Midterm Exam Postmodernism 2006

PO-MO CONSTRUCT-A-FINAL

Due Monday May 1 no later than 5 p.m. in my office, VPAB 3119. I will be in my office to personally collect your exam from 3:00-5:00 p.m.

E-mailed exams will not be accepted.

Late papers will lose 20 points (from 5:01 p.m. Monday until 5:20 on Tuesday May 2). Exams will not be accepted after the end of my exam period Tuesday (LILY 3118 3:20-5:20). If you're turning it in at that time... turn it in at LILY... I will NOT return to my office after that exam.

ESSAYS (worth 25 points each).

Write your own questions, then answer them, using the following formulas. If you did journals, answer two of the five questions. If you did not do journals, answer 4 of the 5 questions. The total amount of points available is capped at 100 points (no extra credit possible on the exam itself, between the journals and the questions). Remember that in order to apply outside extra credit to this exam, you must receive at least 70 points on the exam itself.

You must use works COMPLETED LATER THAN 1968. It may be helpful to reference work by earlier artists (for instance, Duchamp would be key) but that would not "count" as one of the three required works per essay. You may not use the same work more than once on the exam.

I expect to see evidence of your reading the textbook within each essay.

I expect to see evidence of your having been to class within each essay

Define terms and concepts and be thorough in your answers (do not assume that I know ANYTHING).

I will grade you on the quality of the question, the quality of the answer and the quality of the choices of art examples you make (they should make sense within the context of your essay!)
The BARE MINIMUM is 3 1/2 pages per essay (This means to even be considered for a grade of C it must meet this minimum).

Write a question addressing the given theme, Then answer it using the required elements.

1. Theme: Display

answer your question using a work by required artist from Weintraub: Oursler (pp. 304-313) + two more works by artists of your choice (must be dated 1968 or later, must have been presented in class OR appear in one of your textbooks.

2. Theme: Materials

answer your question using a work by required artist from Weintraub: Tiravanija (pp. 102-109) + two more works by artists of your choice (must be dated 1968 or later, must have been presented in class OR appear in one of your textbooks.

3. Theme: Time

answer your question using a work by required artist from Weintraub: Lyons (pp. 254-261) + two more works by artists of your choice (must be dated 1968 or later, must have been presented in class OR appear in one of your textbooks.

4. Theme: Function

answer your question using a work by required artist from Weintraub: Bing (pp. 364-373) + two more works by artists of your choice (must be dated 1968 or later, must have been presented in class OR appear in one of your textbooks.

5. Theme: Identity

answer your question using a work by required artist from Weintraub: Neshat (pp. 214-223) + two more works by artists of your choice (must be dated 1968 or later, must have been presented in class OR appear in one of your textbooks.

IMPORTANT ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

**In one question you must use an example from Architecture, referencing the materials provided on the website.

**In one question you must use Smithson's Spiral Jetty referencing Rosanne Alstatt's guest lecture.

**In each question you must explain how the works you are discussing might be considered Postmodern (as opposed to Modern), or, if you prefer, post-postmodern.

**For each work you are discussing, consider content (subject matter), style, medium, context/purpose and any relevant theories or terms. Pretend I know NOTHING.

Keys for evaluation (areas I will rate on your writing):

E = level of "engagement" with material! (includes critical thinking), direct quoting from the textbooks lowers this score--paraphrasing is better and putting it in your own words is best. If you direct quote use quotation marks and give the author and page number. If you conduct additional research provide a full citation. If I find material that is neither in the book nor in lecture and you haven't provided a source you will receive a zero on the ENTIRE EXAMINATION. If you express opinions, identify them as such and give reasons you reached this conclusion.
C = your choices in constructing the examination questions and answers... choosing works to make the best essay possible. This score also applies to the test as a whole. Have your choices been narrow or broad? Have you covered only a portion of the material or most of the material covered in class?
S = specifics/depth! (covering style, context, content, theory etc. for each work/artist as appropriate!!!)
W = writing (organization falls in here, so does having a clear thesis statement and conclusion, and smooth transitions between paragraphs).

IMPORTANT NOTE: each essay must "stand on its own" and be complete. You will find yourself defining certain terms and concepts more than once. You must not refer me to another essay you've written for this information, and it is better in the "E" category if you do not merely "cut and paste" the same information.

Read this carefully and ask questions if you're not sure about something. Like anything in life, taking a test is at least 50% "following the rules." While creativity is always encouraged, it is encouraged *in addition* to following the rules, not as a *substitute* for the rules.

