Short Essay (100 marks)

Instructions

Please do not use any essay writing AI-tools. Everything must be in your own words. Must

cite all sources of direct quotations and borrowed ideas. A citation consists of two parts and

must be in APA format: 1. An in-text citation (either a footnote or brief information in

brackets) to indicate that an outside source is being cited. 2. A list of References or Works

Cited, containing complete information about all of your sources

.

It's a course in visual studies, so what's visible is always our primary concern.

Write a short informal essay (approximately 1000 words) on the following

topic. Be sure that you are presenting the concepts in your own words and that

you include current information. (You may use "I" when it seems appropriate.)

Follow conventional format for preparing your essay and citing sources. Check

with your Open Learning Faculty Member regarding preferred documentation

style (i.e., APA, MLA, Chicago Manual of Style).

If you have any questions about the assignment, consult your course Open

Learning Faculty Member. When you have completed the assignment, submit it

to your Open Learning Faculty Member for comments and evaluation.

Note:

Keep a copy of your assignment before submitting it to your Open Learning

Faculty Member for evaluation. That way, you have a copy to refer to during a

telephone conversation or email conference with your Open Learning Faculty

Member. Also, in the unlikely event that your assignment is lost, you will have

an extra copy of your work. Today, many student writing manuals suggest that

students keep copies of all early drafts of their work as well, to protect

themselves against mistaken charges of plagiarism.

Essay Topic

Both of the works below can be seen as examples of appropriation and re-

contextualization. In either case, virtually everything in the print and the

sculpture was "lifted" from somewhere else. For many, if not most, viewers,

those elements may be said to "carry" certain meanings with them and acquire

others when placed in a new context. Pick one and examine it carefully. Isolate

the constituent parts of Untitled or Michael Jackson and Bubbles and consider

where they might have originated. In the silkscreen, some examples of what/nhas been appropriated are an "old" black and white photograph of a hand, a

red rectangular object held in its fingers, a text made up of five words printed

on that surface, etc. In the second three-dimensional and figurative work,

appropriations include poses, costumes, colours, materials, and scale. Bear in

mind that many other things besides subjects and motifs (eg, compositional

and graphic design techniques (framing, colour combinations, fonts, and

recognizable hues), period styles, historical references, allusions to different

media, etc.) can be appropriated. Where could each component have been

taken from? What associations does it conjure up for you? Describe these

"borrowings" and discuss what you see as the differences between the "old"

connotations of particular elements in each piece and the "new"

interpretations that recombining or recontextualizing have activated. Do you

believe the creation you have chosen to write about is oppositional? In other

words, in your view, does it challenge or critique some aspect or aspects of

dominant culture? Why or why not?

shop

I am

therefore

Barbara Kruger Untitled ("I shop therefore I am") 111" by 113" photographic

silkscreen/vinyl 1987 Courtesy of Mary Boone Gallery, New York. Reproduced

with permission./nMichael Jackson and Bubbles 1988 Porcelain 42 x 70 1/2 x 32 1/2" © Jeff Koons

The Broad Art Foundation, Santa Monica. Reproduced with permission.

Criteria for Evaluating Essay Assignments

Here is a set of criteria that will form the basis for evaluating essay assignments.

Substance (75 per cent)

• The essay provides evidence of critical thinking and presents an

informed and thoughtful discussion.

Research sources are relevant, current, and credible. They are clearly

documented in the paper.

The introduction explains the purpose of the paper and the issue or

issues you will address. This can take the form of a question or

questions.

The body develops your enquiry by providing explanations /information

and organizing ideas and examples as clearly and directly as possible.

• The conclusion summarizes the learning that has taken place through

writing the paper; it also presents a (tentative) position statement

and/or suggests direction for future research. Again, queries might be

more suitable here than assertions.

Writing Style and Format (25 per cent)

Paragraphs are coherent, with transitions between ideas.

L/nL

Sentences are grammatically correct; words are chosen for accuracy

and impact.

• The writing follows the conventions of spelling and mechanics

(punctuation, etc.).

•

The format follows the documentation style (ie, APA, MLA, Chicago

Manual of Style) accurately and consistently.