Description
For this assignment, you are asked to take on the role of a virtual art curator, using the Google Arts & Culture website. Google Arts & Culture is part of the Google Cultural Institute, a project in which hundreds of museums, cultural institutions, and archives have partnered with Google to host the world’s cultural art and artifacts online. You will then be asked to reflect upon your choices in a Curator’s Statement and offer a comparison of two works of art. In addition, you will analyze the role of digital museum institutions.Curate! Project: Curate, Compare & Contrast
10 points / 10% of final grade
HOW TO SUBMIT: Upload your document via the submission link in Canvas.
OVERVIEW AND RESOURCES
For this assignment, you are asked to take on the role of a virtual art curator, using the Google Arts & Culture
website. Google Arts & Culture is part of the Google Cultural Institute, a project in which hundreds of museums,
cultural institutions, and archives have partnered with Google to host the world’s cultural art and artifacts online.
You will then be asked to reflect upon your choices in a Curator’s Statement and offer a comparison of two works
of art. In addition, you will analyze the role of digital museum institutions.
Explore the Google Arts & Culture site using the resources below:
• Google Cultural Institute – Google Arts & Culture (main site)
o See About the Project
o Spend time experimenting with the interface and organization of the Google Arts & Culture. While
you navigate, analyze assumptions in the way the artwork is presented, represented and
structured. Choose museums to visit and go on “walk-throughs,” view the available high-resolution
images, and search by such options as medium, artist, historical event, and place to begin curating
your selections.
o In addition, visit and explore the “Experiments” link in which artists and coders have created new
ways to view art digitally using new technologies. Click here to explore: Google Arts & Culture
Experiments.
• Background on Google Arts & Culture and its technologies (Optional):
o The Google “Art Camera” (high resolution images); Video about the Art Camera
o The Google Arts and Culture YouTube Channel
• In addition to the resources above, refer to chapters in Part 4 (The Visual Record: Placing the Arts in
Historical Contexts) and Part 5 (Themes of Art: Seeing Continuity and Change Over Time) of your textbook.
INSTRUCTIONS AND FORMAT
After spending time exploring the available artworks and museums in the Google Arts & Culture interface, you are
required to choose 9-12 artworks for your virtual exhibition. Your exhibition must be thematically cohesive
and revolve around a specific theme, cultural issue, or historical event. How are the works connected? Do not
simply choose artworks at random. Rather, determine how the works you choose work together visually and
thematically, and/or reflect the historical event or cultural issue chosen. There are hundreds of museums, cultural
institutions, and archives to browse. However, there are two parameters set:
❖ You must choose works from at least three different museums/institutions.
❖ Your exhibition must include works by at least at least two different global cultures.
You must include the following in your assignment response.
• Exhibition Link(s) and Title: Instructions on how to share your exhibition are detailed later in this
document.
ARH3001 Introduction to Art
Page 2 of 4
• Curator’s Statement: (450 word minimum) Provide insight into your choices and thought process.
Please go beyond: “I picked them because I liked them” – this type of brief explanation will result in a
reduced grade. Be enthusiastic, leaving your audience with the desire to “visit” your exhibition. How are
your works connected? In your statement, you must include a comparison of two specific works from your
collection. Doing so will help demonstrate an understanding of how the contexts, culture, and technologies
surrounding the making and reception of a work of art reflect cultural values.
o In addition to the general overview of your exhibition, within your statement you must identify
one specific work from your collection (artist, title, date, medium, dimensions, and location) and
discuss how it exemplifies your chosen theme. Identify and describe the period of art and historical
context in which the particular artwork was made (see Part 4 of your textbook for help in identifying
artistic periods/movements). How does the work reflect that period/context? Include a discussion of
how the artwork’s materials (medium) relates to the context in which it was made and how that
affects its message and reception.
o Next, select and fully identify a second work from your collection that is from a different art
historical context and culture. Compare and contrast the two works in terms of formal
appearance, the artists’ intentions, and how you respond to their different approaches. Describe at
least one similarity and one difference in how the theme is reflected in these two works. What do
the works tell you about each culture’s values, attitudes and/or beliefs? Be specific, pointing to both
contextual evidence and visual evidence to support your arguments.
• Reflection on Digital Museums: (350 word minimum): Now that you have explored the Google Arts &
Culture digital interface in depth, you can now analyze that experience and perhaps compare it to brick and
mortar museums. In your discussion, it is helpful to reflect on both types as being embedded within
cultural, social, and economic systems.
o Consider the Google Arts & Culture website and its interface. What are the positives and negatives
of using such technology to re-present cultural artefacts, history, and cultural memory? The
following questions can be used to help formulate your response (you do NOT have to answer all of
these questions, but one or two of them may help steer your discussion of this topic.):
▪ Does the technology used by Google seem well-suited to the exhibition of art?
