Choose a work from the 20th Century that appeals to you. Although paintings/drawings are an obvious choice, you may also choose a piece of writing, a sculpture, or a work of architecture (be cautious if you are wanting to write about music). Give a detailed description of the artifact. Remember that a work of art is partially determined by content (what it seems to depict), but also by how that content is rendered (for example, in visual works this could be elements like the piece’s brushstrokes, or the framing of the scene; in the case of written works, tone and diction, and rhyme scheme). Imagine you are describing it to someone who’d never seen it—give lots of detail regarding color, size, material, and the image itself.
After giving a detailed description of the piece begin to describe its emotional effect. What drew you to it? What does it make you feel? What kinds of bigger questions/issues does the work raise about human history/culture/civilization? What aspects of its message do you think are essential to understanding it? Then relate the artifact to an element of your life today—does it speak to issues of, say, gender, power, religion or any number of other cultural phenomena.
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