Project #5/Field Trip #6: You're the Curator!

DUE: 12/13
 
I. Choose Your Topic: A curator is an expert hired by a museum to organize and
arrange an exhibit. The curator controls what we see in an exhibit and how we see
it. Imagine that you’ve been hired as an assistant curator and invited by the
Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City to create a digital art exhibit. Choose
about 12 – 15 works of art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and put together a
digital exhibit. Through your choices, make a portrait of yourself that illustrates one of
the following titles or themes.
 
1. Outside and In, or Inside Out: How do others perceive me? How do I perceive myself?
2. Like It/Don’t Like It: How do my preferences or dislikes (of certain activities, or hobbies, or
objects, or works of art, or animals, or people) show who I am?
3. The Climate of My Mind: What types of weather and/or times of day depicted in art express
my changing emotions and/or thoughts?
4. My Kind of Town (or My Kind of Place): What is my idea of an ideal place or ideal places?
In what way are these ideal places reflective of me? 

II. Find Images: To find your images, research the museum’s website and browse
their collection, available online at:
http://www.metmuseum.org/works_of_art/collection_database/

You may browse by Department (Modern Art, European Paintings, etc.) or by
Keywords (artist’s name, titles of works, description, etc.). Begin a folder on your
hard drive &/or flash drive to collect and sort any images that interest you. It is better
to start with too many images than with not enough.
 
III. Present your Curatorial Project: Following your art professor’s instructions to
create a new post in Blogger. Here is the layout order for your blog content, as well
as the formatting requirements:
 
1. The title of your new blog will be the descriptive theme of your exhibit (see above).
2. Next, paste the text of the short version of your curatorial statement, a 150-300 word brief
description of your project, going over the major points of your exhibition. For your blog,
divulge only the information about yourself that you feel comfortable presenting.
3. After your statement, insert the 12 – 15 images in the order that you want them to be viewed.
Each of these images should be uploaded to Blogger as “Medium Sized.”
4. Finally, underneath each image, you must include a line of information in this order: Artist’s
Name, “Title of Work” (in quotations), year completed, and section of museum.

Field Trip #5: Public Art

DUE: 12/05

Public Art refers to any artwork that has been placed in a location that is freely and openly accessible to the general public. Public artworks are often displayed in public buildings or outdoors, and are commissioned by the government, local organizations or businesses. There are countless public artworks scattered throughout the five boroughs of NYC, and likely somewhere in your own neighborhood!

For this paper, you will conduct your own field trip in search of public art. Check the links below to find what public artworks are on display near where you live or work. Do a little research to find out who commissioned the work, and when. In your writing, consider the following questions: What does the artist seem to be communicating with this piece? How does the artwork interact with its surroundings? Do you find this work to be a benefit or a detriment to its surrounding area? Would your perception of the piece change if it were in a different type of public location, or in a private space?

Your writing should be at least 350 words and posted to your blog under the heading “Public Art Reaction” with the label “Field Trip 5”. Make sure to reference the artist’s name and the title of the work within your writing. Post the following information at the end of your writing:

Artist’s Full Name

“Title of Work” (written in quotations)

Medium

Year Completed

* Public artworks often have labels near them with this information. If not, you can likely find this info online.

Here are a few resources for finding public art near you:

NYC Art in the Parks: http://www.nycgovparks.org/art

Percent for the Arts: http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcla/html/panyc/projects.shtml

Public Art Fund: http://www.publicartfund.org/