Museum Review Instructions

Art museum reviews: Three art museum reviews make up 40% of the final grade.  During the semester you will be required to visit at least one art museum to complete your museum reviews.  Each review must be a minimum of 750 words.

Be prepared to spend some time at the museum(s).  Many museums have large collections, but even in a small museum, you’ll still want to allow enough time to really observe the artwork.

During your museum visit(s), choose one work of art for each review to analyze in detail. 

For this assignment, you may not review two works of art from the same exhibit.

• One of the exhibits you review must be from the Classical (Ancient Greece and Rome) period. The Tampa Museum of Art and the Museum of Fine Arts in St. Pete have nice collections of Classical art.  While the Ringling Museum of Art no longer has actual Ancient Greek and Roman art on display, there are several reproduction sculptures in the courtyard of the art museum that are acceptable.
• One of the exhibits you review must be from the Medieval to the Baroque/Rococo period.  I would suggest the Ringling Museum’s collection of Renaissance and Baroque painting.  The Museum of Fine Arts in St. Pete has a few Medieval, Renaissance and Rococo pieces that are acceptable.
• One review must cover a modern exhibit (18th century to now).  The Museum of Fine Arts in St. Pete and the Ringling Museum of Art have many works from this period.  The Dali museum is a good choice for 20th century art, especially if you’re a fan of Dali’s work. The Polk Museum of Art, the Tampa Museum of Art, and USF’s Contemporary Art Museum house nice contemporary art collections, as well as, some 20th century art.

If you live outside of the Tampa Bay area, please email me, so I can research acceptable museums in your area.

For the museum reviews, you must visit three art exhibits within the semester.  I will not accept reviews based on prior museum visits.

• Each review must be a minimum of 750 words.
• Each review must be unique. Do not reuse the same introduction and conclusion.
• The first paragraph must include the name and location of the exhibit and the date you visited the exhibit.
• Describe the overall exhibit. Answer these questions:
• Is the exhibit part of the permanent collection or is it a traveling exhibit?
• If it is a traveling exhibit, where did the collection originate?
• Does the exhibit focus on a particular artist, theme, time period, and/or medium? Why is this significant?
• Describe the interior of the museum and the placement of the art. Do they complement each other?
• Write a critical analysis of a specific work featured in the exhibit. Include the name of the artist, the title of the piece, the date, and the medium.  Describe the piece in detail using terminology you have learned in class.  Analyze the content of the work and discuss why you think the work is important.  If the piece is historical, discuss its cultural significance in regard to the period in which it was created.  If the piece is contemporary, discuss what the piece reveals about contemporary society.  The document titled “Learning to See” should help you a great deal.  You can find it in the module.
• In the final paragraph, explain why you chose this exhibit and individual work to discuss. Include your overall reaction to the exhibit.  Answer these questions:
• Did you enjoy the exhibit? Why or why not?
• Was this your first visit to an art museum? Would you visit an art museum again?  Why or why not?
• Do you feel you have a better understanding of the cultural significance of art? Why or why not?

6.)  Provide proof of your visit to the museum.

 

Optional fourth review: You may opt to complete a fourth review on a non-Western or decorative work of art.  Some examples of these types of exhibits are the St. Pete Museum of Fine Art’s Asian and decorative art collections, the Ringling Museum’s Center for Asian Art, the Polk Museum of Art’s pre-Columbian collection, and the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art’s Tiffany glass collection. You may not use this review to substitute for a missing review or poor grade; however, the completion of a fourth review will lessen the impact of a missing review or poor grade.