art history assignment

Arrangement in Grey and Black No.1

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Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

Writing Essays in Art History

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These OWL resources provide guidance on typical genres with the art history discipline that may appear in professional settings or academic assignments, including museum catalog entries, museum title cards, art history analysis, notetaking, and art history exams.

Art History Analysis – Formal Analysis and Stylistic Analysis

Typically in an art history class the main essay students will need to write for a final paper or for an exam is a formal or stylistic analysis.

A formal analysis is just what it sounds like – you need to analyze the form of the artwork. This includes the individual design elements – composition, color, line, texture, scale, contrast, etc. Questions to consider in a formal analysis is how do all these elements come together to create this work of art? Think of formal analysis in relation to literature – authors give descriptions of characters or places through the written word. How does an artist convey this same information?

Organize your information and focus on each feature before moving onto the text – it is not ideal to discuss color and jump from line to then in the conclusion discuss color again. First summarize the overall appearance of the work of art – is this a painting? Does the artist use only dark colors? Why heavy brushstrokes? etc and then discuss details of the object – this specific animal is gray, the sky is missing a moon, etc. Again, it is best to be organized and focused in your writing – if you discuss the animals and then the individuals and go back to the animals you run the risk of making your writing unorganized and hard to read. It is also ideal to discuss the focal of the piece – what is in the center? What stands out the most in the piece or takes up most of the composition?

A stylistic approach can be described as an indicator of unique characteristics that analyzes and uses the formal elements (2-D: Line, color, value, shape and 3-D all of those and mass).The point of style is to see all the commonalities in a person’s works, such as the use of paint and brush strokes in Van Gogh’s work. Style can distinguish an artist’s work from others and within their own timeline, geographical regions, etc.

Methods & Theories To Consider:

Expressionism

Instructuralism

Postmodernism

Social Art History

Biographical Approach

Poststructuralism

Museum Studies

Visual Cultural Studies

Stylistic Analysis Example:

The following is a brief stylistic analysis of two Greek statues, an example of how style has changed because of the “essence of the age.” Over the years, sculptures of women started off as being plain and fully clothed with no distinct features, to the beautiful Venus/Aphrodite figures most people recognize today. In the mid-seventh century to the early fifth, life-sized standing marble statues of young women, often elaborately dress in gaily painted garments were created known as korai. The earliest korai is a Naxian women to Artemis. The statue wears a tight-fitted, belted peplos, giving the body a very plain look. The earliest korai wore the simpler Dorian peplos, which was a heavy woolen garment. From about 530, most wear a thinner, more elaborate, and brightly painted Ionic linen and himation. A largely contrasting Greek statue to the korai is the Venus de Milo. The Venus from head to toe is six feet seven inches tall. Her hips suggest that she has had several children. Though her body shows to be heavy, she still seems to almost be weightless. Viewing the Venus de Milo, she changes from side to side. From her right side she seems almost like a pillar and her leg bears most of the weight. She seems be firmly planted into the earth, and since she is looking at the left, her big features such as her waist define her. The Venus de Milo had a band around her right bicep. She had earrings that were brutally stolen, ripping her ears away. Venus was noted for loving necklaces, so it is very possibly she would have had one. It is also possible she had a tiara and bracelets. Venus was normally defined as “golden,” so her hair would have been painted. Two statues in the same region, have throughout history, changed in their style.

Compare and Contrast Essay

Most introductory art history classes will ask students to write a compare and contrast essay about two pieces – examples include comparing and contrasting a medieval to a renaissance painting. It is always best to start with smaller comparisons between the two works of art such as the medium of the piece. Then the comparison can include attention to detail so use of color, subject matter, or iconography. Do the same for contrasting the two pieces – start small. After the foundation is set move on to the analysis and what these comparisons or contrasting material mean – ‘what is the bigger picture here?’ Consider why one artist would wish to show the same subject matter in a different way, how, when, etc are all questions to ask in the compare and contrast essay. If during an exam it would be best to quickly outline the points to make before tackling writing the essay.

Compare and Contrast Example:

Stele of Hammurabi from Susa (modern Shush, Iran), ca. 1792 – 1750 BCE, Basalt, height of stele approx. 7’ height of relief 28’

Stele, relief sculpture, Art as propaganda – Hammurabi shows that his law code is approved by the gods, depiction of land in background, Hammurabi on the same place of importance as the god, etc.

Top of this stele shows the relief image of Hammurabi receiving the law code from Shamash, god of justice, Code of Babylonian social law, only two figures shown, different area and time period, etc.

Stele of Naram-sin , Sippar Found at Susa c. 2220 - 2184 bce. Limestone, height 6'6"

Stele, relief sculpture, Example of propaganda because the ruler (like the Stele of Hammurabi) shows his power through divine authority, Naramsin is the main character due to his large size, depiction of land in background, etc.

