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Art History Resources

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Guidelines for Writing Art History Research Papers

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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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Preparing Your Best Artwork for Journals

Modern science has long relied on published manuscript articles as the primary vehicle to communicate research. An indispensable feature of nearly all manuscripts—especially in the natural sciences—is the inclusion of high-quality artwork 1 . Its purpose is to enhance the visual understanding of the reported research. Typically, such artwork combines two or more: line graphs (figures, chart), tables, GIS-maps, photo images, and conceptual illustrations. Some scientific domains, however, tend to use certain forms more than others (e.g., genetics/cell biologists rely on color figures and photographs, whereas ecologists rely mainly on line graphs, tables, as well as maps).

The digital revolution has permanently changed the way scientists prepare and submit their manuscripts to peer-reviewed journals. They no longer have to laboriously hand-draw their graphics and tables or spend scarce lab money on film-based photo plates, before printing and submitting their finished manuscript. Today, all journals are available online, where they accept only digital submissions of manuscripts and their artwork from authors.

Journal Requirements: Basic Aspects

  In preparing your manuscript’s artwork, you must bear in mind that not all journals are alike. Indeed, a cursory review of several major journal publishers reveals differences in their artwork guidelines 1,2,3,4,5,6 (e.g., preferred color mode, line weighting, and formats for photographs [TIFF, PNG, EPS, or PDF]). Much like how the author style guidelines for text can vary substantially among journals, most have their own artwork guidelines to follow.

Early on in the research cycle, it is not necessary to dwell upon these, but when your manuscript is nearly ready for submission you should become familiar with your target journal’s guidelines. Authors should pay attention to several key aspects when preparing their artwork. Let’s quickly go over these.

• Raster vs. vector images: These are two categories that your particular artwork file can take —vector types are preferred by most journals because of their higher-quality and scaling ability 3 .
• Line thickness: In classic black-and-white figures, lines are drawn solid with no gray. Appropriate line weighting is an important consideration here, and generally, a little thicker is better.
• Resolution: For “continuous-tone” images, which are typically used in science, mostly 300 dots-per-inch is the recommended lower threshold 1 . However, at publication, the resolution may vary whether the artwork is monochrome, combined halftones, or only halftones 3 .
• File size: This will depend on the dimensions and the resolution of the artwork. Large file sizes (> 10 MB) for each artwork piece will likely encounter uploading problems.
• Dimensions: Many journals will crop your artwork to fit their page 6 , or reduce it in size, which could make it illegible; hence, it is best to prepare your artwork at the width/length it would appear in print (in picas, inches, or cm) 3 .
• Color mode: This aspect is often overlooked; however, it must be noted that RGB offers a greater range of colors than the CMYK space 3 .
• Bars: Solid white or black, followed by patterning, is traditionally used 6 , but increasingly more gray and color are suitable. Nonetheless, do avoid 3D bars, which are unsightly. It is also important to properly draw mean error bars 7 (i.e., SE, SD, or 95% confidence or boxplot intervals).
• Copyright: Mostly, your artwork is your own. But for those cases, such as published maps or illustrations, or photographs taken by others, due credit should be given.

Remember, although many journals are understandably less strict about adhering to their guidelines for peer review (e.g., accepting artwork compiled in a PDF), they will demand full compliance post-acceptance of your manuscript. 4

Important Dos and Don’ts

In order to save authors much grief and frustration—and likewise, for their target journal—it is worth reviewing what authors should do, and not do when preparing their digital artwork. The following should be avoided: using any graphics downloaded from the Internet, because their resolution is very low [typically 72 pixels-per-inch]; submitting images in a MS-PowerPoint file or using GIF, PNG, BMP, or PSD formats 1 ; saving re-edited JPEG images since compression discards some data 1 ; using any line art with a weight (thickness) less than 0.25 pt 2,3 .

Always use consistent font and text labeling throughout 2,6 ; make sure all the text in the artwork is editable by the journal 2 ; verify that the resolution of your files meets the journal’s standard 1 ; ensure that your artwork files are correctly labeled 1 , whether they are submitted in a single file or separately.

Finally, avoid submitting artwork—anywhere—that is made in MS-Excel. While helpful for data exploration and preliminary graphing, most reputable journals will frown upon this, or any MS-Office-made artwork, 5,6 which often comes across as unprofessional. Avoid it if you can!

Digital Graphics Tools

There are many software programs and platforms available to help prepare your artwork. In general, these graphics tools fall into two camps: freeware or fee-based licenses. For example, a well-known and easy-to-use program, which also performs basic statistical analyses, is Sigmaplot 8 ; but this product costs money and runs only on a PC. Conversely, a popular free platform is R 9 —it has gained an incredible following of users in science, enabling them to perform advanced statistics if needed, and to produce almost any type of line/symbol art conceivable (often with the help of downloadable packages and documents).

When working with photos, Adobe products come to mind, but these are expensive, especially for researchers based in developing countries. Two alternative tools for perfecting your photo artwork are ImageJ 10 and Irfanview 11 . Both are freeware, but the former includes many analytical options whereas the latter is useful for editing images.

After spending much time and effort conceiving and executing your study, analyzing data, thinking about the results, and writing the manuscript, it is tempting to neglect your artwork. Do not do this—many will glance through your artwork before deciding whether or not to download and read your paper, much less cite it. So strive to produce the best artwork you can!

• The University of Chicago Press. Digital Art Digest for Authors . Retrieved from http://press.uchicago.edu/infoServices/artdigest.html
• Duke University Press. Guidelines for Illustrators Preparing Artwork for Authors . Retrieved from https://www.dukeupress.edu/Assets/Downloads/dukeupress_illustratorguidelines_2013.pdf
• Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. Digital Art Guidelines. Retrieved from http://www.pnas.org/site/misc/digitalart.pdf
• Wiley Author Services. Review our Manuscript Preparation Guidelines. Retrieved from https://authorservices.wiley.com/author-resources/Journal-Authors/Prepare/manuscript-preparation-guidelines.html
• The University of Wisconsin Press, Journals Division (2017, February 10) Preparation of Artwork for Submission . Retrieved from https://uwpress.wisc.edu/journals/preparing_illustrations.html
• The University of Chicago Press Journals. Manuscript Preparation – Artwork . Retrieved from http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/cont/prep-art
• Geoff Cumming, Fiona Fidler, and David L. Vaux (2007, April 9 ) Error bars in experimental biology. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2064100/

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Starting Your Research

Before you begin conducting research, it’s important to ask yourself a few questions:

1. What’s my topic? Review your assignment closely and choose an appropriate topic. Is this topic about a single artist or an art movement? Is it a study of one work or a body of works? How long is the paper—will you need a basic overview, or detailed analysis? Guiding questions such as these can help you determine what the best approach to your research will be. If you aren’t sure where to start, you can ask your professor for guidance, and you can always contact an Arts Librarian using their contact information on this page.

2. Which sources are best for my topic? With infinite time, you would want to read everything available, but there are often resources that are more applicable depending on your research topic. How to Find Art Resources provides more detailed information about choosing helpful sources based on general topics. Watch this video for brief instructions on how to find information on a work of art at the Yale University Art Gallery.

3. How will I manage and cite my sources? When you turn in your paper or presentation, you will need to provide citations in keeping with the preferred citation style. Keeping on top of your citations as you work through your research will save time and stress when you are finishing your project. All Yale students have access to tools to keep citations organized, generate a bibliography, and create footnotes/endnotes. For a quick guide, see How to Cite Your Sources , and more guidance is available on the Citation Management guide .

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Article contents

Arts-based research.

• Janinka Greenwood Janinka Greenwood University of Canterbury
• https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264093.013.29
• Published online: 25 February 2019

Arts-based research encompasses a range of research approaches and strategies that utilize one or more of the arts in investigation. Such approaches have evolved from understandings that life and experiences of the world are multifaceted, and that art offers ways of knowing the world that involve sensory perceptions and emotion as well as intellectual responses. Researchers have used arts for various stages of research. It may be to collect or create data, to interpret or analyze it, to present their findings, or some combination of these. Sometimes arts-based research is used to investigate art making or teaching in or through the arts. Sometimes it is used to explore issues in the wider social sciences. The field is a constantly evolving one, and researchers have evolved diverse ways of using the communicative and interpretative tools that processes with the arts allow. These include ways to initially bypass the need for verbal expression, to explore problems in physically embodied as well as discursive ways, to capture and express ambiguities, liminalities, and complexities, to collaborate in the refining of ideas, to transform audience perceptions, and to create surprise and engage audiences emotionally as well as critically. A common feature within the wide range of approaches is that they involve aesthetic responses.

The richness of the opportunities created by the use of arts in conducting and/or reporting research brings accompanying challenges. Among these are the political as well as the epistemological expectations placed on research, the need for audiences of research, and perhaps participants in research, to evolve ways of critically assessing the affect of as well as the information in presentations, the need to develop relevant and useful strategies for peer review of the research as well as the art, and the need to evolve ethical awareness that is consistent with the intentions and power of the arts.

• multisensory
• performance

Introduction

The term arts-based research is an umbrella term that covers an eclectic array of methodological and epistemological approaches. The key elements that unify this diverse body of work are: it is research; and one or more art forms or processes are involved in the doing of the research. How art is involved varies enormously. It has been used as one of several tools to elicit information (Cremin, Mason, & Busher, 2011 ; Gauntlett, 2007 ; Wang & Burns, 1997 ) and for the analysis of data (Boal, 1979 ; Gallagher, 2014 ; Neilson, 2008 ), and so it serves as an enrichment to the palette of tools used in qualitative research. It has been used in the presentation of findings (Bagley & Cancienne, 2002 ; Conrad, 2012 ; Gray & Sinding, 2002 ) and so occupies a space that could be responded to and evaluated as both art and research. It has been used to investigate art and the process of art-making. The emergence of the concept and practice of a/r/tography (Belliveau, 2015 ; Irwin, 2013 ; Springgay, Irwin, & Kind, 2005 ), for example, places art-making and its textual interpretation in a dynamic relationship of inquiry into the purpose, process, and meaning of the making of an artwork.

The field is multifaceted and elusive of definition and encompassing explanation. This article does not attempt such definitions. But it does risk describing some well-trodden pathways through the field and posing some questions. Illustrative examples are offered from the author’s work, as well as citing of works by other researchers who use arts-based approaches.

My own explorations of arts-based research began many years ago, before the term came into usage. I was commissioned to develop a touring play for a New Zealand youth theater, and I chose to write a docudrama, Broadwood: Na wai te reo? (Greenwood, 1995 ). The play reported the case of a remote, rural, and predominantly Maori school that made Maori language a compulsory subject in its curriculum. The parents of one boy argued against the decision, claiming the language held no use for their son. The dispute was aired on national television and was debated in parliament. The minister agreed that the local school board had the right to make the decision after consultation with parents and community. The dispute ended with the boy being given permission to do extra math assignments in the library during Maori language classes. To develop the script, I interviewed all the local participants in the case and sincerely sought to capture the integrity of their views in my dialogue. I accessed the minister of education’s comments through public documents and media and reserved the right to occasionally satirize them. Just a week or two before final production, the family’s lawyer officially asked for a copy of the script. To my relief, it was returned with the comment that the family felt I had captured their views quite accurately. The youth theater was invited to hold its final rehearsal on the local marae (a traditional tribal Maori ground that holds a meeting house and hosts significant community occasions), and a local elder offered the use of an ancestral whalebone weapon in the opening performance, instead of the wooden one made for the production. The opening performance took place in the school itself, and the boy, together with his parents and family friends, sat in the audience together with hundreds of community people. The play had an interactive section where the audience was asked to vote in response to a survey the school had originally sent out to its community. The majority of the audience voted for Maori language to be part of the mandatory curriculum. The boy and his family voted equally emphatically for it not to be. The play then toured in New Zealand and was taken to a festival in Australia.

At the time I saw the work purely in terms of theater—albeit with a strongly critical social function. Looking back, I now see it was a performative case study. I had carefully researched the context and respectfully interviewed participants after gaining their informed consent. The participants had all endorsed my reporting of the data. The findings were disseminated and subject to popular as well as peer review. The performances added an extra dimension to the research: they actively invited audience consideration and debate.

This article discusses the epistemology that underlies arts-based approaches to research, reviews the purposes and value of research that involves the arts, identifies different stages and ways that art may be utilized, and addresses questions that are debated in the field. It does not seek to disentangle all the threads within this approach to research or to review all key theorizations and possibilities in the field. The arena of arts-based research is a diverse and rapidly expanding one, and it is only possible within this discussion to identify some of the common underlying characteristics and potentialities and to offer selected examples. Because this discussion is shaped within an essay format, rather than through a visual or performative collage, there is the risk of marking a limited number of pathways and of making assertions. At the same time, I acknowledge that the discussion might have alternatively been conducted through arts-based media, which might better reflect some of the liminalities and interweaving layers of art-based processes (see further, Greenwood, 2016 ).

The term art itself compasses a wide and diverse spectrum of products and process. This article focuses particularly on dramatic and visual art, while acknowledging that the use of other art forms, such as poetry, fiction, dance, film, and fabric work, have been variously used in processes of investigation. The word art is used to indicate the wider spectrum of art activities and to refer to more specific forms and processes by their disciplines and conventions.

Why Use Art?

One of the main reasons for the growth of arts-based approaches to research is recognition that life experiences are multi-sensory, multifaceted, and related in complex ways to time, space, ideologies, and relationships with others. Traditional approaches to research have been seen by increasing numbers of researchers as predominantly privileging cerebral, verbal, and linearly temporal approaches to knowledge and experience. The use of art in research is one of many shifts in the search for truthful means of investigation and representation. These include, among others, movements toward various forms of narratives (Riessman, 2008 ), recognition of indigenous knowledges, and indigenous ways of sharing and using knowledge (Bharucha, 1993 ; Smith, 2014 ), auto-ethnographies (Ellis, 2004 ), conceptualizations of wicked questions (Rittel & Webber, 1973 ), processes of troubling (Gardiner, 2015 ), and queering (Halperin, 2003 ). Preissle ( 2011 ) writes about the “qualitative tapestry” (p. 689) and identifies historic and contemporary threads of epistemological challenges, methods, and purposes, pointing out the ever-increasing diversity in the field. Denzin and Lincoln ( 2011 ) describe qualitative research as a site of multiple interpretative practices and, citing St. Pierre’s ( 2004 ) argument that we are in a post “post” period, assert that “we are in a new age where messy, uncertain multi-voiced texts, cultural criticism, and new experimental works will become more common, as will more reflexive forms of fieldwork, analysis and intertextual representation” (p. 15). Springgay, Irwin, and Kind ( 2005 ) assert that a/r/tography is not a new branch of qualitative research but a methodology in its own right, and that it conceptualizes inquiry as an embodied encounter through visual and textual experiences. The use of art in research is a succession of approaches to develop methodology that is meaningful and useful.

Art, product, and process allow and even invite art-makers to explore and play with knowing and meaning in ways that are more visceral and interactive than the intellectual and verbal ways that have tended to predominate in Western discourses of knowledge. It invites art viewers to interact with representations in ways that involve their senses, emotions, and ideas. Eisner ( 1998 , 2002 ) makes a number of significant assertions about the relationship between form and knowledge that emphasize the importance of art processes in offering expanded understandings of “what it means to know” (Eisner, 1998 , p. 1). He states: “There are multiple ways in which the world can be known: Artists, writers, and dancers, as well as scientists, have important thongs to tell about the world” (p. 7). Like other constructivists (Bruner, 1990 ; Guba, 1996 ), he further argues that because human knowledge is a constructed form of experience, it is a reflection of mind as well as nature, that knowledge is made, not simply discovered. He then reasons that “the forms through which humans represent their conception of the world have a major influence on what they are able to say about it” (p. 6), and, making particular reference to education, he states that whichever particular forms of representation become acceptable “is as much a political matter as an epistemological one” (p. 7). Eisner’s arguments to extend conceptualizations of knowledge within the field of education have been echoed in the practices of art-based researchers.

Artists themselves understand through their practice that art is way of coming to know the world and of presenting that knowing, emergent and shifting though it may be, to others. Sometimes the process of coming to know takes the form of social analysis. In Guernica , as a well-known example, Picasso scrutinizes and crystallizes the brutal betrayals and waste of war. In Caucasian Chalk Circle , Brecht fractures and strips bare ideas of justice, loyalty, and ownership. Their respective visual and dramatic montages speak in ways that are different from and arguably more potent than discursive descriptions.

In many indigenous cultures, art forms are primary ways of processing and recording communally significant information and signifying relationships. For New Zealand Māori, the meeting house, with its visual images, poetry, song, oratory, and rituals, is the repository library of mythic and genealogical history and of the accumulated legacies of meetings, contested positions, and nuanced consensual decisions. Art within Māori and other indigenous culture is not an illustrative addition to knowledge systems, it is an integral means of meaning making and recording.

One of the characteristics of arts and arts-based research projects is that they engage with aesthetic understandings as well as with discursive explanations. The aesthetic is a contested term (Greenwood, 2011 ; Hamera, 2011 ). However, it is used here to describe the engagement of senses and emotion as well as intellectual processes, and the consequent collation of semiotics and significances that are embedded in cultural awareness and are variously used by art makers and art viewers to respond to works of art. An aesthetic response thus is a visceral as well as rational one. It may be comfortable with ambiguities, and it may elude verbalization.

