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Arts 2F / ICS 5 Research Paper Assignment
Multicultural Arts in the U.S. – ONLINE class
C. Cadge-Moore
Contemporary American artists address a wide range of topics relevant to us. These topics include: maintaining
cultural traditions, racism today, struggles of immigrants, war, the environmental crisis, gender discrimination,
and political controversies. Some artists explore subjects about racism and discrimination in America’s past.
Others focus upon globalization or issues relevant to the country of their family’s origin. Creativity is used to
express these concerns along with cultural identity.
How do artists address current topics in their artworks? In what ways do artists today include culture in art?
Choose one contemporary artist from the list below to describe in your paper. I have included an image of one
example of each artist’s work to begin to get your interest.
Michael
Arcega
Sung
Ho Choi
Willie
Cole
Binh Danh
Titus Kaphar
Hung
Liu
Roger
Shimomura
Shahzia
Sikander
Roxanne
Swentzell
Jaune
Quick-to-
See Smith
Lawrence Paul
Yuxweluptun
Carmen
Lomas
Garza
Annu
Palakunnathu
Matthew
Favianna
Rodriguez
Write a research paper (1400 words minimum – PROVIDE A WORD COUNT), which includes the following:
1. An introduction to your topic. It would be possible to write an entire book about any of these artists.
You will have to select some specific aspect of their work to discuss. Make sure to include a clear
thesis statement. For example, you might find a common subject or theme the artist addresses. What
do you have to say about this artist and his/her work? – Do NOT write a biography of the artist.
Include biographical information relevant to the artist’s work, then expand upon your thesis and the
artworks.
2. As best as possible, discuss the context(s) of the art you are addressing. What does the art reveal
about culture, multiculturalism, the artist’s ethnic background or gender? Does the artwork address
any current issues relevant to the artist or her/his community? Does the art address themes that are
personally relevant to you?
***I encourage you to use information from personal interviews from the community. Include the
name of the person that you interviewed and date in a Works Cited list. For example, if your paper is
about an artist who addresses Korean immigration as a topic, you could interview a Korean-American
friend at work for useful information. You might want to show some of the artist’s work to the person
you are interviewing.
3. Pick representative examples of artworks by the artist to illustrate your thesis. Include images of the
works you discuss. Identify, if possible, each of these works by title and date. Describe what you
see depicted in the art. However, do not just describe the content of the art. Think about it. Describe
how the artist uses color, images, material, composition, etc. to express themes in the art. Often an
artist’s work draws on imagery from other sources or traditions. What are some of the sources for the
work you are discussing? Why has the artist made these choices? Have fun and be creative!
4. Academic research papers must include notes/citations in the body of the text to show how sources
are used to support the statements made. For example, if you state where an artist was born, how do
you know? What is your source of information? You do not need to cite sources for things that are
generally known or are your personal opinion. If you include a direct quote from a source, put it in
quotation marks or blockquote format and cite your source. Quotes should not make up more than
20% of your paper.
5. Conclusion. What do you think about this artist’s work? How does it relate to the subject of the
class? What have you learned about art by studying this work?
6. Include a bibliography (Works Cited list). Use at least four different (in addition to Wikipedia if
you use) sources and use documentation (citations or notes) in the body of your paper to show
how these sources are used. Do not use information or analysis from sources you do not cite
and present it as your own. This is plagiarism and will not be tolerated.
***Remember to proofread. You will be marked down for poor grammar, spelling or careless writing. It
might help to get someone else to read it such as an assistant in the Writing and Reading Center in order to
get their feedback.
DUE: Monday, March 18th, by midnight. There will be a link to upload the paper to Canvas (under week
10). ***Make sure to make the pictures small files in order to be uploaded.
NO late papers will be accepted without prior approval from the instructor. Feel free to ask for help if
needed!