Akkadian art, made of limestone, the stele commemorates a victory of Naramsin, multiple figures are shown specifically soldiers, different area and time period, etc.

Iconography

Regardless of what essay approach you take in class it is absolutely necessary to understand how to analyze the iconography of a work of art and to incorporate into your paper. Iconography is defined as subject matter, what the image means. For example, why do things such as a small dog in a painting in early Northern Renaissance paintings represent sexuality? Additionally, how can an individual perhaps identify these motifs that keep coming up?

The following is a list of symbols and their meaning in Marriage a la Mode by William Hogarth (1743) that is a series of six paintings that show the story of marriage in Hogarth’s eyes.

• Man has pockets turned out symbolizing he has lost money and was recently in a fight by the state of his clothes.
• Lap dog shows loyalty but sniffs at woman’s hat in the husband’s pocket showing sexual exploits.
• Black dot on husband’s neck believed to be symbol of syphilis.
• Mantel full of ugly Chinese porcelain statues symbolizing that the couple has no class.
• Butler had to go pay bills, you can tell this by the distasteful look on his face and that his pockets are stuffed with bills and papers.
• Card game just finished up, women has directions to game under foot, shows her easily cheating nature.
• Paintings of saints line a wall of the background room, isolated from the living, shows the couple’s complete disregard to faith and religion.
• The dangers of sexual excess are underscored in the Hograth by placing Cupid among ruins, foreshadowing the inevitable ruin of the marriage.
• Eventually the series (other five paintings) shows that the woman has an affair, the men duel and die, the woman hangs herself and the father takes her ring off her finger symbolizing the one thing he could salvage from the marriage.

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Art history

Special topics in art history, the seeing america project, prehistoric art, ancient mediterranean + europe, medieval europe + byzantine, art of the islamic world 640 to now, europe 1300 - 1800, art of the americas to world war i, europe 1800 - 1900, modernisms 1900-1980, global cultures 1980–now, art of asia, art of africa, art of oceania, for teachers, a brief introduction to art history, explore art from around the world.

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Art History Resources

• Guidelines for Analysis of Art
• Formal Analysis Paper Examples

Guidelines for Writing Art History Research Papers

• Oral Report Guidelines
• Annual Arkansas College Art History Symposium

Writing a paper for an art history course is similar to the analytical, research-based papers that you may have written in English literature courses or history courses. Although art historical research and writing does include the analysis of written documents, there are distinctive differences between art history writing and other disciplines because the primary documents are works of art. A key reference guide for researching and analyzing works of art and for writing art history papers is the 10th edition (or later) of Sylvan Barnet’s work, A Short Guide to Writing about Art . Barnet directs students through the steps of thinking about a research topic, collecting information, and then writing and documenting a paper.

A website with helpful tips for writing art history papers is posted by the University of North Carolina.

Wesleyan University Writing Center has a useful guide for finding online writing resources.

The following are basic guidelines that you must use when documenting research papers for any art history class at UA Little Rock. Solid, thoughtful research and correct documentation of the sources used in this research (i.e., footnotes/endnotes, bibliography, and illustrations**) are essential. Additionally, these guidelines remind students about plagiarism, a serious academic offense.

Paper Format

Research papers should be in a 12-point font, double-spaced. Ample margins should be left for the instructor’s comments. All margins should be one inch to allow for comments. Number all pages. The cover sheet for the paper should include the following information: title of paper, your name, course title and number, course instructor, and date paper is submitted. A simple presentation of a paper is sufficient. Staple the pages together at the upper left or put them in a simple three-ring folder or binder. Do not put individual pages in plastic sleeves.

Documentation of Resources

The Chicago Manual of Style (CMS), as described in the most recent edition of Sylvan Barnet’s A Short Guide to Writing about Art is the department standard. Although you may have used MLA style for English papers or other disciplines, the Chicago Style is required for all students taking art history courses at UA Little Rock. There are significant differences between MLA style and Chicago Style. A “Quick Guide” for the Chicago Manual of Style footnote and bibliography format is found http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html. The footnote examples are numbered and the bibliography example is last. Please note that the place of publication and the publisher are enclosed in parentheses in the footnote, but they are not in parentheses in the bibliography. Examples of CMS for some types of note and bibliography references are given below in this Guideline. Arabic numbers are used for footnotes. Some word processing programs may have Roman numerals as a choice, but the standard is Arabic numbers. The use of super script numbers, as given in examples below, is the standard in UA Little Rock art history papers.

The chapter “Manuscript Form” in the Barnet book (10th edition or later) provides models for the correct forms for footnotes/endnotes and the bibliography. For example, the note form for the FIRST REFERENCE to a book with a single author is:

1 Bruce Cole, Italian Art 1250-1550 (New York: New York University Press, 1971), 134.

But the BIBLIOGRAPHIC FORM for that same book is:

Cole, Bruce. Italian Art 1250-1550. New York: New York University Press. 1971.

