AAH 370: The Arts of Ancient Mesoamerica

Please prepare a 1-page, written formal analysis of a Mesoamerican artwork of your choice (10% of the overall grade).

• Title the assignment Formal Analysis [Name of Artwork], [Your Name]
• On the next line, list the DOI or stable URL of the image you are analyzing so that I can see it for myself.
• If you are using an illustration from a printed exhibition catalog then properly cite it in CMOS author-date style.
• Write your analysis in Microsoft Word or in Google Docs and then convert it to Microsoft Word (.docx).
• Use Times New Roman (12 point font), single (1-line) spacing with 1" margins.

Read this carefully...

"Keep in mind that formal analysis does not mean producing a long, minute description of the artwork. Instead, you're trying to see how far you can interpret [analyze] the image without consulting outside sources beyond the basic facts of identification" (D'Alleva 76). The point is to analyze a work in relation to its formal elements to support your thesis. Students may compare the formal aspects of two related pieces if desired (81-83). Please do not provide contextual or iconographic analysis in which your interpretation is tied, for example, to the elite(s) who commissioned the work or mythological tales or figures such as the Hero Twins from the Popol Vuh.

For help with this assignment, re-read D'Alleva (27-51, 76-83) and then read Writing a Formal Analysis in Art History (Hamilton College Writing Center). D'Alleva (51) provides an example of a short formal analysis of a Matisse painting. Miller in our textbook often describes, sometimes in multiple uninterrupted sentences, the formal qualities of the works she discusses. Here are two examples (without a thesis):

In regard to the Olmec Kunz Axe, Miller writes, "More than half the celt is devoted to the creatures' face, giving it a small-scale version of a colossal head. The open, toothless mouth and closely set, slanting eyes [give the impression] of a howling human infant. The viewer's attention first focuses on the open mouth, and then the more subtle qualities of the rest of the creature's body becomes evident. His hands are worked in lower relief, and in them he grasps a miniature version of himself, a simple celt. Feet and toes are indicated only by simple lines, and incisions also mark the face, ears, and upper body, perhaps to suggest tattooing, ear ornaments, and a tunic. The jade has been worked to a silken smoothness, with a surface like that of fine, young, taut, human skin" (27).

In reference to the Great Goddess sculpture from Teotihuacan, Miller writes, "[H]er thick, stable base was intended to keep her in position forever. In her architectural form, in which the line of her hands bifurcates the andesite prism, she is like a building itself: one can draw lines from her chin to her feet, giving a pyramidal form topped by the massive head and cleft headdress" (84).

How do I find my primary artwork?

Use ARTstor or one of the sites listed on the Selected Websites page of this guide to find your artwork(s). Various parts of FAMSI's website such as Justin Kerr's Maya Vase database are also good bets. Students so inclined might wish to draw or sketch their chosen artwork. Why? Drawing the object will force you to notice color, composition, line, mass, scale, shape, space (negative and positive), and texture, all formal aspects of the work.

I encourage and will reward you with extra credit for a visit to Art of the Ancient Americas (Princeton Art Museum) or Mexico & Central America Gallery (Penn Museum) to select a Mesoamerican artwork for this assignment. Why? See the "Context" box in the left-hand column.

However you go about preparing, remember that the analysis must be your own. Do not borrow from or cite secondary sources that analyze your chosen artwork(s). Do not use AI.

• Due date for written formal analysis: April 24 (upload to Canvas before midnight)

Prepare a 10-minute PowerPoint (or equivalent) presentation based on your written analysis to share with the class (10% of the overall grade).

• I recommend the e-book below and/or these e-books for help with public speaking. You might get the most out of Chapter 4, "Eight Solutions to Conquer Speakers' Nerves," in which preparation and practice are emphasized.
• Students will give their presentations on May 1 (Week 14) and May 8 (Week 15).

The primary outcome for this assignment is to practice writing a formal analysis and giving a presentation.