Short Guide to Writing about Art, A

by Barnet, Sylvan

• ISBN13: 9780321292483
• ISBN10: 0321292480
• Edition: 8th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-01-01
• Publisher: Prentice Hall

Summary

Key Benefit:A Short Guide to Writing About Art, Eighth Edition,the best-selling book of its kind, equips students to analyze pictures (drawings, paintings, photographs), sculptures and architecture, and prepares them with the tools they need to present their ideas in effective writing.Key Topics:This concise yet thorough guide to "seeing and saying" addresses a wealth of fundamental matters, such as distinguishing between description and analysis, writing a comparison, using peer review, documenting sources, and editing the final essay.Market:This book is a perfect complement to any art course where writing is involved

Table of Contents

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK	xv
PREFACE	xvii
1 WRITING ABOUT ART	1	(40)
The Writing Process	1	(3)
What Is Art?	4	(7)
Why Write about Art?	11	(1)
The Writer's Audience as a Collaborator	12	(2)
The Functions of Critical Writing	14	(2)
A Sample Critical Essay	16	(7)
Douglas Lee, 'Whistler's Japanese Mother"	16	(4)
The Thesis and the Organization	20	(1)
A Note on Outlining	21	(2)
What Is an Interpretation-and Are All Interpretations Equally Valid?	23	(10)
Interpretation and Interpretations	23	(1)
Who Creates "Meaning"-Artist or Viewer?	24	(2)
When We Look, Do We See a Masterpiece-or Ourselves?	26	(3)
The Relevance of Context: The Effect of the Museum and the Picture Book	29	(3)
Arguing an Interpretation (Supporting a Thesis)	32	(1)
Expressing Opinions: The Writer's "I"	33	(8)
What Writing about Art Is: A Very Short View	36	(4)
Checklist of Basic Matters	40	(1)
2 ANALYSIS	41	(79)
Analytic Thinking: Seeing and Saying	41	(3)
Subject Matter and Content	44	(2)
Form and Content	46	(1)
Getting Ideas: Asking Questions to Get Answers	47	(52)
Basic Questions	48	(2)
Drawing and Painting	50	(16)
Sculpture	66	(9)
Architecture	75	(10)
Cautionary Words about Slides and Reproductions in Books and on the World Wide Web	85	(1)
Photography	86	(10)
Video Art	96	(2)
Another Look at the Questions	98	(1)
Formal Analysis	99	(5)
What Formal Analysis Is	99	(1)
Formal Analysis Versus Description	100	(2)
Opposition to Formal Analysis	102	(2)
Style as the Shaper of Form	104	(1)
Sample Essay: A Formal Analysis	105	(7)
Stephen Beer, "Formal Analysis: Prince Khunera as a Scribe"	107	(2)
Behind the Scene: Beers Essay, from Early Responses to Final Version	109	(3)
Postscript: Thoughts about the Words "Realistic" and "Idealized"	112	(8)
3 WRITING A COMPARISON	120	(15)
Comparing as a Way of Discovering	120	(2)
Two Ways of Organizing a Comparison	122	(4)
Sample Essay: A Student's Comparison	126	(9)
Rebecca Bedell: "John Singleton Copley's Early Development: From Mrs. Joseph Mann to Mrs. Ezekial Goldthwait"	127	(7)
Checklist for Writing a Comparison	134	(1)
4 WRITING AN ENTRY IN AN EXHIBITION CATALOG	135	(8)
Keeping the Audience in Mind	135	(5)
A Sample Entry	140	(3)
Checklist for Writing a Catalog Entry	142	(1)
5 WRITING A REVIEW OF AN EXHIBITION	143	(13)
What a Review Is	143	(6)
Drafting a Review	146	(3)
Checklist for Revising a Review	149	(1)
Three Sample Reviews	149	(7)
Phyllis Tuchman, "Mark Rothko"	150	(4)
Ken Johnson, "Mark Rothko"	154	(1)
Anonymous, "Mark Rothko"	155	(1)
6 HOW TO WRITE AN EFFECTIVE ESSAY	156	(11)
Looking Closely: Approaching a First Draft	157	(3)
Revising: Achieving a Readable Draft	160	(4)
Checklist for Revising a Draft	163	(1)
Peer Review	164	(1)
Checklist for Peer Review	164	(1)
Preparing the Final Version	165	(2)