The processes of art-making demand a commitment to a continuous refinement of skills and awareness. Art-viewers arguably also gain more from an artwork as they acquire the skills and literacies involved with that particular art form and as they gain confidence to engage with the aesthetic. However, viewers may apprehend meaning without mastery of all the relevant literacies. I recall an experience of watching flamenco in El Puerto de Santa Maria, a township outside Cadiz. My senses drank in the white stone of former monastery walls and the darkening sky over an open inner courtyard. My muscles and emotions responded spontaneously to the urgency of the guitar and the beaten rhythms on a packing case drum. My nerves tensed as the singer’s voice cut through the air. The two dancers, both older and dressed in seemingly causal fawn and grey, riveted my attention. I was a stranger to the art form, and I did not know the language of the dance and could not recognize its phases or its allusions. I did feel the visceral tug of emotion across space. My heart and soul responded to something urgent, strangely oppressive, but indefinable that might have an apprehension of what those who understand flamenco call duende . If I was more literate in the art form, I would no doubt have understood a lot more, but the art, performed by those who did know and had mastered its intricacies, communicated an experience of their world to me despite my lack of training. In that evening, I learned more about the experience of life in southern Spain than I had in my earlier pursuit of library books and websites.

Art, thus, is positioned as a powerful tool that calls for ever-refining expertise in its making, but that can communicate, at differing levels, even with those who do not have that expertise. Researchers who use art draw on its rich, and sometimes complex and elusive, epistemological bases to explore and represent aspects of the world. The researchers may themselves be artists; at the least, they need to know enough of an art form to be aware of its potential and how to manipulate it. In some cases intended participants and audiences may also be artists, but often they are not. It is the researcher who creates a framework in which participants join in the art or in which audiences receive it.

Art, Research Purpose, and Research Validity

So far, the argument for the value of art as a way of knowing is multifarious, embodied, and tolerant of ambivalences and ambiguities. Where then are the rigors that are widely held as essential for research? It can be argued that arts-based research, to be considered as research, needs to have explicit research purpose and needs to subject itself to peer critique.

As has been widely noted (Eisner, 1998 ; Leavy, 2017 ; Sullivan, 2010 ), the making of art involves some investigation, both into the process of making and into some aspect of the experiential world. In research, that purpose needs to be overt and explicit. When the purpose is identified, then the choice of methods can be open to critical scrutiny and evaluation. The design of an arts-based research project is shaped, at its core, by similar considerations as other research.

Arts-based research needs to be explicit about what is being investigated. If the objective is not clear, then the result may still be art, but it is hard to call it research. Purpose determines which of the vast array of art strategies and processes will be selected as the research methods. The trustworthiness of any research depends on a number of factors: at the design stage, it depends on a clear alignment between the purpose of the research and the methods selected to carry out the investigation. In arts-based research, as in other research, it is vital that the researcher identifies the relationship between purpose and selected art tools, and offers recipients of the research clear means to evaluate and critique the reliability and usefulness of the answers that come from the research. This is where choices about strategies need to be clearly identified and explained, and both the aims and boundaries of the investigation need to be identified.

This does not imply need for a rigid and static design. Art is an evolving process, and the research design can well be an evolving one, as is the case with participatory action research (Bryndon-Miller, Karl, Maguire, Noffke, & Sabhlok, 2011 ), bricolage (Denzin & Lincoln, 2011 ), and a number of other research approaches. However, the strategic stages and choices of the emergent design donot need to be identified and explained. Nor does it imply that all data or findings need to be fully explicable verbally. One of the reasons for choosing arts-based methods, although not the only one, is to allow the operation of aesthetic and subconscious understandings as well as conscious and verbalized ones. That is part of the epistemological justification for choosing an arts-based approach. The ambivalences and pregnant possibilities that result may be considered valued gains from the choice of research tools, and their presence simply needs to be identified, together with explication of the boundaries of how such ambivalence and possibilities relate to the research question.

Different Kinds of Purpose

The sections of this article examine common and different areas of purpose for which arts-based research is frequently used, arranging them into three clusters and discussing some of the possibilities within each one.

The first, and perhaps largest, cluster of purposes for using arts-based research is to investigate some social (in the broadest sense of the word) issue. Such issues might, for example, include woman’s rights, school absenteeism, gang membership, cross-cultural encounters, classroom relationships, experiences of particular programs, problems in language acquisition. The methodological choices involved in this group of purposes have been repeatedly addressed (e.g., Boal, 1979 ; O’Brien & Donelan, 2008 ; Finley, 2005 ; Leavy, 2017 ; Prosser, 2011 ; Wang & Burns, 1997 ) in discussions of the use of arts-based approaches to the social sciences. The intention for using arts-based tools is to open up different, and hopefully more empowering, options for exploring the specific problem or issue, and for expressing participants’ perspectives in ways that can bypass participants’ discomfort with words or unconscious compliance with dominant discourses, or perhaps to present findings in ways that better reveal their dynamics and complexity than written reports.

Another smaller, but important, cluster of purposes is to research art-making processes or completed art works. For example, a theater director (Smithner, 2010 ) investigates the critical decisions she made in selecting and weaving together separate performance works into a theatrical collage. Or, a researcher (O’Donoghue, 2011 ) investigates how a conceptual artist working with film and video enquires into social, political, and cultural issues and how he shapes his work to provoke viewers to develop specific understandings. These kinds of studies explore the how and why of art-making, focusing on the makers’ intentions, their manipulation of the elements and affordances of their specific art field, and often engage with aesthetic as well as sociocultural dimensions of analysis. Often such studies are presented as narratives or analytic essays, and it is the subject matter of the research that constitutes the arts basis. Sometimes, such studies find expression in new artworks, as is the case in Merita Mita’s film made about the work of painter Ralph Hotere (Mita, 2001 ), which interlays critical analyses, documentation of process, interviews, and pulsating images of the artworks.

The third cluster involves research about teaching, therapy, or community development through one or more of the arts. Here arts are primarily the media of teaching and learning. For example, when drama is the teaching medium, the teacher may facilitate the class by taking a fictional role within the narrative that provokes students to plan, argue, or take action. Students may be prompted to use roles, create improvisations, explore body representations of ideas or conflicts, and explore contentious problems in safely fictitious contexts. Because it examines both work within an art form and changes in learners’ or community members’ understandings of other issues, this cluster overlaps somewhat with the two previous clusters. However, it is also building a body of its own traditions.

One strong tradition is the documentation of process. For example, Burton, Lepp, Morrison, and O’Toole ( 2015 ) report two decades of projects, including Dracon and Cooling Conflict , which have used drama strategies as well as formal theoretical teaching to address conflict and bullying. They have documented the specific strategies used, discussed their theoretical bases, and acknowledged the evidence on which they base their claims about effectiveness of the strategies in building understanding about and reducing bullying. The strategies used involved use of role and improvisation and what the authors call an enhanced form of Boal’s Forum Theatre. Other examples include the Risky Business Project (O’Brien & Donelan, 2008 ), a series of programs involving marginalized youth in dance, drama, music, theater performance, stand-up comedy, circus, puppetry, photography, visual arts, and creative writing; explorations of cross-cultural understandings through drama processes (Greenwood, 2005 ); the teaching of English as a second language in Malaysia through teacher-in-role and other drama processes (Mohd Nawi, 2014 ); working with traditional arts to break down culturally bound ways of seeing the world (Stanley, 2014 ); and the training of a theater-for-development team to use improvisational strategies to address community problems (Okagbue, 2002 ). While the strategies are arts processes and the analysis of their effect addresses aesthetic dimensions of arts as well as cognitive and behavioral ones, the reporting of these projects is primarily within the more traditional verbal and discursive forms of qualitative research.

Sometimes the reporting takes a more dramatic turn. Mullens and Wills ( 2016 ) report and critically analyze Re-storying Disability Through the Arts , an event that sought to create space for dialogue between students, researchers, artists, educators, and practitioners with different involvements or interests in disability arts. They begin their report by re-creating a scene within the workshop that captures some of the tensions evoked, and follow this with a critical commentary on three community-based art practices that engage in a strategy of re-storying disability. They present arts as means to “counter powerful cultural narratives that regulate the lives and bodies of disabled people” (Mullens & Wills, 2016 , p. 5). Barrett ( 2014 ) reports a project, informed by an a/r/tography methodology, which utilized the classroom teaching of the prescribed arts curriculum to allow students to explore evolving understandings of identity and community. Montages of photographs are a central component in the report, as is a series of images that illustrate Barrett’s reflections on her own role within the investigation.

Using Art to Research Social Issues: Collecting Data

Within a social science research project, art processes might be used to collect data, to carry out analysis and interpretation, or to present findings. Perhaps the most common use is to collect data. The process of photovoice (Wang & Burns, 1997 ), for example, gives participants cameras and asks them to capture images that they consider as significant elements of the topic being investigated. Graffiti might be used to prompt absentee students to discuss their perceptions of schooling. Body sculptures, freeze frames, and hot seating are examples of drama strategies that could be used to facilitate reflection and debate about cross-cultural encounters, feelings about hospitalization, experiences of domestic violence, or an array of other topics.

In each case the art produced becomes the basis for further discussion. This process is quite different from historical concepts of art therapy, where the therapist would give expert insight into what a patient’s artwork means; here it is the participants who give the explanation, perhaps independently or perhaps through dialogue with other participants and the researcher. The embodied experience of construction provides a platform and a challenge to talking in ways that are more thoughtful and more honest than through a conventionally structured verbal interview. The talk after making is important, but the art products are not merely precursors to verbal data, they are concrete points of references to which both participants and researchers can refer and can use to prompt further introspection or deconstruction. The process of making, moreover, is one that allows time for reflection and self-editing along the way and so may yield more truthful and complex answers than those that might be given instantly in an interview. Participants who are second language speakers or who lack the vocabulary or theoretical constructs to express complex feelings, reactions, or beliefs can be enabled to use physicalization to create a bridge between what they know or feel wordlessly inside them and an external expression that can be read by others.

The art tools available for such data gathering are as varied as the tools used by artists for making art. They might include drawing, collage, painting, sculpting materials or bodies, singing, orchestration, Lego construction, movement improvisation, creation of texts, photography, graffiti, role creation, and/or spatial positioning.

Art Processes as Tools for Analysis

Art processes can also be used to analyze and interpret data. Within qualitative paradigms, the processes of collecting and interpretation of data often overlap. This is also true of arts-based research. For instance, Greenwood ( 2012 ) reported on a group of experienced Bangladeshi educators who came to New Zealand to complete their Masters. While they were proficient in English, they found colloquial language challenging, struggling often to find words with the right social or emotional connotations at the speed of conversation. In previous discussions, they often looked to each other for translation. A teaching workshop, held as an illustration of arts-based research, addressed the research question: what have been your experiences as international students? A small repertoire of drama strategies, particularly freeze frames with techniques for deconstructing and refining initial offers, short animations, and narrative sequencing were used. These prompted participants to recall and show personal experiences, to critically view and interpret one another’s representations, and to further refine their images to clarify their intended meaning. The participants flung themselves into the challenge with alacrity and flamboyance and created images of eagerness, hope, new relationships, frustration, failed communication, anger, dejection, unexpected learning, and achievement. They also actively articulated ideas as we deconstructed the images and, through debate, co-constructed interpretations of what was being shown in the work and what it meant in terms of their experience, individual and shared, of overseas study. The interweaving of making, reflection, discussion, and further refinement is intrinsic to process drama; as a research method, it affords a means of interweaving data collection and collaborative analysis. In this case the participants also debated aspects of the validity of the process as research, raising questions about subjectivity in interpretation, about the nature of crystallization (Richardson, 1994 ), about informed consent, and about co-construction of narratives. Analysis shifted from being the task of an outsider researcher to one carried out, incrementally and experimentally, by insider participants. While the researcher held the initial power to focus the work, participants’ physical entry into the work, and their interrogation of the images that were created constituted a choice of how much they would share and contribute, and so they became active and sometimes playful partners in the research. This approach to analysis shares many features with participatory action research (Brydon-Miller et al., 2011 ), both in eliciting the agency of participants and in evolving a process of analysis that is interwoven with the gathering of data from preceding action and with the planning of further investigative cycles of action.

The work of Boal is perhaps one of the best known examples of the use of an art process, in this case theater, as a means of analysis of data. Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed ( 1979 ) details a series of strategies for deconstruction and collaborative analysis. For example, in the process he calls image theatre , participants select a local oppressive problem that they seek to resolve. They create and discuss images that exemplify experience of the problem and their idealized solutions (the data); they then analyze their images to find where power resides and how it is supported. Boal’s theater process calls for experimentation with further images that explore scenarios where power could become shared to some extent and could allow further action by those who experience the oppression. The process finishes with consequential explorations of the first step to be taken by participants as a means to work toward an equilibrium of power. Boal, as the title of his book, Theatre of the Oppressed , acknowledges, draws on the work of his Braziailan compatriot, Freire, and particularly on his concept of conscientization (Freire, 1970 , 1972 ). Boal’s process for analyzing experiences of oppression is not so much a direct action plan as a means of analyzing the mechanisms of specific conditions of oppression and the potential, however limited, for agency to resolve the oppression. The sequenced strategies of creating and discussing alternative images of oppression, power relationships, and action enable participants to deconstruct the socio-cultural reality that shapes their lives and to gain awareness of their capacity to transform it.

Art as a Means to Present Findings

There is a large and growing body of research that presents findings in arts forms. A few examples are briefly discussed.

After collecting data, through interviews and official communications from participants in a case where a district school was being threatened with closure, Owen ( 2009 ) commissioned a composer to write a score for sections of his transcripts and create a community opera. He expressed the hope that this would “transform their tiny stories into noisy histories” (p. 3). Part of the data was sung at a conference I attended. I was struck by the shift in power. What I might have regarded as dull data in a PowerPoint presentation now became a compelling articulation of experiences and aspirations and a dynamic debate between personal lives and authoritarian policy.

The AIDS Memorial Quilt project (Morris, 2011 ; Yardlie & Langley, 1995 ) is frequently described as the world’s greatest piece of community folk art. A claim can be made that, while each panel in the quilt is a product of folk art, the collation of the quilt in its enormity is a work of conceptual art that juxtaposes the fragility and isolation of individual loss with the overwhelming global impact of the AIDS epidemic. The quilt can also be seen as research that visually quantifies the death toll through AIDS in Western world communities and that qualitatively investigates the life stories and values of those who died through the perceptions of those who loved them.

A number of museums throughout the world present visual and kinaesthetic accounts of social and historical research. Well-known examples are the Migration Museum in Melbourne, the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg, and the Documentation Center for the History of National Socialism in Munich. A less securely established exhibition is that of images of the Australian Aboriginal Stolen Generation that was collected by the Dumbartung Aboriginal Corporation to educate community and schoolchildren, “but only had the funding to showcase the exhibit for one night” (Diss, 2017 ). These and many other exhibitions create visual and experiential environments where the data of history can be not only seen and read but also felt.

In a similar way to how these exhibitions use actual archival photographs, theater may use the exact words of interviews to re-tell real stories. In making Verbatim , Brandt and Harcourt ( 1994 ) collated the words from 30 interviews with convicted murderers, their families, and the families of murder victims. “We went into the prisons to find out what the story was that we were going to tell, and that was the story that emerged from the material we collected,” Harcourt explained (White, 2013 ). “Not only the content, but also the form emerged from that context. We didn’t go in having decided we were going to make a solo show. Form emerged from the experience of the prison system.”

A frequently used form is that of ethnodrama (Mienczakowski, 1995 ; Saldaña, 2008 ). Ethnodrama presents data in a theatrical form: using stage, role, and sometimes lighting and music. Saldaña ( 2008 ) explains that ethnodrama maintains “close allegiance to the lived experiences of real people while presenting their voices through an artistic medium” (p. 3) and argues that the goals are not only aesthetic, they also possess emancipatory potential for motivating social change within participants and audiences.

Sometimes the ethnographic material is further manipulated in the presentation process. Conrad ( 2012 ) describes her research into the Native program at the Alberta youth corrections center in play form as “an ethnographic re-presentation of the research—a creative expression of the research findings” (p. xii). Her play jumps through time, creating fragments of action, and is interspersed by video scenes that provide alternative endings that could result from choices made by the characters. Conrad explains her choice of medium: “Performance has the potential to reach audiences in ways beyond intellectual understanding, through engaging other ways of knowing that are empathetic, emotional, experiential, and embodied, with the potential for radically re-envisioning social relations” (p. xiii).

Belliveau ( 2015 ) created a performative research about his work in teaching Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing in an elementary school. He interwove excerpts of students’ performances from the Shakespearean text with excerpts of their discussions about the issues of power, pride, love, and other themes in a new performance work that illustrated as well as explained primary students’ response to Shakespeare. He later presented a keynote at the IDEA (International Drama in Education Association) conference in Paris where he performed his discussion of this and other work with young students. Similarly, Lutton’s ( 2016 ) doctoral research explored the work and challenges of selected international drama educators using imagination and role play. In her final performance of her research, she took the role of an archivist’s assistant at a fictitious Museum of Educational Drama and Applied Theatre to provide “an opportunity for drama practitioners to use their skills and knowledge of drama pedagogy to tell their own stories” (Lutton, p. 36). She states that her choice of research tool embraces theatricality, enabling the embodiment of participants’ stories, the incorporation of critical reflection and of aesthetic knowledge (p. 36).

The Cheviot, the Stag, and the Black Black Oil , developed by John McGrath and the 7:84 Theatre Company, recounts the history of economic exploitation of the Scottish people, from the evictions that followed the clearances for the farming of Cheviot sheep, through the development of Highland stag hunts, to the capitalist domination of resources in the 1970s oil boom. Within a traditional ceilidh form it tells stories, presents arguments, and uses caricature, satire, and parody. The play is the result of research and of critical analysis of movements of power and economic interests. It is also a very effective instrument of political persuasion: McGrath gives the dispossessed crofters a language that tugs at our empathy whereas that of the landlords provokes our antagonism. Is this polemics or simple historic truth? Does the dramatic impact of the play unreasonably capture our intellects? And if the facts that are presented are validated by other accounts of history does it matter if it does? What is, what should be, what can be the relationship between research and the evocation, even manipulation of emotions?

Emotion—and Its Power

In as much as arts offer different ways of knowing the world, their use at various stages of research has the power to influence both what we come to know and how we know it. Art tools, strategically used, allow access to emotions and visceral responses as well as to conscious ideas. That makes them powerful for eliciting information. It also makes them powerful in influencing audiences.

