Studentname:

OliviaZ

Project#:
2

Workingversionofprojecttitle:
Project"ICanMakeThat"Greattitle.

ResearchProposalfirstdraft

1.

Statetheessentialquestion

Howcanageneralpubliclearntoappreciateartthat,onfirstglance,theymaydismiss?

Good.
2.

Statetheprimaryresearchquestion

Howcanoneteachappreciationofartthatmightbedismissedinitiallybyencouragingviewers
tointerpretandrecreatetheseworksofart?

Good.

3.

Statethesecondaryresearchquestionsyouhave(makesurethesearefairly
comprehensiveandextensive).

Whataspectsoffineartmakeitmorevaluabletosomepeople(talent,effort,creativity,etc.)?
Howdoesthevalueofartdifferfromthemindsofthoseeducatedinarttothoseuneducatedin
arttoartdealerstoartcollectors?
Doesthemajorityofthegeneralpublicpreferthemorecomplexorrepresentationalstylesof
art?
Inamuseumexhibit,whichpiecesgetthemostandleastattention?
Whatcausesaviewertowalkpastapieceinanexhibitbuttostandandlookatanotherone?

Howdoesthebackground(age,gender,culture,artexperience)ofapersonaffecthis/her
appreciationofthedifferentstylesofart?
Canone'sopinionofaworkofartbechanged?
Howcanoneinterpretabstractorunconventionalartwork?Istherearightorwrongway?
Isiteasiertointerpretrealistic,representationalartthanabstractart?
Whatisthesignificanceofspecificartmovementsthatchallengetheartisticconvention?
Whentheviewerofanartworkderisivelymakesthejudgementthathe/shecouldmakethe
particularworkhim/herself,canhe/sheactuallyrecreateit?
Isitpossibletocreateatrulynewstyleoffineartonethatisnotderivativeofanyother
artists?

Good
4.

Descriptionofwhatthefinalproductwilllooklike.(Besurethatyouarevery
thoroughhere.Takeusthroughtheentireprocessfromnowuntilthefinalproduct.
Ifitwouldbehelpfultoyou,numberthestepsandproceedthroughthemthrough
andincludingyourfinalproduct.Inshort:youMUSTdescribetheprocesshere.
Thisisvitaltotheapprovalprocessonyourresearchproposal.)

1.

Toidentifythebias,Iwillfirstcreateasurveytodistributetoalarge,diversegroupof
people.Thesurveywillhelpdeterminewhatkindsofartworkapersoneasilydismisses.Iwill
researchthebestwaytodesignasurveyinorderfortheimplicitbiastobeclear.Iwill
distributethesurveylikelyatschool,onthestreet,tofamilyandfriends,and/oratmuseums
sotheresultsofthesurveywillaccuratelyreflecttheopinionsofthegeneralpublic.Checkout
theImplicitBiassurveythatwasdoneaboutraceattitudes
(https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/)theformatforthatmayprovetobeagoodmodelfor
you.
Iwillanalyzetheresultsofthesurvey,determinethebias(preferenceaboutartworks),and
doresearchaboutwhythisbiasexists.Iwillreviewtheexistingliteratureandconductafew
interviewswithviewersaboutwhytheyfeelthewaytheyfeelaboutcertainartistic
styles/genres/etc.
Iwillresearchanumberofartmovements,artists,andartworksthatpeopleeasilydismiss,as
determinedbythesurvey.Iwilldeterminethehistoricalcontextandsignificanceofthese,and
Iwillprepareaminilessontobetaughtintheworkshoptoraisetheparticipants
appreciationofthem.Arethesamepeopleinyour#1intheworkshop?
Iwillresearchwaystoengageviewersinart,asinwaystointerpretartwork.Iwilllookinto
theVTSstrategyandanyothersIcomeacrossandIwillreviewthemfortheirsuccessin
raisingonesappreciationofart.andthisiswhereyouwanttodoaconsiderableamountof
yourresearch.
Iwilllookatafeweasilydismissedartworksmoreindepthandplanadiscussiontobehad
aboutthemandthinkabouthowIcanfacilitatethisdiscussiontofurthertheparticipants
appreciationoftheseworks.Iwillalsoprepareadiscussionaboutapieceofartworkthatis
laudedbymostpeopleandfigureouthowIcancompareittotheeasilydismissedworksso
thatIcanchangetheviewersminds/wearawayattheirprejudices.
IwillidentifyoneworkofartthatdeceptivelylookseasytorecreateandIwillattemptto

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.
9.
10.
11.
12.

