{"id":48996,"date":"2011-10-25T08:34:14","date_gmt":"2011-10-25T12:34:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=48996"},"modified":"2011-10-27T09:18:35","modified_gmt":"2011-10-27T13:18:35","slug":"analyzing-art","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2011\/10\/analyzing-art\/","title":{"rendered":"Analyzing Art"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"From<\/a>
From left, Alysha Elliard \u201913 (SFA), Rosemary Cann \u201913 (SFA), and Kevin Solorzano \u201912 (SFA) at the William Benton Museum of Art. (Sean Flynn\/UConn Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Students taking a class in 19th-century American art with Alexis Boylan have the opportunity to view works of art up close at the William Benton Museum of Art.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always prefer when students can work from original pieces of art,\u201d says Boylan, an assistant professor-in-residence with a joint appointment in women\u2019s studies and art and art history.<\/p>\n

Over the summer, she worked with the Benton\u2019s staff to select works for the class from the museum\u2019s collection, and the resulting exhibition was on display in the museum\u2019s Center Gallery for a month at the beginning of this semester. Most of the items were paintings and prints, and the artists included big names like Winslow Homer, as well as local luminaries like Ellen Emmet Rand.<\/p>\n

Thomas Bruhn, interim director of the Benton, says the museum has produced exhibitions at professors\u2019 requests for a decade. He says students\u2019 writing skills can improve when they have the opportunity to view the objects they are writing about over an extended period. This semester the Benton is staging four exhibitions at the urging of various fine arts professors. On other occasions, faculty in history, languages, and nursing have solicited exhibitions.<\/p>\n

\"Rosemary<\/a>
Rosemary Cann \u201913 (SFA). (Sean Flynn\/UConn Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This is the second year the Benton has supported Boylan\u2019s class by displaying specially selected works from a collection she describes as \u2018diverse\u2019 and \u2018exciting.\u2019 She says that objects viewed in books and on slides are often distorted.<\/p>\n

Rosemary Cann \u201912 (SFA), a printmaking major in Boylan\u2019s class says, \u201cThere\u2019s a drastic difference between seeing objects online and seeing them in person as they\u2019re meant to be experienced.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kevin Solorzano \u201912 (SFA), an art history major, also appreciates the opportunity to study original works of art. He says one of the reasons he chose UConn is because the museum is on campus.<\/p>\n

\"Kevin<\/a>
Kevin Solorzano \u201912 (SFA) at the Benton Museum. (Sean Flynn\/UConn Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Students in the class, which carries the \u2018W\u2019 designation for its strong writing component, are each assigned one of the works in the exhibition to study for the duration of the course. They research the work, and are also encouraged to make original contributions in a 12-page paper about it. Every two weeks, the students hand in drafts, and they also review the work of their peers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt can be demoralizing for students to compare their work with that of professional academics and writers,\u201d Boylan says, \u201cbut it\u2019s enlightening to see what your peers are producing.\u201d<\/p>\n

She says that such intensive study of a single work of art challenges the students. \u201cInevitably, students hate and love their object when they work on it all semester,\u201d she says. \u201cEach has its own trial and tribulation in terms of a 12-page paper.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cann says it\u2019s worth it. \u201cI want 110 percent to take my second \u2018W\u2019 in art history because it\u2019s such an enriching process for thinking about art. Writing has a different effect upon the way we learn to think \u2013 more than by just taking notes or listening to a lecture.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Alysha<\/a>
Alysha Elliard \u201913 (SFA) with her assigned work, Indian, an oil painting by Mabel Woodward. (Sean Flynn\/UConn Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Alysha Elliard \u201913 (SFA), a photography major who was assigned Indian<\/em>, an oil on canvas painted by Mabel Woodward in 1899, also welcomes the challenge. \u201cI\u2019m busy, and on my own I\u2019d pick something super easy,\u201d she says. \u201cNow, I\u2019ll stare at my painting for 10 minutes, hoping it will say something to me. This makes me think about what I\u2019m doing more than if I were just able to pick my object.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boylan says that for some of the pieces, there aren\u2019t a lot of pre-existing materials to research, but the ultimate goal is for students to make an original contribution. \u201cLast time I taught this class, there were a number of papers that I thought discovered new and intellectual connections about the objects,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019ll expect nothing less of this group.\u201d<\/p>\n

Because of its intensive focus on improving writing skills, Boylan\u2019s class is capped at 19, with some seats reserved for art majors.<\/p>\n

Justine Braisted \u201913 (SFA) was assigned an oil on canvas, Rye Beach, New Hampshire<\/em>,<\/em> painted by Martin Johnson Heade in 1863. She says she initially didn\u2019t see a connection between her very technology-based graphic design major and a painting done the year that Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. But she says her artistic perceptions have grown because of the class.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe skills we\u2019re using to interpret these pieces are totally universal, related to graphic design, illustration, and painting,\u201d Braisted says. \u201cNow I know how to analyze a piece no matter what medium it\u2019s in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boylan designed the class to foster just such transformative critical thinking. \u201cWhen these students leave college they will have learned skills that are a jumping-off point,\u201d she says, \u201cand they won\u2019t be locked into just one profession.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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