The photos of the brutality of the police and of the steadfastness of the activists in the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg are examples of powerfully influencing as well as informing data. As well as the events that are recorded, the faces and the bodies speak through the photos. Their exhibition in blown-up size at eye level together with film footage and artifacts create a compellingly powerful response in viewers. Like many others, I came out of the museum emotionally drained and confirmed, even strengthened, in my ideological beliefs. The power of the exhibition had first sharpened and then consolidated my understandings. Was this because of the power of the facts presented in the exhibition, or was it because of the power of their presentation ? Or was it both? When the issue presented is one like apartheid, I am not afraid of having my awareness influenced in multiple ways: I believe I already have an evidence-informed position on the subject. I also applaud the power of the exhibition to inform and convince those who might not yet have reached a position. But what if the issue was a different one? Perhaps one which I was more uncertain about? Might it then seem that the emotional power of the exhibition gave undue weight to the evidence?

The issue here is not a simple one. The presentation is not only the reporting of findings: it is also art. The researcher (in the artist) stays true to the data; the artist (in the researcher) arranges data for effect and affect. Conrad explicitly states her hope that her choice of presentation mode will add impact to her research findings: she wants the presentation of her research about youth in detention centers to engender more empathetic understandings of their experiences and lead, in turn, to more constructive attitudes toward their needs. By putting their words to music, Owen wants his audience to listen more attentively to opinions of the stakeholders in the schools threatened with closure. McGrath wants his audience to side with those dispossessed by the combined power of capital and law. The Dumbartung Aboriginal Corporation plans to emotionally move as well as to inform its community. In writing Broadwood , I meticulously presented both sides of the dispute, I deliberately placed music and metaphor at the service of Maori language, and I deliberately used the spatial suggestiveness of the stage to evoke possibilities in the ending. The boy is alone in the library while his classmates are on the marae listening to an elder explain the history of their meetinghouse. The elder gives them an ancient whalebone weapon to hold, the students pass it among themselves, then hold it out across space to the boy. The boy stands, takes half a cautious step toward them and then stops; the lights go down. I intended the audience to complete the action in their subconscious.

In each of these cases, the art form of the presentation allows the artist/researcher to manipulate affect as well as critical cognition. To my mind, this is not simply another iteration of the argument between subjectivity and objectivity in research. Many contemporary approaches to research openly recognize that knowledge is mediated by context, experience, and social and historical discourses as well as by individuals’ personal interpretation (Denzin & Lincoln, 2011 ; Ellis, 2004 ). It is shaped by what is left out as well as by what is included. The practice of careful and scrupulous reflexivity is a way of acknowledging and bounding the subjectivity of the researcher (Altheide & Johnson, 2011 ; Ellingson, 2011 ). The researcher-who-is-artist draws on a subconscious as well as a conscious sense of how things fit together, and constructs meaning subconsciously as well as consciously, manipulating affect and effect in the process. Perhaps all researchers do so to some extent. For instance, the deliberately invisible authors of much quantitative research, who allow the passive voice to carry much of the reporting, who triangulate and define limitation, create an effect of fair-minded and dependable authority. The affect is not necessarily misleading, and it is something that readers of research have learned to recognize. However, the researcher-who-is-artist can draw on the rich repertoire of an art field that already operates in the domain of the aesthetic as well as of the critically cognitive, in spaces that are liminal as well those that are defined. It is arguable that readers of research still need to recognize and navigate through those spaces. Arguably, the challenge exists not only in the field of research: it is present in all the media that surrounds our daily lives.

A/r/tography and Examination of Places Between

The challenge of exploring liminal spaces of intention, process, explanation, effect, and affect is seriously taken up by the emergent discipline of a/r/tography . The backslashes in the term speak of fracture; they also denote the combined authorial roles of artist, researcher, and teacher. Springgay, Irwin, and Kind ( 2005 ) explain that a/r/tography is deliberately introspective and does not seek conclusions: rather it plays with connections between art and text and seeks to capture the embodied experience of exploring self and the world. Irwin et al. ( 2006 ) state: “Together, the arts and education complement, resist, and echo one another through rhizomatic relations of living inquiry” (p. 70). A/r/tography is explicitly positioned as a practice-based and living inquiry: it explores but resists attempting to define the spaces between artist, teacher, and researcher, and so implicitly rejects boundaries between these roles. It conceptualizes inquiry as a continuing experiential process of encounter between ideas, art media, context, meaning, and evolving representations. At the same time as it blurs distinctions, it teases out interrelationships: it offers art inquiry as something that is purposeful but unfixed, and art knowing as something that is personally and socially useful, but at best only partially and temporarily describable, never definable. This is one reason why its proponents explain it as a substantively different and new methodology outside the existing frameworks of qualitative research.

A/r/tography emerged out of the field of art education, with the explicit aim to extend the opportunities afforded by education in the arts, and to develop means to record and report the complex facets of learning and teaching in the arts. Consequently its language may be experienced, by readers who are outside the discipline, as highly abstract, deliberately ambiguous, and even esoteric: it seems to speak, as many research disciplines do, primarily to others in its own field. However, its broad principles have been picked up, and perhaps adapted, by practitioners who seek to explore the processes of their students’ learning through the arts and the evolving understandings they develop. For instance, Barrett and Greenwood ( 2013 ) report exploration of the epistemological third space through which place-conscious education and visual arts pedagogy can be interwoven and through which students, many of whom do not aspire to become artists, can use art-making to re-imagine and re-mark their understandings of their physical and social context and of their relationship with community. The value of this kind of research is posed in terms of the insights it affords rather than its capacity for presenting authoritative conclusions.

A Conference Debate, and the Politics of Research

Whether the provision of insights is enough to make art-making into research is a question that is frequently and sometimes fiercely contested. One such debate took place at a European conference I recently attended. It occurred in an arts-based research stream, and it began with the presentation of two films. The films were relatively short, and a discussion followed and became increasingly heated. Personally, I liked the films. The first reported a dance process that became an undergraduate teaching text. The second, in layers of imagery and fragments of dialogue, explored the practice of two artists. However, I was not sure what the added value was in calling either research. I saw art responding to art, and that seemed valuable and interesting enough. Why was the construct of research being privileged? The filmmakers defended the claim to research on the grounds that there was inquiry, on the grounds that art spoke in languages that were best discussed through art, and on the grounds that research was privileged in their institutions. Then a respected professor of fine arts put forward more direct criticism. Research, he argued, needed to make explicit the decisions that were made in identifying and reporting findings so that these would be accessible for peer review. Neither film, he said, did so. Defenses from the audience were heated. Then another senior art educator argued that art itself could not just be self-referential: it had to open a space for others to enter. The debate continued in corridors long after the session ended.

That the criticisms were unrelenting seemed an indication of how much was at stake. The space held by arts-based research within the European academic congregation is still somewhat fragile. The arts-based network was formed because of advocates’ passionate belief in the extended possibilities that arts-based methods offer, and this year again it expressed its eagerness to receive contributions in film and other art media as well as PowerPoint and verbal presentations. However, the network also saw itself as a custodian of rigor.

The participants in the session re-performed an argument that lingers at the edges of arts-based research. At the far ends of the spectrum, art and research are readily recognizable, and when art is borrowed as a tool in research, the epistemological and methodological assumptions are explicable. But the ground is more slippery when art and research intersect more deeply. When is the inquiry embedded within art, and when does it become research? Is it useful to attempt demarcations? What is lost from art or from research if demarcations are not attempted? The questions, as well as possible answers, are, as Eisner suggested, political as well as philosophical and methodological.

The doing of research and its publication have become big academic business. Universities around the world are required to report their academics’ research outputs to gain funding. My university, for example, is subject to a six-yearly round of assessment of research performance, based primarily on published and on funded research outputs. Each academic’s outputs are categorized and ranked, and the university itself is ranked and funded, in comparison with the other universities in the country. There is pressure on each academic to maximize research publications, even at the cost, it often seems, of other important academic activities, such as teaching. The competitive means of ranking also increases contestations about what is real research, serving both as a stimulus for positioning differing forms of inquiry as research and as a guarded gateway that permits some entries and denies others. Politicians and policymakers, in their turn, favor and fund research that can provide them with quotable numbers or clear-cut conclusions. Arts-based research still battles for a place within this politico-academic ground, although there appears to be growing acceptance of the use of art tools as means to elicit data.

Site for Possibilities—and Questions

The politics of research do matter, but for researchers who are committed to doing useful research, there are other factors to consider when choosing research approaches. These include the potentialities of the tools, the matter that is to be investigated, and the skills and practice preferences of the researcher.

The emergence and development of processes of arts-based research are grounded in belief that there are many ways of knowing oneself and the world, and these include emotions and intuitive perceptions as well as intellectual cognition. The epistemology of arts-based research is based on understandings that color, space, sound, movement, facial expression, vocal tone, and metaphor are as important in expressing and understanding knowledge as the lexical meanings of words. It is based on understandings that symbols, signs, and patterns are powerful means of communication, and that they are culturally and contextually shaped and interpreted. Arts-based research processes tolerate, even sometimes celebrate, ambiguity and ambivalence. They may also afford license to manipulate emotions to evoke empathy or direct social action.

The use of arts-based processes for eliciting participants’ responses considerably increases researchers’ repertoire for engaging participants and for providing them with means of expression that allow them to access feelings and perceptions that they might not initially be able to put into words as well as giving them time and strategies for considering their responses. The use of arts-based processes for analysis and representation allow opportunities for multidimensional, sensory, and often communal explorations of the meaning of what has been researched. It also presents new challenges to receivers of research who need to navigate their way not only through the overt ambiguities and subjective expression, but also through the invisible layers of affect that are embedded in art processes.

The challenges signal continuing areas of discussion, and perhaps work, for both arts-based researchers and for the wider research community. Does the use of art in representation of research findings move beyond the scope of critical peer review? Or do we rather need to develop new languages and strategies for such review? Do we need critical and recursive debate about when art becomes research and when it does not? Are the ambiguities and cognitive persuasions that are inherent in arts-based representations simply other, and useful, epistemological stances? Does the concept of research lose its meaning if it is stretched too far? Does art, which already has a useful role in interpreting and even shaping society, need to carve out its position as research? Does the entry of arts-based research into the arena of research call for revisions to the way we consider ethics? How do the procedures of institutional ethics committees need to be adapted to accommodate the engagement of the human body as well as the emergent design and ambiguities of the arts-based research processes? What are the more complex responsibilities of arts-based researchers toward their participants, particularly in terms of cultural protocols, reciprocity of gains, and the manipulation of emotions and cognition through visually or dramatically powerful presentations?

The already existing and expanding contribution of arts-based researchers argues vigorously for the place of arts processes in our congregations of research discussion and production. Quite simply, the arts address aspects of being human that are not sufficiently addressed by other methodologies. They are needed in our repertoire of tools for understanding people and the world. However, like other research approaches, they bring new challenges that need to be recognized and debated.

Further Reading

• Belliveau, G. (2015). Research-based theatre and a/r/tography: Exploring arts-based educational research methodologies . p-e-r-f-o-r-m-a-n-c-e , 2 (1–2).
• Bharucha, R. (1993). Theatre and the world: Performance and the politics of culture . London, U.K.: Routledge.
• Boal, A. (1979). Theatre of the oppressed . London, U.K.: Pluto Press.
• Brandt, W. S. , & Harcourt, M. (1994). Verbatim . Wellington: Victoria University Press.
• Conrad, D. (2012). Athabasca’s going unmanned . Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense.
• Eisner, E. (2002). The arts and the creation of mind . New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
• Greenwood, J. (2012). Arts-based research: Weaving magic and meaning . International Journal of Education & the Arts 13 (Interlude 1).
• Greenwood, J. (2016). The limits of language: A case study of an arts-based research exploration . New Zealand Journal of Research in Performing Arts and Education: Nga Mahi a Rehua , 6 , 88–100.
• Irwin, R. (2013). Becoming/tography. Studies in Art Education , 54 (1), 198–215.
• Leavy, P. (Ed.). (2017). Handbook of arts-based research . New York, NY: Guilford Press.
• Margolis, E. , & Pauwels, L. (Eds.). (2011). The SAGE handbook of visual research methods . Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
• O’Brien, A. , & Donelan, K. (2008). Creative interventions for marginalised youth: The Risky Business project . Monograph 6. City East, Queensland: Drama Australia.
• Saldaña, J. (2008). Ethnodrama and ethnotheatre. In J. Knowles & A. Cole (Eds.), Handbook of arts in qualitative research (pp. 195–207). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
• Wang, C. , & Burns, M. (1997). Photovoice: Concept, methodology, and use for participatory needs assessment. Health Education & Behavior , 24 (3), 369–387.
• Altheide, D. , & Johnson, J. (2011). Reflections on interpretive adequacy in qualitative research. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of qualitative research (4th ed., pp. 581–594). London, U.K.: SAGE.
• Bagley, C. , & Cancienne, M. (Eds.). (2002). Dancing the data . New York, NY: Peter Lang.
• Barrett T. , & Greenwood, J. (2013). Betwixt sights and sites: A third space for understandings and engagement with visual arts education. International Journal of Arts Education , 7 (3), 57–66.
• Barrett, T.-A. (2014). Re-marking places: An a/r/tography project exploring students’ and teachers’ senses of self, place, and community . (Doctoral thesis). University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand.
• Brecht, B. (1960). The Caucasian chalk circle . London, U.K.: Methuen.
• Bruner, G. (1990). Acts of meaning . Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
• Brydon-Miller, M. , Karl, M. , Maguire, P. , Noffke, S. , & Sabhlok, A. (2011). Jazz and the banyan tree: Roots and riffs on participatory action research. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of qualitative research (4th ed., pp. 387–400). London, U.K.: SAGE.
• Burton, B. , Lepp, M. , Morrison, M. , & O’Toole, J. (2015). Acting to manage conflict and bullying through evidence-based strategies . London, U.K.: Springer.
• Cremin, H. , Mason, C. , & Busher, H. (2011). Problematising pupil voice using visual methods: Findings from a study of engaged and disaffected pupils in an urban secondary school. British Education Research Journal , 33 (4), 585–603.
• Denzin, N. , & Lincoln, Y. (Eds.). (2011). The SAGE handbook of qualitative research (4th ed.). London, U.K.: SAGE.
• Diss, K. (2017). Stolen Generation picture collection in WA looking for new home . ABC News.
• Eisner, E. (1998). The enlightened eye: Qualitative inquiry and the enhancement of educational practice . Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill.
• Ellingson, L. (2011). Analysis and representation across the curriculum. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of qualitative research (4th ed., pp. 595–610). London, U.K.: SAGE.
• Ellis, C. (2004). The ethnographic I: A methodological novel about autoethnography . Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira.
• Finley, S. (2005). Arts-based inquiry: Performing revolutionary pedagogy. In N. K. Denzin & Y. Lincoln (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of qualitative research (3rd ed., pp. 681–694). London, U.K.: SAGE.
• Freire, P. (1970). Cultural action for freedom . Cambridge, MA: Harvard Educational Review.
• Freire, P. (1972). Pedagogy of the oppressed ( M. B. Ramos , Trans.). Middlesex, U.K.: Penguin Education.
• Gallagher, K. (2014). Why theatre matters: Urban youth, engagement and a pedagogy of the real . Toronto, ON: University of Toronto Press.
• Gardiner, R. (2015). Troubling method. In Gender, authenticity, and leadership (pp. 108–129). London, U.K.: Palgrave Macmillan.
• Gauntlett, D. (2007). Creative explorations: New approaches to identities and audiences . New York, NY: Routledge.
• Gray, R. , & Sinding, C. (2002). Standing ovation: Performing social science research about cancer . Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press.
• Greenwood, J. (1995). Broadwood: Na wai te reo? Performance. Northland Youth Theatre. Whangarei, New Zealand.
• Greenwood, J. (2005). Journeying into the third space: A study of how theatre can be used to interpret the space between cultures. Youth Theatre Journal , 19 , 1–16.
• Greenwood J. (2011). Aesthetic learning and learning through the aesthetic. In S. Schonmann (Ed.), Key concepts in theatre/drama education (pp. 47–52). Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense.
• Guba, E. (1996). What happened to me on the road to Damascus. In L. Heshuius & K. Ballard (Eds.), From positivism to interpretivism and beyond: Tales of transformation in educational and social research (pp. 43–49). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
• Halperin, D. (2003). The normalization of queer theory. Journal of Homosexuality , 45 (2–4), 339–343.
• Hamera, J. (2011). Performance ethnography. In N. K. Denzin & Y. Lincoln (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of qualitative research (4th ed., pp. 317–329). London, U.K.: SAGE.
• Irwin, R. (2013). Becoming a/r/tography. Studies in Art Education , 54 (1), 198–215.
• Irwin, R. , Beer, R. , Springgay, S. , Grauer, K. , Xiong, G. , & Bickel, B. (2006). The rhizomatic relations of a/r/tography . Studies in Art Education , 48 (1), 70–88.
• Lutton, J. (2016). In the realms of fantasy: Finding new ways to tell our stories . New Zealand Journal of Research in Performing Arts and Education: Nga Mahi a Rehua , 6 , 27–37.
• Mienczakowski, J. (1995). The theater of ethnography: The reconstruction of ethnography into theater with emancipatory potential. Qualitative Inquiry , 1 (3), 360–375.
• Mita, M. (2001). Hotere . Documentary film. Christchurch, New Zealand: Paradise Films.
• Mohd Nawi, A. (2014). Applied drama in English language learning (Doctoral thesis). University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand.
• Morris, C. (Ed).(2011). Remembering the AIDS quilt . East Lansing: Michigan State University Press.
• Mullens, M. , & Wills, R. (2016). Re-storying disability through the arts: Providing counterpoint to mainstream narratives. New Zealand Journal of Research in Performing Arts and Education: Nga Mahi a Rehua , 6 , 5–16.
• Neilson, A. (2008). Disrupting privilege, identity, and meaning: A reflexive dance of environmental education . Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense.
• O’Donoghue, D. (2011). Doing and disseminating visual research: Visual arts-based approaches. In E. Margolis & L. Pauwels (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of visual research methods (pp. 638–650). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
• Okagbue, O. (2002). A drama of their lives: Theatre‐for‐development in Africa, Contemporary Theatre Review , 12 (1–2), 79–92.
• Owen, N. (2009). Closing schools for the future . Paper presented at the International Conference on Educational Research for Development, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, May 13–15.
• Picasso, P. (1937). Guernica . Painting. Museo Reina Sofia, Madrid, Spain.
• Preissle, J. (2011). Qualitative futures: Where we might go from where we’ve been. In N. K. Denzin & Y. Lincoln (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of qualitative research (4th ed., pp. 685–698). London, U.K.: SAGE.
• Prosser, J. (2011). Visual methodology: Towards a more seeing research. In N. K. Denzin & Y. Lincoln (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of qualitative research (4th ed., pp. 479–495). London, U.K.: SAGE.
• Richardson, L. (1994). Writing, a method of inquiry. In N. K. Denzin & Y. Lincoln (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of qualitative research (3rd ed., pp. 516–529). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE
• Riessman, C. (2008). Narrative methods for the human sciences . Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
• Rittel, H. , & Webber, M. (1973). Dilemmas in a general theory of planning. Policy Sciences , 4 , 155–159.
• Saldaña, J. (2008). Ethnodrama and ethnotheatre. In J. Knowles & A. Cole (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of arts in qualitative research (pp. 195–207). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
• Smith, L. (2014). Social justice, transformation, and indigenous methodologies. In R. E. Rinehart , K. Barbour , & C. Pope (Eds.), Ethnographic worldviews: Transformations and social justice (pp. 15–20). London, U.K.: Springer.
• Smithner, N. (2010). The women’s project: A director’s perspective on creating a performance collage. ArtsPraxis , 2 , 12–21.
• Springgay, S. , Irwin, R. , & Kind, S. (2005). A/r/tography as living inquiry through art and text. Qualitative Inquiry , 11 (6), 897–912.
• St. Pierre, E. (2004). Refusing alternative: A science of contestation. Qualitative Inquiry , 10 (1), 130–139.
• Stanley, F. (2014). Re-framing traditional arts: Creative process and culturally responsive learning (Doctoral thesis). University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand.
• Sullivan, G. (2010). Art practice as research: Inquiry in visual arts (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks CA: SAGE.
• Wang, C. , & Burns, M. (1997). Photovoice: Concept, methodology, and use for participatory needs assessment. Health, Education, & Behaviour , 24 (3), 369–387.
• White, D. (2013). Inside looking out: Miranda Harcourt on “Verbatim” and “Portraits” . The Pantograph Punch .
• Yardlie, A. , & Langley, K. (1995). Unfolding: The story of the Australian and New Zealand AIDS quilt projects . Carlton: McPhee Gribble.

