Writing As an Arts Critic: Prompt for 10/15/15

PROMPT 4: Visual Arts

Paper 4 is due on 10/22/15. It should be two pages, double-spaced. Your grade will reflect your ability to respond fully to the prompt, express your ideas clearly, follow rules of grammar and spelling, follow the “tip sheet” guidelines for writing papers, and demonstrate an understanding of the art on display.

At the Cornell Museum there are several shows currently on view including: Fashionable Portraits in Europe, Jess T. Dugan: Every Breath We Drew, Enduring Documents, Religion Redefined, Gesture and Pose, A Sense of Place, and History and Myth.

Choose one show and review it. Review the show as a whole, but also focus in on one or two works in that show that strike you as particularly interesting.

Be sure to provide plenty of details. Really describe the works and say what you think of them. If you include background or historical information, be sure to cite your sources. Also, remember that this is a review, not a research paper.

Writing As an Arts Critic for 10/15/15

Cornell Museum at Rollins College

1) Don't forget that our class on 10/15/15 will meet at the usual time (4 pm) at the Cornell Museum on campus. We'll spend about an hour there, including a tour of the place. Then, at about 5:15 pm, we'll all meet again in our usual classroom for the rest of the class. All of this is required.

2) On Friday, Oct. 30, we will be attending a play. Tickets cost $15, which is a major reduction of the usual price. You are required to see the play, but arrangements can be made for you to see it at another time, if you really can not make it on Oct. 30. Still, I very much hope we can all see the play together.

3) In any case, you will need to give me $15 in cash so I can buy the tickets. You should do this as soon as possible. If possible, please bring the money to class on 10/15.

4) This play will be the last event you will need to pay for in this class.

Expository Writing for 10/12/15

Talking Points for Frankenstein & Young Frankenstein:
  1) Which movie do you prefer? Why?
  2) What are some of the running (or repeated) gags in Young Frankenstein?
  3) What does Young Frankenstein "borrow" from Frankenstein?
  4) What do hands signify in Young Frankenstein?
  5) What do you think of the acting in Young Frankenstein?


 

Writing As an Arts Critic for 10/8/15

If the review of The Intern is one of the four short papers you're choosing to write, it is due at class time on 10/8.

In any case, you need to see the movie by then. We will be discussing it in class.

For those who didn't make the screening last Thursday, we had a really great discussion of the film afterward. I'm hoping we can bring the insights and intensity of that discussion to our class on 10/8.

If you write about this film, remember all the correct spellings of names that you'll probably need are on imdb.com. Be sure to check your spelling.

Finally, we will also workshop your papers on The Third Man. So if you have your paper on that film, please remember to bring it in with you.

Expository Writing for 10/5/15

Gene Wilder in Young Frankenstein

This week, we will watch Young Frankenstein. We will also discuss Frankenstein.

Talking Points for Frankenstein:
1) What is intentionally funny in the film?
2) What is unintentionally funny?
3) Is it significant that this film is based on a story by a woman?
4) Are hands important in this film? If so, how?

Writing As an Arts Critic for 10/1/15

Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway in The Intern

The current plan for our class on Thursday, 10/1/15, is to meet inside the auditorium for The Intern at Regal's Winter Park Village.

You should be there by 4 pm at the latest, a bit earlier if possible. [The film is now listed as starting at 4 pm, so please allow enough time. Of course, there will be about 15 minutes of previews before the film itself actually begins.]

We will all try to sit together.

After the film, for those who can make it, we'll have a short, impromptu discussion of the film. If you have to leave right after the film, that's OK.

Your review of the film will be due the following Thursday (10/8/15).

But here's something else to consider: Your new class schedule lists 6 short papers. However, your syllabus says you only have to write 4 short papers (and a final paper). So what's going on? The deal is that you only have to write 4 short papers, and you get to choose which 4 you write. If you write more than 4 short papers, I'll only count your 4 best grades for them. You still have to see all the movies, plays, etc. that I assign. But you only have to write about 4 of them.

[If you can't make it to the film with the class, be sure to see the film at some other time before our next class. And if it's one of the 4 you choose, write your review by 10/8/15.]

Expository Writing for 9/28/15

1) Great discussion of Some Like It Hot! We really made a lot of progress.

2) This week we'll be workshopping your papers on that film. Be prepared to listen, ask questions and make comments.

3) We'll also see the original Frankenstein movie from 1931. It's not a comedy, but you may find parts of it funny.