RESEARCH PAPER GUIDELINES

GOALS

The Goals of your Research Paper are:

1. To provide essential, factual, and interesting information that enables you and other docents to talk about an artwork with museum visitors. The paper should be no more than two pages long, not including the bibliography, and written in a sans serif font such as Ariel or Verdana, and in size 11 letters. The first line of a new paragraph should be separated by a blank line and not be indented.

2. To provide a short bibliography of key, primary sources for further study. The bibliography does not have to fit in the two page requirement.

3. To prepare the materials in a specific digital format for uploading to the Docent Web Site. Directions for this are included below. Be sure to send the text separately from your images. Directions for this are below also.

HOW TO CONSTRUCT A RESEARCH PAPER

Find a Good Image

First find a good clear image of your work of art. Most likely you will be able to ask for one from Rachael in the Education Office, or find a good image online, or take a photo of it. If you have difficulty finding the image that you are seeking, you will find additional sources for images, and more information about working with images, later in this handbook.

Title Card or Checklist Information

The most up-to-date source for the title card information is the SBMA website: collections.sbma.net/search. Enter the artist’s last name into the Search field in the lower left corner of the screen then click up the selected work.

The museum is in the process of entering its entire collection into this database. If the work in question is not to be found on the website, then copy the information from the Title Card or Checklist.

Artist Last Name:
Artist First Name:
Artist Nationality:
Artist Country Active:
Artist Year Birth-Death:
Object Title:
Object Date:
Object Medium:
Object Dimensions:
Acquisition/Provenance:
Acquisition Number:

When completed it will look like this example:

Arnoldi
Charles
American
1946–
Landfisher
1983
acrylic on plywood
90 x 75 3/4 x 4 in.
SBMA, Gift of the Contemporary Collectors Group
1983.13

Artist Portrait

Below the title card information include a photo or portrait of your artist and write in the credit or attribution for the photo or painting of your artist.

The following example is from a website:

Portrait copyright Alan Bamberger 1998-2010
http://www.artbusiness.com/1open/images/0930101.jpg

Below that, if you like, you may include a brief quote that provides insight into your artist or work of art, and quote the source, such as:

“Sometimes when I begin a painting I have an image of a color that I want to explore. I can be seduced by color. ….it is usually this seduction by a specific color that initiates the painting”. – John Seery

Or like the following example:

“Well, trying to make a painting look good isn’t easy.” – Charles Arnoldi

Begin the Text

Below that, leave two lines blank and begin the text of your paper. Fundamentally your Research Paper will answer the questions “who, what, where, why, and when” about your work of art. These aspects will have to be carefully balanced due to the fact that the paper can only be two pages long. The most important part, and therefore most likely the longest part, should be an emphasis on the visual elements, “what you see here”. This should be accompanied with a very brief accounting of only the relevant historical/biographical facts that pertain specifically to this particular art work. With a limit of only two pages, this will be all that you have enough room for. It is also useful to talk about the technique and media of your work of art and where all of this fits in the context of its time.

Too long an account of the general history and other factoids that don’t enlighten the reader particularly about this specific individual work of art are not necessary and can lead to an overly long paper. Unfortunately, all of the fascinating details of your artist and their work of art usually won’t be able to be told in just two pages and this can be frustrating!

Your Research Paper will provide the docents with rich, interesting, and accurate information to use in creating engaging tours! Here are some blocks of information or topics that you might consider including in your research, although your paper probably will not contain all of them. The text of the research paper should be written in full paragraph form and include information in the following categories:

Visual Analysis of the Work

First describe what you see in the work of art. Describe the specifically pertinent elements of this work and the effects, what you see as to color, space, line, shape, form, texture, shape, light and dark, and so on. You may also want to include specific information about the artist and what you see, e.g., “This model is his wife, whom he painted frequently”. Discuss how what is seen affects the viewers’ understanding of the artist’s intention? What did the artist want to accomplish? What was the artist interested in when s/he produced this piece? For example when Monet painted the bridge series in London, he was interested in the play of sunlight on the fog and on the surface of the river and bridges and the surrounding area of the city at different times of the day. You might describe what effect it has on you.

Technique and Materials

Explain how it was made and provide information on materials used, describe steps in the process of creation, supply information about the style of art and what was happening with it generally at the time, discuss the meaning of the piece in a context.

Factual Information

Then discuss other factual background information. Address only as many areas as are directly relevant. Be sure to relate information to what can be seen in this work.

Short Bio

Provide background information about the artist, artisan or school: You may briefly discuss the artist’s place of birth, relevant family information, education, relevant significant movements/relocations, friends and colleagues of influence, discuss the work in relation to other work by the same artist and anchor the work to a time in the artist’s life. In some cultures the artist is anonymous; you could explore how the artist was viewed in the culture.

Style

Discuss how the style of this artwork reflects the specific time in which it was created. Compare to previous styles or changes in style that will come in the next period. You might discuss how this work relates to other works by the same artist or by the artist’s contemporaries, how does it fits in the artist’s body of work over time, what it is, or how it is used or displayed.

Historical Context

Discuss pertinent dates and events in history that provide context for the work or are reflected in the object. Here you would include information about the artist and his environment. Significant family, religious, political, and social issues of the day and what influence they had on the work of this artist could be explored if important. For example: the Communist movement had a great impact on the subjects of Diego Rivera’s work. Then say what that impact was, how his work changed. Or: The death of his wife, trusted adviser, and constant companion colored the artist’s work for the rest of his life. Much of his work expressed his longing for her.