recreateitmyself.Iwillidentifywhatmakestheworkseemeasytocreateandwhatmakesit
hardtocreateinreality.
Iwillresearchhowartistshaveaffectedoneanother,especiallytheartistswhoseworkis
easilydismissed.Iwilltracehownewideashavebeenintroducedandinspiredotherartistsor
amovementinarthistory.Iwilldeterminewhichartistshavecomeupwithanideathat
nobodyhaddonebefore.IwillalsoseeifIcaneventhinkofanewstyleofartthatisnot
derivedfromanyexistingone.
Iwillplanmyworkshopandtheactivitiesandtestthemonasmallgroupoffriends.Iwill
determinewhichactivitiesworkwellandwhichdonot,andrevisemyplanfortheworkshop.
(Thisstepwillcomesometimeearlier)IwillfindalocationwhereIcanhostmyworkshop
andIwillfindatleast15peoplewhocanattendit.Howwillyouselectpeopleforthe
workshop?
IwilldesignanothersurveythatIcandistributeattheendoftheworkshopthatwillaskthe
participantshowtheiropinionschangedasaresultoftheworkshop.
Iwillreviewtheresultsfromtheworkshopandwriteananalysisofit.
IwillgatherallmydataandpicturesandresearchandcompileitintoaphotobookofwhichI
willprintafewcopies.

5.

Statehowthisresearchwilladvancethefrontiersofknowledgeand/ormatterand
besignificantinameaningfulway.

ForthisprojectIwillhostaworkshopfordiversegroupofpeopleandtrytoteachthemto
appreciateworksofarttheymayinitiallydismiss.AspartoftheworkshopIwilldeterminethe
generalpreferenceorbiasofthegroupbyaskingtheiropinionsofvariousartworks,andIwill
teachashortlessonaboutthesignificanceofthestylesofartthattheyappreciatetheleast
(havingresearchedtheseindependently).Iwillthenshowthemhowtointerprettheworksof
artwhichtheyfindhardtounderstandandIwillaskthemtorecreateaworkofartthatthey
claimtobeabletodothemselvestoseeiftheyactuallycan,todeterminehowmucheffort
andtalentgoesintoartthatseemstorequireverylittle.

6.

Stateanticipatedpotentialpitfallsorproblemsofthisresearcheffort

OnepitfallthatImayencounterinitiallyhastodowithidentifyingthebias.Thegeneralpreference
whenitcomestoartmaynotbeasprevalentordefinedasIhadthought,andfromthereitwouldbe
moredifficulttotargetthebias.

Itmaybehardtofindparticipantsfortheworkshop.Theremaynotbealotofpeoplewhoare
underappreciativeofartwhowanttoparticipateinaworkshopaboutart.ThosewhoIdofindmight
notbediverseenoughformyresultstoseemuniversallyapplicable.

Duringtheworkshop,itmaybehardtoengagetheparticipants.IfIamexpectingquiteafew
peoplewhodonotknowmuchaboutart,theymayfeeluncomfortablediscussingtheartworkswe
lookatintheworkshop,acrucialpartoftheresearch.


Apossiblepitfallintheworkshopistheparticipantslackofexperience.Thosewhohavenever
workedwiththeartsupplieswewillbeusingintheactivitiesmayfreezeupandfeeluncomfortable
participating,thusdrawingbackfromthemeaningfulnessoftheresultsoftheactivities.

Goodacknowledgingthepotentialpitfalls.Wethinkyoullovercomethem...
7.

Stateyouratentativeplantolocateandreviewtheliteraturerelatedtoyour
project.Thisincludesprinted/publishedsourcesandonlinesources.[Theresearch
strategy,part#1]

Iwilllocatemostofmyliteratureonlinethroughwebsitesandscholarlydatabases,andatthelibrary
forprintedinformation.Mostofthesesourceswillberelatedtoartcriticismandarteducation
techniques,soIwillresearchindividualartcriticsorresearchteamswhodealwiththepsychologyof
art.ToreviewtheliteratureIwillreadtheimportantpartsofeachworkandwriteasummaryofthe
informationaswellasashortaanalysispaper.Wheneverpossible,Iwillalsocomparethesources
throughwritingaswell,addinginmyownhypothesesorideas.Thesewriteupswillbeusefulin
compilingmyphotobook.
Good

8.

Stateatentativeplanforresearchanddatacollection.(Datacollectioncantake
multipleformssurveys,testgroups,interviews,observations,etcetc.Thiswill
differfromprojecttoproject.[Theresearchstrategy,part#2]

Iwilldesignsurveystoidentifythebiasinitially,andtoreviewtheparticipantsoftheworkshop
abouthowtheiropinionschangedafterwards.Iwilldefinitelytestoutthesesurveysinsmallgroups
firsttorefinethequestions.
Iwillusetestgroups,probablycomposedofmyclosefriendsorpeopleIfeelcomfortablearound,
totestouttheactivitiesIplanonfacilitatinginmyworkshopsoIcangaugewhichonewillwork/not
workandhowIwillhavetogoaboutexecutingthemsothattheywillrunassmoothlyaspossible
andengagethepeopleasmuchaspossible.
IwilluseinterviewstocollectbackgroundinformationaboutthetypesofartthatIhavefoundare
easilydismissedbymany,andIwillalsoasktheinterviewees,expertsoncertaingenresofart,about
whytheythinkthesestylesareunderappreciated.Iwillalsoconductsomepersonalinterviewswith
randompeople/viewersofartworktosupplementmyinitialsurveys,togetsomemoreindepth
informationstohelpmefigureoutwhycertainworksaredismissed.
Imayalsouseobservationtoidentifythebiasbygoingtoamuseumandsittinginaroomwitha
varietyofartisticstylesinit,andobservingwhichworksgetthemostattentionandwhichonesgetthe
least.
Good
9.