Related Articles

• Music Education Research
• Creative Writers as Arts Educators
• A/r/tography
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Artists and Artworks: A Step-by-Step Research Guide: Home

• About TCNJ Library
• At the Museum
• Reference Shelf
• Related Images
• Write Your Paper
• Cite Your Sources

Researching and writing about artists and artworks in 7 steps

Step 1: at the museum.

• Your artwork is your primary source .  In-person viewing, even touching the work if allowed, will give you an intimate understanding of its formal qualities (e.g., color, line, mass, use of positive and negative space). We experience artworks and re-productions (e.g., digital images in ARTstor) differently. That is, no way of understanding a work can substitute for experiencing it with your own senses.
• Information gathered at the museum will make the rest of your research easier.

Step 2: Reference Shelf

• Consult scholarly encyclopedias and other reference works to obtain background information about your artist, period or movement; connect to relevant secondary sources (that you can cite); and/or define terms (e.g., chiaroscuro).
• Museum websites are also excellent sources of background information.

Step 3: Find Books

• Use the search box ("Library Search") on the Gitenstein Library homepage to find books on your topic.
• Library Search connects researchers with the library's physical holdings, e-books, online articles, and open access resources.

Step 4: Find Articles

• Databases such as Art Abstracts provide access to scholarly journal articles.
• Search the databases by keywords, artist, movement, period, style, and other search terms. Learn how to use the subject headings (if available) for targeted, relevant search results.

Step 5: Find Related Images

• Looking at and writing about related objects by your artist, of the same style/period, or containing similar subject matter can strengthen your argument.

Step 6: Writing Help

• You might be required to incorporate formal analysis into your writing. Ask if in doubt.
• Writing about art requires a solid thesis statement in which you put forward a cogent argument based on evidence and often in "conversation" with what art historians have already written about your object, artist, movement, or style/period.

Step 7: Cite Your Sources

• Cite all quotes and paraphrased references used in the body of the paper. Plagiarism is a grave mistake in academic writing.

Online Learning Resource

Check out the Ultimate Guide to Virtual Museum Resources, E-Learning, and Online Collections .

Exhibition Catalogs

Click here to see a list of exhibition catalogs from the TCNJ Art Gallery that date from 2001.

Find hundreds of digitized catalogs from exhibitions that have taken place at The Met since the 1870s.

Acknowledgement

This libguide is adapted from an original authored by Jill Luedke, Art Librarian, Temple University Libraries. I modified it with Jill's permission, adding and deleting sources and text for use by TCNJ faculty and students.

Guide Author

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How to research an artwork: identification.

• Research Process

Identification

• Authentication
• Art Theft and Forgeries
• Finding Library Resources

Differentiating a painting from a print may seem basic, but it can be tricky, particularly if the piece seems to have antique value.  Don’t be fooled by an artwork’s age.  Even if it’s been in the family since the early 20th century, it may still be an offset print – a photomechanical reproduction of an original painting – since the first offset printing press was invented in 1905.

Online Resources

History Wired:  Rubel Offset Lithographic Press A brief history and explanation of offset printing from the Smithsonian Institute

Identifying an offset print requires that you look very closely at your artwork – in some cases, you may need a magnifying glass, etc.  One approach is to examine any disparity between the perceived versus the actual texture of the piece.  If the “painting” appears to have a heavy impasto, thick brushstrokes, etc., but the surface is actually smooth (this examination may require you to remove the artwork from its frame), it’s most likely a photomechanical reproduction.  If you can see a dot pattern, particularly in the darker areas of the piece, that’s an indication that the art is an offset print.  This dot pattern looks like a more refined version of the technique used in comic book illustrations and newspaper photos.

Museum of Modern Art: What is a Print? An animated tutorial to printing techniques

Washington Printmakers Gallery: Resources on Printmaking Articles and other resources about print making.

International Fine Prints Dealers Association: Print Basics  & Appraising Prints  

Dutch University Institute for Art History Florence: Watermark Database If a watermark appears on the print’s paper, this database can be used to place the paper both chronologically and geographically.

Bernstein Consortium: The Memory of Paper Database A portal with links to 21 watermark databases and more than 205,000 watermarks. 

Tate Gallery: Glossary This page is a dictionary not only of artistic media, but also artistic movements, etc.

Identifying the artist of an unsigned work can be difficult, but there are often clues available to look for.  For example, any stamps on the back of the canvas or the stretcher bars can potentially identify the supplier of those materials.  This, in turn, can identify your painting’s country of origin, as well as place it in a rough time period.  Additionally, some artists used only certain suppliers, and this information can be used by an expert to authenticate (or discredit) your painting as the work of a particular artist.

National Portrait Gallery: Artists’ Suppliers A listing of artists’ suppliers in England from 1650-1939

Gallery, auction and exhibition labels on the backs of paintings can also yield new directions for research.  Knowing where a piece was exhibited or auctioned can be useful, particularly if a catalog for that exhibit or auction exists.  Sometimes even shipping labels still affixed to a painting hint at the origin of a painting, or perhaps its prior owners.

Print Resources

Identifying the artist of a painting is a key step in assessing the value and significance of an artwork.  Whereas many prints are plate signed, even if they aren’t pencil signed, many paintings are either unsigned or signed indistinctly.  However, there are reference tools to help decipher faint or illegible signatures.

Davenport’s Art Reference & Price Guide.  Ventura, Calif.: Davenport's Art Reference.  Current year shelved in Doe Reference Room N8670.D38 This annual publication lists every known artist with auction records.  Although it can be a tedious task, if you can decipher a few letters in the signature, this book is likely to help you come up with a full name.  

The Art Signature File, by G.B. David.  Atlanta, Ga.: Antoine Versailles Publishing, 1998.  Art History/Classics Library Room 308J - Reference N45.D38 1998   This book provides an index of images of noted artists’ signatures.

Catalogues of Sales: 1734-1945. Sotheby & Co. 1734-1945. Part I (Reels 1-71; 1734-1850); Part II (Reels 1-148; 1851-1900); Part III (Reels 1-155; 1901-1945).  News/Micro, MICROFILM 16663.Z (Shelved at NRLF) Covering catalogues from the British Museum collection, each catalogue is preceded by a contents card detailing the names of the owners, date of sale, number of pages, lots, illustrations, location of the copy filmed, and the contents of the sale. To facilitate use, the entries in the guides for each part are arranged in the same chronological order as the catalogues in the microfilm collection.  Contents are categorized under the following headings: Autographed Letters, Art (Objects), Art (Pictorial), Books, Coins and Medals, Mss. (Western), Mss. (Oriental), and Other. Approximately 10,000 catalogs on microfilm.

Additionally, if you can identify the time period (often a date is legible, even if the signature is not) and genre of your artwork, researching that genre and its noted artists may yield potential names.  

Identifying a painting’s medium can also help determine its authenticity, in the case of artists who work only in certain media.

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Art as Research: Opportunities and Challenges

2014, Art Therapy

Related Papers

Nick Pollard

Nick Pollard , Alex McClimens , Deborah Harrop , David Peplow

Executive Summary The literature search that informed our review initially yielded 12,122 papers of potential interest, derived from seven databases. After applying a series of filters we arrived at 92 papers on which we base our findings, thoughts and recommendations for future work. Our methodological approach was informed by the systematic review guidance published by the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination (2009), and the Arts Council definition of ‘arts activities’. Hence we considered papers reporting therapeutic arts interventions conducted on 'patients' which included some measurement of a health state. After excluding any research on people less than age 18, we selected studies where participants had active (as opposed to passive) engagement with the therapy/treatment/medium. Only study types which were quantitative were included in this review. Rather than simply criticise the execution of the research we applied our own expertise to the process. It was immediately evident that definitions and categories would pose some difficulties as there is much variety in the language used to describe the arts, therapies and treatment. This is a problem of indexing, causing the literature search and initial screening to be a laborious process. The most commonly reported art activities were: writing, music, art and dance. The most numerous health condition studied was mental health followed by cognitive function, stress and cancer. Most research was carried out in the US and the UK. As a discipline, psychology featured regularly. When arts therapists were involved in the research the descriptions and possible effects of the art medium tended to be better elucidated. Future research into the use of art therapy in healthcare will benefit from a synthesis of approaches that can retain the more robust aspects of, for example, RCTs with the insights that can be derived from qualitative methods. Key words: art actvity, art therapy, review, evidence-based treatment, healthcare, public health, therapeutic

International Advances in Art Therapy Research & Practice

In this chapter I describe the principles of an art-based research design based on the growing literature and research practices in Britain and North America. I introduce the principles of art-based research through a research project that places art made by the art therapist in response to clinical work as the subject of inquiry. I use a current research process as a working example of art-based research methods in practice. The art-making processes described occur within a practitioner- research framework and an art-based paradigm. The art-based research described in this chapter derives from my art therapy practice and visual arts response to the clinical work. The research process gathers therapist’s clinical artworks, extends the scope to include artworks from a cohort of art therapists, and methodically studies the resulting visual imagery.

Journal of Creativity in Mental Health

Andy Gilroy

The Arts in Psychotherapy

Einat Metzl

Dorit Netzer

Margaret Hills de Zárate

Ceri McKervill

Mary Ellen Hluska

This study looked at the role of art making in art therapy, specifically how art therapists value, understand, use, and make decisions regarding art in personal practice and in professional practice. The art-making aspect of art therapy is understudied considering it is art that differentiates art therapists from other helping professions that use art in practice. Additionally, the study sought to illuminate how art making informs both the artist and art therapist identities of professional clinicians. A mixed-methods design was employed to gather data based on inductive and deductive study methods. Constructivist philosophy provided a process for generating ideas and understanding art making as a structural component in art therapy. One hundred and twenty two female and five male art therapists (4.5% of the membership of AATA) took an online survey. Participants were professional art therapists from the United States and around the world. Five participants volunteered to be part of...

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Good Examples of Artist Research Pages

If you are wondering where you can find good examples of artist research pages, you’ve come to the right place.  It is great to have a collection of pages to show your students to inspire them and now you can just send them the link to this blog post.  Thanks to all the talented art teachers for their permission to use these images.

An artists research page should include the artist’s name, images of the artists work, annotation about the artist and also annotation which is the student’s personal response to the work.  Why did they choose it? How does it relate to the theme/idea they are investigating? What does the work inspire them to do next? Many successful artist research pages are also embellished so the whole page is a reflection of the artist’s work.

Every aspect of the research page below reflects the artist Ian Murphy.  It shows the artists name and includes annotation and images.  The student has created a drawing in the bottom left-hand corner inspired by the artists work. It appears that the background has had anaglypta wallpaper printed onto the page which creates a pattern that reflects the wrought iron and stone carving found in Ian Murphy’s drawings. The white and grey paint reflects the stonework of Murphy’s work.

Below, a combination of the artist work and the students work create a striking, colourful page.  Keywords describe the artists work.  The annotation is a combination of information about the artist and the student’s response to the work.  I like the ‘What Next!’ in the cup.  It shows the student is thinking ahead.

I wanted to include the research page below as the annotation is in-depth, insightful and full of subject-specific language.  Excellent to show your students what good annotation looks like.

The simple black and white presentation with torn edges below, reflects the artists work.  There’s nothing like a bit of white pen on black paper to create an artistic-looking page.  Over 50% of the annotation is the student’s response to the work.  I think this is a good ratio to have in mind.  The annotation is intelligent and includes the students own ideas.  The student is interpreting the work.

The Roy Thomas artist research page below, is neatly presented with clear images and annotation.  Together with the artist analysis , it creates a striking double-page spread. An artist analysis is where the student has recreated an artwork or section of an artwork so that they go through the process the artist has been through.  It is a controversial issue here in the UK with a fashion for moving away from doing this.  Many art teachers still believe there is a lot to learn by going through this process.  Another approach is for the student to create an artwork ‘in the style of’ the artists work from their own photographs.

The student includes detailed annotation about the process they have been through.

Julia Lillard creates surreal digital and paper collage.  In the research page below, the student Eva has captured the sepia tones often found in the artist work by lightly coffee staining the background and using brown gummed tape at the corners of artworks like old fashioned picture corners.  The student has included annotation and their own pieces of vintage collage.  The detailed annotation includes information about the artist, quotes from the artist, their personal opinion, and what they plan to do next.

The Claerwen James research page below has a successful diagonal layout on the left-hand page.  Students often want to fill 100% of the page but this space works well.  The students has also completed a skilful artist analysis.

I wanted to include the research page below, created at Kingsway Park High School , as it has such a strong composition. I love the way the text mirrors the shape of the artwork by artist Lorraine Roy . The student, Fizza I, has cut away some of the artwork and recreated it themselves to analyse the work.

For the research page below, the student first painted with acrylic on black paper.  They picked up on the reflected light that can be found in Liam Spencer’s work and used daubs of paint to create impressionistic car and street lights.  This students theme was ‘reflected light’ so they carefully chose Spencer’s work that shows this.  Their annotation is detailed, intelligent and uses subject-specific language.

The student who created the page below was investigating the theme of body issues and the size zero debate.  She researched the work of artist Adele Carney.  The use of dressmakers patterns in the background and tape measures was appropriate to the artist and theme.

I use the teaching resource below to support my students when they create artist research pages, especially when it’s the first time they do this.

If you have enjoyed this blog post about artist research pages, why not subscribe by clicking on the image below.  If you are an art teacher you will also be able to access 3 of my free resources every month too.

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The Arty Teacher

Sarah Crowther is The Arty Teacher. She is a high school art teacher in the North West of England. She strives to share her enthusiasm for art by providing art teachers around the globe with high-quality resources and by sharing her expertise through this blog.

2 responses to “Good Examples of Artist Research Pages”

Hello Sarah. Good day. Am impressed with your good job on Artist research. Please kindly mail to me examples of students responses to artist works while working on ARTIST RESEARCH PROJECTS (IGCSE) Thanks and hoping to hear from you soon.

Hi Monday, I’m sorry but I don’t email out student work. I hope you have discovered the ‘Arty Students’ section of the site which you can see here: https://theartyteacher.com/category/arty-students/

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Art Research Paper Topics

25 May, 2022

14 minutes read

Author:  Elizabeth Brown

Students obtaining degrees in fine art and art & design programs most commonly need to write a paper on art topics. However, this subject is becoming more popular in educational institutions for expanding students’ horizons. Thus, both groups of receivers of education: those who are into arts and those who only get acquainted with art […]

Students obtaining degrees in fine art and art & design programs most commonly need to write a paper on art topics. However, this subject is becoming more popular in educational institutions for expanding students’ horizons. Thus, both groups of receivers of education: those who are into arts and those who only get acquainted with art basics, need to write unique and engaging art research papers.

At first glance, art seems an extensive subject with many aspects to investigate. But sometimes, it’s overwhelming to understand and contextualize art epochs, movements, and representatives in their art history research paper. It is challenging to sort out what art research paper topics are worth investigating. Writing about art and especially finding the appropriate art research topics is more complicated than making art.

