The document provides instructions for a research project in an art appreciation class. Students will be assigned a piece of art to research and will then reinterpret it through their own creative work. They must write a 4-page research paper discussing the original artwork and their reinterpretation using at least 6 credible sources, and present their reinterpretation in another medium such as photography, painting, or poetry. The written portion is due November 27th.

1. Art Appreciation
Professor Will Adams • wadams5@valenciacollege.edu
Osceola Campus – Building 1, Room 232 • Tuesdays & Thursdays, 10:00 – 11:15 AM
Research Project Instructions
For your research assignment, you will be tasked with researching a piece of art, and then
reinterpreting it in your own creative way. The following will guide you through the basic process you will use to
create your reinterpretation:
1. You will choose a piece of art as a topic, as provided by me, from a grab bag.
2. Once you’ve chosen your piece of art, perform research on it.
3. For a four-page research project, you should use no fewer than 6 credible sources.
i. With the exception of the databases available through Valencia’s libraries, none of your sources
may come from the Internet (Google, Wikipedia, etc.)
4. After you’ve completed your research and have a good understanding of the piece of art’s meaning, use
what you’ve learned to create your own interpretation of it.
• You may, and in fact are encouraged to, change the medium from the original work of art to
your own. For instance, if you choose a painting, you may reinterpret that as a painting, a song,
a film, etc.
• Be sure the medium you choose caters to your own abilities and interests, not the original
artist’s. Media to consider for your interpretation include photography, fashion design,
painting, dance, sculpture, modeling, film, or poetry.
• Be creative and “think outside the box”!
5. Finally, craft a research paper that first discusses the original artwork, as you understand it from your
research.
• This section should make up the bulk of your paper’s length – at least 3 pages.
• You should not use first or second person point-of-view when writing this section of your paper.
• After discussing the original artwork, then discuss your own interpretation. Be sure to explain
your own perspective and artistic choices. This is the only section of your paper in which you are
allowed to use first-person point-of-view (i.e. “After completing my research on Andy Warhol, I
concluded that…”).
• Collectively, the written component of your project should total 4 full pages (not including
cover or Works Cited pages).
• Your text should be double-spaced, set in Arial size 12 font, and have standard 1” margins. Use
proper MLA style citation for in-text citations, the Works Cited page, and the cover page (refer
to attached MLA style guide for help).
6. Both the artistic and the written components of your project are due in class on November 27th
.
In Conclusion: Have as much fun as you can with this! This assignment isn’t meant as a punishment, but
rather as an opportunity for you to synthesize academic skills with personal expression. The more passionate
you are about your chosen topic, the less “work” this assignment will be.