Stateatentativeplanforresearchanddataanalysisandinterpretation.[The
researchstrategy,part#3]

ThesurveysIconduct,thoughIamnotcertainyetofwhattheywilllooklike,shouldbefairlyeasy
toreadthroughandevaluatethedata.Iwillreviewthemlookingforatrendintheresponsesthat
indicatespreferenceforsomeartoverothers,andIwillrelatethattobroaderstylesorgenres.
Supplementingthiswithpersonalinterviewswithsomeviewers,Iwillwritedownorvoicerecord
(withtheirpermission)theirresponsestothedifferentworksofartIshowthem,andiwillbeableto
analyzetheirwordsandtonetogetadeeperunderstandingofhowtheyfeelaboutthevariousart
styles.Myobservationinmuseumswillalsoaddtoidentifyingthebias.Icanrecordhowmany
secondsonaverageapersonlooksatworkofartxversusworkofarty,andcreateaninfographic
tohelpvisualizethisdata.Withallofthesesourcesofinformation,Iwillhopefullybeabletorelatethe
resultstoadefinedbias.
OnceIknowthebias,andhavingpreparedmybackgroundresearchandworkshopplans,mytest
runswithsmallgroupswillhelpmedeterminehowtoteachtheworkshop.Iwillplayoffthe
responsesofmyfriendstotheactivitiesIpresenttothemandtohowIgoaboutfacilitatingthem,
bothobservingtheirbehavior,andaskingtheiropinionsoutright.Theywillbeabighelpformeto
preparefortheworkshop.
Finally,aftertheworkshopisover,thesurveyIdistributeabouthowtheiropinionshavechanged
willbeopenresponse,probably,andIwillreadalloftheirresponsesandkeepatallyofthewaysit
affectedthem.Iwillsupplementthiswithmyobservationsoftheirbehaviorintheworkshop,by
lookingforchangesintheirattitudetowardtheartworkevidentthroughhowtheyparticipatein
discussions/activities.
Justterrific

9.

Listthetoolsyouwillneedtocompletethiseffort.Identifytoolsthatmight
currentlybeunavailabletoyou

Iwillneedacomputerforresearch,whichIhave.Fortheworkshop,Iwillneedaprojectorand
camera,whichIhaveaccessto.Intheend,Iwillneedawaytopublishmyphotobooktheirarea
numberofbusinessesthataccommodatetothisonline.Iwillalsoneedartsuppliesfortheworkshop
forsomeoftheactivities.
Good

10.

Budget:whatmaterialsdoyouanticipateneedingforyourproject?Pleaseprovidea
listwithquantitiesandanapproximatecostperitem,alongabriefdescriptionofwhy
youneedthisforyourproject.Usethechartbelowfeelfreetoaddmorecellsifyou
needthem.

item

quantity

costperitem

whyyouneedthis
itemforyourproject

Paint

TBD(dependsonsize ~$9
oftheworkshop)

Theworkshopwill
involvepainting.

Canvas

TBD(dependsonsize TBD(dependson
oftheworkshop)
size)

Theworkshopwill
probablyinvolve
paintingoncanvas.

Brushes

TBD(dependsonsize ~$8
oftheworkshop)

Thepeopleinthe
workshopwillneed
brushestopaint.

BookPrinting

3+

thisisthefinalproduct:
aphotobook
documentingthe
research

$55

Youllneedtogetmorepreciseaboutbudgetifthisistheprojectyouelecttodo.

11.

Bibliographyearlydraft.Thisbibliographymustincludeatleast5books,5
scholarlyjournalarticles,5websites,andleastonepotentialsourcewhoyoumight
interview.Useproperbibliographiccitation(MLAorAPAformatyourchoice).
YouarewelcometouseEasyBiborrefertotheformattingtemplatecreatedby
PurdueUniversity:https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/Explainwhyyouanticipate
(atthispoint)thatthesesourceswouldberelevant.

