GENERAL INFORMATION

Assignments delivered late are not accepted and receive a failing grade.

• An assignment delivered late because of absence will be accepted only if documentation of a legitimate emergency is presented.
• If you must be absent when an assignment is due, deliver it to the department secretary before the due date. (See below for instructions for delivering writing assignments.)
  
• Should you not be able to complete an assignment on time, submit the incomplete project so that you do not receive a grade of zero.

WRITING ASSIGNMENTS

• Essays are to be typed on one side of 8.5" X 11" white paper. Use 12-point Times Roman double-spaced, allowing 1" borders on all sides. Staple or bind pages together; do not submit loose pages.
  
• DO NOT email writing assignments.
  
• If you expect to be absent when a writing assignment is due, deliver it to the box for faculty mail outside the faculty lounge in the academic building.
• Plagiarism is grounds for failing a research paper.
• Writing assignments are graded on grammar, clarity, research, original thinking, understanding of the topic, interpretation, reasoned support for your position, and other factors.



ASSIGNMENTS
& PROJECTS:
Weeks 1-8



Assignment 1

Due: Week 3

Description
Complete an art historical timeline according to the instructions below. Obtain dates and time periods from the Timeline page on this web site.

Instructions
Obtain a sheet of posterboard at least
20" X 28"

Cut the sheet in half lengthwise to 10" X 28". Use one piece for the timeline; cut the remaining portion into two 10" X 14" pieces and set aside for use on future projects.

Run the “year-line” lengthwise near the top edge.

Mark off and legibly label year at inch marks according to the following scale:

• 5,000 B.C. to 1 A.D.: 1" = 1,000 years (section length 5")
• 1 A.D. to 1000 A.D.: 1" = 250 years (section length 4")
• 1000 A.D. to 1800 A.D.: 1" = 100 years (section length 8")
• 1800 A.D. to 1900 A.D.: 1" = 50 years (section length 2")
• 1900 A.D. to 1950 A.D.: 1" = 25 years (section length 2")
• 1950 A.D. to 2010 A.D.: 1" = 10 years (section length 6")

When you are done, the total length of the year-line should be 27".

Beneath the year-line, use several different colors of markers to indicate the duration of each art historical period.

Use the same color for each period and its sub-divisions. For example, if your color for the Renaissance is blue, then blue lines should also be used for the Mannerist and for the Baroque schools, which were part of the Renaissance.

After you have completed your chart, score the posterboard carefully so it can be folded into thirds to approximately 10" X 9-1/4" for easy carrying. As you score the chart, keep in mind that the inner flap must be slightly shorter than the others, and the outer flap slightly longer.

When done, reinforce the score lines with masking tape on the back of the chart.

Grading Criteria
Completeness, neatness, organization, and accuracy.

Class Project 5

Essay Due:week 6

Description
Complete a symbolic collage self-portrait and related essay.

Self-portrait
This is not a literal self-portrait since no image of you is to appear.

Create a self-portrait that represents you through choice of subject matter. Some examples are:

• You love baseball, so maybe you will include a photo of a baseball mitt in your picture.
• There is a place that has important memories to you, so you may illustrate that place.
• As a moody person, perhaps you use dark and muddy colors.
• You are energetic, so you might use frenetic imagery.

Essay
In one or two paragraphs, explain how your self-portrait represents you. For instance, how is your choice of colors or imagery significant and what are they symbolic of?



Class Project 7-8

Essay Due: week 9

Description
During weeks 7 and 8 you will construct a "Memory" box and write a related essay based on the design concepts of Joseph Cornell as presented in class.

Box Description
Your box will illustrate personal memories – either pleasant, unpleasant, or both – from your life. It should have a central theme, but it need not focus exclusively on that theme. You will mount or place in the box objects and images that represent your memories. Should you wish, some objects may be removable so that they can be handled and examined. The box is to be open on one side only, but it may have doors, or it can have a lid that is lifted off. It may be designed any way you wish, including being divided into compartments, with layers, or with drawers (if you have the know-how to fabricate and install them so they slide in and out). Make the box as deep or shallow as needed for your purposes.



