Module #2: Why is so much art writing so bad?

 

We're leaving the world of first-person narrative, which is sometimes called autobiography or memoir. This form of writing relies on storytelling and an embrace of lived experience.

We're entering the world of the critic. This is largely a form of writing that lives in the world of third-person description, analysis, and evaluation. It's really not "about" the writer, though the writer's first-person voice might make an occasional appearance, especially toward the end of a piece of criticism, after the writer has earned the authority to offer a personal response.

Almost everybody has had the infuriating experience of reading pretentious and meaningless writing in a gallery or in an art book or art magazine. This obscure language is called International Art English (IAE).  This essay is a good introduction to the idea. The initial essay that introduced the concept of IAE was written by Alix Rule and David Levine. Here's a link (scrolls sideways).

Check out this example of International Art English (IAE): Kim Beom's Animalia 

Your fun assignment for next Tuesday, February 1: After reading the two essays linked above, write your own example of terrible art writing that conforms to the kind of writing they call IAE. This should be a single paragraph of at least five sentences. This is an exercise in comedy. But as we all know, there's a lot of truth in comedy. 

Enter your paragraph into the class discussion board no later than noon on February 1. Have fun! Questions? csmith@dcad.edu

Formatting Your Essay for Thursday's Submission

This is fairly straightforward, but you might encounter a little trouble. If you do, don't worry. 

Sometimes I really hate the "standard" format for academic writing in college. You know what it looks like: Double-spaced, no images, MLA style, etc. Does it have to be this way? No. I still think it's an important skill to learn, but it's not the only way to write, especially in a college dedicated to art and design. 

Here's how to do it. Write your essay as you normally do. After you've finished the draft, select the entire document and make it single-spaced. After doing that, select the entire document again (or keep it highlighted) and go to the layout tab and select columns, then select 2 columns. The last step is to insert an image in the top left corner. Your choice: It could be your own art, something else, whatever. Don't worry about Copywrite; this is clearly educational and within Fair Use provisions. You can also choose not to include an image. Under the image, put your title "Why Am I an Artist?", your name, and the date. Remember to proofread the essay (yes, again) before uploading it no later than noon this Thursday.  Check out the examples from last year's class. The first two are successful essays, and the last one not so much.

Questions: csmith@dcad.edu

Example of a "Why Am I an Artist?" Essay

 

This recent essay by an artist named John Wilson is similar in tone and scope to the essay you're currently working on. It's probably a little bit longer, but other than that it makes all the same moves. Notice the "I" voice throughout. Notice the specific details he includes. We'll take a quick look at it in class. I like to use examples from non-professional writers because they're often more relatable. I don't really think this essay is exemplary or even excellent, but it is solid and gets the job done. I fully expect some DCAD students to write better essays.  

First Graded Assignment: "Why Am I an Artist?"

Please pay close attention to these directions. 

Write an original first-person (I, me, my) essay that addresses the simple yet complex question: "Why Am I an Artist?" Everyone's essay should have these five words as its title. Everyone's essay should be different and carry the stamp of its author. 

Your essay must have at least five paragraphs with 25 sentences total. This is a minimum. The maximum is 10 paragraphs and 50 sentences. 

Tell stories, give examples, use humor, wit, sarcasm, etc. Show your reader your mind at work. You might not have a specific answer to the question. That's good! That's why you're writing the essay: To try to understand yourself and your world better. Just like Montaigne and countless other essayists, asking the right questions is sometimes better than knowing the right answers. 

Your first essay is due one week from today, on January 27, no later than noon. A finished draft of your essay is due no later than noon on Tuesday, January 25. The draft is ungraded, but if it is not submitted the final essay will have a 10% deduction. Therefore, an essay that was very strong and received a 9/10 score, would have a one-point penalty and the grade would be recorded as an 8/10.  Let me know if you have questions: csmith@dcad.edu.

What exactly is an essay?

 

This piece of writing is itself an essay. It has four paragraphs. The first has five sentences, the second has 13, the third has 11, and the last has four. Of the 33 sentences, a few are extremely brief and a few are somewhat long. I would call this a brief or mini-essay. Four paragraphs is usually not enough room for an essayist to need.

On the left is an illustration of Michel de Montaigne. In many respects, he invented the literary form that we now call "the essay".  Centuries before Montaigne, other writers wrote compositions that look to us to be essayistic, but it wasn't until Montaigne that the form took the shape that we know today. 

This video is a little bit dry, but it does give great background information about Montaigne's literary innovation.

Welcome New Students: Spring 2022!

 Welcome to the class! This is our blog. Check out the posts from previous years to get an idea of what we'll be doing this semester. Please bookmark this; you'll be consulting it frequently.