ART 101 College of Marin Venus of Willendorf & Phrasikleia Kore Essay

CHOOSE ONE OF THE TWO OPTIONS:

Option One (Tradition Essay)

By essay, I mean that your answer is written out in sentence form. The answer should be organized. But, this is not a “five-paragraph essay.” It is the same as the in-class questions, but here you have more time to produced a more detailed and polished answer.

• Your answer should be typed,
• Upload file – pdf, word docx or doc, or pages
• Link to upload will be posted on course Canvas homepage.

Your response should be clearly organized and demonstrate the full powers of your analytical abilities. However, I will not grade you on your prose style, punctuation, or grammar (unless it is very poor and hinders my ability to understand what you mean). However, be sure to proofread for errors and typos. If you are not so good at finding typos (I myself am not), have a friend help you. In short, don’t think of this as equivalent to an English composition class essay.

This is not a research essay. Accordingly, you should not answer either prompt by using sources other than the assigned lectures, discussions, or readings. The only exceptions would be subject matter, a specific term, or other technical matter.

Information gathered and presented from other sources than those listed above will be edited out of your answer and it will not be factored into your grade. If you’re uncertain, or are wondering about an exception, ask me directly.

Length:

No minimum or maximum. Be concise, but also thorough. Choose your evidence carefully and thoughtfully. Don’t just throw everything into the mix.

Scroll for Prompt and Links to Image

L: Woman/Venus of Willendorf, 24-18k BCE – 11 cm

R: Phrasikleia Kore by Aristion of Paros 550-40 BCE

In a concise, well-written essay, analyze these two sculptures in order to identify key stylistic features and explain how these features relate to each’s function/purpose.

Begin with the Woman of Willendorf. Where do you see naturalism? And where stylization? What has been emphasized? And what de-emphasized? Be sure to point to specific aspects of the figure. What possible function(s) did this object have? How might style be related to function(s)?

Then turn to the kore. Where do you see naturalism? And where stylization? What has been emphasized? And what de-emphasized? Be sure to point to specific aspects of the figure. How has the stylization and naturalism changed from the Women of Willendorf? What function did this object have? How was style related to function?

Finally, how do these two objects speak to the different place of women in prehistoric and ancient Greek soceities?

Images on Google Slides

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1m7uU43i3ET…

Larger/Zoomable image of Woman/Venus of Willendorf, 24-18k BCE – 11 cm

Larger/Zoomable image of R: Phrasikleia Kore by Aristion of Paros 550-40 BCE

Scroll for Option Two

Option Two (Creative Possibilities)

Write an architecture tour guide to TWO of three listed below

Ziggurat at Ur, built 2100-2000 BCE

Temple of Amun at Thebes, known simply as Karnak, complex built 2000-100 BCE

Temple of Athena on the Acropolis, Athens, 400s BCE

Your guide should not be based only on the current ruins, but also reconstructions. Accordingly, you will need to review the images and video posted on the Prepare for Zoom Discussion under Ancient Near East, Egypt, and Greek Architecture (Classical). Link to the corresponding Canvas pages below. Be sure you have Canvas open to be taken to these pages.

You may also want to refer back to lectures to refresh yourself on key ideas and concepts.

Your guide should:

1. Walk the reader up to and to/through the structure, stopping at specific places.

2. Identify and explain key visual features that are characteristic of the form.

3. Explain how the different parts of the structure shapes and transforms the visitor’s mental, physical, emotional experience.

Your guide should be comparative. As you discuss the second structure, compare it to the earlier one.

You need not write about everything, but you should cover the major architectural elements and transformations experienced by the visitor.

You will do best if you have images in front of your as you write your guide. Refer to the images when you are describing specific aspects of each structure. This will help you write your guide more effectively.

Format: Open-ended. You can be creative as you like. You can produce a brochure, a guide-book, or a dialogue/script of a tour guide.. However, the content must be there. For example, you can write it as if you are a tour guide from the time period (ancient Egyptian, etc). You can include images, but they cannot substitute for the written analysis.

Length: No minimum or maximum. Be concise, but also thorough. Choose your evidence carefully and thoughtfully. Don’t just throw everything into the mix.

Ziggurat at Ur: https://marin.instructure.com/courses/19728/pages/…

Karnak:

https://marin.instructure.com/courses/19728/pages/…

Acropolis

https://marin.instructure.com/courses/19728/pages/…