Student Essay Assignment:

For the Essay you have a choice:
Choice 1:
Are Video Games a Serious Art Form?
Read the following essay:

Art Form for the Digital Age.
http://www.stanford.edu/class/sts145/Library/jenkins_artform.pdf
First of all you must decide what you would define as "real art"
Some good sources to mull this idea are http://www.arthistory.sbc.edu/artartists/artartists.html
http://arthistory.about.com/cs/reference/f/what_is_art.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art

Some popular digital video games can be found at the following website:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_video_games



Traditional Artists to choose from:

Pablo Picasso
Vincent van Gogh
Leonardo da Vinci
Salvador Dali
Claude Monet
Henri Matisse
Andy Warhol
Georgia O'Keeffe
Paul Cezanne
Raphael
Michelangelo
Wassily Kandinsky
Rembrandt
Goya
Edgar Degas
Peter Paul Rubens
Diego Rivera
Jackson Pollock
Rene Magritte
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Edouard Manet
Edvard Munch
Frida Kahlo
Titian
Piet Mondrian
Albrecht Durer
Marc Chagall
Caravaggio
Edward Hopper
Paul Gauguin

Student Essay Assignment:
Based on your own personal definition of what you think real art is, argue whether a specific video game could be considered an artform in itself. When you do this you should consider two questions:

Is only the artwork (digital painting, drawing or sculpture) in a video game artwork, or is the actual game mechanism (the way in which the game is put together or played) also an artform in itself?

To prove your point one way or the other you should compare the video game to a previous traditional work of art.


Setup of the Essay:

Intro Paragraph:
You must state what you think original artwork is- give a definition.
You will state that you are doing a research essay on a particular gaming artist. You must state that they are creating original or unoriginal artwork based on your above definition. You will prove this by showing in your essay, that their artwork could be done or not be done by one of the earlier masters using traditional processes and materials; or that it is has been copied or created through digital software techniques already created (i.e. filters etc.)


Paragraph 2-3:
Describe one digital video game program. You should do this by giving an accurate description of the media, theme, and historical influences on the work. · What formal components (line, shape, colour, texture, value, space, balance, unity, contrast, emphasis, pattern, movement) can you find in this game? What is the purpose or message in this game?


Paragraph 4-5:
Explain how this game is, or is not, an extension of traditional artworks and foundations. Can this game be created utilizing only traditional art tools and techniques? Why or why not? Is the game mechanism an artwork in itself based on your definition?


Paragraph 6 and 7:Compare this work of art to a work of an earlier artist who uses traditional methods and media. Why does this traditional artist fit within your definition of what you think real art is?


Paragraph 8:
Based on these examinations state why you think this game is a recreation of art before it and is not real art, or is it truly original piece of artwork.


Paragraph 9:
Arguments against your point.


Paragraph 10:
Summing up of arguments and final conclusion


Include a bibliography and footnotes


Choice 2

Is Digital Art a truly real artform?
To explore this question read:

In favor:
http://www.3datadesign.com/gallery/eng/isdigitalartreal1.php
http://community.imaginefx.com/blogs/chenyuns_blog/archive/2007/05/12/Digital-Art-is-Not-_2200_Cheating_2200_.aspx
Not in favour:
http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/commentary/theluddite/2006/08/71599

Again similar to the essay choice above your are to choose a digital artist to write about:

Digital artists to choose from:

http://dam.org/artists/index.htm
http://dir.yahoo.com/Arts/Visual_Arts/Computer_Generated/Artists/

Tradtional Artists are the same ones listed above.

Student Essay Assignment:

Students are to research and write a comparison contrast essay on a digital artist versus a traditional artist.

Setup of the Essay:
Intro Paragraph:You must state what you think original artwork is- give a definition.
You will state that you are doing a research essay on a particular digital artist. You must state that they are creating original or unoriginal artwork based on your above definition. You will prove this by showing in your essay that their artwork could be done or not be done by one of the earlier masters using traditional processes and materials.


Paragraph 2-3:Describe one artwork of a prominent digital artist. You should do this by giving an accurate description of the media, theme, and historical influences on the work. · What formal components (line, shape, colour, texture, value, space, balance, unity, contrast, emphasis, pattern, movement) can you find in this artwork? What is the purpose or message in this art work?

Paragraph 4-5:
Explain how this work is, or is not, an extension of traditional artworks and foundations. Can this artwork be created utilizing only traditional art tools and techniques? Why or why not?

Paragraph 6 and 7:
Compare this work of art to a work of an earlier artist who uses traditional methods and media.


Paragraph 8:
Based on these examinations why you think this pieces of new media art is a recreation of art before it or is it truly original piece of artwork.


Paragraph 9:
Arguments against your point.


Paragraph 10:
Summing up of arguments and final conclusion



Include a bibliography and footnotes

The Essay is due on the following dates:

Rough Draft (optional hand in for 10 marks and editing by teacher) Monday January 16th.
It will be given back on Monday June 1st.
Final Absolute Due Date: Friday January 20th