Assignment task: In this activity, you will apply what you have learned about the basic artistic elements in subunit 4.1. You will select a realistic artistic composition and reduce it down to its most basic artistic elements.
- First, select a piece of artwork from the list of provided repositories/sources of artwork, and save an image of the artwork to your computer.
- The artwork you select should be "realistic," so choose a photograph or a photorealistic painting, most likely. Otherwise, please choose an artwork that incorporates many of the artistic elements you learned about in subunit 4.1.
- Next, use a computer program like Microsoft Paint or use pen/pencil and paper to re-create a simplified version of the image.
- Your new image should distill or reduce the original composition into its most basic art elements that is, points, lines, shapes, and shading.
- Then save your new image or take a photograph of your new image and save that to your computer.
- Upload both saved files to using the file upload box below the text box.
- Finally, in the text box, provide a few sentences about what image you chose and your experience of reducing the image down to its basic art elements.
- Be sure to include a line indicating the Terms of Use and/or copyright information for your work! Need Assignment Help?
Art Resources:
- ART 21: Includes interviews with major contemporary artists, studio visits and explanations of their work
- Google Images: A comprehensive search engine for images
- Artcyclopedia: Good general art site, mostly image links to museums:
- Mark Hardin's Artchive: Great link with alphabetical listing of artists, mostly contemporary and historical European
- Art History Links: An amazing collection of links specific to sites related to the practice of art history, many are written, not visual, information
- Cities and Buildings Collection: Over 5000 architectural images maintained by the architecture department at the University of Washington
- Web Gallery of Art: Good reference for lots of art history images
- Saatchi Gallery, London: Cutting edge contemporary art, plus a site where any artist can post their work
- The National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC: Our national art museum
- Seattle Art Museum
- Museum of Modern Art New York: A treasure trove of modern art
- Metropolitan Museum of Art: Extensive collection database from many cultures and time periods
- Islamic art collection: An extensive collection of Islamic art from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
- Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: An extensive digital collection with text information
- Currier Museum of Art: A smaller museum in Manchester, NH with a fantastic collection, much of it online
- Henry Art Gallery: The art repository of the University of Washington. An extensive image database and excellent search system
- National Galleries of Scotland: Extensive collection of artwork from many cultures and time periods
- ARTstor: Nearly one million images here. For access to this site, please check with your campus library or public library
- CAMIO: 95,000 images of all kinds. For access to this site, please check with your campus or public library
- Smarthistory: Smarthistory.org is a free and open, not-for-profit, art history textbook. We use multimedia to deliver unscripted conversations between art historians about the history of art
- Tibetan Book of the Dead: Literature and Artwork on Prayer, Ritual, and Meditation from the Religious Traditions of Tibet, India and Nepal. Special Collections Department at the University of Virginia Library
- Day of the Dead Celebration: History and images from the Mexican "Dia de los Muertos" celebration.
- Frank Gehry sketches: Initial sketches of building design ideas by architect Frank Gehry
- African Art: Death and Rebirth: Sculpture images and text describing ritual beliefs from African cultures. Other themes included
- Burke Museum: Artwork database from their ethnology collections. Administered through the University of Washington
- All Together Now: A digital collaborative and interactive music project
- AIDS Quilt Information Website
- What is a Print?: Interactive tutorial on printmaking processes, with images. Created by the Museum of Modern Art, New York
- Edvard Munch Museum: Image database for many of Munch's paintings and prints
- Nuxalk Sun Mask: Image and context for the Mask of the Sun from British Columbia Nuxalkculture
- Bradshaw Foundation: Excellent source for images and information on prehistoric rock art, Cycladic figures, the Pyramids, ancient temples and geometric signs
- The Art Story: Movements, Artists, Theory and the Progression of Art History
- Francis Bacon Estate: A website devoted to the images and explanations of the important and idiosyncratic English painter
- Mayan Temples: An excellent site for historical information about the Temples of Palenque in Mexico