Grade 11 – IB Visual Arts

Midterm

January 2015

This Midterm topic is in response to the recent terrorist attack on Charlie Hebdo, a Frenchsatirical newspaper, in Paris. The Terrorist were targeting satiristsand cartoonists, such as the newspaper's editor, Stéphane Charbonnier, andJean Cabut, better known asCabu. The terrorists wanted to kill people who make drawings for a living. This stemmed from the controversial depictions of the Muslim prophet Muhammad. Graphic depictions of the prophet are considered taboo by many Muslims, in particular Sunni Muslims, largelybecause they could be considered a form of idolatry (similar traditions have existed in a number of faiths). Blasphemy against the prophet is a considered a crime (sabb al-nabi), though religious teaching on how it should be punished varies widely: As noted in "Muhammad in History, Thought, and Culture: An Encyclopedia of the Prophet of God,"

Topic:Art and Controversy

Part 1: Research and investigate the topic given. Find two artists whose work has been

considered “controversial”

  1. Write aVisual Journal entry (4 pages or2 double page spreads) where you include a critical analysis of each artist and their work. This entry will be an “investigation” and is not a formal essay. Include a variety of images from your research. (you must site your work)
  2. What is it about these works that upset, challenge, or offend the critics? Was the controversial reception related to the display or installation, the medium, the scale, the cost, or the location of the work? Do you agree with the critics’ assessment?
  3. You will select one piece of work per artist and discuss it using the following framework. Refer directly to the piece:
  • Describe- a brief description in layman’s terms
  • Analyze- the formal qualities and media used considered and discussed (Elements & Principles)
  • Interpret- the meaning or significance of the work considered and discussed
  • Appraise- an informed personal evaluation (What do you think about it?)

Brief Comparison of the artist work

  • Discuss similarities
  • Discuss differences
  • Discuss context and why the works are appropriate for comparison
  • Justify your analysis based on your personal study--extend research into areas of your own interest.

Part II:Visual Response.

  1. Create a visual response to the Artists you are investigating as part of your presentation. This is not a reproduction. You will approach this art project as a “Preliminary Study” for a future piece of work. Consider it a “proposal”. Create a drawing or a Maquette (a small modelor study in three dimensions for either a sculptural or an architectural project). Mount your piece so that it will stand on an easel while you present your idea to the group.

When creating your visual response:

  • Begin with a series of sketches in your IWB.
  • Consider the artists-under-study when you propose your media
  • Consider the social/symbolic/and formal properties that you want to incorporate into your piece.
  • This is a “response” and not a reproduction. It is a proposal for a piece of art that takes into consideration of what you have recently learned.
  • This piece of work should be rich and effective as a visual aid to your audience and endeavor to express fully what your intentions will be if you choose to complete the piece.

Part III:Presentation.

  1. Presentation: (February 23rd-26th) You will present your artists to the class-describing their work and their accomplishments (Contextual Research); then present your “Visual Response” and explain how you have incorporated approaches and been influenced by the artists you investigated.

Controversies

Théodore Géricault'sRaft of the Medusa,circa1820

Art has long been controversial, that is to say disliked by some viewers, for a wide variety of reasons, though most pre-modern controversies are dimly recorded, or completely lost to a modern view.Iconoclasmis the destruction of art that is disliked for a variety of reasons, including religious ones.Aniconismis a general dislike of either all figurative images, or often just religious ones, and has been a thread in many major religions. It has been a crucial factor in the history ofIslamic art, wheredepictions of Muhammadremain especially controversial. Much art has been disliked purely because it depicted or otherwise stood for unpopular rulers, parties or other groups. Artistic conventions have often been conservative and taken very seriously byart critics, though often much less so by a wider public. Theiconographiccontent of art could cause controversy, as with late medieval depictions of the new motif of theSwoon of the Virginin scenes of theCrucifixion of Jesus.TheLast JudgmentbyMichelangelowas controversial for various reasons, including breaches ofdecorumthrough nudity and theApollo-like pose of Christ.

The content of much formal art through history was dictated by the patron or commissioner rather than just the artist, but with the advent ofRomanticism, and econonomic changes in the production of art, the artists' vision became the usual determinant of the content of his art, increasing the incidence of controversies, though often reducing their significance. Strong incentives for perceived originality and publicity also encouraged artists to court controversy.Théodore Géricault'sRaft of the Medusa(c. 1820), was in part a political commentary on a recent event.Édouard Manet'sLe Déjeuner sur l'Herbe(1863), was considered scandalous not because of thenudewoman, but because she is seated next to men fully dressed in the clothing of the time, rather than in robes of the antique world.John Singer Sargent'sMadame Pierre Gautreau (MadamX)(1884), caused a controversy over the reddish pink used to color the woman's ear lobe, considered far too suggestive and supposedly ruining the high-society model's reputation.

The gradual abandonment of naturalism and the depiction of realistic representations of the visual appearance of subjects in the 19th and 20th centuries led to a rolling controversy lasting for over a

century. In the twentieth century,Pablo Picasso'sGuernica(1937) used arrestingcubisttechniques and starkmonochromatic oils, to depict the harrowing consequences of a contemporary bombing of a small, ancient Basque town.Leon Golub'sInterrogation III(1981), depicts a female nude, hooded detainee strapped to a chair, her legs open to reveal her sexual organs, surrounded by two tormentors dressed in everyday clothing.Andres Serrano'sPiss Christ(1989) is a photograph of a crucifix, sacred to the Christian religion and representingChrist's sacrifice and final suffering, submerged in a glass of the artist's own urine. The resulting uproar led to comments in the United States Senate about public funding of the arts.

P. DiMasi-Coppola