"The Book in Art" Short Assignment, Due October 26

Students,

We will go over this assignment in close detail during class on Wednesday, but I want to give you the general contours of it. Each student will choose three works of art (of any genre) on view at the National Gallery of Art that in some fashion represent or comment on books (remember to include manuscripts, scrolls and other scripted forms). In your brief essay, you will "read/interpret" how the book works as a symbolic object. What does it symbolize (both to its contemporary audience and to us in the year 2011)? How does it fit with what we're learning in our reading each week? If it's a painted book, examine the color, brushstrokes, detail, etc. Don't only describe these details, use them to push an idea forward about how books operated in particular cultures at particular times and what that might tell us about where we are today in our relationship with scripted forms. Your conclusions can be humble and tentative; don't feel like it's a mini-manifesto.

Your essay must be short: Only five paragraphs and no paragraph longer than 200 words or shorter than 75. Your first paragraph will introduce your subject and your thesis (controlling idea). The three body paragraphs will each address one of the three works you've chosen in terms of your thesis. The final paragraph will summarize your findings and point forward with "... and what this means to us today." Outside research is not necessary. Make sure you get the spelling and dates right. Take photos of your pieces (and their labels). I recommend choosing more than three pieces to photograph. You might find connections after you study and think for a while.

CHANGED DATE: Due on October 26: The essay (five paragraphs) with accompanying photographs (color Xerox is preferred). Please bring it in hardcopy and also as a digital file. Eventually I would like to edit the texts and photos and build a simple blog. Let me know if anyone wants to help me; it's probably quite simple.