Use your textbooks, notes, internet resources (if you wish), other resources (if you wish) and review images from class to construct essays in response to the questions.

Hey people, PACE YOURSELVES on the exam. I don't want you to write way too much on the first question and then never get to the rest of the exam. If you're worried about how much is enough, get some feedback!!!

Suggestions:

Assemble the "stuff" you need in some type of outline form before you start writing.
Decide which works you will use for each essay you plan to answer before beginning to write any essays (b/c you may not use the same work in more than one essay).
Start each essay with a thesis sentence that presents an argument or point of view and then organize your essay in a way that supports that argument or point of view.
Write until you feel you've answered the question É the "page count" is not what mattersÉ the content and organization of your essay matters, in addition to required numbers of examples of works and textbook citations.
Choose your examples carefully (ask "which works will help me write the best essay?")
You may not "re-use" examples from essay to essay or refer the reader [me] to a different essay for part of your answer.
Use appropriate notes (I don't care what style) to indicate where information came from. Use quotation marks if you are quoting.
Paraphrases and direct quotes *must* be identified (minimum identification: Author, p.x for paraphrase, quotation marks and Author, p.x for direct quote). If you use an internet source, give the full URL.Refer to the guidelines on the syllabus if you are not clear on what constitutes plaigiarism. YOUR TEXTBOOKS MUST BE CITED JUST LIKE ANY OTHER SOURCE.
Paraphrases or direct quotes (as if!) from the lectures need not be identified with a note. Information from handouts or posted notes should be placed in your own words or PROPERLY CITED, however. Note that I put this information on the PDF files I posted for your reference.
Warning on internet research: Please consider the "trustworthiness" of the sites you visit! The website of the Guggenheim Museum in New York or a website run by a Contemporary Art Professor at a prestigious university are *probably* legitimate, but Billy Bob Thornton's opinions on Postmodernism (or anybody Bob's views on Postmodernism) will not carry the same "weight" in the construction of an argument. Keep in mind that anyone with an I.Q. of approximately 10 (which includes most varieties of monkeys) can make a website.
Keep quotes to a minimum! Quotes say to me "I don't understand enough about this to put it in my own words." If you do quote, it is essential that you "interpret" the quote for me. Why did you use it? What does it add to your essay? Why is it somehow more effective in someone else's words?
Pretend you are writing this for someone (a friend, a relative) who has *absolutely no knowledge* of the subject matter. They do not have the book or lecture notes. Assuming that I will know what you mean is a risky business. My "job" here is to assess what you've absorbed from the textbook and lectures. I cannot give value to what I think you might know; I need to grade you on what I know you know or what you convince me that you know.
Read over your essay before you turn it in (or better, have someone else read it) while thinking
- "so what?" (this is my shorthand for "why is this particular fact important"? or, "connect the dots for me by linking this fact to other issues" or "need more meat in this answer.")
- "is this an accurate representation of what I understand about this subject?"
- "does this make sense as an essay in terms of organization, flow, transitions?; does it have an introduction, body and conclusion?"
- "have I covered all of the issues required in the original question?"
- "have I used all of the required "ingredients" in the original question?"

A FINAL NOTE:

I hope I have made clear that in the past thirty years the so-called "objective stance" of the art historian (and the plain "historian," for that matter,) has begun to be examined and in some cases abandoned in the Postmodern period. It is possible to see this in a negative light ("if we can't know anything for sure, why even try? -- in theory speak: "there is no single truth") or a positive light ("everyone has the potential to contribute something to the discussion of a work of art" -- in theory speak: there are many truths, each of which may seem "more true" when viewed from a particular perspective).

Thus, it matters less to me the exact nature of your argument (thesis) for each essay than whether you:

take a position
present the best case possible for it using available resources, which for most of you will consist of your textbooks (Various writers' opinions on things, based on a combination of research and common sense) and your lecture notes (my opinion on things similarly formed through a combination of research and common sense).
- In other words, you are free to express your opinion, but you have to back your ideas up with something... If you are a practicing artist, have studied comparative literature or theory in the Postmodern period, that certainly "counts" and is made valid by these other sources of knowledge.
- Try to make it clear for your audience [me] which things are your opinions and identify the source of the knowledge backing those opinions up, in particular when you write something that is neither in the book nor in the lecture notes (b/c I, being of suspicious mind, will assume you "ripped it" from the internet or some other source and may well ask you about it before assigning a grade to your essay).