Assignment: Critical Introduction

DUE: Monday, Dec 3

For the Curated Art Exhibit project, each group is required to write a 6-10 page critical introduction that will serve two purposes:

1. Demonstrate to your professor that you have an understanding, both broad and deep, of your chosen phenomenon in the arts;

2. Orient your audience (both real and imagined) to the rhetorical situation of your exhibit, help them understand the main purpose of the collection, and situate your work inside of a larger conversation about the arts.


Invention:

As you research and begin to draft, ask yourselves the following questions:

• What is the historical/cultural lineage of my art piece? Out of what tradition(s) does it emerge?
• What changes has it undergone between the moment of inception to its current, contemporary iteration? 
• What forces--cultural, political, social, economic, etc.--helped to shape its trajectory and make it into the piece I am showcasing in my project?
• Were there major players other than the artist--stakeholders, critics, community members, etc.--whose influence helped shape or guide the making of the art? 
• What/who are the artistic "peers" of my art piece? That is, are there other, similar phenomena with which my piece shares commonalities? In what important ways does my piece differ from those other phenomena?
•  Why have I chosen these particular pieces to appear together? How does each function on its own? How does its function change when placed into the larger context (rhetorical situation) of the exhibit? 
• Who are the artists responsible for these pieces? What can you say about their careers? What artistic vision do they claim to follow? What have they said about their own work?
• Why is the art in my exhibit worthy of attention, study or celebration? 

   Note: You may not address every one of the above questions, but you should be considering many of them as you research and decide which are most compelling to include in your introduction. 

    Composition:

Consider the best way to begin: the introduction to the introduction, as it were. How will you set the scene for your audience? How will you make them understand the importance of your exhibit and suggest to them why they should care about it early on?

Consider organization: how will you arrange the information from your research in such a way that it flows logically and persuasively for your audience? Will you follow a chronological order, for instance? Or will you instead seek to organize around central themes? Will you begin by discussing the critical reception of the work or the controversies surrounding it or will you focus first on the stated vision of the artist? 

Consider how to end: what do you want your audience to take away from your introduction? How will you leave them with a full understanding of what they have just learned? How can you conclude so that your audience wants to immediately go to your exhibit to learn/experience more? 

Consider how to create consistency of voice and tone. See this resource for good tips about how to approach the drafting, writing and editing process for collaborative work.

Format:

Introductions should include the names of all group members, the date, the section # and the project name/title. 

 Consider using headings and sub-headings in your paper as a means of transitioning where applicable. This can be helpful to both writers and readers alike.

The critical introduction should adhere to standard MLA formatting, which uses in-text parenthetical citations. Please visit this site for comprehensive instructions. 

 Your annotated bibliography should include at least five sources, some of which MUST be secondary in nature. That is, you must include information that other people (critics, academics, etc) have written about your subject. 

 Presentation:

 All critical introductions must be uploaded as a .doc or .docx file attachment in an ANGEL drop box by the due date. 

They may also appear, either in whole or part, in your actual exhibit.