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Visual Cultural Research

Material semiotic research is supplemented with research into contemporary art and visual culture. Students contextualize their practice within contemporary visual culture and discourse by studying artists and attending artist talks and exhibitions. Students also conduct research through developing a reading list of texts that are relevant to their body of work. These texts deepen their understanding and bring complexity and nuance to their artistic research.

Artist Influences

Blog Categories: sr-studio, influences

Assemble a collection of 10-15 artists or designers whose work, process, themes and concepts connect with your own. See Unit 4: Conducting Visual Cultural Research for further guidance on artist research.

Make sure that you are selecting artists who are:

  •  primarily contemporary (unless there is a clear reason for looking at historical work)
  • receiving critical attention in the contemporary art/design world (major museum exhibitions, credible publications etc.)
  • connected to the learner’s practice and line of inquiry

For each artist create a blog post including: 

  • 1-2 images from each artist.
  • Artist/designer’s Name, Title of the Work, year created, media
  • Source of image (URL)

Example:

Yayoi Kusama, Eyes of Mine, 2010, Acrylic on canvas
Source: http://painterskeys.com/studio-wonder/

Influences will be presented to the class. The presentation allows other students to benefit from your research by learning about new artists and designers. It also allows you to receive feedback and suggestions from the class community to help deepen and broaden your research.

Assessment:

  • Learner has included 10-15 artists/designers
  • Choice of artists/designers is appropriate to the learner’s research focus
  • Artists/designers are receiving critical attention from the contemporary art/design world. Artists/designers are primarily contemporary.
  • Evidence of depth of research— learner has gone beyond artists and designers they are familiar with, they have accessed a variety of sources
  • Images are properly labeled

Artist Influences Rubric

Artist Influences

Annotated Bibliography

Blog Categories: sr-studio, bibliography

Begin an annotated bibliography to be completed next semester. For fall semester you are required to list at least four sources on your annotated bibliography. One of these sources will be assigned by the instructor based on your research interests. For more information on writing an annotated bibliography and the required format please see resources on Visual Cultural Research tab.

Create a new blog post for each bibliography item. Your annotated bibliography should have at least eight sources. Four sources for the fall semester and four for spring semester. 

Your bibliography may include books, journal articles, films, podcasts etc. Pay particular attention to the quality of the sources and how the sources relate to your project. Consult with the instructor regarding your sources. For further resources and strategies see Unit 4: Conducting Visual Cultural Research.

Ask yourself, does this source:

  • deepen my understanding of the topic I am considering?
  • help me contextualize my work in contemporary art/design discourse?
  • help me develop language to articulate what I’m doing in my project?
  • help me theorize my project?
Use the following format for your Annotated Bibliography posts:

REFERENCE
Clement Greenberg, “Avant Garde and Kitsch,” in Pollock and After: The Critical Debate. Ed. Francis Frascina (Harper and Row, 1985) 48-59.

THESIS
What is the author arguing/asserting? What is the big idea or argument?
Answer the question: [author name] argues that…

SUMMARY
What are the supporting ideas that support the thesis? (3-4 sentences maximum; written in your own words; include the key concepts/words the author uses for these ideas)

QUOTE # 1
“This just says it all” or “I loved this sentence”

CONNECTION #1
“This reminds me…”   How do the ideas in this reading intersect with other texts you’ve engaged with in your own research or other classes. How does it connect to your senior studio project? How does it extend or deepen your thinking about your project?

QUOTE # 2
“This just says it all” or “I loved this sentence”

CONNECTION #2
“This reminds me…”   How do the ideas in this reading intersect with other texts you’ve engaged with in your own research or other classes. How does it connect to your senior studio project? How does it extend or deepen your thinking about your project?

QUESTION
Does this raise any questions that you would like to explore in further research?

Annotated bibliography format is adapted with permission from Dr. Helma Sawatsky, Trinity Western University

Assessment: 

  • Quality of sources: Learner has included a minimum of 4 academic sources.
  • Choice of sources support learner’s research focus. Learner clearly articulates connection.
  • Depth of research: learner has gone beyond familiar texts and has accessed a variety of sources
  • Reference is correct and uses consistent citation style
  • Purpose, thesis and summary is accurate and concise

Annotated Bibliography Rubric

Annotated Bibliography

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