Literature
Art
Film

ARTIST PRESENTATION

Each student in the course will give a 15-20 minute presentation on an artist chosen from the list circulated by the instructor (the time allotted will depend on the size of the class). The slides for the artists' works will be available for pre-viewing on the course website at: www.bama.ua.edu/~emartin (go to Courses, then to the title of the course, and then to Art Works). You will need to choose images from this selection.

In the presentation in class you should do the following:

1. Present a very brief biography of the artist, highlighting only the most important factors (those which affected her/his art). Circa 4 minutes.

2. Summarize the main characteristics of this artist's work in terms of both themes (what?) and style (how?). Try to answer the question: How would one recognize a work by this artist? Circa 4 minutes.

3. Show individual works by the artist, give the title, date, and briefly comment on them. Given the time constraints you will probably be able to show not more than 15 images, which would permit only one minute for commentary. An alternative approach would be to choose 10 images about which you talk for one minute, and then show 10 additional images, giving only the title and date to provide a rapid impression of the artist's overall work. The images will be on a CD, which we will access in class via a laptop. Circa 10-15 minutes.

4. To stay within your time limit, you will need to be both succinct and well-organized.To find information about your artist, you should go to the Gorgas Library website and use the Keyword search. Type in the name of your artist and print out the list of works.

Art books are in the East wing on the second floor of Gorgas and may be checked out. The amount of books available on each artist will vary depending on how well-known the person is and how large the library's holdings happen to be. In some cases you may find books that have descriptions or interpretations of the individual art works; if so, feel free to use these. In other cases, you will need to read some of the text in order to know what to say about the paintings, sculptures, etc.

Do not wait; begin your project now! Otherwise you may find that the books you need are checked out! If you need assistance, inquire at the Help Desk at the library, and/or contact the instructor, Dr. Martin.

Course Information

GN403 / WL489 / GN552 | T 2:00 - 4:30; Comer 241 | Dr. Elaine Martin] | 213 Comer, 348-8520 | Office Hours T,R 10:00- 11:00