The FIRST REFERENCE to a journal article (in a periodical that is paginated by volume) with a single author in a footnote is:

2 Anne H. Van Buren, “Madame Cézanne’s Fashions and the Dates of Her Portraits,” Art Quarterly 29 (1966): 199.

The FIRST REFERENCE to a journal article (in a periodical that is paginated by volume) with a single author in the BIBLIOGRAPHY is:

Van Buren, Anne H. “Madame Cézanne’s Fashions and the Dates of Her Portraits.” Art Quarterly 29 (1966): 185-204.

If you reference an article that you found through an electronic database such as JSTOR, you do not include the url for JSTOR or the date accessed in either the footnote or the bibliography. This is because the article is one that was originally printed in a hard-copy journal; what you located through JSTOR is simply a copy of printed pages. Your citation follows the same format for an article in a bound volume that you may have pulled from the library shelves. If, however, you use an article that originally was in an electronic format and is available only on-line, then follow the “non-print” forms listed below.

B. Non-Print

Citations for Internet sources such as online journals or scholarly web sites should follow the form described in Barnet’s chapter, “Writing a Research Paper.” For example, the footnote or endnote reference given by Barnet for a web site is:

3 Nigel Strudwick, Egyptology Resources , with the assistance of The Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Cambridge University, 1994, revised 16 June 2008, http://www.newton.ac.uk/egypt/ , 24 July 2008.

If you use microform or microfilm resources, consult the most recent edition of Kate Turabian, A Manual of Term Paper, Theses and Dissertations. A copy of Turabian is available at the reference desk in the main library.

C. Visual Documentation (Illustrations)

Art history papers require visual documentation such as photographs, photocopies, or scanned images of the art works you discuss. In the chapter “Manuscript Form” in A Short Guide to Writing about Art, Barnet explains how to identify illustrations or “figures” in the text of your paper and how to caption the visual material. Each photograph, photocopy, or scanned image should appear on a single sheet of paper unless two images and their captions will fit on a single sheet of paper with one inch margins on all sides. Note also that the title of a work of art is always italicized. Within the text, the reference to the illustration is enclosed in parentheses and placed at the end of the sentence. A period for the sentence comes after the parenthetical reference to the illustration. For UA Little Rcok art history papers, illustrations are placed at the end of the paper, not within the text. Illustration are not supplied as a Powerpoint presentation or as separate .jpgs submitted in an electronic format.

Edvard Munch’s painting The Scream, dated 1893, represents a highly personal, expressive response to an experience the artist had while walking one evening (Figure 1).

The caption that accompanies the illustration at the end of the paper would read:

Figure 1. Edvard Munch, The Scream, 1893. Tempera and casein on cardboard, 36 x 29″ (91.3 x 73.7 cm). Nasjonalgalleriet, Oslo, Norway.

Plagiarism is a form of thievery and is illegal. According to Webster’s New World Dictionary, to plagiarize is to “take and pass off as one’s own the ideas, writings, etc. of another.” Barnet has some useful guidelines for acknowledging sources in his chapter “Manuscript Form;” review them so that you will not be mguilty of theft. Another useful website regarding plagiarism is provided by Cornell University, http://plagiarism.arts.cornell.edu/tutorial/index.cfm

Plagiarism is a serious offense, and students should understand that checking papers for plagiarized content is easy to do with Internet resources. Plagiarism will be reported as academic dishonesty to the Dean of Students; see Section VI of the Student Handbook which cites plagiarism as a specific violation. Take care that you fully and accurately acknowledge the source of another author, whether you are quoting the material verbatim or paraphrasing. Borrowing the idea of another author by merely changing some or even all of your source’s words does not allow you to claim the ideas as your own. You must credit both direct quotes and your paraphrases. Again, Barnet’s chapter “Manuscript Form” sets out clear guidelines for avoiding plagiarism.

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The Writing Place

Resources – how to write an art history paper, introduction to the topic.

There are many different types of assignments you might be asked to do in an art history class. The most common are a formal analysis and a stylistic analysis. Stylistic analyses often involve offering a comparison between two different works. One of the challenges of art history writing is that it requires a vocabulary to describe what you see when you look at a painting, drawing, sculpture or other media. This checklist is designed to explore questions that will help you write these types of art history papers.

Features of An Art History Analysis Paper

Features of a formal analysis paper.

This type of paper involves looking at compositional elements of an object such as color, line, medium, scale, and texture. The goal of this kind of assignment it to demonstrate how these elements work together to produce the whole art object. When writing a formal analysis, ask yourself:

• What is the first element of the work that the audience’s eye captures?
• What materials were used to create the object?
• What colors and textures did the artist employ?
• How do these function together to give the object its overall aesthetic look?

Tips on Formal Analysis

• Describe the piece as if your audience has not seen it.
• Be detailed.
• The primary focus should be on description rather than interpretation.