▪ Who is the intended audience/viewer?
▪ Through high resolution digitization, how does our viewing of the artwork change?
▪ Since it can only represent what is already digitized, what may be left out of the artistic and
cultural record?
▪ What questions might it open up about the role and function of the physical museum
(curation, preservation, education, etc.)?
▪ How does the representation of art online relate to the overall digital culture which includes
social media and device apps? Does it confuse “art” representations with entertainment and
other media?
▪ Explore the “Experiments” by coders and artists – alternatives to traditional modes of
online art viewing – in what way do these alternative conceptualizations offer new
possibilities for interacting with the image/artwork?
ARH3001 Introduction to Art
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How to Use the Google Art Project Website
1. Go to the website: https://artsandculture.google.com.
2. In order to save images you can log into Google email (Gmail). Click the Sign In button at the upper right of
the screen. Most USF email accounts are already linked to Google and can be used.
3. Open the sidebar.
4. Explore and find artworks. Using the sidebar options, explore artworks by artist, media, art movements, etc.
You can also use the search function found in the upper right area of the screen.
5. When you find an artwork of interest, select it. A heart icon will appear under the image. Click on the
heart icon to add it to your favorites. Continue finding artworks of interest, favoriting them and
adding them to your profile. Keep in mind that there are “Stories” and individual artworks. Try to find the
individual artworks to save.
6. Click on your Favorites (in the upper right menu options) to view everything you have saved.
7. Next click Galleries and “Create a Gallery” using selected works.
8. NOTE: Normally, students have been able to share their selections by simply using the “Gallery” feature
and publicly sharing the URL. HOWEVER, the GALLERY URL links are not currently working. Until this is
resolved, the following instructions are a workaround and must be used to turn in your work:
o Take a screenshot/print screen of your collection. Embed a largesized
image of your screenshot at the end of your document.
o Next, copy and paste individual links to each artwork in a list
under your “Gallery” screenshot.
(Example: https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/the-flight/5AHlkq2260PzxQ)
ARH3001 Introduction to Art
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FORMAT AND SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Submit in a Word document (.doc, .docx) or convert to .pdf. Any other formats are NOT accepted and will result
in a zero (0) grade. Corrupt files or incorrect documents will also result in a zero (0).
Use 12-point font, Times New Roman, one inch margins and indent the first line of each new paragraph.
Double-space. Italicize all artwork titles. Writing in first person is acceptable. Proofread before submission.
Use MLA style when citing sources.
RUBRIC
Your project will be evaluated based on the cohesiveness of your collection, your thoroughness in explaining your
choices and your response to all the questions and steps above. Your project and response will also be evaluated
for its use of proper spelling, punctuation, and grammar. The rubric below is a general guide. A rubric with points
and specific grading criteria is attached to the assignment in Canvas.
10 points 8-9 points 7-6 points 1-5 points
Focus Follows all directions. Stays on
topic all of the time. Collection
is thematically cohesive and
original. Was not overly reliant
on images from one or two
collections.
Follows most of the
directions. Stays on topic
most of the time. Collection
is thematically cohesive but
limited to only one or two
museum collections.
Follows some, but not all,
directions. Stays on topic
some of the time.
Collection is not quite
thematically cohesive.
Collection is not
cohesive – does not
show evidence of
thoughtfulness in
creation.
Clarity and
Support for
Ideas
Explanation for thematic choice
is eloquent and thorough and
demonstrates thoughtfulness in
approach. Supports all points
with examples and
explanations. Demonstrates
understanding of different
cultural and art historical
contexts through a thoughtful
comparison of two artworks.
Explanation for thematic
choice is good, but could
use slight elaboration.
Supports some points with
examples and explanations.
Demonstrates some
understanding of cultural
or art historical contexts,
but further elaboration and
research is required.
Explanation for thematic
choices is too brief, needs
much more elaboration.
Supports few points with
examples and
explanations. Does not
demonstrate much effort
in comparing two
artworks from different
contexts.
Does not seem to
understand the
assignment very well.
Does not provide
additional explanation of
points. Does not include
comparison of artworks
from different contexts.
Mechanics Uses proper spelling,
punctuation, and grammar in all
posts 100% of the time.
URL link to collection works
properly as requested in the
instructions.
Uses proper spelling,
punctuation, grammar in
all posts most of the time.
URL link to collection
works properly as
requested in the
instructions.
Uses proper spelling,
punctuation, grammar in
all posts some of the time.
Collection and response is
provided but does not
align completely with
what is requested in the
assignment instructions.
Uses poor spelling,
punctuation, grammar in
all posts most of the
time. URL link is not
included or does not
work (i.e., links to a
private gallery, links to
one artwork and not the
entire collection).