Catalogue Exhibition

Posted: March 29th, 2022

Major Project – Exhibition Catalogue
Introduction
The modules you have just completed provide you with the basic skills and tools to consider almost any form of visual culture.
– The place of visual culture within our lives (exemplified through Covid)
– The power of visual culture through propaganda and to effect change (focus on monuments and calls for social and racial justice)
– Learning to look (difference between description and analysis) & Interpretation
– Still Life – continuation of analysis and interpretation
– Consideration of the human figure, with a focus on race
– Consideration of Spirituality, with a focus on light and various case studies
– Consideration of landscape, with case studies on Chinese and European traditions
The remainder of this course consists of a major project that consists of an Exhibition Catalogue based on one of themes in the Sub-Groups listed on the LEARN site.
An Exhibition Catalogue is a printed or online book that accompanies an exhibition in an art gallery, a museum, or an alternative space (such as a city hall, a library, a historic site, billboards, etc.) The catalogue documents the objects that are shown in the exhibition. See details in the following step-by-step guide. For examples, see ‘Additional Resources’ at the end of this document.
Instructions:
Step 1: Imagine that you have been given the opportunity to curate (organize) an exhibition and to write an exhibition catalogue for it. Review each of the Sub-Groups on the LEARN site and determine which sub-group theme interests you. You do not have to read and review every source in all of the sub-groups; simply skim the contents of each Sub-Group and then choose one.
Step 2: Once you have chosen your Sub-Group theme, review the resources listed in that Sub-Group. You will notice that I have pulled together resources that offer several different ways (what I have called modules) to consider the overall theme.
Step 3: Determine an aspect/perspective you wish to investigate about that theme. This will be the Subject of your Exhibition Catalogue. You might want to:
– Focus on a subject associated with one module of the Sub-Group and consider it in depth (e.g. in the Sub-Group on Food, you may wish to focus only on the module about “Food Presentation”); OR
– Focus on two or possibly three modules that you think are related (e.g. in the Sub-Group on Food, you may wish to focus on “Food Presentation” and “Food Tourism”
– Or determine a subject that uses some resources across a range of modules.
Step 4: Determine a title for your exhibition.
Step 5: Select four examples of visual culture that will be your exhibits in your exhibitions. These DO NOT have to be so-called works of art. They can be buildings, websites, magazines, films, TV shows, archeological objects, etc. – anything that is the subject of your analysis. (If you are uncertain about your selection, send an email to me, Nicholas, or Maša).
Step 6: Write a 200-250 word Introduction outlining the focus of the exhibition. If you are including citations, please use footnotes and proper citation format.
Step 7: Research and write a 300-word catalogue entry for each work (total of 1200 words; excluding citations). Each entry should state the significance of each exhibit within the context of the overall exhibition. The entry should focus on subject matter, interpretation, and the elements and principles of design. For each entry:
– use the sources provided in the modules
– PLUS one or two other relevant sources. At least one of these must be a source that you have accessed through the UW Library OMNI website. See “Library Resources” on the LEARN site.
– Include an image of exhibit in your catalogue
Step 8: Provide a brief (150-200 words) description and rationale of the exhibition space, i.e. where you envision your exhibition to be held: Is the exhibition in a traditional gallery?, a lobby of a public building?, in a park?, on billboards?, at an arts festival?, as part of a protest?, on the internet, etc.
Step 9: Include a Bibliography of sources used.
Notes:
 If you would like to focus on a topic that is not covered by one of the modules or sub-groups – such as sports, something to do with architecture, medieval pilgrimage badges (yep, that’s a thing!), Modernism, velvet painting (yep, that’s a thing too), the history of oil painting, film, video games, aspects of religion and art, etc. etc. – let me know and I can provide you with some excellent resources. I realize that there is a pretty strong contemporary emphasis on the course. I also welcome historical subjects, if that is of interest to you. (I’ve been teaching almost forever and I also teach a really large range of courses. Consequently, I have a huge bank of resources at my disposal).
 In terms of assessment, we will be looking to see what decisions you have made (i.e. how you have curated the exhibition), the focus you have defined, your analysis, and the presentation of your catalogue (format, etc.). See the rubric below.
 Remember: you have a month for this project and the project is worth 40% of the final mark. The final product should demonstrate thoughtful consideration about your theme and focus. Do not try to do the project the night before it is due. See the rubric below and also suggestions for effective time-management and study habits on the LEARN site.
You may find that you cannot access all of the Resources in the modules that interest you. Don’t panic! Send me an email and we can sort something out.
 You will see that you might have to pay a few dollars to watch some of the films (very, very few and mostly Hollywood features). I cannot reimburse you for the fee. If you do not want to pay the fees, you will have to change your topic. We were unable to get copyright clearance to show these films for free.
 At any point in the process – deciding on a focus, making your selections, doing the research, writing – feel free to contact me, Nicholas, or Maša if you feel you need some more guidance.
Checklist of Final Submission:
The final submission should consist of the following items:
1. Title Page with: Title of exhibition; your name; your student number (one page)
2. Introduction. 200-250 words each. (one page)
3. 4 catalogue entries, each of which should contain text, image, and citations (300 words each). (4 pages total, one per entry)
4. Description and rationale of exhibition space. (150-200 words.) (one page)
5. A bibliography. Use a standard citation format, such as MLA, Chicago Style, etc. (one page) (Both MLA and Chicago Style guides can be accessed from the Library home page, through “Find Resources” then “Dictionaries, Encyclopedia and more” then “Citation / Style Guides.”)
A note on word count: the total word count (excluding citations and bibliography) is 1650 words. Do not exceed the stated word limits or marks will be taken off at a rate of 10% per 150 words. Please keep citations short (i.e. simply cite the source used; no need for discursive footnotes).