Therefore, in this article, you will explore compelling ideas for your future art research paper topics. Move on and get inspired to create a unique research theme that will bring you academic success.

Choosing the Right Art Research Paper Topics

You can find an abundance of art research paper topics on the internet, but it’s not guaranteed they are good for you. There are certain things to consider before choosing the art paper theme and start working on it. Take a look at tips on how to select the best art history research paper topic and compile a high-quality study.

Select the Art Category

People have been creating aesthetic objects and experiences and sharing their masterpieces for centuries. There are traditionally distinguished seven branches of art, including literature, music, architecture, the graphic arts, the visual arts, the plastic arts, the decorative arts, and the performing arts. So before browsing art topics, choose the art branch you will further research.

Decide What to Study

Sound art research topics do not cover everything in one paper. It’s necessary to define what art aspect will be subjected to research in the study. Students can select an artistic movement like romanticism, realism, baroque, classicism, or surrealism for the most interesting art topics. It’s also possible to research an art epoch, a prominent artist, or a piece of art.

Brainstorm Ideas

For choosing the best theme of possible art research paper topics, come up with ideas and do prior research. Find out what is relevant to cover for today, what has not been investigated thoroughly, whether there are enough sources for references, and if the art research paper theme you want to explore corresponds to your course plan and instructions. 

What Are the Most Engaging Art Topics

Every art movement and period has outstanding representatives and fascinating artworks worth exploring. Your art history research paper will be interesting once you like what you do and can present it clearly to the readers. Art seems complex, but if you are well aware of the subject, you can do compelling research on different art topics. Students with no experience in writing art research papers can get inspiration from the list of the most engrossing art topics.

So you can write about using art as propaganda and what messages hide in artworks or sequential art. Deciding what you are absorbing art research paper topics is up to you as it’s only you who can engage the audience.

Artist Bibliography Art Topics

If you are not well knowledgeable about art and want to make a high-quality art research paper, this topic is right for you. You can choose the artist whose works attract you the most and tell in your research about their life and becoming an artist. Students are free to choose art topics on influential art representatives or unknown craters with engaging bibliography.

In order to make your art history research paper not simply listing pieces of artworks of a specific author, you should focus on investigating a distinct feature of these works. Thus, your history research paper topics may touch upon sensual creations by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Parisian life in Edgar Degas’s works, or the influence of celebrities on Andy Warhol’s art.

Art History Research Paper Topics

Writing an art history research paper is a great choice for students not willing to dive into art symbols and details. With a variety of art history research paper topics, you can easily find the best option or create your own theme. Students can benefit from numerous studies and literature sources to do original research. So potential art research paper topics focus on Ancient Egyptian Art, Greek Art, Christian Roman Art, Celtic Art, or Modern Art.

The ideas for your history research paper topics include defining similarities and differences between art styles at a specific time in the history of art development. It’s possible to research the influence of beauty, wars, and historical events on ancient and modern art.

Provocative Art Research Paper Topics at Different Periods

Every art epoch has introduced something new to art history and shaped the development of modern art movements. There are many decent artworks that activate thinking and aim at solving some problems. You can contemplate these masterpieces and their creators in thought-provoking art research paper topics. Touch in your art research paper on specific periods in art development.

Contemporary art topics are considered the most provocative as tragic global events and revolutionary personalities transformed the perception of the world and art. So here, we will focus on art research topics of the last three centuries.

Papers on the 18th-Century Art

The 18th-century history research paper topics are predominantly characterized by the shift to Rococo and Neoclassicism. This century was marked by revolutions, archaeological discoveries, industrial changes, and the era of Enlightenment. So the 18th-century art research topics feature great masterpieces and new ideas. Artists mix classical elements with brand new genres generating impressive pieces of art.

You can feature in your art research paper prominent artists of that epoch, including Filippo Juvarra, Luigi Vanvitelli, Jacques-Louis David, and Antonio Canova. It will also be a great idea for art topics to analyze their creations paying attention to preserving classical traditions, mythological subjects, urban views, landscapes, revolution scenes, etc.

Papers on the 19th-Century Art

Modern art developed in the 19th century due to the successful industrial revolution, social movements, Marxism, and feminism. The history research paper topics on the art of that century can cover artistic styles. Tell in your art research paper about Romanticism, Neoclassicism, Realism, Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, and Art Nouveau, all developed in the 19th.

Each style has its prominent artists whose masterpieces deserve research. Cover provocative works by Édouard Manet in your 19th-century art research paper. In your art research paper topics you can touch upon Francisco de Goya, Henri Rousseau, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, and others. 

Papers on the 20th-Century Art

The 20th-century ideas for art research paper topics are multiple and diverse due to the emergence of artistic movements and global changes. You can tell a lot in an art research paper about Abstract Expressionism, Cubism, Pop Art, Fauvism, Minimalism, Futurism, Dada, Surrealism, Conceptual Art, and Photorealism. Among thought-provoking artists of that time we can name Stanley Kubrick, Dan Flavin, Joseph Beuys, Jacques Duval-Brasseur, Ellsworth Kelly, and Jasper Johns.

The history research paper topics can cover how contemporary art rejects traditional aesthetic values, experimenting with forms, materials, techniques, and processes. Win-win ideas for art research topics are to take a fresh look at Kazimir Malevich’s Black Square or Salvador Dalí’s Metamorphosis of Narcissus.

Major Eras in the Arts

The history of art started dozens of thousands of years ago. Each art period is complex and has many to tell about, lasting from 30 to 300 years. In their art research paper, a student can focus on the art epoch of their interest and research its development, features, artists, and creations. The Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, Classicism, Romanticism, Realism, Cubism, Symbolism, Expressionism, and other art eras can find their place in students’ art research paper topics.

Let’s find major art epochs and their brief descriptions you can inspire from for your art research paper.

Flamboyant Baroque

Writing an art research paper on the Baroque era (1590-1760) is an engaging endeavor that will make you dive into the magnificent world of princes and kings. Your Baroque art research paper topics may refer to man as the central power. Students can explore in history research paper topics the role of opposites: light and dark, warm and cold, good and evil in that era. Art was a way to show power and wealth, so investigate this aspect in art research topics.

Sensual Romanticism

Your art research paper on romanticism may be focused on the emotiveness and sublime imagery of the art era. Romanticism (1790-1850) art research paper topics should highlight the role of nature and subconsciousness in masterpieces of that time. Students can choose art research topics that explore influential German, English, and French painters of the Romanticism period. They interpreted the world differently and wanted to oppose the stern nature of classicism.

You can study romanticism literature and music in your history research paper topics.

Fleeting Impressionism

In the art research paper devoted to the Impressionist era of modern art, it’s possible to research the phenomenon of art for art’s sake. Impressionism mostly manifested itself in painting due to prominent artists like Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Vincent van Gough. Impressionism (1850-1895) art research paper topics can be dedicated to music and ballet. There’s much to investigate in history research paper topics, so choose the art category, your favorite artist, and their impressive masterpieces.

Research Topics on Various Cultures

Art and culture are tightly interconnected as every culture develops its unique art forms. Thus, your art research paper may feature Aboriginal, Aztec, China, African, Indian, and Japanese cultures. Students can analyze in their art research topics how these cultures influenced art development. The interesting art topics focus on the investigation of the role of cultural identity on art creation. For example, you can feature Japanese calligraphy, traditional Chinese clothing, Indian cinema, African tribal art, and more in your art research paper topics.

Research Topics on the Art of Photography

Photography is a fascinating art category for your art research paper. This type of visual art appeared back in the 19th century and still amazes people today. In your art history research paper, you can explore the role of photography in history, art, and everyday life. Researchers can investigate how digital technologies popularized photography.

Students can research the most prominent photographers of all times like Richard Avedon, Robert Frank, and Man Ray and their creations in art research topics. It’s possible to research street, war, nature, and portrait photography. A creative idea for art research paper topics is exploring the psychological dimension of the art of photography.

Research Topics on Art Therapy

Art therapy is one of the most interesting art topics for investigation. It is possible to study the origin and applications of art therapy in the art history research paper. In their art research paper, a student can focus on how art therapy helps overcome various diseases and improve mental health. You can write an art research paper on the healing power of color and music.

Also, research what pieces of art prove to be the most effective in helping people with disabilities, psychological traumas, or autism. Students can touch upon prominent art therapists and their achievements.

How Our Paper Writing Service Can Help You

Students resort to essay writer assistance for many reasons, and the writing service’s market suggests many options to choose from. At our company, we provide professional academic writing services of different types on any topic you need and meet strict deadlines. Our team of certified authors can create a unique art research paper on any theme you need.

Writers have degrees in Fine Arts and Art & Design programs, ensuring high-quality art history research paper works. Contact us if the deadline for your art research paper is approaching and you do not know what topic to choose and what to start from. We will help you write an impressive paper and get an excellent mark!

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Home » Artistic Research – Methods, Types and Examples

Artistic Research – Methods, Types and Examples

Table of Contents

Artistic Research

Definition:

Artistic Research is a mode of inquiry that combines artistic practice and research methodologies to generate new insights and knowledge. It involves using artistic practice as a means of investigation and experimentation, while applying rigorous research methods to examine and reflect upon the process and outcomes of the artistic practice.

Types of Artistic Research

Types of Artistic Research are as follows:

Practice-based Research

This type of research involves the creation of new artistic works as part of the research process. The focus is on the exploration of artistic techniques, processes, and materials, and how they contribute to the creation of new knowledge.

Research-led practice

This type of research involves the use of academic research methods to inform and guide the creative process. The aim is to investigate and test new ideas and approaches to artistic practice.

Practice-led Research

This type of research involves using artistic practice as a means of exploring research questions. The aim is to develop new insights and understandings through the creative process.

Transdisciplinary Research

This type of research involves collaboration between artists and researchers from different disciplines. The aim is to combine knowledge and expertise from different fields to create new insights and perspectives.

Research Through Performance

This type of research involves the use of live performance as a means of investigating research questions. The aim is to explore the relationship between the performer and the audience, and how this relationship can be used to create new knowledge.

Participatory Research

This type of research involves collaboration with communities and stakeholders to explore research questions. The aim is to involve participants in the research process and to create new knowledge through shared experiences and perspectives.

Data Collection Methods

Artistic research data collection methods vary depending on the type of research being conducted and the artistic discipline being studied. Here are some common methods of data collection used in artistic research:

• Artistic production: One of the most common methods of data collection in artistic research is the creation of new artistic works. This involves using the artistic practice itself as a method of data collection. Artists may create new works of art, performances, or installations to explore research questions and generate data.
• Interviews : Artists may conduct interviews with other artists, scholars, or experts in their field to collect data. These interviews may be recorded and transcribed for further analysis.
• Surveys and questionnaires : Surveys and questionnaires can be used to collect data from a larger sample of people. These can be used to collect information about audience reactions to artistic works, or to collect demographic information about artists.
• Observation: Artists may also use observation as a method of data collection. This can involve observing the audience’s reactions to a performance or installation, or observing the process of artistic creation.
• Archival research : Artists may conduct archival research to collect data from historical sources. This can involve studying the work of other artists, analyzing historical documents or artifacts, or studying the history of a particular artistic practice or discipline.
• Experimental methods : In some cases, artists may use experimental methods to collect data. This can involve manipulating variables in an artistic work or performance to test hypotheses and generate data.

Data Analysis Methods

some common methods of data analysis used in artistic research:

• Interpretative analysis : This involves a close reading and interpretation of the artistic work, performance or installation in order to understand its meanings, themes, and symbolic content. This method of analysis is often used in qualitative research.
• Content analysis: This involves a systematic analysis of the content of artistic works or performances, with the aim of identifying patterns, themes, and trends in the data. This method of analysis is often used in quantitative research.
• Discourse analysis : This involves an analysis of the language and social contexts in which artistic works are created and received. It is often used to explore the power dynamics, social structures, and cultural norms that shape artistic practice.
• Visual analysis: This involves an analysis of the visual elements of artistic works, such as composition, color, and form, in order to understand their meanings and significance.
• Statistical analysis: This involves the use of statistical techniques to analyze quantitative data collected through surveys, questionnaires, or experimental methods. This can involve calculating correlations, regression analyses, or other statistical measures to identify patterns in the data.
• Comparative analysis: This involves comparing the data collected from different artistic works, performances or installations, or comparing the data collected from artistic research to data collected from other sources.

Artistic Research Methodology

Artistic research methodology refers to the approach or framework used to conduct artistic research. The methodology used in artistic research is often interdisciplinary and may include a combination of methods from the arts, humanities, and social sciences. Here are some common elements of artistic research methodology:

• Research question : Artistic research begins with a research question or problem to be explored. This question guides the research process and helps to focus the investigation.
• Contextualization: Artistic research often involves an examination of the social, historical, and cultural contexts in which the artistic work is produced and received. This contextualization helps to situate the work within a larger framework and to identify its significance.
• Reflexivity: Artistic research often involves a high degree of reflexivity, with the researcher reflecting on their own positionality and the ways in which their own biases and assumptions may impact the research process.
• Iterative process : Artistic research is often an iterative process, with the researcher revising and refining their research question and methods as they collect and analyze data.
• Creative practice: Artistic research often involves the use of creative practice as a means of generating data and exploring research questions. This can involve the creation of new works of art, performances, or installations.
• Collaboration: Artistic research often involves collaboration with other artists, scholars, or experts in the field. This collaboration can help to generate new insights and perspectives, and to bring diverse knowledge and expertise to the research process.

Examples of Artistic Research

There are numerous examples of artistic research across a variety of artistic disciplines. Here are a few examples:

• Music : A composer may conduct artistic research by exploring new musical forms and techniques, and testing them through the creation of new works of music. For example, composer Steve Reich conducted artistic research by studying traditional African drumming techniques and incorporating them into his minimalist compositions.
• Visual art: An artist may conduct artistic research by exploring the history and techniques of a particular medium, such as painting or sculpture, and using that knowledge to create new works of art. For example, painter Gerhard Richter conducted artistic research by exploring the history of photography and using photographic techniques to create his abstract paintings.
• Dance : A choreographer may conduct artistic research by exploring new movement styles and techniques, and testing them through the creation of new dance works. For example, choreographer William Forsythe conducted artistic research by studying the physics of movement and incorporating that knowledge into his choreography.
• Theater : A theater artist may conduct artistic research by exploring the history and techniques of a particular theatrical style, such as physical theater or experimental theater, and using that knowledge to create new works of theater. For example, director Anne Bogart conducted artistic research by studying the teachings of the philosopher Jacques Derrida and incorporating those ideas into her approach to theater.
• Film : A filmmaker may conduct artistic research by exploring the history and techniques of a particular genre or film style, and using that knowledge to create new works of film. For example, filmmaker Agnès Varda conducted artistic research by exploring the feminist movement and incorporating feminist ideas into her films.

When to use Artistic Research

some situations where artistic research may be useful:

• Developing new artistic works: Artistic research can be used to inform and inspire the development of new works of art, music, dance, theater, or film.
• Exploring new artistic techniques or approaches : Artistic research can be used to explore new techniques or approaches to artistic practice, and to test and refine these approaches through creative experimentation.
• Investigating the historical and cultural contexts of artistic practice: Artistic research can be used to investigate the social, cultural, and historical contexts of artistic practice, and to identify the ways in which these contexts shape and influence artistic works.
• Evaluating the impact and significance of artistic works : Artistic research can be used to evaluate the impact and significance of artistic works, and to identify the ways in which they contribute to broader cultural, social, and political issues.
• Advancing knowledge and understanding in artistic fields: Artistic research can be used to advance knowledge and understanding in artistic fields, and to generate new insights and perspectives on artistic practice.

Purpose of Artistic Research

The purpose of artistic research is to generate new knowledge and understanding through a rigorous and creative investigation of artistic practice. Artistic research aims to push the boundaries of artistic practice and to create new insights and perspectives on artistic works and processes.

Artistic research serves several purposes, including:

• Advancing knowledge and understanding in artistic fields: Artistic research can contribute to the development of new knowledge and understanding in artistic fields, and can help to advance the study of artistic practice.
• Creating new artistic works and forms: Artistic research can inspire the creation of new artistic works and forms, and can help artists to develop new techniques and approaches to their practice.
• Evaluating the impact and significance of artistic works: Artistic research can help to evaluate the impact and significance of artistic works, and to identify their contributions to broader cultural, social, and political issues.
• Enhancing interdisciplinary collaboration: Artistic research often involves interdisciplinary collaboration, and can help to foster new connections and collaborations between artists, scholars, and experts in diverse fields.
• Challenging assumptions and pushing boundaries: Artistic research can challenge assumptions and push the boundaries of artistic practice, and can help to create new possibilities for artistic expression and exploration.

Characteristics of Artistic Research

Some key characteristics that can be used to describe artistic research:

• Creative and interdisciplinary: Artistic research is creative and interdisciplinary, drawing on a wide range of artistic and scholarly disciplines to explore new ideas and approaches to artistic practice.
• Experimental and process-oriented : Artistic research is often experimental and process-oriented, involving creative experimentation and exploration of new techniques, forms, and ideas.
• Reflection and critical analysis : Artistic research involves reflection and critical analysis of artistic practice, with a focus on exploring the underlying processes, assumptions, and concepts that shape artistic works.
• Emphasis on practice-led inquiry : Artistic research is often practice-led, meaning that it involves a close integration of creative practice and research inquiry.
• Collaborative and participatory: Artistic research often involves collaboration and participation, with artists, scholars, and experts from diverse fields working together to explore new ideas and approaches to artistic practice.
• Contextual and socially engaged : Artistic research is contextual and socially engaged, exploring the ways in which artistic practice is shaped by broader social, cultural, and historical contexts, and engaging with issues of social and political relevance.