Features of a Stylistic / Comparative Analysis

Similar to a formal analysis, a stylistic analysis asks you to discuss a work in relation to its stylistic period (Impressionism, Fauvism, High Renaissance, etc.). These papers often involve a comparative element (such as comparing a statue from Early Antiquity to Late Antiquity). When writing a stylistic analysis, ask yourself:

• How does this work fit the style of its historical period? How does it depart from the typical style?
• What is the social and historical context of the work? When was it completed?
• Who was the artist? Who commissioned it? What does it depict?
• How is this work different from other works of the same subject matter?
• How have the conventions (formal elements) for this type of work changed over time?

Tips for Stylistic and Comparative Analysis

• In a comparison, make a list of similarities and differences between the two works. Try to establish what changes in the art world may account for the differences.
• Integrate discussions of formal elements into your stylistic analysis.
• This type of paper can involve more interpretation than a basic formal analysis.
• Focus on context and larger trends in art history.

A Quick Practice Exercise...

Practice - what is wrong with these sentences.

The key to writing a good art history paper involves relating the formal elements of a piece to its historical context.  Can you spot the errors in these sentences? What would make the sentences better?

• “Courbet’s The Stone Breakers  is a good painting because he uses texture.”
• “Duchamp’s work is in the Dada style while Dali’s is Surrealist.”
• “Pope Julius II commissioned the work.”
• “Gauguin uses color to draw in the viewer’s eye.”

Answers for Practice Sentences

• Better: “Courbet’s  The Stone Breakers  is a radical painting because the artist used a palette knife to create a rough texture on the surface.”
• Better: “The use of everyday objects in Duchamp’s work reflects the Dada style while Dali’s incorporation of absurd images into his work demonstrates a Surrealist style.”
• Better: “In 1505, Pope Julius II commissioned the sculpture for his tomb.”
• Better: “The first element a viewer notices is the bold blue of the sky in Gauguin’s painting.”

Adapted by Ann Bruton, with the help of Isaac Alpert, From:

The Writing Center at UNC Handouts ( http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/art-history/ )

The Writing Center at Hamilton College ( http://www.hamilton.edu/writing/writing-resources/writing-an-art-history-paper ) 

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Art history.

Art history, also called art historiography, historical study of the visual arts, being concerned with identifying, classifying, describing, evaluating, interpreting, and understanding the art products and historic development of the fields of painting, sculpture, architecture, the decorative arts, drawing, printmaking, photography, interior design, etc.

Studying the art of the past teaches us how people have seen themselves and their world, and how they want to show this to others. Art history provides a means by which we can understand our human past and its relationship to our present, because the act of making art is one of humanity's most ubiquitous activities.

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Lesson Plans

These lesson plans help you integrate learning about works of art in your classroom. Select an option below to browse lesson plans by grade, or continue scrolling to see all lesson plans.

Lesson plans for elementary school students

Lesson plans for middle school students

Lesson plans for high school students

Elementary School

Ancient Animals at Work

Identify ways animals (past and present) enhance daily life through a close look at an ancient figurine and art making.

Animal-Inspired Masks and Masquerades

Help students understand the connections between art and the environment of Guinea, animal anatomy, and the cultural context of the Banda mask with the help of viewing questions and a dance activity in the Museum's African Art galleries.

Armor—Function and Design

Identify moveable and static features of armor as well as functional and symbolic surface details and examine similarities and differences between human and animal "armor" through classroom viewing questions. Enhance the lesson with a sketching activity based on an English suit of armor in The Met collection.

The Astor Chinese Garden Court

Explore the Museum's Astor Chinese Garden Court and enhance students' understanding of how traditional Chinese gardens reflect the concept of yin and yang and how material selection and design can convey ideas about the human and natural worlds. Use viewing questions and a storytelling or drawing activity in the Museum's Chinese galleries.

The Burghers of Calais

Convey the interpretive significance of pose and expression in the visual arts—in the Museum or the classroom—with viewing questions and a story-writing activity inspired by a nineteenth-century French sculpture by Auguste Rodin.

Medieval Beasts and Bestiaries

Explore the use of animals as symbols in medieval art with viewing questions and a group drawing activity at The Met Cloisters or in the classroom.

Power in Ancient Mesopotamia

Examine how a great ancient Mesopotamian king conveyed power and leadership in a monumental wall relief in the Museum's Ancient Near Eastern art collection and consider how leaders today express the same attributes through viewing questions and an activity.

The Nomads of Central Asia—Turkmen Traditions

Students will be able to identify ways art of the Turkmen people of Central Asia reflects nomadic life and understand the functional and symbolic role objects play in their lives.

Voices of the Past

Focus on a slit gong in the Museum's Oceanic collection to illustrate the impact of scale in works of art, and consider objects' functions in their original contexts and ways different communities engage with their elders and ancestors. Classroom viewing questions and an oral history activity enhance the lesson.

