Background:  In chapter 5 of your textbook, the authors discussed the ways that we look at art to find meaning. Information that we can gather can explain what a work of art means or what the artist might be telling. That information includes the historical, social, personal, political and scientific context in which the artist created the artwork (5.3)

Purpose: This assignment will help you place works of art within the socio-cultural context that existed when an artist was working. It will encourage you to look more closely at the details of a work’s composition for clues about the meaning of the artwork. This assignment will guide you to apply the concepts and vocabulary in the textbook.

Task:

Choose two artworks that can be talked about within a socio-cultural context (historical, social, personal, political and/or scientific contexts).  Your choices should reflect different contexts from each other for variety.  Make sure to identify the work of art by both title and artist, and include a photograph (a screenshot will do) so that students will know what you are writing about.  You may choose these artworks from the Your Definition of Art and Modern and Contemporary Artists page in Unit 1, the Drawings and Sculpture: the Structure of Art Discussion PDF in Unit 2, or the Definitions of Art: Definitions and Examples in Unit 2.  Do NOT choose artworks from the chapter text in this unit whose contexts have already been explained.  Feel free to use those explanations as models, however.