Advantages of Artistic Research

Artistic research offers several advantages, including:

• Innovation : Artistic research encourages creative experimentation and exploration of new techniques and approaches to artistic practice, leading to innovative and original works of art.
• Interdisciplinary collaboration: Artistic research often involves collaboration between artists, scholars, and experts from diverse fields, fostering interdisciplinary exchange and the development of new perspectives and ideas.
• Practice-led inquiry : Artistic research is often practice-led, meaning that it involves a close integration of creative practice and research inquiry, leading to a deeper understanding of the creative process and the ways in which it shapes artistic works.
• Critical reflection: Artistic research involves critical reflection on artistic practice, encouraging artists to question assumptions and challenge existing norms, leading to new insights and perspectives on artistic works.
• Engagement with broader issues : Artistic research is contextual and socially engaged, exploring the ways in which artistic practice is shaped by broader social, cultural, and historical contexts, and engaging with issues of social and political relevance.
• Contribution to knowledge : Artistic research contributes to the development of new knowledge and understanding in artistic fields, and can help to advance the study of artistic practice.

Limitations of Artistic Research

Artistic research also has some limitations, including:

• Subjectivity : Artistic research is subjective, meaning that it is based on the individual perspectives, experiences, and creative decisions of the artist, which can limit the generalizability and replicability of the research.
• Lack of formal methodology : Artistic research often lacks a formal methodology, making it difficult to compare or evaluate different research projects and limiting the reproducibility of results.
• Difficulty in measuring outcomes: Artistic research can be difficult to measure and evaluate, as the outcomes are often qualitative and subjective in nature, making it challenging to assess the impact or significance of the research.
• Limited funding: Artistic research may face challenges in securing funding, as it is still a relatively new and emerging field, and may not fit within traditional funding structures.
• Ethical considerations: Artistic research may raise ethical considerations related to issues such as representation, consent, and the use of human subjects, particularly when working with sensitive or controversial topics.

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Art History Research Paper Topics

Dive into the vibrant world of art history research paper topics through this meticulously curated guide, tailored for students immersed in studying history and tasked with crafting a research paper. The guide commences with a comprehensive list of 100 intriguing topics, segmented into ten well-defined categories, serving as an invaluable source of inspiration. Further guidance on how to select an art history research paper topic is provided, along with practical insights into the crafting of an exceptional art history research paper. The guide transitions into presenting the specialized writing services offered by iResearchNet, enabling students to commission custom art history research papers on any chosen topic.

100 Art History Research Paper Topics

Art history, as a field of study, covers thousands of years and countless cultures, offering an expansive array of topics for research papers. When embarking on an art history project, you can focus on certain eras, explore individual artists or art movements, investigate the role of art in specific cultures, or delve into the meanings behind specific pieces or collections. Below, we present a comprehensive list of art history research paper topics divided into ten major categories. Each topic is an invitation to dive into a unique aspect of art history and explore its significance in the global artistic landscape.

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Ancient Art

• The Impact of Geography on Ancient Egyptian Art
• Materials and Techniques in Ancient Greek Sculpture
• Roman Architecture: Principles and Examples
• Understanding the Art of the Ancient Maya Civilization
• Development of Buddhist Art in Ancient India
• Influence of Ancient Chinese Art on Later Dynasties
• Ancient Persian Art and Its Impact on the Middle East
• Representation of Deities in Ancient Egyptian Art
• The Use of Color in Ancient Roman Frescoes
• Comparative Analysis of Ancient Greek and Roman Sculpture

Medieval Art

• Role of Art in Christian Worship in the Middle Ages
• Gothic Architecture: Characteristics and Examples
• The Influence of Islam on Medieval Art in Spain
• The Evolution of Iconography in Medieval Paintings
• Art as Propaganda in the Middle Ages
• The Role of Women in Medieval Art and Society
• Transition from Romanesque to Gothic Architecture
• Analysis of Illuminated Manuscripts in the Medieval Period
• The Influence of Byzantine Art on the Western Medieval Art
• Representation of the Divine and Demonic in Medieval Art

Renaissance Art

• Humanism and Its Impact on Renaissance Art
• The Techniques of Leonardo da Vinci
• The Role of Patronage in the Italian Renaissance
• The Evolution of Self-Portraiture in the Renaissance
• Comparison of Italian and Northern Renaissance Art
• Michelangelo’s Influence on Art and Artists
• Analysis of Female Figures in Renaissance Paintings
• Use of Perspective in Renaissance Art
• Interpretation of Mythology in Renaissance Art
• Influence of Classical Antiquity on Renaissance Artists

Baroque and Rococo Art

• Impact of the Counter-Reformation on Baroque Art in Italy
• The Evolution of Landscape Painting in the Baroque Period
• Use of Light in Caravaggio’s Paintings
• Analysis of Rembrandt’s Portraiture
• Comparison of French and Spanish Baroque Art
• Women Artists of the Baroque Period
• The Transition from Baroque to Rococo Art
• Impact of Louis XIV’s Reign on French Art and Architecture
• Rococo Art as a Reflection of Aristocratic Society
• The Cultural and Artistic Influence of Versailles

Neoclassicism and Romanticism

• Influence of Archaeological Discoveries on Neoclassical Art
• Comparison of Neoclassicism and Romanticism
• Exploration of the Sublime in Romantic Landscape Paintings
• Impact of the French Revolution on Art
• Analysis of David’s Oath of the Horatii
• Romanticism and the Depiction of National Identity
• Romantic Artists’ Fascination with the Exotic and the Orient
• The Role of Women Artists in the Romantic Period
• Neoclassical Architecture in Europe and America
• Depiction of Mythology in Romantic Art

Modern Art Movements

• Impressionism and the Art of Life
• The Influence of Japanese Art on Vincent Van Gogh
• Symbolism in Edvard Munch’s The Scream
• Pablo Picasso and the Evolution of Cubism
• The Impact of WWI on the Artistic Movements of the 1920s
• Surrealism: Dreams and the Unconscious
• Political Messages in Diego Rivera’s Murals
• Abstract Expressionism and the Sublime
• Pop Art as a Reflection of Consumer Culture
• Minimalism and the Idea of Less is More

Contemporary Art

• Conceptual Art and the Importance of Ideas
• The Role of Art in Critiquing Contemporary Society
• Environmental Messages in Contemporary Art
• Representation of Identity in Contemporary Art
• Feminism and Contemporary Art
• The Use of New Media in Contemporary Art
• Installation Art and Audience Participation
• Street Art and Its Role in Urban Spaces
• The Influence of Globalization on Contemporary Art
• Impact of Digital Technologies on Contemporary Art Practices

Non-Western Art

• The Influence of African Art on Modernist Artists
• Understanding Islamic Calligraphy
• The Role of Art in Traditional African Societies
• Traditional Japanese Ukiyo-e Prints
• The Development of Indian Mughal Painting
• The Role of Ancestors in Oceanic Art
• Comparison of Traditional and Contemporary Native American Art
• Indigenous Australian Art and Its Connection to the Land
• Artistic Traditions of the Inuit
• Symbolism in Persian Miniature Painting

Women in Art

• Female Representation in Ancient Greek Art
• Depictions of Women in Baroque Art
• Women Artists of the Renaissance and Their Struggles
• The Influence of Feminism on Contemporary Art
• Exploration of Gender Roles through Art
• Mary Cassatt and Her Influence on Impressionism
• Frida Kahlo: An Icon of Feminism and Mexican Heritage
• The Evolution of Female Nude in Art History
• The Guerrilla Girls and Their Fight for Equality in the Art World
• The Impact of Postmodernism on Feminist Art

Art Theory and Criticism

• The Role of the Art Critic: From Clement Greenberg to Jerry Saltz
• Postmodernism and the Death of the Author
• Formal Analysis: Its Role and Importance
• The Semiotics of Art: Signs and Symbols
• Influence of Psychoanalytic Theory on Art Criticism
• Iconology and the Hidden Meanings in Visual Art
• Deconstruction and the Analysis of Art
• Feminist Approaches to Art Criticism
• Influence of Marxism on Art Theory and Criticism
• The Impact of Postcolonial Theory on Art Criticism

Each category in this comprehensive list of art history research paper topics provides a wide range of subjects to explore. These diverse topics cater to various interests and offer a rich field for academic exploration. They each represent an invitation to delve deeper into the fascinating world of art history, offering you the opportunity to develop your understanding and share your unique perspective with others.

Art History and the Range of Research Paper Topics it Offers

Art history is an exceptionally broad field that spans thousands of years, multiple continents, countless cultures, and myriad forms of artistic expression. From the earliest cave paintings to contemporary digital art, the study of art history allows us to explore human history through the lens of visual culture. This piece explores the expanse of art history and the wide range of research paper topics it offers to students.

Art history is often compartmentalized into periods and styles, such as Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, Neoclassical, Romantic, Modern, and Contemporary art. Each era has its distinct characteristics, historical context, and notable artists, providing a myriad of potential research topics. For instance, one could study the impact of the Counter-Reformation on Baroque art in Italy or analyze the evolution of self-portraiture during the Renaissance.

A profound understanding of these periods and styles can also pave the way to comparative studies, allowing for interesting contrasts and parallels to be drawn between different epochs or artistic movements. For example, contrasting the logical, reason-based approach of Neoclassicism with the emotion and individualism of Romanticism can lead to a rich analysis of cultural shifts during these times.

Moreover, art history offers ample scope for studying non-Western art. Researching non-Western artistic traditions—such as African art, Islamic calligraphy, Japanese Ukiyo-e prints, or Indigenous Australian art—provides not only aesthetic appreciation but also deeper insights into these cultures’ philosophies, social structures, and spiritual beliefs.

Art history is not just the study of “high art” or the art of the elite and educated classes. Folk art, outsider art, street art, and other forms of “low art” are equally valuable subjects of study. These genres often give voice to marginalized groups and offer valuable insights into popular culture and the concerns of the everyday people.

Another compelling avenue of research is the exploration of thematic elements in art history. These themes could range from the representation of women, the interpretation of mythology, the depiction of national identity, to the portrayal of the sublime in nature. Thematic studies often transcend the boundaries of period and style, making them an exciting approach for those interested in cross-cultural and transhistorical comparisons.

The study of individual artists and their oeuvre is yet another rich area of research in art history. Focusing on a single artist’s work can provide a microcosmic view of broader artistic, cultural, and social trends. A deep dive into the works of influential artists like Michelangelo, Caravaggio, Rembrandt, or Frida Kahlo can reveal much about the time, place, and context in which they created their art.

Art history also encompasses the study of art theory and criticism, which could lead to engaging research on topics like the role of the art critic, the influence of psychoanalytic theory on art criticism, or the impact of postcolonial theory on art criticism.

Moreover, with the rise of new media and digital technologies, contemporary art offers a plethora of unique research areas. From conceptual art and installation art to digital art and virtual reality, these new forms of art reflect the changing world and often challenge traditional notions of what art can be.

Choosing a research topic in art history is a process of personal exploration. It involves identifying your interests, asking questions, and being willing to follow a path of inquiry wherever it may lead. It requires an openness to learning and discovery, a willingness to engage with different cultures and times, and an ability to appreciate different forms of artistic expression.

In conclusion, art history, as a field of study, offers an almost infinite range of potential research topics. Whether your interest lies in specific periods or styles, individual artists or movements, thematic elements or theoretical concerns, art history has something for everyone. Through studying art history and engaging in research, you can deepen your understanding of the world and your place in it, gaining insights that are both personally enriching and academically rewarding.

Choosing Art History Research Paper Topics

Choosing the right research paper topic is crucial in art history. It allows you to explore your interests, showcase your knowledge, and contribute to the field. This section provides expert advice on selecting art history research paper topics that are engaging, significant, and conducive to in-depth analysis.

• Understand the Scope and Context : To choose an art history research paper topic, start by understanding the scope and context of the subject. Familiarize yourself with different art movements, periods, and regions. Consider the specific time period, artistic styles, cultural influences, and socio-political contexts that interest you.
• Follow Your Passion : Passion is key when selecting a research paper topic. Identify aspects of art history that genuinely excite you. Whether it’s Renaissance art, modern sculpture, or ancient Egyptian paintings, selecting a topic that aligns with your interests will make the research process more enjoyable and rewarding.
• Narrow Down the Focus : Art history is a vast field, so it’s important to narrow down your focus. Instead of choosing broad topics like “Renaissance art,” consider specific themes, artists, or art movements within that era. For example, you could explore the influence of Leonardo da Vinci’s techniques on Renaissance portraiture.
• Conduct Preliminary Research : Before finalizing your topic, conduct preliminary research to ensure sufficient resources are available. Look for scholarly articles, books, museum catalogs, and online databases that provide relevant information and analysis. This step will help you determine if your chosen topic has enough material for a comprehensive research paper.
• Analyze Existing Scholarship : Reviewing existing scholarship is crucial for identifying gaps in knowledge and potential research avenues. Read scholarly articles, dissertations, and books on art history topics related to your interests. This will help you develop a unique research question and contribute to the academic discourse.
• Incorporate Interdisciplinary Approaches : Art history is an interdisciplinary field, so consider incorporating perspectives from other disciplines. Explore connections between art and politics, society, philosophy, or gender studies. This interdisciplinary approach will add depth and richness to your research paper.
• Consult with Professors and Experts : Seek guidance from your professors or art history experts. They can provide valuable insights, suggest potential topics, and recommend relevant sources. Engage in discussions, attend lectures, and take advantage of their expertise to refine your research paper topic.
• Brainstorm and Create a Shortlist : Brainstorm a list of potential art history research paper topics based on your interests, preliminary research, and consultations. Write down keywords, themes, and specific ideas that capture your attention. Then, narrow down the list to create a shortlist of the most compelling topics.
• Consider Significance and Originality : Choose a topic that is both significant and original. Consider the broader implications of your research and how it contributes to the field of art history. Aim to uncover lesser-known artists, analyze understudied artworks, or challenge prevailing interpretations.
• Refine and Finalize Your Topic : Refine your research topic based on the above considerations. Craft a clear and concise research question or thesis statement that guides your exploration. Ensure your topic is specific, manageable within the scope of your research paper, and aligned with the requirements of your assignment.

Selecting an art history research paper topic requires careful consideration and a balance between personal interest and academic significance. By understanding the scope, conducting preliminary research, and seeking expert guidance, you can choose a topic that allows you to delve into the fascinating world of art history and make a meaningful contribution to the field.

How to Write an Art History Research Paper

Writing an art history research paper requires a combination of critical analysis, research skills, and effective writing techniques. This section provides a comprehensive guide on how to write an art history research paper, from selecting a topic to organizing your findings and presenting a compelling argument.

• Understand the Assignment : Start by understanding the requirements of your research paper assignment. Pay attention to the guidelines, word count, formatting style (e.g., MLA, APA), and any specific research questions or prompts provided by your instructor. This will help you structure your paper accordingly.
• Choose a Compelling Topic : Select a research topic that aligns with your interests and offers ample opportunities for exploration. Refer to the expert advice section on choosing art history research paper topics for guidance. Ensure your topic is specific, manageable, and allows for in-depth analysis.
• Conduct In-Depth Research : Gather relevant sources and conduct in-depth research on your chosen topic. Explore scholarly articles, books, museum catalogs, primary sources, and online databases. Take detailed notes, citing the sources properly, and keep track of key findings, arguments, and interpretations.
• Develop a Thesis Statement : Craft a clear and concise thesis statement that presents the main argument or focus of your research paper. Your thesis should be debatable, supported by evidence, and guide the direction of your analysis. It is the foundation upon which your entire paper will be built.
• Create an Outline : Outline your research paper to provide structure and organization. Divide your paper into sections, including an introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. Each section should address a specific aspect of your research, supporting your thesis statement and providing a logical flow of ideas.
• Write a Compelling Introduction : Begin your research paper with an engaging introduction that grabs the reader’s attention and provides necessary background information. Clearly state your thesis statement and provide a brief overview of your research objectives, setting the tone for the rest of the paper.
• Present Well-Structured Body Paragraphs : The body paragraphs of your research paper should present your analysis, evidence, and supporting arguments. Each paragraph should focus on a specific point, providing clear topic sentences and supporting evidence from your research. Use proper citations to credit your sources.
• Analyze Artworks and Interpretations : Engage in critical analysis of artworks, considering their formal elements, stylistic features, cultural context, and historical significance. Compare and contrast different interpretations, theories, or scholarly viewpoints to develop a well-rounded analysis of your chosen topic.
• Incorporate Visual Evidence : Include visual evidence in your research paper to enhance your analysis. Include high-quality images of artworks, architectural structures, or artifacts relevant to your topic. Label and refer to them in the text, providing insightful descriptions and analysis.
• Craft a Strong Conclusion : End your research paper with a strong conclusion that summarizes your main arguments and restates your thesis statement. Reflect on the significance of your research findings, discuss any limitations or unanswered questions, and suggest avenues for further exploration.
• Revise and Edit : After completing the initial draft, revise and edit your research paper for clarity, coherence, and adherence to academic standards. Check for grammatical errors, ensure proper citations, and refine your arguments for precision and conciseness.
• Seek Feedback : Share your research paper with peers, professors, or mentors for feedback. Consider their suggestions and critique to improve the quality of your paper. Pay attention to clarity of expression, logical organization, and the strength of your argument.
• Proofread and Format : Before submitting your research paper, thoroughly proofread it to eliminate any spelling, punctuation, or formatting errors. Ensure that your paper adheres to the required formatting style, including proper citations and a bibliography or works cited page.

Writing an art history research paper requires a combination of research skills, critical thinking, and effective writing techniques. By following these steps, you can create a well-structured and compelling research paper that showcases your understanding of art history, engages with scholarly discourse, and contributes to the field.

iResearchNet’s Writing Services

At iResearchNet, we understand the challenges faced by students when it comes to writing art history research papers. With our dedicated team of expert writers and comprehensive writing services, we are here to assist you throughout the research and writing process. Whether you need help selecting a topic, conducting in-depth research, or crafting a compelling argument, our services are designed to support your academic success. In this section, we will highlight the key features of iResearchNet’s writing services and demonstrate how we can be your trusted partner in art history research papers.

