Conversation Paper #1 and Sources

The Conversation Paper #1 assignment is below...but first, I wanted to share some sources with you to help you find the image for the assignment. You can choose any iconic image (one that is popular and familiar enough that many people would recognize it, or has been reproduced in more than one format), either the ones below or one you find yourself. Here are a few ideas:

* Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential Pictures of All Time: http://100photos.time.com/

* CNN's Most Famous Paintings: https://www.cnn.com/style/article/most-famous-paintings/index.html

* 30 Striking Photos from the History of National Geographic: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2018/05/130-anniversary-gallery-culture-spd/

* Rolling Stone's Best Album Covers of All Time: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/readers-poll-the-best-album-covers-of-all-time-10324/10-the-velvet-underground-the-velvet-underground-nico-256611/

Conversation Paper #1: Seeing and Believing

For this assignment, I want you to choose an iconic photograph or work of art (a painting, etc.) to write about. By “iconic,” I mean a work that is fairly well known and that either most people would recognize, or that is in books, in a museum, or in advertisements. I’ll give you a list of possible works on the blog, but you’re welcome to choose your own. Then write a paper that responds to the question below:

Q: Is this work famous because of what it is, or what people think it is? In other words, do people ‘see’ this as a work of art first, or do they ‘believe’ in this work before they even see it? For example, when you see de Vinci’s Mona Lisa, you’ve seen it everywhere already—on T-shirts, coffee mugs, in advertisements, etc. So you’re seeing a manipulation of this image, what people have made you believe it is, before you ever seen it for what it is. So how do we ‘unsee’ it and learn to appreciate the work itself? Are we looking at an idea, or an artwork? How do we know?

SOME ISSUES TO ADDRESS IN YOUR PAPER:

• Where do people see this work today? How do we encounter it?
• What makes the work iconic? Is it important because people respond to it, or are we told to like it before we even see it?
• Is it used to sell anything? Is it manipulated for reasons outside the art itself?
• What context is important to know about the work? How does it change what we see, or what we think we see?
• Has the work become more “true” or more “false” over the years? How can a work of art become “false”?
• What do people say the work means? Do you agree with them? Is there more than one interpretation?
• Is there a question of the work’s authenticity? Is there more than one version of the work? Is this the “best”? Or just the one we know?

REQUIREMENTS

• Use Morris’ book Believing is Seeing as one of your main sources. Quote from the chapters so you can respond to his ideas as you write. Consider the ‘big ideas’ we’ve discussed in class and in your daily responses.
• At least 4 secondary sources about your work of art, or anything related to it, that can provide context, history, culture, or more of the conversation. You must quote these in your paper as ideas to introduce and respond to.
• You can use Humans of New York as one of these 4 sources, or as an additional source to help you discuss your image. But it has to be relevant; don’t just use the book as an empty source. Either it aids your conversation or it doesn’t.
• At least 4-5 pages double spaced, though you can do more. You might need to do more depending on your image!
• DUE Friday, February 28^th by 5pm [no class that day]