art

Touchstone 4: Art and Architecture: Uniting Culture, Innovation, and Religious Ideals

Overview

What You Will Learn: You will explore how art and architecture intersect with culture, innovation, and religious expression.

Why It Matters: This paper will demonstrate your ability to put a work of art or piece of architecture in its historical context by

a. explaining how earlier works of art bring about artistic innovation.

b. how works reflect the religious culture that produced them.

What You Will Hand In: A 4 – 5 page (1,000 – 1,200 word) paper saved as a Microsoft Word (.docx or .doc) file.

Keys to Success:

• Develop and submit original work.
• Select four works of art or architecture described in the tutorials; two that exemplify innovation and two that exemplify religious expression.
• Put the works in an appropriate historical context, two in the context of innovation and two in the context of religious significance.
• Use only the Sophia tutorials as source material. No external sources are allowed.

Helpful Links:

Instructions

Step 1: Review the Tutorials and Select Four Examples

• Select two works of art from the list below that exemplify innovation; this innovation may be stylistic, technological, or both.

• Select two works of art from the list below that exemplify religious expression.

Step 2: Write the Touchstone

• Write your paper about the four works, following this basic structure:

1. Introduction (100-200 words): provide a broad overview of the paper, the claims you will defend, and the works of art you will describe.
2. Innovation (300-500 words): give the historical and cultural context for each of the works of art you have selected and describe how these works both emerged from existing traditions and introduced new ideas in either style or technology. Compare and contrast the two works.
3. Religious Expression (300-500 words): give the historical and cultural context for each of the works of art you have selected and describe how these works represent the religious ideals of the culture that produced them. Compare and contrast the two works.
4. Conclusion (100-200 words): Summarize your analysis and provide closure to the paper.

hint

To build the skill of correctly citing your sources in academic writing, you should cite each tutorial with the four examples you describe in your paper. Because all of your sources will be Sophia tutorials, the in-text and reference page citations will look like this:

• In-text citation: (Sophia Learning, n.d.)
• Reference: Sophia Learning. (n.d.) Romanesque Architecture [Cathedral of Saint James]. Art History I.

Adjust to identify the tutorial you are referencing. Visit the resource for more assistance.

Step 3: Review and Submit Your Work

• Review your work carefully and check the rubric to make sure you have met all the requirements. Submit as a Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) file.

We hope this assignment gives you a chance to reflect further on the works of art and architecture that struck a chord with you. Have fun, and good luck!