Middle School

Aeneas, Art, and Storytelling

Virgil's epic poem, The Aeneid , has inspired generations of artists and writers. Create your own artwork inspired by the text and consider how artists draw upon and reinterpret stories from the past.

Architecture and the Natural World

How can buildings reflect the relationship between people and the environment? Explore possibilities in this lesson plan featuring an ancient Egyptian temple.

Art and Empire—The Ottoman Court

Students will be able to recognize ways a tughra functioned as a symbol of power and authority within a culturally diverse and geographically expansive empire.

The Battle of David and Goliath

Illuminate strategies for conveying stories through images in the classroom with viewing questions about a large silver plate in the Museum's Medieval collection and an illustrating activity.

Beyond the Figure

Consider how artists convey personality in nonfigural portraits and the relationship between visual and verbal expression by looking at a painting by Charles Demuth in the Museum's Modern and Contemporary galleries and through a portrait-making activity in the classroom.

Bravery Stands Tall

Examine a major turning point in the American Revolution through a close look at this depiction of General Washington and his troops crossing the Delaware River.

Composing a Landscape

Study the relationship between the human and natural worlds in art, as well as the techniques artists use to convey ideas, by exploring a painting by Frederic Edwin Church in the Museum's American Wing. Extend the lesson through a writing and drawing activity in the classroom, or a sketching activity outdoors.

The Making of a Persian Royal Manuscript

Students will be able to identify some of the key events and figures presented in the Persian national epic, the Shahnama (Book of Kings); make connections between the text and the illustrated pages of the manuscript produced for Shah Tahmasp; and create a historical record of their community.

The Mughal Court and the Art of Observation

Students will be able to recognize ways works of art reflect an intense interest in observation of the human and natural world among Mughal leaders; and understand ways works of art from the past and present communicate ideas about the natural world.

Muses vs. Sirens

Through movement and storytelling, uncover the layers of meaning embedded in a Roman sarcophagus.

Point of View in Print and Paint

Explore ways that viewpoint shapes the way we picture the past in this lesson plan featuring a depiction of the abolitionist John Brown.

The Power behind the Throne

Bring the Museum's African collection into the classroom with viewing questions and an art-making activity that cultivate visual analysis and an understanding of how surface detail and composition can express themes of power and leadership.

A Rite of Passage

Explore the ways rituals, ceremonies, and rites of passage play an important role in communities around the world through an investigation of related objects.

Science and the Art of the Islamic World

Students will be able to identify similarities and differences between scientific tools used now and long ago; and use research findings to support observations and interpretations.

Shiva—Creator, Protector, and Destroyer

Inspire students to interpret, communicate through, and personally connect with art through an in-classroom examination of a powerful sculpture in the Museum's Indian art collection and a self-portrait activity.

High School

Ancient Mesopotamia—Literacy, Now and Then

From cuneiform inscriptions to digital tablets, this lesson highlights changes and continuity in written communications across the ages.

Arabic Script and the Art of Calligraphy

Students will be able to identify visual qualities of several calligraphic scripts; recognize ways artists from the Islamic world engage various scripts to enhance works of art supporting a range of functions; and assess the merits of several computer-generated fonts in supporting specific uses.

The Art of Industry

Use viewing questions and a debate activity to investigate the relationship between art and community values, techniques artists use to convey ideas, and strategies for interpreting an American painting in the Museum's Modern and Contemporary galleries.

Above: Writing board (detail), ca. 1981–1802 B.C. Middle Kingdom. Dynasty 12. From Egypt; Said to be from Upper Egypt, Thebes or Northern Upper Egypt, Akhmim (Khemmis, Panopolis). Wood, gesso, paint, 16 15/16 x 7 1/2 in. (43 x 19 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Edward S. Harkness, 1928 (28.9.4)

AP ART HISTORY SUMMER ASSIGNMENT

PART 1 OF 2: Use the Gardner introduction below to complete the following assignments at home:

The Questions Art Historians Ask

The Words Art Historians Use*

Templates for both of these assignments can be accessed below. They are due on the first day of class, and are intended to familiarize you with the field of art history as well as some of the terms you might see throughout the course. These assignments should not take long, but you should be thoughtful in their completion. 

The Words Art Historians Use

Gardner introduction.

Use this to complete the Questions Art Historians Ask and Words Art Historians use assignments. 

PART 2 of 2 : Complete the Global Prehistory Lecture Notes and Global Prehistory Artworks Notes assignments HERE.

You will need to complete BOTH of these assignments by the first day of class, as you will be quizzed on the Global Prehistory curriculum during your first week of school.

For the Lecture Notes , you can use the provided Notes Set template or take notes in another method that works best for you. A lecture video and accompanying Google Slides presentation have been provided for you. Copying and pasting the contents of the Slides is NOT a viable method of note-taking. 

