Module 12 - Final Journal Prompts

Directions: Choose one or more of the following prompts and update your class journal by responding to the question or questions in the prompt. Try to write roughly a page on each prompt you select. Refer back to your journal for the entire course to see if you are experienced progress in meeting your goals.

Journal Prompt #1: Analysis of Art

Use the following process to write one paragraph about each of the two art works linked below. You may need to do some research (for context), but this is not a research project. Rather, you are writing down what occurs using each of the processes we learned about during this class:

Description: (how it looks, how it is made)
Analysis: (how you respond visually, how it feels)
Meaning (content): What is the subject? What symbols are present? What is your interpretation of the meaning, and how did you come to your conclusion?
Context: Who made it, when, what culture, time or style?
Judgment: is it a ‘good’ or ‘bad’ work of art? What do you take into consideration to make your decision?
Do the two works have anything in common?

Links to the images:

Grant Woods’ American Gothic
African Kongo culture Power Figure

Journal Prompt #2: Seeing Art in Person

Find an art gallery or museum of art in your neighborhood or make a special trip. Some are listed in the links below. Make sure it shows “real” art, not prints in the mall. Visit the gallery or museum, then answer the questions below.

1. Where did you go, and what is the specialty of this gallery/museum?

2. What is building like, and how is the art displayed? How do the rooms look: are they full, painted colors, empty? What kind of information is presented for each piece? What kind of information is presented in the publications and brochures available to you?

3. List three works you saw, describe them briefly (and give artist and title), and give your personal opinion of the work.

4. List one work, and write one line for each of the following processes we did in class.

Description: (how it looks)
Analysis: (how you immediately respond)
Meaning: (what the subject is)
Context: (who made it, when, what style, what is it about)
Judgment: (why is it in the gallery/museum, is it “good”)