• Expert Degree-Holding Writers : We take pride in our team of expert writers, who hold advanced degrees in art history and related disciplines. They have a deep understanding of the subject matter and possess the knowledge and expertise to handle a wide range of art history topics. Our writers are committed to delivering high-quality and well-researched papers that meet your academic requirements.
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80 Brilliant Art Research Paper Topics & Ideas

Art is a course of study that requires both interest and passion. While a lot of things might interest you in art, artists mostly focus on specific aspects. Therefore, when choosing art research topics for your next paper writing, it would be best to choose a topic you are interested in. This piece contains 80 random topics in art you can consider.

• How Long is a Thesis Statement, and Where Should it Be?

Art Thesis Ideas on Ancient Civilization

Art topics to write about artist biographies, art argumentative essay topics ideas, interesting art topics on modern art, best architectural and fine art topics for research, compelling renaissance essay topics about art, theater art topics for research paper, final words about art topics, art history research paper topics.

Art is an age-long institution that has a lot of historical background. There are topics in the art that can serve as your art history paper topics. The following are the 10 best art history research paper topics to consider;

• Comparing artistic freedom and censorship in Nazi Germany.
• History of Art: From the canvas age to photography.
• Research of medieval England Gothic art.
• Abstract Expressionism history in Art.
• History of Expressionism in Western Europe.
• Historical research on neoclassical art.
• Historical review of art propaganda in America and France.
• Historical overview of sequential art of comics.
• Historical and intellectual overview of art and culture.
• The history of constructivism and the birth of the Avant-Garde.

Civilizations in ancient times were essentially artistic civilizations. You can write appealing research papers on art and ancient civilization. The following are good ancient civilization art topics for research papers;

• The ancient Egyptian arts and symbolism.
• Classical Greek art and ancient Greek sculptures.
• Comparing art civilization in classical Greece and ancient Rome.
• Mayan civilization and its impact on ancient art and culture.
• Primeval musical instruments in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia.
• What are the connections between Mayan pyramids and Egyptian pyramids?
• The influence of Incas in modern art.
• Aztec art and the influence of religion and culture on it.
• Writing as a form of art civilization.
• The roles of Chinese philosophy and religion in Chinese ancient art.

Writing an art research paper on the biographies of different artists is a good consideration for an artist research project. There are countless artist biographies and art history essay topics to write on. Here are the 10 best art research paper topics on artists’ biographies;

• Biography of William Blake: His art and poetry work.
• The efforts of Francisco De Goya in using art to change the world.
• The impacts and contributions of Madame Tussaud in the arts.
• Biographies of William Turner featuring his Career and Life.
• The impacts of Eugène Delacroix in the introduction of modern art.
• Vincent Van Gogh and the misunderstanding that surrounds his career.
• Gustav Klimt was the master of symbolism.
• Biography of Pablo Picasso, the father of cubism.
• Claude Monet: His impact on art and the vision of colors and light.
• Louise Bourgeois’s revolutionary moves on installation art and abstract sculpture.

Art is such an intriguing concept that may result in a lot of questioning. You can write an argumentative essay or research paper on art to give answers to some of the questions. The following are art research paper topics for good argumentative artist research paper;

• The Baroque movement’s color and sensuality are extreme in art.
• The art of manliness in the baroque period.
• Does impressionism change the basic ideas of art?
• Evaluating the definition of nature through the eyes of Manet and Monet.
• Argumentative Essay on romanticism in literature, music, and art.
• Romanticism era in art and the concept of imagination, sublime, and emotion.
• The best style of post-impressionism in art.
• Arguing on the artist with the most contribution to the post-impressionism movement.
• Pablo Picasso’s art is influenced by ancient African art.
• Does surrealism have more good than bad in art and literature?

Modern Art is a style of art prominent in the digital age. Rather than write on conventional art, there are modern art topics to write about. The following are good art research paper examples to write on modern art;

• The unique styles of modern art distinguish it from conventional art.
• The elements of light and time in cubism and impressionism.
• Digital art and its impact on modern art.
• Is Graffiti art or vandalism?
• The mystery of Banksy in urban street arts.
• Evaluating Gustav Klimt’s electrifying art ‘The Kiss’.
• Does modern European art have any influence on American artists?
• Japanese art and its influence on Vincent Van Gogh’s arts.
• The 21st-century printmaking and its impact on the digital world.
• What are the contemporary themes driving the art and feminism movement?

Architectural designs can be traced to modern art. There are art topics that should be considered by students who study architecture. The following are art topics for students in the architecture course of study;

• Modern architectural designs and the influence of Roman arts.
• Key elements of the iconic styles of Gothic architecture.
• Rococo architecture has characteristics of late Baroque architecture.
• African architecture and its sustainability system.
• Constructivism in modern art and architecture.
• Comparison of the two modern arts; Art Deco and Art Nouveau.
• The mystery behind the construction of ancient Egyptian pyramids.
• Western architecture and the influence of eastern arts.
• The union of architecture and art in contemporary design.
• Western art and the influence of Islamic architecture.

Renaissance topics for art are a good consideration for an art research paper. This aspect of art evaluates the immorality of artistic designs. Here are the top 10 topics to consider;

• Renaissance art: What are the roles of humanism and naturalism?
• The influence of Leonard Da Vinci on Renaissance art.
• Raphael’s paintings and the transcendent influence.
• What is religious symbolism in renaissance art?
• Michelangelo’s David is an icon of Italian renaissance art.
• Michelangelo’s immortal masterpiece and the Sistine Chapel.
• How the Harlem Renaissance drove social changes through art.
• The unity of music and art in renaissance art.
• Renaissance art and culture and the influence of science on them.
• The mythology and the realism of Botticelli’s art, ‘The Birth Of Venus’.

Theater art is a special aspect of art. There are art history thesis ideas that prove theater art is contemporary art and not modern. Meanwhile, you can equally consider writing on the following theater art essay topics;

• The Greek theater and its history.
• Does ancient Greek theater have any influence on modern theater?
• Theater and its cultural evolution.
• Evaluating the contributions of William Shakespeare in drama and theater Art.
• The difference between modern theater and Elizabethan.
• What role does music play in the theater?
• What are expression and improvisation in the theater?
• The history of Broadway.
• Theatre of the absurd and Samuel Beckett.
• Theater’s effectiveness in causing social and cultural changes.

Art is a broad course of study with different aspects. Writing an art research paper requires that you consider your area of interest before choosing your art research paper topic. Above are the top 80 Art research paper topics and ideas to write about.

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125 of the best art research paper topics of 2023.

When you need original art research paper topics that you know will impress your professor, you just need to visit this page. Our experienced academic writers are striving to update the list of topics as frequently as possible. This means that you should always be able to find a unique topic to write about in your next art research paper. And keep in mind that our list of topics is entirely free. You can use any topic you see here for free – and even reword it to suit your needs. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with our experts if you need more ideas or a list of topics tailored to your specific needs.

Don’t Know Which Art Topics to Write About?

Don’t worry too much if you don’t know which art topics to write about. We have organized our list of topics into several categories so you should have no problem finding the perfect topic in just a couple of minutes. So, why would you want to waste your time searching for topics when we have so many ideas that you can use right now? Check out our list and pick the best one for your academic paper.

Easy Art Research Topics

The best way to save some time is to simply choose some easy art research topics. Check out our ideas and pick the one you like the most:

• Ancient Roman art
• Talk about carnival masks in Venice
• Talk about human sacrifices in art
• The history of art in Ancient Greece
• Talk about Ancient Greece sculptures
• Talk about early musical instruments
• Primeval art forms
• Mesoamerican pyramid art

Art History Research Paper Topics

Are you interested in writing about the history of art? There are plenty of things to talk about, that’s for sure. Check out these unique art history research paper topics:

• The history of art in Eastern Europe
• Russian art: the beginning
• An in-depth look at Mayan art
• The first works of art in the world
• Discuss art in the Greek theater
• The inception of Renaissance art
• Compare and contrast Art Nouveau and Art Deco
• The effects of art on the world

Difficult Art Research Paper Topics

If you want to impress your classmates and your professor, you should definitely choose one of our difficult art research paper topics:

• The concept of fashion in ancient Asian tribes
• Egyptian art inside the pyramids
• Analyze stained glass in Western Europe
• Art in ancient Babylon
• Discuss movement and rhythm in art

Art Topics Ideas for College Students

College students should, of course, try to look for more complex topics to write their papers about. Here are some great art topics ideas for college students:

• Who was Frida Kahlo?
• Talk about the life and works of Francisco Goya
• The importance of Georgia O’Keeffe’s art
• Balance as a main principle of art
• Discuss the history of printmaking
• Talk about Medieval art

Most Interesting Art Topics to Write About

In this list, we will add our most recent and most interesting art topics to write about. Select the topic you like and start writing your paper right away:

• The woman and child theme in African art
• Spirituality and art
• An in-depth analysis of Kuba art
• How can we decode abstract art?

Art Debate Paper Topics

Did your teacher ask you to write an art debate paper? You will certainly find this list of art debate paper topics very useful in this case:

• Leonardo Da Vinci and religious art
• Renaissance art peculiarities
• Differences between Persian and Asian art
• What makes Claude Monet stand out?
• Unity and variety in modern art

Controversial Art Topics

Don’t be afraid to write a research paper on a controversial topic. You can get some very nice bonus points. Check out these awesome controversial art topics:

• Discuss Chris Ofili’s “The Holy Virgin Mary”
• The controversial “Origin of the World” by Gustave Courbet
• Talk about Marcel Duchamp as a controversial artist
• What makes Yoko Ono a controversial artist?
• The savage art of Gauguin

Modern Art Research Paper Topics

We know, discussing modern art in a research paper is not easy. However, the topic can make a huge difference. Here are some easy modern art research paper topics for you:

• Artistic performances in modern art
• The peculiarities of the Cubism movement
• What is surrealism?
• What is still life art?
• What is Fantasy art?
• Technology in modern art
• Analyze a political cartoon
• Discuss Cubism

Artist Biography Ideas

Writing an artist biography can get you a top grade very quickly. Researching a lesser known artist will also get you bonus points. Here are our best artist biography ideas:

• Talk about the life and works of Frank Lloyd Wright
• An in-depth look at the work of Andy Warhol
• Talk about the life and works of Marcel Duchamp
• Discuss the works of Jackson Pollock
• The contribution of Salvador Dalí to art
• Talk about the life and works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• Talk about the life and works of Grandma Moses
• Talk about the life and works of Henri-Émile-Benoît Matisse

Art Therapy Research Paper Topics

Why not write your next paper on the subject or art therapy? This will certainly get the attention of your professor. Here are some of our best art therapy research paper topics ever:

• Benefits of art therapy for autistic children
• Best techniques for art therapy
• Art therapy in UK hospitals
• Discuss the effects of this type of therapy
• How does art therapy work?
• Interesting activities that can be used as art therapy
• Art therapy in modern United States hospitals
• Latest advancements in art therapy
• Effects of art therapy on abused children
• How effective is art therapy?

African Art Ideas

We can guarantee that your professor will award you some bonus points if you manage to find a great topic. Here are the most interesting African art ideas possible:

• Discuss art in the Yaka and Suku tribes
• Discuss art in Burkina Faso
• Couples in African art
• Analyze the Nubian Pyramids at Meroe
• The importance of art for ritual life in Africa
• Analyze modern art in Zimbabwe
• Art and socio-politics in Africa
• Strangers in African art
• Discuss Islamic arts in ancient Africa
• Analyze art in Tanzania

Writing a paper about art epochs shouldn’t be too difficult. Also, you can find plenty of information about any epoch online. Here are some ideas for an essay about art epochs:

• Talk about art in the Prehistoric epoch
• Discuss ancient art
• Art during the Hellenistic period
• Talk about art in the Baroque epoch
• Talk about prehistoric art in Europe
• Art during the Mannerism period
• Talk about art in the Renaissance epoch
• Art during the Rococo epoch
• Talk about art in the Neoclassicism epoch
• Art during the Mesopotamian age
• Talk about art in the Medieval epoch
• Discuss art during the Byzantine period

Renaissance Art Research Paper Topics

Yes, Renaissance art is not an easy subject. However, if you are a college or university student, you should give our renaissance art research paper topics a try:

• Talk about peculiar altarpieces in the Renaissance period
• What are Fresco cycles?
• Talk about the secularism theme
• The anatomy of the human being in art
• An in-depth analysis of the linear perspective
• Discuss realism in the Renaissance period
• Uses of light in art
• Landscape in Renaissance-era art works
• Discuss the humanism theme
• And in-depth look at rationalism in the Renaissance era

Contemporary Art Research Paper Topics

We’ve discovered that professors really appreciate contemporary art (and papers written about it). So don’t hesitate to pick one of our exceptional contemporary art research paper topics:

• Talk about pop art
• Modern sculptures
• Talk about an important work of modern art
• Talk about architecture as a form of art
• Discuss film as a form of art
• Figurative art vs. geometric art
• Discuss the concept of minimalist art

High School Art Research Paper Topics

Did you know that your teacher will be more likely to give you a top grade if you manage to find an interesting topic? Check out these awesome high school art research paper topics and pick the best one for you:

• Discuss the Surrealist movement
• What makes a work of art abstract?
• Signs of globalization in art
• Compare and contrast the Gothic and Neo-Gothic movements
• What is Abstract Expressionism?
• Talk about the Bauhaus movement
• Compare Russian art and American art during the Cold War

Photography As Art Ideas

Yes, photography is art. Also, you will almost definitely be the only one writing about this subject in your class. Here are our best photography as art ideas:

• Using lighting effectively for photography
• Artistic expressions of renowned photographers
• Discuss 3 of the most famous photographs
• Capturing the vision of the artist on film
• The effects of lenses on the image
• How photography changed the face of art
• Framing and timing techniques
• Are photographs a form of art?
• The many sues of lighting in a photography studio
• Is war photography a form of art?
• Expressing feelings with photos
• The life and work of Alfred Stieglitz

Take Advantage of Our Paper Writing Service

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'Research Art Collection' showcase in Old Main

The Office of the Senior Vice President for Research at Penn State hosted an open house for the “Research Art Collection” on April 25. The collection showcases the fine balance between art and research through various displays. From cassowary bird scans to bio-manufactured fashion to sustainable architecture, these works are featured in several different dimensional formats, including digital, print and 3D. 

“It’s inspiring to see people become engaged in research via the arts, and the arts via research, whether intentional or unintentional on the creator’s part. This curated collection is a reminder that we are sculpting a landscape of knowledge, where we see the depth and dimensions of our discoveries," said Andrew Read, senior vice president for research at Penn State. “We truly appreciate not only the artists and the researchers that contributed their work, but the team that helped curate, install and create this space that sparks conversation and inspiration.”  

Included in the inaugural exhibit are works by researchers and artists in the College of Arts and Architecture, the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, the Social Science Research Institute, Materials Research Institute, the Institute of Energy and the Environment, the College of Health and Human Development and more.  

An image of a flag indicating if the weather is good for whaling in Barrow, AK, taken by SSRI cofund and CSA Director Guangqing Chi, was included in the collection.

José Pinto Duarte, professor of architecture and of landscape architecture, also contributed to the exhibit. 

“Throughout history, art has consistently mirrored the advancements in science and technology of its era," Duarte said. "Creating art that encapsulates the forefront of contemporary science and technology often demands a close collaboration between artists and scientists, blurring the boundaries between their respective domains. The pieces showcased in this exhibition vividly illustrate this concept."

Melik Demirel, Huck Endowed Chair Professor of Biomimetic Materials in the Penn State College of Engineering contributed his team’s research to the exhibit and discussed why he chose to participate.

“We wanted to draw attention to the issue of microfiber plastic pollution," Demirel said. "The use of plastic products has brought us many benefits, but it comes at a cost. The use of plastic requires massive resources, and it fills up landfills and pollutes our oceans.” 

Work from the lab of Seth Bordenstein, director of the Microbiome Center, Huck Chair in Microbiome Sciences and professor of biology and of entomology, is also included in the collection. 

“Wonder weaves science and art together in a tapestry of imagination," Bordenstein said. "This fusion drives momentum for creativity and collaboration across disciplines, ones that have personally enriched my perspective and capacity to think outside the box. In steadfast ways, Penn State is the model for melding our artistic and scientific imaginations together for the benefit of our experiences and growth."

Artwork was selected to highlight the breadth and depth of the art of research. Included in the mixed media exhibit are microscopic images and ceramic representations of zombie-ant fungus, visual virus gears made of powder-coated aluminum and knit sculpture that emphasize the relationship between form, force and material. 

“These captivating works that showcase the remarkable synergy between art and research at Penn State are powerful reminders that art and science are complementary expressions of human creativity and curiosity,” said Kimberly Brue, assistant vice president, research marketing and communications, who led the curation project. “It’s been an honor to drive this collection which features faculty, staff and student’s work from across the enterprise. And a special thank you to the various staff members who assisted with the curation, preparation and installation — such as the Huck Institutes of Life Sciences, the Office of Physical Plant and the sign Shop at Penn State — who were essential in making this a success."

Artwork will be updated annually to continually showcase new works from across Penn State institutes, colleges and campuses. The office, located at 304 in Old Main, is open to visitors to take a self-guided tour weekdays.  

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'Paper Trail' exhibition marks landmark donation of 700 prints to Norton Museum of Art

It's a paper trail of epic proportions.

One of the latest exhibitions at the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach also represents a groundbreaking gift: A promise of nearly 700 prints and other works on paper, from longtime West Palm Beach resident and Norton supporter Jonathan "Jack" Frost.

More: Painting and self-fulfillment: Artist welcomes passersby to his studio in Palm Beach

The exhibition is aptly titled "The Paper Trail: 500 Years of Prints from the Jonathan 'Jack' Frost Collection." It is on view through Aug. 11 and features 75 works from artists including Marc Chagall, Paul Gauguin, Hannah Höch, Edgar Degas, Ėdouard Manet, Henry Moore and Thomas Moran.