For the Artworks Notes, you can use the provided Notes Set template or take notes in another method that works best for you. Copying and pasting the contents of the Khan Academy articles (or any other Internet source) is NOT a viable method of note-taking.

OPTIONAL: If you can, I highly recommend taking some time this summer to visit an art museum, gallery, public installation, etc. after completing these assignments: I'd be interested to see whether you begin to think of art in a different way after this brief, but thoughtful introduction. 

I can't wait to meet all of you in the Fall! Until then, enjoy your break!

A Fun New Way to Teach Art History!

Trying to sneak vegetables into my son’s diet is like trying to sneak art history into my visual arts curriculum. Sometimes it’s not as easy as it seems, and he gets bored of the same old vegetable, much like my students get bored when I teach art history the same way. Therefore, I frequently try to find new, unique, and hidden ways to incorporate more art history into my curriculum . The more art history the better.

A couple of years ago, I needed a lesson or activity to use on the last day of the quarter. If you’re like me, you prefer the last day of art class to be as stress and mess free as possible. I wanted the activity to include art history and to be fun for my students.

I browsed the internet and my art supply catalogs for ideas.

After finding an art BINGO game that was out of my budget, it occurred to me, I should make my own BINGO set! So that’s exactly what I did.

First, i created a blank bingo sheet using microsoft excel..

On a separate spreadsheet, I pasted images of famous works of art with the artists names below.

This second spreadsheet served as the bank of images used for the blank BINGO cards. (If you decided to try this, be sure to include extra images so the games last a little longer. I had a bank of 48 different images.)

I created a few examples and then I handed the project over to a couple of my students.

They copied and pasted the images randomly into the blank BINGO spreadsheet and created a classroom set of 30 Art History BINGO cards. Here is one example.

The best part about this project is that now since I have the blank template created, I can create a variety of art themed BINGO games!

If you’d like, you can download a free BINGO template right here !

What are your favorite activities or games to use to teach art history?

What kind of BINGO would you create for your classroom? 

Magazine articles and podcasts are opinions of professional education contributors and do not necessarily represent the position of the Art of Education University (AOEU) or its academic offerings. Contributors use terms in the way they are most often talked about in the scope of their educational experiences.

Cassidy Reinken

Cassidy Reinken, an art educator, is a former AOEU Writer. She enjoys helping students solve problems and reach their potential.

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Faculty News | Prof. Andrzejewski’s Use of AI in the Classroom

Professor  Anna Andrzejewski  was interviewed for The L&S Design for Learning Series about her use of AI in the classroom. The article, “ Revise Assignments in Response to Generative AI ,” provides different perspectives for how generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) can be used to support student learning. You can read the full article and access other teaching resources about AI  here .

50 years ago in Expo history: One reader thought the fair idea was ‘real dumb’ at first, but she eventually changed her tune

A Spokesman-Review reader from Fairfield wrote a letter to the editor to say that when she first heard about Expo ’74, she thought “it was real dumb.”

She wasn’t alone. There was widespread skepticism of the idea when it was first broached.

But now, the reader said, she had changed her tune.

“Spokane wasn’t a very popular city until Expo ’74 came about,” Rhonda K. Hein wrote. “Now Spokane is the Expo city and everyone is really excited. … I think it will really turn out good. Our family has season tickets so that just makes me more excited.”

From 100 years ago: The arrest of William Coonfare, alleged liquor runner, meant that the airborne rum-running trade might finally have been broken.

At least, that was the hope of the Spokane police dry squad. They believed Coonfare owned a plane that had been used for running liquor over the Canadian border for more than a year.

“Many times they have seen the plane rising from the ground, but they have never been able to capture it,” said the Spokane Daily Chronicle.

It’s worth noting that, even though Coonfare was in custody, police still did not have their hands on this alleged plane.

Also on this day

(From onthisday.com)

1513: Spaniard Juan Ponce de León and his expedition first sight Florida.

1958: Nikita Khrushchev becomes Soviet Premier as well as First Secretary of the Communist Party.

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Playgrounds are irresistible.

Public art: FAMU Way History & Culture Trail grand opening to take place in June

T he History & Culture Trail along FAMU Way, a Blueprint Intergovernmental Agency public outdoor art project, is set to receive a grand opening event in June to commemorate its completion.

The exact date and details of the celebration will be set by the end of April, said Tatiana Daguillard, the project’s manager. Blueprint originally slated the trail's completion and grand opening for late 2023.

Spanning 1½ miles, the $1.1 million project will eventually have a dozen art installations and 11 nine-foot-tall history monuments.

The latter will have plaques that educate about and honor Tallahassee’s Black history, culture and displaced communities.

Right now, nine art installations are in place. None of the monuments have been yet been put in their spots. The first art installation was completed last February and the final three informational monuments will be installed by May.

