ART 102: ART HISTORY 2

Viewing Assignment I

Individuality

Due: March 11, 2008

During the Renaissance new ideas emerged regarding the importance of the individual person. During the Medieval period, focus was placed on the person's duty to the Church and the person's journey to save the soul. During the Renaissance, however, society placed great importance on individual persons and their positions within the mortal world.

Choose one image from early Renaissance art ( dated between 1400-1500) that emphasizes that individuality of a specific person. Learn about that image, including its artist and its subject. (If you like an image very much but cannot locate the information relevant to a good discussion, move on to a different image.) It can be an image which we have not discussed in class that is in Stokstad. Find an advertisement that stresses the importance of individuality in modern society. The advertisement must be based upon an image . While it can include text, the principal means by which a message is communicated must be visual and persuasive. This advertisement must be from present-day culture (that is it must have been created in the last 2-3 years and must be relevant in contemporary merchandising). You may use newspapers, magazines, or the Internet, but you must be able to print a good quality image that you can present in class and submit as part of your paper.

In one-two page(s) consider the ways that both images communicate the importance of individual personality. You might think more specifically about these issues: What formal qualities, symbols, or other features assist in showing that humans are important in this life? How does the ad strive to differentiate between the human subject and mainstream culture? How did the Renaissance image differentiate the subject from other contemporary individuals? How does emphasizing the unique subject help to sell the product?  What value is placed on the individual in the example of Renaissance art you have chosen? Is it commercial, political, economic? What differences do you notice in the ways that advertisers represent and sell female individuality and male individuality? Are there differences in the way that Renaissance artists depicted women?

Note: You must use an advertisement that is produced for a public market and may not substitute a personal photo, family photo, etc, even if it has been posted on the Internet.

Provide a good quality print copy of the advertisement that you consider, and staple it to your text page. Provide a complete citation of the source, ie. magazine? CD cover? Provide a good quality print copy of the example of Renaissance art.

No more than two page of text will be accepted.