03. Artist Reports

You will do an Artist Report 4 times. (AR01, AR02, AR03, AR04)

For each study unit, you will select an drawing artist from the list on the syllabus, OR if you have a non-listed drawing artist in mind, you may ask if you can select them for your report. It must be a primarily-drawing artist. You will report on how the artist utilizes sources/influences and describe their style of working. By learning about how other artists use their sources/influences and describing their style, you will be able to better articulate your own sources/influences and style.

For each artist report you need to:

1.) Print one 8.5”x11” color print of your favorite drawing by the artist (feel free to bring in more than 1) – there should be NO pixelation or blurriness, and you must print the colors correctly [if your printer is running out of one color of ink, go to the Service Center, and they can print it in color for you]. The image you turn in needs to be high-quality, and if your favorite piece is not available in a large enough size, do 2 images. Write Your Name & The Artist’s Name on the back of the print. (2 points)

2.) Identify and describe the notable aspects of the artist’s style – describe it as if you were telling us how to reproduce it in our own work. It can be helpful to talk about HOW the artist works. When identifying or articulating a style, be sensitive to specific cultural meanings, differences in technique (pop-art halftones and pointalism both use dots, but in very different ways), choice of media/material, use of color or texture or line (or any of the other elements/principles of design), compositional choices, overall idea/feeling (3 points)

3.) Identify sources/influences the artist uses/mentions – see if you can pinpoint at least 2-3 sources to emphasize (3 points)

4.) Recap. After having covered the points listed above (how it’s relevant to our study, the artist’s style, and the artists sources), make sure to do a brief recap at the end of your presentation so we all are reminded of these 3 important points in a concise manner. (just cover sources, the style, and how it’s relevant to the reading). (2 point)

5.) Present well.  You can have notes, but do not reference them too much when presenting. It’s fine to have them as a prop, but really, you should be able to just say your presentation with just a few glances at the notes (these are not very long presentations, and if you don’t know your material well enough, you need to spend more time/practice). Speak out to the audience (do not stare at your picture on the wall too much). (5 points)

REMEMBER:

If you cannot complete all of the above-listed points, then you must find a new artist for which you CAN find all these things. Remember that the library is a great resource. Also, remember that you can try to contact the artist and/or their gallery to get answers to some of these questions (just remember to be polite, and explain that it’s for a class, and that you need the answers by a certain date/time).

– Practice at least once out-loud at home.

– Don’t worry too much about the historical-specifics of the piece you’re talking about unless it is relevant to the required points.