7 STYLE IN WRITING	167	(31)
Principles of Style	167	(1)
Get the Right Word	168	(9)
Denotation	168	(1)
Connotation	169	(1)
Concreteness	169	(1)
A Note on the Use of "This" Without a Concrete Reference	170	(1)
A Note on Technical Language	171	(3)
Tone	174	(1)
Repetition	175	(1)
The Sound of Sense, the Sense of Sound	176	(1)
Write Effective Sentences	177	(7)
Economy	177	(2)
Wordy Beginnings	179	(1)
Passive Voice	179	(1)
Parallels	180	(1)
Variety	181	(1)
Subordination	182	(2)
Write Unified and Coherent Paragraphs	184	(12)
Unity	185	(4)
Coherence	189	(2)
Introductory Paragraphs	191	(3)
Concluding Paragraphs	194	(2)
Checklist for Revising Paragraphs	196	(1)
Note on Tenses	196	(2)
8 SOME CRITICAL APPROACHES	198	(23)
Social History: The New Art History and Marxism	199	(6)
Gender Studies: Feminist Criticism and Gay and Lesbian Studies	205	(8)
Biographical Studies	213	(1)
Psychoanalytic Studies	214	(2)
Iconography and Iconology	216	(5)
9 ART-HISTORICAL RESEARCH	221	(17)
Connoisseurship	221	(2)
History and Criticism	223	(1)
Some Critical Values	224	(11)
Arguing about Values	234	(1)
Historical Scholarship and Values	235	(3)
10 WRITING A RESEARCH PAPER	238	(38)
A Concise Overview	239	(1)
Primary and Secondary Materials	240	(1)
From Subject to Thesis	241	(1)
Finding the Material	242	(11)
The Library Catalog	243	(1)
Browsing in Encyclopedias, Books, and Book Reviews	244	(2)
Indexes and Subscription Databases to Published Material	246	(5)
Other Guides	251	(2)
Art Research and the World Wide Web	253	(10)
The Internet and the Web	253	(1)
Where to Start	254	(1)
Web Search Engines	254	(1)
Web Subject Directories	255	(1)
Art-Related Directories	256	(1)
Museum Directories	256	(1)
Finding, Viewing, and Downloading Images	256	(2)
Evaluating Web Sites	258	(1)
Checklist for Evaluating Web Sites	259	(1)
Referencing Web Pages	259	(1)
Checklist for Electronic Documentation	260	(1)
Citations for Electronic Materials	261	(2)
Posting Questions	263	(1)
Embedding URLs in Your Paper	263	(1)
Keeping a Sense of Proportion	263	(2)
Reading and Taking Notes	265	(4)
Drafting and Revising the Paper	269	(7)
Checklist for Reviewing a Revised Draft of a Research Paper	274	(2)
11 MANUSCRIPT FORM	276	(49)
Basic Manuscript Form	276	(3)
Some Conventions of Language Usage	279	(12)
The Apostrophe	279	(1)
Capitalization	280	(1)
The Dash	280	(1)
The Hyphen	281	(1)
Foreign Words and Quotations in Foreign Languages	281	(1)
Left and Right	282	(1)
Names	282	(2)
Avoiding Sexist Language	284	(1)
Avoiding Eurocentric Language	285	(4)
Spelling	289	(1)
Titles	290	(1)
Italics and Underlining	291	(1)
Quotations and Quotation Marks	291	(4)
Acknowledging Sources	295	(6)
Borrowing Without Plagiarizing	295	(3)
Fair Use of Common Knowledge	298	(1)
"But How Else Can I Put It?"	299	(2)
Checklist for Avoiding Plagiarism	301	(1)
Documentation	301	(1)
Footnotes and Endnotes	302	(1)
Kinds of Notes	302	(1)
Footnote Numbers and Positions	302	(1)
Footnote Style	303	(1)
Chicago Manual Style	303	(9)
Books	304	(2)
Journals and Newspapers	306	(1)
Secondhand References	307	(1)
Subsequent References	308	(1)
Interviews, Lectures, and Letters	308	(1)
Electronic Citations	309	(1)
Bibliography (List of Works Cited)	309	(1)
Bibliographic Style	309	(3)
Art Bulletin Style	312	(11)
Preparing the Manuscript	312	(1)
Text (Including Text of Footnotes)	313	(5)
Text References, Footnotes, and Frequently Cited Sources	318	(4)
Captions	322	(1)
Corrections in the Final Copy	323	(2)
12 ESSAY EXAMINATIONS	325	(6)
What Examinations Are	325	(1)
Writing Essay Answers	326	(4)
Last Words	330	(1)
CREDITS	331	(2)
INDEX	333
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS	INSIDE BACK