Books

Funch,BjarneSode.ThePsychologyofArtAppreciation.Copenhagen:Museum
Tusculanum,1997.Print.
(goesintohowartaffectsthemind,informationthatIcanusetodeterminethebias)

Chave,Anna.MarkRothko:SubjectsinAbstraction.NewHaven:YaleUP,1989.Print.
(indepthstudyofRothko,anexampleIcoulduseintheworkshoporonthesurveys)

Banaji,MahzarinR.,andAnthonyG.Greenwald.Blindspot:HiddenBiasesofGoodPeople.
NewYork:Delacorte,2013.Print.
(abouttheimplicitassociationtest,amethodIcouldusetofindthebiasinthiscase)

Hickman,RichardD.WhyWeMakeArtandWhyItIsTaught.Bristol,UK:Intellect,2005.
Print.
(thiswillhelpmeexplainwhymyprojectmattersintheworldtoday)

Judovitz,Dalia,andMarcelDuchamp.DrawingonArt:DuchampandCompany.Minneapolis:
UofMinnesota,2010.Print.

(looksatsomeartistsImayuseasexamplesandalsoexamineshowartistsinfluenceeach
otherandhowartistshavecomeupwithacompletelynewideabyactuallyderivingtheirwork)

ScholarlyJournalArticles

Ahmad,PaulineJ."VisualArtPreferenceStudies:AReviewofContradictions."VisualArts
Research11.2(1985):10007.JSTOR.Web.20Oct.2014.
(astudyofwhysomeartispreferredoverothers,informationIcanusetoidentifywhythe
biasexists)

Foss,SonjaK."THEAESTHETICRESPONSETONONREPRESENTATIONALART:A
SUGGESTEDMODEL."ReviewofResearchinVisualArtsEducation6.2(1980):
4049.JSTOR.Web.20Oct.2014.
(abouthowweperceivenonrepresentationalart,usefulforfindingoutwhypeoplemay
dismissthistypeofartsoIcanfigureouthowtocombatthebias)
Burchenal,Margaret."ThinkingthroughArt:TransformingMuseumCurriculum."TheJournalof
MuseumEducation32.2,CriticalThinkingSkillsintheMuseum(2007):11122.JSTOR.Web.
20Oct.2014.
(anexaminationoftheVTSteachingmethod,atechniqueIcouldusetoengagethe
workshopparticipants)

Smith,Terry."TheStateofArtHistory:ContemporaryArt."TheArtBulletin92.4(2010):
36683.JSTOR.Web.20Oct.2014.
(astudyofhowcontemporaryartisperceivedtodayusefulforidentifyingthebiasand
explainingthesignificanceoftheartmovementsthataredismissed)

Coomaraswamy,Ananda."TheAppreciationofArt."TheArtBulletin6.2(1923):6164.
JSTOR.Web.20Oct.2014.
(anoutdatedreviewofhowartshouldbeappreciated,Icancompareittomoremodernideas
aboutartappreciationandcompareittothemindsetsofpeopletoday)

Websites

"ARTCRITICISMANDFORMALANALYSISOUTLINE."ARTCRITICISMANDFORMAL
ANALYSISOUTLINE.UniversityofWisconsinGreenBay,n.d.Web.20Oct.2014.
(anapproachtointerpreting/appreciatingaworkofartthatIcouldincorporateintomy
workshop)

"HomeVisualThinkingStrategies."VisualThinkingStrategies.N.p.,n.d.Web.20Oct.2014.
<http://www.vtshome.org/>.
(themainwebsiteforVTS,ateachingmethodIcoulduseintheworkshop)

"PietMondrian:TheEvolutionofPureAbstractPaintings."EmptyEasel.N.p.,n.d.Web.20
Oct.2014.
(backgroundinfoandhistoricalsignificanceofMondrian,anartistIcoulduseasanexample)


"TheArtStory:MovementsandStylesinModernArt."TheArtStory.N.p.,n.d.Web.20Oct.
2014.
(lotsofinformationabouthowmodernartmovementsdevelopedandwhytheywere
significant)

"LearnHowtoAppreciateArtinaFewMinutes."Lifehack.N.p.,n.d.Web.20Oct.2014.
(containsaninfographicthatIcouldbuildoffof,beinspiredby,orpossiblycriticize)

People

Mergel,Jen.BealSeniorCuratorofContemporaryArtattheMuseumofFineArts,

Boston,MA.
(closebyandknowsalotaboutmakingmodern,avantgardeartstylesinterestingand
engagingforviewers)
Lookinggood.MakesureyouincludesomeoftheworkofPhilipYenawine.AndPeggy
(Margaret)Burchenal(seeyouciteforher)istheheadofeducationattheGardnerMuseum.

Olivia,
Thisisfantastic.Itisclearthatyouhavethoughtdeeplyaboutyourentireresearcheffort.

Keepinmindthatinthefinaldraft,wellbeaskingyoutolayouttheplanforthestepsontheactual
projectweekbyweek(fromNovember1March31).

Best,
Mr.MandMs.F