Paper #3: The Art Critic, due March 28th

Paper #3: The Art Critic  

For this paper, I want you to choose ONE painting from Schmied’s book, Edward Hopper: Portraits of America to write about. You are going to write a 2-3 page spread on this painting, just like the ones you can read on paintings such as Office at Night and New York Movie. This should be a brief (so no more than 3 pages, double spaced) introduction to the painting that helps someone understand the ‘conversation’ about the painting: the CONTEXT of the painting (historical details, cultural details, etc.) plus a READING of the painting (what you see, what others see). Imagine what people don’t know and might need to know about this painting (and Hopper) to really appreciate this work of art. You don’t have to describe the painting, but feel free to point out specific details, something we might not notice, or you feel is important. Don’t go into too much detail, but do enough to be useful; quote when necessary, but be sure to cite all the information you learned from your sources.

To help you do this, I want you to find FIVE sources on this painting, from each of the following categories (ONE of which should be Schmied’s book):

• A source about the painting, or a discussion of the painting
• A source about another painting of the same period to compare it to this one
• A source about Hopper (his life, ideas, etc.) that is relevant to the painting in some way
• A source about the time period (context about what was going on then that could be relevant to understanding the painting)
• A source about the location of the painting (where it takes place: for example, what is an “automat?”)
• OR A source about the person’s occupation (gas station attendant, movie usher, etc.)

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY: Instead of a normal Works Cited page, I want you to list all 5 sources along with 1-2 sentences about each one, briefly summarizing what it’s about. Imagine that the person reading this article might want to read these sources to find out more information about the painting; your summaries will help them decide which ones are the most useful to them.

Ex: Schmied, Wieland. Edward Hopper: Portraits of America. New York: Prestel, 2005. Schmied’s book offers an overview of Hopper’s career, along with some biographical details to help you understand the major themes and ideas of his paintings. (don’t use this summary in your paper—write your own! J )

DUE MONDAY, MARCH 28^th by 5pm [no class that day]