Influence and Inspiration

Discuss others that influenced or inspired the artist, or who worked within the same group.

Evolution of Artist’s Style

Discuss the style of the art, and movement or era of involvement. Here you would review important Information about the artist’s medium and style, and the evolution of artist’s style – changes from early, to mid-career, to late career, changes in medium, artistic influences, and influential art movements of the era.

Cultural Significance

Explore what it symbolizes or what its use was in the culture of that time. (If the object is religious, it’s not necessary to include a description of the religion, but rather discuss how the object fits into the belief system). You might mention for whom the work was intended, or how it would have been displayed. Check to see if a research paper is already available that discusses some general background information about the religion or culture of that work.

Extraordinary Qualities

Are there any qualities of the artist or events in the life of the artist that were extraordinary? You could mention very important exhibitions, prizes, publications, performances, etc. Mention only those that directly relate to your work of art.

Relevant Connections

Are there connections to other important work(s) in the SBMA collection? Again discuss this only if directly relevant to your work of art.

Putting it All Together

Creatively put the information you have gathered together to provide an enticing story.

Example: Background and family information about the artist:

a. Smith grew up in Pennsylvania in a large family. They were poor. His father was a welder and this influenced Smith to become a sculptor.

b. Better: Smith was born to a poor working class family in urban Pittsburgh at a time that the city was failing economically. His father, a welder, was laid off right when his mother was ill and the family suffered great hardship for several years. Feeling that he had to do something to support his family, Smith went to work as a welder like his father. While working in the shop he began to experiment with sculpting in metal in his free time. A co-worker was impressed by what he saw and brought in a friend who connected Smith with an art dealer and a career was born. During his lifetime, Smith sought to express the plight of the hardworking urban poor in his art.

This may be all of the background information that you provide about your artist but it says so much. By briefly framing your information in a context, you can paint a picture that the docents can use to engage their visitors.

Citations

Most Citation conventions will not work on our WordPress Website. This website will not allow the use of the following in your text:

italics,
centered text,
underlining,
or bolding.

So avoid using any of these in your Text or Bibliography as they will be removed by the WordPress conversion process. Use quotation marks instead of italics. This will be a bit unusual for those of you who are used to citing using one of the conventions such as APA.

Footnotes

Because our display is a single, scrollable area rather than pages, please also avoid the use of footnotes. They’re very messy and hard to work with on this website. Use a citation with page number instead to indicate the source material. Here are some examples: “The sky is blue”. (Brown, p.23). Or you could use: Susie Brown (2002) mentioned that the sky is blue (p. 23). Here the (2002) tells the reader which item in your bibliography is referenced. You could also write that out in full as: Susie Brown mentioned that the sky is blue (2002, p. 23). Either is fine. Or Len Smith talked about it in his authoritative book on the subject (Awesome Art, 1977, p. 33).

The section below gives you examples of how to correctly cite an image, a book, a publication, an online article, web site, data base, etc. Please be sure to check your citation stroke by stroke, comma by comma, as these citations are quite specific. This is a unique citation convention that has been created to work on our website and it is shown below for your use.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

In your Bibliography, please list your authors in alphabetical order by last name. See the examples in the Sample Research Papers. Cite the artist’s name, title in quotation marks, and the institution or individual who owns the work, and the city. If you want to indicate the work’s date, include it after the title. Notice the specific placement of the periods and the commas. For a work of art that you viewed online, end your citation with your date of access and the URL. Begin the URL on a new line and begin it with http:/www. as some browsers require this, even if yours does not. Allow a blank space between each author or entry in your Bibliography as shown in the Sample Research Papers.

Work of Art, Original Painting, Sculpture, or Photograph

Duveneck, Frank. “Whistling Boy”. 1872. Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati.

Pei, I.M. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Cleveland.

Bearden, Romare. “The Train”. 1974. Photogravure and aquatint. Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Work of Art Found in an Image Database

Botticelli, Sandro. “Birth of Venus”. c. 1482. Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence. ARTstor. 3 Jan. 2006.
http://www.artstor.org (a by subscription only data base available at UCSB)

Cassatt, Mary. “The Boating Party”. 1893-1894. National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. ARTstor. Web. 12 Sept. 2009.
http://www.artstor.org (a by subscription only data base available at UCSB)

Work of Art Found in a Book or Art Reproduction

Duveneck, Frank. “Whistling Boy”. 1872. “Unsuspected Genius : the Art and Life of Frank Duveneck”. By Robert Neuhaus. San Francisco : Bedford Press, 1987. 227.

Eakins, Thomas. “Spinning”. 1881. Private collection. “Thomas Eakins”. Ed. Darrel Sewell. Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art in assn. with Yale UP, 2001. Plate 91. Print.

Personal Photograph

Louvre Museum, Paris. Personal photograph by author. 7 Mar. 2005.

Slide in the Library

Gogh, Vincent van. “The Starry Night 1889”. Museum of Modern Art, New York. Visual Resources Center. Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning Library, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati.

Map or Chart

Ohio. Map. Chicago: Rand, 2004.

Attribution for Artist’s Portrait or Photo