USC Visual Culture East Asian Cultures and Persian Art Analysis Paper FIRST ESSAY: VISUAL CULTURE Imagine you are a curator of an exhibit focusing on cult

USC Visual Culture East Asian Cultures and Persian Art Analysis Paper FIRST ESSAY: VISUAL CULTURE

Imagine you are a curator of an exhibit focusing on cultural interactions and influences in visual culture between 500-1300. What would you select to include and why?

Instructions:

1. Visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art or the Morgan Library (we will visit the Cloisters together). Wander around the Islamic and European collections from these periods and select three pieces that are somehow related to one another, either closely (3 pieces from the same culture that demonstrate evidence of cultural interaction) or tangentially (for example, you may find a Byzantine icon, a Western Madonna, and a piece of Islamic art that have similar design motifs). Please do not include pieces that we have discussed in class. Similar pieces are fine.

Write a rationale–what is the thesis or organizing principle that led you to select these three pieces. What is it that you wish to demonstrate?

Then write an entry for each piece.

Describe the piece in detail. Make certain to include the relevant culture, date/s, maker (if known), medium, and dimensions (you can find these on the label).

What is the evidence of cultural interaction? You may consult historical sources–the Met/Heilbronn essays are an excellent source here. Make certain to cite your sources properly and completely. BE SPECIFIC.

How does each piece relate to the others?

Please include a photograph of yourself in the museum standing next to the pieces you have chosen, as well as clear reproductions of the images.