ART 101 Northern Virginia College Three Principles of Design Discussion

DIRECTIONS

Required Readings/Viewings

• Read the Introduction chapter in your textbook: What is Art History?
• View the Formal Analysis PowerPoint Presentation created by Professor Erin Devine: Basics.pptx
• Study the ElementsandPrinciples document. This document is a “cheat sheet” to print out and keep with you when looking at works of art.

Optional Readings/Viewings

• Go to the following websites to view/study
  • How Dates Work (Links to an external site.)
  • Why Art History (Links to an external site.).
  • Navigate the site by following along each of the links on the left menu area.

Introduction Activity

1. After you have completed the required readings and viewings, watch the videos below:

Note: The “skill of describing” video has no sound other than light music in the background.

2. Visit Virtual Tour (Links to an external site.), then scroll down to Virtual tour and choose one of the museums listed, or select View All for more options.

3. Choose one of the museums; once you’re “inside” the museum, find one artwork and create a post following these instructions.

• Which work of art did you choose? Why?
• List the a) name, b) artist, c) date and d) medium of the work you chose to focus on.
• Copy and paste links to the artwork (see the tutorial on how to copy link (Links to an external site.)).

4. Describe the work you chose using at least five formal elements and three principles of design from your textbook introduction.