One of the displaced communities highlighted by the project is Boynton Still.

The historic, predominantly Black neighborhood had homes demolished and oak trees removed so that FAMU Way and the History & Culture Trail could be developed — actions that were protested and that city planners received strong backlash for.

One of the history monuments along the trail will commemorate Boynton Still. “We started this project as a historical documentation effort to capture the history of some of the African American communities along FAMU way,” Daguillard said. “From that historical document, we took it a step further to say, ‘how can we create something permanent in the environment that's part of our infrastructure, but reflects the history of the area in a unique way.’”

The History & Culture Trail is the final amenity in Blueprint’s Capital Cascades Trail Segment 3 project, which began in 2013. As part of the agency’s $350 million infrastructure investment in south side Tallahassee , it joins other projects including the Skateable Art Park and Coal Chute Pond Trail.

Community engagement and input on the project was a key aspect of the History & Culture Trail’s creation, according to a development document .

The Council on Culture and Art (COCA) and a “citizen working group,” which guided Blueprint on the project’s “historical and cultural interpretations,” helped to produce the trail. Seven artists local to Tallahassee and the Big Bend region worked on the 12 art installations.

“The stories that the monuments reflect are hyper-local. And so we found it very important to ensure that we had local artistic representation in the artists that were commissioned for our project,” Daguillard said. “Our local artists know the flavor of Tallahassee … celebrating the artistry of our local artists, and the stories and the life that they bring, was incredibly important to us.”

One artist whose art adorns the trail is Jacksonville-native Alisha Lewis .

She moved to the capital with her family in 2021 and has a bachelor's of fine arts in ceramics from the University of Florida and a master’s in the Business of Art and Design from the Maryland Institute College of Art. 

Lewis is also the founder of Brown Girls Unite , which describes itself as “a platform to empower through art and art education” and promote diversity in art.

Lewis’ sculpture, “ For the Generations to Fulfill the Dream ,” honors the civil-rights era female students of Florida A&M University who fought against segregation and racial discrimination.

The human-sized statue depicts a determined young woman with a book in her left hand, a sign reading “we shall win by love” in the right and one foot on top of the stair in front of her.

“My internal guide as an artist is highlighting the history of Black women in America,” Lewis stated in a Blueprint document about her and the sculpture. “This artwork is about those who showed their agency, power, ingenuity, innovation and bravery to step up during the Civil Rights movement.”

Benjamin Taubman is a reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat and is the editor of Florida State University's student newspaper, the FSView and Florida Flambeau. He can be reached at  [email protected] .

This article originally appeared on FSU News: Public art: FAMU Way History & Culture Trail grand opening to take place in June

• Made by History

America Needs a New Approach on Affordable Housing. History Offers a Guide

T he U.S. has a housing crisis — one only growing more serious with each day. In the District of Columbia, a recent report by the Urban Institute found that 12% of the city’s population of more than 82,000 residents does not have stable housing. The majority of D.C. residents navigating housing insecurity are people of color, a reality reflected across the country.

The Biden Administration has recognized that housing insecurity is a problem that it can’t ignore, in part because it affects the confidence Americans have about the economy. On Thursday, the Administration announced a bold series of policy proposals , which deployed a public-private approach focused on changing exclusionary zoning, expanding the financing options for affordable housing, and promoting the conversion of empty office space into apartments. These followed up on ideas Biden had proposed in the State of the Union address.

While it is important that the Administration is taking the affordable housing crisis seriously, the long history of attempts to address housing problems in the U.S. reveals these types of public-private initiatives have repeatedly enriched the private sector and done little to help those who need government action the most.

This history suggests that it's time for the federal government to follow the lead of local and state housing activists and create programs that recognize housing is a right not a commodity. This means reconsidering an idea that is barely mentioned in the Administration’s 45-page proposal: public housing. In fact, on Thursday, the same day the Biden Administration announced its proposal, New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders released their own plans to advocate for “Green New Deal for Public Housing” legislation — a sign that some legislators are starting to recognize the essential role that public housing will play if the Administration is to solve the housing crisis.

Public housing in the U.S had its origins in the New Deal. It began as an effort by Franklin D. Roosevelt's Administration to boost the construction industry and provide temporary housing support for struggling Americans. Until World War II, it remained a very small and highly segregated program that primarily benefited working-class whites.

Read More: Read President Joe Biden’s 2024 State of the Union Address

After the war, that changed. The federal government allocated funds for a substantial increase in public housing units to address a national housing shortage and advance urban redevelopment. These funds fueled the construction of large-scale modernist developments like Chicago’s Robert Taylor Homes, which was the largest public housing project in the U.S. with over 4,000 units in 28 identical 16-story buildings. 