The Box
Obtain a corrugated carton (or carton lid) of reasonable size, along with some extra cardboard if you want your box to have doors, compartments, or other special features – you may want to begin customizing your box with such features before you bring it to class. You may also decorate the outside of the box if you like. In addition, you will need the following:

• White glue
• Scissors
• Utility knife
• Tape (masking or duct)

The Contents
The types of things you can install in your box are virtually unlimited, provided there are no weapons or objects with dangerously sharp edges. Each item should have a meaning to you that represents a memory. Some ideas are:

• Flower petals or leaves
• Lace, fabric, and ribbons
• Old photographs
• Awards, diplomas, medals
• Shells, stones, twigs and other natural objects
• Feathers, eggs (hard-boiled or with the shell drained, please), nests, and other animal-related items
• CD covers, book covers, pages from books, movie posters, comic books, and other printed material

Some items you may want to make yourself. These might be:

• Hand-written poetry on sheets of paper you have decorated or illustrated
• Small sculptures modeled in clay or wood or soap or even stone
• Constructions made from various objects and materials, including bits from (airplane-type) model kits
• Drawings, paintings, or photos
• Surrogates for items you want to include but don’t want to be damaged or stolen. An example is a cell phone, which you might mimic by decorating a small box with a keypad and screen.

The Essay (due week 9)
Write a 250-400 word essay about your box that explains your choices.

• Is the design and size of the box itself important to the meaning behind your creation?
• If you made some of the items, tell about the materials and methods you used.
• Are the colors, sizes, and shapes of things important?
• Why did you chose or make the objects that you did?
• What is their significance; how do they represent or symbolize your memories?
• What are the memories you are illustrating?
• What effect do those memories have upon you; why are they important to you?



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ASSIGNMENTS
& PROJECTS:
Weeks 7-12

Assignment 7

Due: week 8

Description
Take 3-6 photos of a building in your area and write about it.

Photos

• Select a building that you find interesting in some way.
• Take photographs from several viewpoints (if possible, include an interior shot)

Essay
Briefly explain why you chose the particular building and what you found interesting about it. Questions you must answer include:

• Is the building aesthetically pleasing, indifferent, or downright ugly? In what way(s)?
• Does the building serve its purpose well or poorly, and how?
• Is the choice of materials and design approach appropriate? Do they fit in well with the buildings surroundings and nearby structures?

Assignment 9

Due: week 10

Description
Take 3 photos, each of a different subject of your choosing.

Photos
Each picture should have a story to tell. The story can be as simple as here is a beautiful piece of cloth or as dramatic as this is the horrible aftermath of an automobile accident.Consider the following as you shoot your pictures:

• Composition
• Contrast
• Color
• Lighting
• Viewpoint
• The moment
  (there is a difference between a picture taken before a flag is raised and one of the flag raising in progress and a picture after the flag is up as compared to a photo when the flag is up and all the people have gone away; each has its own significance and mood).

Essay
Briefly discuss each photo, including such issues as:

• What it is of and why you took it?
• How many pictures did you take of the subject before deciding to present the one you did?
• What technical or compositional issues did you consider?
• Tell if the picture has a special meaning and explain it personal, political, important event, significant place, pattern or texture, etc.

Class Project 11

Description
Execute a painting based on one of the photographs you took for Assignment 9.

Class Project 12

Description
Design a color logo for a type of business or organization related to your future career plans. Keep in mind that most good logos are simply designed so that they can be reproduced clearly at small sizes for use on such items as business cards. For ideas, you may refer to designs you find on the internet or in ads or other materials, but you are not to copy an existing design. Your logo is to be your original concept and your own design, not somebody elses. The logo will be used on the package design you will create in class during week 13.

Assignment 12

Due: week 13

Instructions:

• From a full sheet of poster board or heavy colored paper, fashion three sides of a box. Use the guide below to make a front panel, one side panel, and the back panel. Any dimensions are acceptable, but dont make it so small as to be unmanageable.
• Write out any text you plan to use on your box, including special offer or coupon ideas, ingredients and nutritional information if a food product, etc.

• Bring with you on week 13:
  box, logo, glue, scissors, photos & artwork, markers, paints, color pencil, construction paper

Class Project 13

Description

Create (3 panels of) a box intended to contain a product used in your future career. The product may be real, invented, or imagined. To design your box, the following steps are recommended:

• Write out in advance of class any text you will use on the box, such as product name, features, what it does, special offers, coupons, etc.
• Obtain or make pictures to be used for your package design.
• On a sheet of paper, sketch how each panel of the box will be laid out (where the text will appear, where each piece of artwork is to be placed, position of logo, etc.)
• Once you are satisfied, lightly pencil your design onto the panels of your box (see below), making sure that your text and art will fit into the spaces allotted for them.

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Write out any text you plan to use on your box, including special offer or coupon ideas, ingredients and nutritional information if a food product, etc.