Photography History

Write a research paper of 1500 words minimum about a photograph by one of the photographers listed below. Select another work by an artist who worked in another medium (not photography) that you believe is a good comparison to the photograph that you selected. The work may be a painting, sculpture, print, song, poem, play or movie.

Upload your paper as a Word document or PDF. Please write in 12 point type, double spaced (or 1.5 line spaces), on a white background.

Be certain to include the following (I will look for these when I grade):

Biographical information concerning the photographer
Description of the selected photograph
Interpretation of the photograph’s meaning and/or importance – include contextual information (personal, political, social or world events)
Biographical information on the other artist (this can be somewhat brief)
Description of the other artwork that you selected
Interpretation of the other artwork’s meaning and/or importance
Explain how these two works are related – devote more words to this as it is the essence of the project.
Include two images – one of the photograph and one of the other artwork
Use the rubric below as a guide, also.

Photographers

Diane Arbus Bill Brandt Harry Callahan

Richard Avedon Man Ray William Mortensen

John Baldessari Cindy Sherman Ed Ruscha

Julia Margaret Cameron Andy Warhol Lewis Baltz

William Eggleston Edward Weston Edward Steichen

Lewis Hine Moholy-Nagy Garry Winogrand

Weegee Irving Penn Hans Bellmer

Ralph Meatyard Duane Michals Dorothea Lange

Ask me if you want to do a different photographer. It will need to be someone who is widely respected and whose work I know.

Citations

Whenever you use an idea that is not your own, quote or paraphrase the writing of someone else, you must cite it. You may use online sources, but NOT Wikipedia. I recommend sources such as museum websites, college and university websites, or other institutional sources.

To cite your references, use the Chicago Manual of Style to create either footnotes or endnotes. Most papers will include five or six citations. Do not include a bibliography. You do NOT need to cite widely known information, such as the birth or death dates of an artist.