"There's something very profound in having the opportunity to be able to see something that you've enjoyed for all these years, and now to share it with the community," Frost said. "I think there's something really special about that."

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The donation was a natural fit for Frost, who has spent decades amassing his collection, as well as years serving on the Norton's Building and Grounds Committee.

"We are grateful to Jack Frost for this incredible promised gift that fills gaps in the Norton’s collection of works on paper and greatly expands our holdings of European and American works, adding variety and breadth," Ghislain d’Humières, the Norton's Kenneth C. Griffin director and chief executive, said in a news release.

Frost began his collection at the behest of Dorothy Braude Edinburg, a well-known collector and dealer who was a longtime family friend of Frost, and who implored him and his sister to consider the potential of prints.

It wasn't his first collection. As a child, Frost collected baseball cards, then comic books. "At one point a number of years ago, I got that call that every son wants to hear from his father: 'Your mother found your baseball cards,'" he recalled, laughing.

Growing up in Massachusetts, Frost sought mostly cards for members of the Boston Red Sox.

In addition to his service to the Norton, Frost — who worked in real estate and construction and is president of Commerce Consulting Inc. — is a familiar face in Palm Beach County's nonprofit world. He's served on a number of boards including the South Florida Fair, Good Samaritan Medical Center, the Law Enforcement Assistance Foundation and the West Palm Beach Police Pension Fund.

One of the first prints he collected was by Claude Mellan, he said. It was from 1642 and had been decommissioned from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. "I was really pleased to find such a fine work available, and here it is, museum-quality, and in my price range," he said.

Edinburg's nose for a good print was unmatched, Frost said. She had connections with dealers, museums and auction houses around the world, and shared her knowledge with Frost and his sister.

"She took it on as a task and a challenge and something she loved," Frost said of Edinburg's efforts to help him grow his print collection.

Initially, Frost viewed his collection as an investment, as Edinburg guided him through a series of smart investments in valuable pieces.

"She knew what she was doing," he said. "She had a very sharp eye, and she was very frugal."

Edinburg encouraged Frost to seek out pieces by the major painters-engravers — peintres-graveurs , in French — of each era. "We had a goal in mind," he said, "and I even have one of the original checklists that she had."

The exhibition is organized chronologically and incorporates prints made using woodcuts, engraving, etching, drypoint and lithography.

Frost is happy to share two of his favorite prints in "The Paper Trail."

One is "Monterey Cypress," by Gustave Baumann, a woodcut print from the 1930s. It features layers of bright colors: emerald green, orange, shades of purple.

"It's very interesting, the way the limbs are formed, and the combination, just the look of it all," Frost said. "The skill of him being able to, with woodcuts, get that and all the justification of the different colors onto paper."

The second of Frost's favorites in "The Paper Trail" is "Making the Engine," by Christopher Richard Wynne Nevinson, a lithograph from 1917.

It's from a series of British propaganda prints created to help promote the war effort, Frost said. In stark black and white, the print shows men at work in a factory's lathe shop. "You get a real sense of the energy within that factory," he said.

Frost said it was an honor to promise his collection to the Norton.

"The membership in the Norton is the greatest deal you can have around here," he said. "As a supporter, the access you have there to a museum that has the finest permanent collection in the Southeast is just incredible."

He started thinking a few years ago about what he would do with his prints. He considered selling the pieces individually, or as a group at auction.

"I really thought that I wanted it put together as a collection and as a tribute to Dorothy," Frost said. "If I started selling them off piece by piece, she'd be rotisserie in her grave."

He knew the Norton would be the best place for it to be maintained and appreciated as a collection, he said. He began talking with Robert Evren, the Norton's consulting curator for European art, and Ellen Roberts, who was the senior curator of American art.

Evren showed Roberts a list of Frost's collection. "She said, 'Take every one,'" Frost said, recalling the conversation with Evren.

About 200 of the prints adorn the walls of Frost's home. The rest have been in boxes, Frost said. "Why not utilize them?" he said. Fifteen of the pieces in the exhibition are from his walls, and will return to Frost's home.

The other 60 belong to the Norton, he said.

What: "The Paper Trail: 500 Years of Prints from the Jonathan 'Jack' Frost Collection."

Where: Norton Museum of Art, 1450 S. Dixie Highway, West Palm Beach

When: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday; 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday; closed Tuesday.

Cost: Museum admission is free for members, $18 for general admission, $15 for ages 60 and older, $5 for students with valid school ID, free for children ages 12 and younger. During Art After Dark on Friday nights, admission is $10 for adults and seniors, and $5 for students.

Information: norton.org

A day in the life of Apple TV+ graphic designer Gina Alessi: "We're surrounded by flurries of paper, set drawings and research photos"

A day in the organised chaos of a film's art department.

Recently acclaimed film graphic designer Gina Alessi revealed how she led an art department crafting the world of Manhunt for Apple TV+ , a period drama about the hunt for Abraham Lincoln's assassin.

The project required hundreds of graphic designs, creating and recreating era perfect wallpapers, posters and signage as well as books, carpets and even the blanket Lincoln died on. You can see more of this work on Gina's portfolio website , as well as work on other productions for Netflix and FX, for shows including American Horror Story, Euphoria and The OA.

The detail of Gina's work is exacting, so I wanted to find out a little more about how a typical day plays out to create this much art for film and TV. Below Gina explains her day and offers advice for anyone wanting to follow in her footsteps.

Life as a graphic designer in film

Graphic designers for film and television primarily work within the art department and due to the computer-based nature of the work, creating digital art and graphic design in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop , as well as Procreate on iPad, Gina says the team doesn't "usually don't work on set but instead camp out in the art department office… It's a pretty lively atmosphere". 

She goes on to describe a colourful and artistically chaotic work environment, saying: "We're surrounded by flurries of paper, set drawings, spontaneous conversations, problem-solving, research photos, material samples, schedules, and for me, lots of to-do lists." 

She continues: "We typically work 10-hour days at minimum, so in the morning everyone gets their coffee and settles in for the long haul. Film graphic designers will have a huge volume of projects to get through – the magic 'key' to my creative process is organisation. 

"Without an organised method, it can all start to get overwhelming, which makes it really hard to create and design in an already high-intensity environment. I like to start the day at 8am by processing my to-do list for the day – making note of anything that has changed from the day before and getting caught up on anything important that has come through my email inbox. 

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"Then (after coffee) I settle in for design work. Our art director(s) and production designer are coming and going from the office throughout the day, so sometimes you'll be waiting to catch someone at the right time to go over the work, get feedback, or answer your questions. 

"By the early afternoon, I'm usually ready for a break, so I'll take a breather (maybe another coffee!) and reorganise my tasks and to-do lists before diving into another batch of design work until I 'hit my 10'. 

"I always end the day by brain-dumping everything I've got going on into a little grid-paper notebook I keep at my desk. Any unfinished tasks roll over to the next day. This ritual helps me go home and 'shut off' after a long day, knowing that everything I need to remember will be waiting for me in my notebook the next morning."

Advice from a pro

Gina takes time to explain working in film and TV isn't always wonderful and newcomers who want an art career in filmmaking need to go in with their eyes wide open. She has recently started a training website and education platform called A Graphic Designer Made That for anyone wanting to master the skills need to succeed in film. 

"Honest and actionable information is always my priority," says Gina. "My goal as an educator is to arm students with the skills, tools, and information they need strategic decisions for their film careers." 

It’s a tough landscape to navigate, but there are a lot of people fighting to make the industry better Gina Alessi, graphic designer

She reflects, "With that in mind, let me say that 2023 was an exceptionally challenging year for film crews and film newcomers, and we aren’t out quite of the woods yet. The industry is going through some restructuring – and as it sorts itself out you might find that breaking into the industry is extra challenging right now". 

Gina goes on to say it's important to be patient and stay positive, explaining the real life day to day work of a graphic designer: "It’s a tough landscape to navigate, but there are a lot of people fighting to make the industry better, too – and we hope that the next generation will benefit from that work."

Finally, Gina wants to give her succinct advice to anyone wanting to work in a film or TV art department: "If you’re a designer who has just started in the industry (or hope to be one some day) now is the time to sharpen your graphics skills, hone your portfolio, and learn as much as you can about the industry."

She adds, "And just like any day on the job, we should expect that changes to the industry are coming, so we’ll be ready to pivot and adapt when they do".

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Ian Dean is Editor, Digital Arts & 3D at Creativebloq, and the former editor of many leading magazines. These titles included ImagineFX, 3D World and leading video game title Official PlayStation Magazine. In his early career he wrote for music and film magazines including Uncut and SFX. Ian launched Xbox magazine X360 and edited PlayStation World. For Creative Bloq, Ian combines his experiences to bring the latest news on AI, digital art and video game art and tech, and more to Creative Bloq, and in his spare time he doodles in Procreate, ArtRage, and Rebelle while finding time to play Xbox and PS5. He's also a keen Cricut user and laser cutter fan, and is currently crafting on Glowforge and xTools M1.

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Korean art, history in Hawaiʻi enlightened through UH Hilo partnership

• May 17, 2024

Researchers at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo collaborated to illuminate the forgotten history of Koreans on Hawaiʻi Island. Faculty from the English , business , language and art departments contributed to the new exhibition, “One Heart: Korean Art and History Across the Pacific,” which brings together art and new historical research at Wailoa Center in Hilo.

At the helm of UH Hilo’s partnership is Seri Luangphinith, an English professor who has done extensive research into the history of Korean immigrants to Hawaiʻi Island. Among the displays, visitors will find gravestone rubbings she collected from field work on Hawaiʻi Island. Through Luangphinith’s exemplary research, Korean families on island have been able to reconnect with long-lost generations of their ancestors.

“We need to better understand and appreciate the Asian presence on this island,” said Luangphinith. “Koreans are a forgotten people here, and that’s unfortunate given their contributions to the local community and to Korea.”

Finding history

Luangphinith’s research spans from the arrival of the first Koreans to Hawaiʻi Island to the exploration of Korean cemeteries.

• Related UH News story: UH Hilo professor publishes book exploring the history of Korean immigrants , May 1, 2018

The first wave of Korean immigrants arrived from 1905 through the 1920s. The second wave came during the Japanese occupation, followed by another arrival during the Korean War.

“On a hunch, I started looking at Korean cemeteries because I knew that Japanese and Chinese immigrants recorded hometowns and families on their graves and sure enough the Koreans also did the same thing,” Luangphinith said.

Creative showcase

Art fills the second floor of the exhibition, which showcases the diverse voices and visions of Korean artists. From paintings and mixed-media artworks to artifacts and ceramics, the gallery show takes the viewer on a creative, emotional and historical journey. Michael Marshal, an art professor at UH Hilo, curated the exhibit, and artworks were juried or extensively assessed by Mizin Shin, an assistant professor at the University of Rochester. Faculty and students from UH Hilo’s art department helped prepare the works for display.

“Collaboration is a journey, within which everyone who is engaged with the process comes away with a broader understanding of the subjects,” said Marshall.

The exhibition opened on May 3 and will run through June 20. It is supported by the UH Hilo College of Arts and Sciences and the UH Mānoa Office of Student Equity, Excellence and Diversity . Major funding comes from the Hawaiʻi Council for the Humanities through support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Free online event

Talk Story with digital media artist Gary Chong, June 1, 10:30 a.m. Chong, who is Korean and Native Hawaiian, will share thoughts on how his art captures the dark side of Hawaiʻi plantation life for Koreans that is far from the local glorified “melting pot.”

To register for Zoom, email: [email protected]

For more go to UH Hilo Stories.

— By Susan Enright

Related Posts:

• UH Hilo researcher appointed to South Korea special…
• Center for Korean Studies to commemorate 50th anniversary
• 120th year of Korean immigration to Hawaiʻi…
• previous post: Haute couture gown by Japanese fashion designer donated to UH
• next post: Investing in our cancer-related health: How raising the cigarette tax would help our community

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Forum Prize 2024 – ‘The Art(s) of Delight’

Entries are invited for the 2024 Forum Essay Prize, on the subject of: ‘The Art(s) of Delight’

Forum for Modern Language Studies are looking for bold, visionary and persuasive essays that use academic research to pursue innovative questions. The winning essay will be that judged by the panel to have best addressed the topic with flair, ambition and resonance.

The topic may be addressed from the perspective of any of the literatures and cultures normally covered by the journal: Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. Submissions in comparative literature and literary translation studies are also welcomed, as are those dealing with visual art, film and the performing arts. Forum for Modern Language Studies aims to reflect the essential pluralism of research in modern languages and to provide a forum for world- wide scholarly discussion.

We are seeking submissions that focus on literature, film, art, or other cultural outputs that manifest delight in their content or form and/or which provoke us to find joy in how we read, write, research and teach in our discipline(s). Possible approaches to the subject include, but are not limited to:

• reunions, parties and celebrations;
• epiphanies and happy ends;
• welcome discoveries;
• difficulties resolved;
• moments of astonishment;
• sensory delight;
• the pleasure(s) of the text;
• new life and the joy of (artistic) creation;

The competition is open to all researchers, whether established or early career. Previous competitions have been won by scholars in both categories.

The winner will receive:

• Publication of the winning essay in the next appropriate issue of Forum for Modern Language Studies
• A prize of £500

A panel of judges will read all entries, which will be assessed anonymously. At the judges’ discretion, a runner-up prize of £200 may be awarded. The Editors may commission for publication in Forum for Modern Language Studies any entries that are highly commended by the judges.

• Entry requirements and Submission details for the Forum Prize 2024:
• The closing date for entries is 1 July 2024.
• Entries must be written in English, be between 6000 and 8000 words in length (including notes), should conform to MHRA style, and must be accompanied by an abstract (approx. 150 words) summarizing the principal arguments and mak- ing clear the relevance of the essay to the competition subject.
• Essays should be submitted online at https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/fmls , be flagged as Forum Prize entries, and follow the journal’s Instructions to Authors. For initial queries and questions about the Forum Prize, contact Prof. Sara Jones ( [email protected] , GE Forum Prize).

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Home > Conferences and Events > Research Week > 2024 > Oral Presentations > 58

Oral Presentations

The Psychology Behind Storytelling

Presenter Information

Stephanie Russak , Liberty University Follow

Oral - Creative and Artistic

Description

This paper will examine the art of storytelling and how humanity is psychologically wired to crave stories. While humans used to tell stories to point to a food supply, ward off danger, or preserve family history, today, people gather in front of movie screens, theater stages, and concert halls. This paper will explore that evolutionary process and how stories remain prevalent in the modern era. It will explore the question “What compels our brain to capture its waning attention span and listen to a story?” This paper looks deeper into what psychologists call “narrative transportation” and how the brain engages in seven different regions to help immerse itself. Not only will it analyze what happens in the brain when a story begins, transpires and ends, but also how a storyteller and listener connect on a cerebral level. This paper will also contribute the Theory of Mind and how it is displayed in storytelling. This paper will prove that it is because of the existence of stories that humanity tries to explain how the world works and provides order. It will conclude that it is through the power of storytelling that people connect with each other through shared experiences as it provides a narrative structure that is familiar, engages emotions, and satisfies. Stories have the ability to pass along emotions of happiness, anger, remorse, or sadness through countless generations and open a window into the lives of hardship, joy, passion, and love. Humanity is psychologically wired to receive such stories which is what makes them delectable and necessary in a fast-paced modern world.

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UB artist part of public art installation at Brooklyn Navy Yard

research news

The Hedgework urban landscape intervention at the Brooklyn Navy Yard takes the form of a sentient hedgerow that engages the public by using artificial intelligence.

UBNOW STAFF

Published May 20, 2024

Anyone making plans to visit Brooklyn over the next few months will be able to see and experience a new public art installation at the Brooklyn Navy Yard that features the work of a UB artist and architect.

Mark Shepard, associate professor in the Department of Architecture, School of Architecture and Planning, is among the collaborators on a project called Hedgework, an urban landscape intervention that takes the form of a sentient hedgerow that engages the public by using artificial intelligence.

The Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation (BNYDC) and its partners are presenting a series of events celebrating design as part of the NYCxDesign Festival. Among the events is a public art reveal and opening reception for Hedgework held on May 18.

Through an open call process in fall 2023, BNYDC invited local artists, designers, and fabricators to submit their proposals for public art in the forecourts of Building 92 and Building 77 at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, a 300-acre ecosystem that houses more than 500 businesses and employs more than 11,000 people.

Creators were asked to respond to the theme of “transformation.” Proposals went through a juried selection process, with members of the selection committee drawn from BNYDC and community partners with public art expertise from BRIC, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Art, Roulette Intermedium and The Invisible Dog Art Center. The public art will be on view through Nov. 10.

Hedgework is a community of native plants and environmental sensors that create a biodiverse habitat that supports the butterflies, bees, birds and squirrels that inhabit it, while engaging the community members, workers, cyclists, pedestrians and others that surround it.

But the essential and unique transformational relationship the Hedgerow creates is the real conversation between human and more-than-human stakeholders. Its infrastructure helps to generate a series of feedback loops that provide many opportunities for playful response and interaction. Hedgework seasonally transforms over the lifecycle of its installation, growing, generating data, building knowledge and writing a soundtrack that reflects the climate and disposition of the site.

The hedgerow draws on real-time and historical-data streams to playfully communicate the state of its microbiome and the surrounding conditions. In addition, the installation partners with a composer to transform environmental data into a generative audio stream. Hedgework’s soundtrack reflects its environmental state and can be accessed by passersby, providing an ambient indicator of the present qualities and conditions of the site.

“Hedgework, in and of itself, is a community engagement platform that allows people to see, hear and touch nature in new ways, inviting understanding and experience with urban nature in the city rather than pushing it to the sidelines,” Shepard says.

Other collaborators on the project are Marek Walczak, Civic Space LLC, and Antonina Simeti, Timbre Consultants, with support from Robbie Lee, sound composition, and Wes Heiss, Civic Space LLC.