of inquiry and the content for your presentation. Once you chosen a sculpture, record your immediate observations about it: what does it look like? What materials did the artist use in its construction? Based upon your viewing, are there aspects of the object’s construction that remain visible? What is the sculpture’s title and what contexts does it open up for us? How does the sculpture relate and/or interact with the physical and institutional spaces wherein it is found? These questions are by no means exhaustive, but should aid in the brainstorming process. After you’ve thought through and written about these questions, as well as others you may have come up with on your own, discuss your answers with the members of your group: In what manner are your answers similar? In what manner are they different? Perhaps you all agree on particular aspects; likewise, maybe one member of the group conceptualized the sculpture in a radically different context, and thus presents a unique and interesting perspective from which to view/understand the art-object.
The next portion of your project will be the first graded component of your assignment: each member of the group will write, separately, a two-page, double-spaced document that provides background information on the sculpture. While, no doubt, there may be some overlapping between group members, each of you are required to write about different background material. For example, if your group had chosen Birth of Venus (which, incidentally, is off-limits), one member might do research on the figure of Venus, encompassing her origins and appearance in artworks throughout history; another group member might investigate the aesthetic tendencies of Reuben Nakian, while the final member of the group explore the material constraints and artistic relevance of the use of bronze within the medium of sculpture. In addition to length and formatting requirements, you must document one print source (i.e. not from the internet) in proper MLA-formatting from where you gathered your information. As for the content of your writing, the first half should contain primarily research information, while the second half extrapolates upon that research by developing consequences, contexts, effects, questions, problems, and concerns that derive from that research. This portion of your project is worth 2 points and will be due on Saturday, September 11 at midnight via email (.doc files only and no late assignments accepted). While the due date is Saturday, you should be working on this assignment during the week so that there is no need to cram over the weekend. Each student will turn in their two-page background research paper separately and will receive and individualized grade.
For the third portion of your project, you will address one significant appeal, space, or context that will be relevant to your presentation. Again, each member of your group will write on a separate rhetorical aspect and how that aspect will be a) relevant, b) demonstrated, c) and manifest itself within your presentations; furthermore, you will want to address possible problems or concerns that may result from thinking through and articulating the rhetorical term you chose, as well as problems and concerns regarding that term that may develop during a presentation. As with the previous assignment, you will need to write a two-page, double-spaced response paper; while no research, per se, will be required for this portion of the project, it would be beneficial to incorporate quotes and/or paraphrases from Compose Design Advocate in an effort to enhance your own ethos by “tapping into,” if you will, the ethos of Wysocki and Lynch (i.e. the CDA authors). This portion of your assignment is worth 2 points and will be due on Wednesday, September 15 at 4PM (.doc files only and no late assignments accepted). Each student will turn in their two-page background research paper separately, and will receive and individualized grade.
For the final 6 points of your first writing project, you will compose a collaboratively written and performed presentation of your group-chosen sculpture. While you do not need to mimic to the exact specifications and techniques a docent employs during a guided tour of an art museum, understanding the structure of such a presentation, as well as borrowing particular elements that may be of some use to your group would be highly beneficial to your project. You can find a variety of examples at the Museum of Modern Art’s (MoMA) Youtube page, but there are many others online, such as this somewhat frightening man offering a tour of the Doc Holiday Museum. The first 3 points of the presentation will be allotted toward a three-page, double-spaced script which will be due 24 hours before your presentation; presentations will be performed in front of your sculpture on either September 20, 22, or 24. While all material for this piece will need to be newly conceived, you should incorporate re-worked and revised aspects of your research response, and if applicable, your rhetorical response into the final script. A collaboratively performed presentation of your script will be the final 3 points of your first project. While thinking through the manner in which you will conduct your performance, consider the rhetorical concepts we covered in CDA, chapter 8. How does personal, social, and institutional space factor into your presentation? What about social and institutional contexts, etc.? Also, how do you, as a group, evince appeals to ethos, pathos, and logos? The points earned for the script and performance will be of a collaborative nature, so all members of the group will receive the same score. Therefore, it will be important that you are working as a team, communicating your desires, thoughts, ideas, and movements to one another in a clear and appropriate manner.
The next portion of your project will be the first graded component of your assignment: each member of the group will write, separately, a two-page, double-spaced document that provides background information on the sculpture. While, no doubt, there may be some overlapping between group members, each of you are required to write about different background material. For example, if your group had chosen Birth of Venus (which, incidentally, is off-limits), one member might do research on the figure of Venus, encompassing her origins and appearance in artworks throughout history; another group member might investigate the aesthetic tendencies of Reuben Nakian, while the final member of the group explore the material constraints and artistic relevance of the use of bronze within the medium of sculpture. In addition to length and formatting requirements, you must document one print source (i.e. not from the internet) in proper MLA-formatting from where you gathered your information. As for the content of your writing, the first half should contain primarily research information, while the second half extrapolates upon that research by developing consequences, contexts, effects, questions, problems, and concerns that derive from that research. This portion of your project is worth 2 points and will be due on Saturday, September 11 at midnight via email (.doc files only and no late assignments accepted). While the due date is Saturday, you should be working on this assignment during the week so that there is no need to cram over the weekend. Each student will turn in their two-page background research paper separately and will receive and individualized grade.
For the third portion of your project, you will address one significant appeal, space, or context that will be relevant to your presentation. Again, each member of your group will write on a separate rhetorical aspect and how that aspect will be a) relevant, b) demonstrated, c) and manifest itself within your presentations; furthermore, you will want to address possible problems or concerns that may result from thinking through and articulating the rhetorical term you chose, as well as problems and concerns regarding that term that may develop during a presentation. As with the previous assignment, you will need to write a two-page, double-spaced response paper; while no research, per se, will be required for this portion of the project, it would be beneficial to incorporate quotes and/or paraphrases from Compose Design Advocate in an effort to enhance your own ethos by “tapping into,” if you will, the ethos of Wysocki and Lynch (i.e. the CDA authors). This portion of your assignment is worth 2 points and will be due on Wednesday, September 15 at 4PM (.doc files only and no late assignments accepted). Each student will turn in their two-page background research paper separately, and will receive and individualized grade.
For the final 6 points of your first writing project, you will compose a collaboratively written and performed presentation of your group-chosen sculpture. While you do not need to mimic to the exact specifications and techniques a docent employs during a guided tour of an art museum, understanding the structure of such a presentation, as well as borrowing particular elements that may be of some use to your group would be highly beneficial to your project. You can find a variety of examples at the Museum of Modern Art’s (MoMA) Youtube page, but there are many others online, such as this somewhat frightening man offering a tour of the Doc Holiday Museum. The first 3 points of the presentation will be allotted toward a three-page, double-spaced script which will be due 24 hours before your presentation; presentations will be performed in front of your sculpture on either September 20, 22, or 24. While all material for this piece will need to be newly conceived, you should incorporate re-worked and revised aspects of your research response, and if applicable, your rhetorical response into the final script. A collaboratively performed presentation of your script will be the final 3 points of your first project. While thinking through the manner in which you will conduct your performance, consider the rhetorical concepts we covered in CDA, chapter 8. How does personal, social, and institutional space factor into your presentation? What about social and institutional contexts, etc.? Also, how do you, as a group, evince appeals to ethos, pathos, and logos? The points earned for the script and performance will be of a collaborative nature, so all members of the group will receive the same score. Therefore, it will be important that you are working as a team, communicating your desires, thoughts, ideas, and movements to one another in a clear and appropriate manner.
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