Contemporary Women Artists: Exploring Their Contributions and Unique Approaches

Choose three contemporary women artists. (You can look at chapters 13-16 in the Chadwick textbook for ideas.) Select artists whose bodies of work seem to complement each other in some way—in terms of approach, subject matter, time period, biography, social concerns or any other criteria that you think might be relevant and compelling. (If you are not certain about your choices, or would like to write about an artist from an earlier period, please be sure to seek your instructor’s permission in advance.) Using Slatkin’s criteria for identifying significant works by women (as specified on pp. 10-11 of her book, on eLearn), discuss your chosen artists’ unique contributions, giving an overview of their work and careers. (Be selective, focusing on just two or three of the five categories mentioned by Slatkin.) Discuss at least two works by each artist to exemplify her approaches and achievements. For research material you can use the course textbook and articles, as well as authoritative Internet sources (such as museum websites, online encyclopedias, etc.). You may also want to consult and cite additional art-historical texts (i.e., a scholarly book or article). Explain/comment on how each artist’s choices of media, forms and imagery reveal a particular intellectual or emotional approach to their chosen theme. You will likely want to support your explanation by using the language of visual (formal) elements—this is discussed in “The Language of Art and Architecture,” in M. Lazzari and D. Shlesier, Exploring Art, A Global, Thematic Approach, 4th ed., Wadsworth, 2012, pp. 23-54 (see link on the Moodle website). Be sure to analyze your three artists in relation to each other, not just individually! Finally, be clear about how the work of these artists can be seen to address critically the issues of feminism/gender we have discussed in class! Your complete paper should be approximately 1000-1250 words in length (i.e., 3-4 pages double-spaced, 12-point font). This does not include notes, bibliography and images. You will likely want to add photocopied or downloaded images where relevant, but it is not compulsory. Please retain a backup copy of the text for your records. Be sure to cite your references correctly using MLA format for footnotes and bibliography. The Capilano University Writing Centre has a handout concerning MLA format (and other formats). A Writing Centre instructor can also help you.