The advantages and disadvantages of a subject telling his or her own story through art

To prepare for this homework view the video History and Memory and review the text before beginning this homework. Read the information carefully. Click on the title of the artworks to bring up more information You may also use your text or other resources to support your answers. Again, your responses are your personal reflections that are backed up by factual information. And allow yourself plenty of time. It is important they are completely answered and supported by references to appropriate images. 

Using these two works found in this Compare Art page on the Art Through Time site, Links to an external site. as case studies answer these questions, referencing the two works to support your answer. The artists who created ledger drawings often depicted their own exploits or accomplishments. In grand painting cycles like Marie de’ Medici’s, a professional artist was commissioned to do the work. 

Using these two pieces as a case study, what do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of a subject telling his or her own story through art? 

If an artist is hired to make an artwork for a client/patron, does this change the truth of the work? How much influence does the artist have? Can the portrayal of stories and histories in art ever be truly objective?

Here is a different pair of images Links to an external site. from the video, and video text. Look at the page and the detail about the images by clicking on each image’s title. This is important because what you think might be true or accurate in an image may not be.

How does each of these images relate to the event it depicts? What do you think was more important in each case—”accurate” documentation of the event in question or the conveyance of a specific message through the representation of the event?

Many people tend to think about photographs as ‘truer’ to events than painting or other art forms. Do you think this is an accurate assessment? Why or why not? Use examples from the video or elsewhere (text or web) to support your view.

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