Initially touted by city planners as “palaces for the poor,” these projects experienced problems of segregation and discrimination almost from the outset and increasingly fell into disrepair due to the limited funds allocated for their initial construction and ongoing maintenance. In the 1960s, many city housing agencies exacerbated the pre-existing problems. They changed their policies to allow occupancy by single-parent households and welfare recipients. Meanwhile, Congress passed a law raising the cap on rents to 30% of a household’s income, which substantially increased the rent for people who worked and drove many them into the private market. This exodus transformed public housing into the option of last resort, inhabited exclusively by the poorest of the poor.

Instead of trying to improve the situation in the 1970s, the federal government turned away from constructing, owning, and managing public housing, and instead adopted private market tools such as vouchers and subsidies in an effort to make housing affordable. They also contracted with private management companies to run preexisting public housing, while greatly reducing the capacity and power of public housing agencies. By the 1980s developments like the Robert Taylor Homes became the sites of major drug and gang activity, turning them into proxies for the problems of public housing and the “inner city.”

In response, Bill Clinton promised to “end public housing as we know it” and introduced the HOPE VI program . HOPE VI became a hallmark of the Clinton years and largely amounted to privatization of public services. The initiative encouraged tearing down many existing federal projects like the Robert Taylor Homes and replacing them with lower-density townhouse style developments that combined market rate housing designed to appeal to the middle class with subsidized units for poor families. To qualify for the houses, poor families had to meet a stringent set of requirements, including having no criminal record and having a job or being enrolled in an employment training program.  

These projects benefited the private developers, who built the new housing and surrounding businesses, but only compounded the problems for tenants. The vast majority of former public housing residents found themselves displaced from their longtime homes. While many received Section 8 vouchers to rent homes, they confronted a highly discriminatory private rental market that left many former public housing residents with few options, most of them in racially-segregated, high-poverty areas. The end result was the exacerbation of housing segregation and economic inequality in many cities, while gentrification spread. 

Despite this mixed record, in the early 21st century, public-private projects like HOPE VI remained virtually the only housing initiatives that seemed viable.

That’s changed in recent years. Policymakers from Los Angeles to Rhode Island have launched a range of innovative campaigns to consider alternative ways to increase affordable housing that go beyond simply changing single-family zoning laws and allowing for the construction of Auxiliary Dwelling Units (ADUs). Many of these projects have taken inspiration from longstanding social housing programs in Western Europe, most notably Vienna , where more than half a million residents, both low-income and middle class, live in well-constructed social housing units, spending less than 10% of their incomes on rent.

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The shape of new programs vary significantly. On one end of the spectrum, Montgomery County, Md., has broken ground on several new mixed-income, government-owned projects. But the projects still rely on a public-private model and contain many echoes of HOPE VI, making them unlikely to eliminate fully the problems of the past.

On the other end of the spectrum, is the work being done by housing groups like Kansas City-based KC Tenants. The group has adopted a definition of “social housing” which points to a way of imagining housing outside the scope of the private market and unavailable for profit or speculation. In using the term “social,” KC Tenants seek to avoid the indelible stigma associated with public housing and to highlight that they envision something very different from the post-World War II massive housing projects or even the HOPE VI townhomes. They are crusading for construction of well-designed housing in desirable parts of the city that serves everyone but the most wealthy. KC Tenants co-founder Tara Raghuveer has deemed this form of “true public housing” the organization’s “north star.” The group is helping push Kansas City closer to that goal. In 2022, by a wide margin, the city passed a $50 million bond for long-term affordable housing.

Read more: Renters Are in Revolt. This Tenant Union Plans to Get Them Organized

This vision of social housing has a chance to undo the mistakes of the postwar era, which stigmatized public housing, and produced substandard and segregated residences for only the poorest of Americans. But for such programs to truly solve the affordable housing crisis, the federal government needs to be involved. The scope of the problem is simply too large for states and localities to tackle. Imaging and designing a federal initiative will take policymakers who can think big, while learning from the mistakes of the post-WWII housing projects. Crucially, they should follow the lead of local housing activists who see housing as a right, not a commodity.

To do so, officials must abandon the narrative that public housing has been a failed social experiment. Instead, they need to sell the public on viewing it as a critical way for the federal government to serve the public good and build a better functioning system of social welfare. 

This approach will promote a just policy — one that addresses a problem that has festered for 75 years — and it could also provide a political boost for the Democrats in November and beyond. The poor, working, and middle-class Americans who would benefit most from this vision of public housing are some of the people most dissatisfied with the Biden Administration.

Fixing the housing crisis and creating a broad scale public housing program that makes these groups’ lives better promises to give these crucial constituencies a reason to turn out to vote.

Lily Geismer is a professor of history at Claremont McKenna College where she focuses on political and urban history. She is the author of Left Behind: The Democrats’ Failed Attempt to Solve Inequality.

Made by History takes readers beyond the headlines with articles written and edited by professional historians. Learn more about Made by History at TIME here . Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of TIME editors .

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Write to Lily Geismer / Made by History at [email protected]

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