Welcome to the BYU Library's research guide for Art & Art History! This guide provides helpful resources for conducting research on art and artists. If you have any questions--from finding information on a specific topic to how to use databases generally--please reach out to me (Cassandra Belliston) via email or appointment using the links below. I'd love to help you!
Art Reference Book Series
Book series with excellent background information on art, artists, time periods, and more.
Writing about Art by
Writing About Art walks students through every step of the writing process--from looking critically at art, to researching, to developing a thesis, to revising and polishing a final draft. Questions and examples prompt readers as they study artworks, develop a thesis, structure an argument, and cite research.
How to Write about Contemporary Art by
How to Write About Contemporary Art is the definitive guide to writing engagingly about the art of our time. Invaluable for students, arts professionals and other aspiring writers, the book first navigates readers through the key elements of style and content, from the aims and structure of a piece to its tone and language. Brimming with practical tips that range across the complete spectrum of art-writing, the second part of the book is organized around its specific forms, including academic essays; press releases and news articles; texts for auction and exhibition catalogues, gallery guides and wall labels; op-ed journalism and exhibition reviews; and writing for websites and blogs. In counseling the reader against common pitfalls--such as jargon and poor structure--Gilda Williams points instead to the power of close looking and research, showing how to deploy language effectively; how to develop new ideas; and how to construct compelling texts. More than 30 illustrations throughout support closely analysed case studies of the best writing, in Source Texts by 64 authors, including Claire Bishop, Thomas Crow, T.J. Demos, Okwui Enwezor, Dave Hickey, John Kelsey, Chris Kraus, Rosalind Krauss, Stuart Morgan, Hito Steyerl, and Adam Szymczyk. Supplemented by a general bibliography, advice on the use and misuse of grammar, and tips on how to construct your own contemporary art library, How to Write About Contemporary Art is the essential handbook for all those interested in communicating about the art of today.
Writing about Art by
Writing About Art was written as the text for a course of the same name required of all art majors at The City College of New York. The book explains the different approaches college students encounter in undergraduate art history classes. Each chapter outlines the characteristics of one type of visual or historical analysis and briefly explains its history and development. Passages by well-known art historians provide examples of each method. Sample essays by students are accompanied by extensive explanations of suggested revisions. The book also includes a step-by-step guide to researching art historical topics and a section about correctly citing sources.
A Short Guide to Writing about Art by
The best-selling guide to writing about art Sylvan Barnet's A Short Guide to Writing About Art guides students through every aspect of writing about art. Students are shown how to analyze pictures (drawings, paintings, photographs), sculptures and architecture, and are prepared with the tools they need to present their ideas through effective writing. Coverage of essential writing assignments includes formal analysis, comparison, research paper, review of an exhibition, and essay examination. New to the 11th edition is a chapter on "Virtual Exhibitions: Writing Text Panels and Other Materials."
Undergraduate Research in Art by
Undergraduate Research in Art: A Guide for Students supplies tools for scaffolding research skills, with examples of undergraduate research activities and case studies on projects in the various areas of the study of art--from art history, art education, and fine art therapy, to studio art, graphic design, and digital media. Although art degree programs don't always call it research, many undergraduate activities in art have components that could be combined into comprehensive projects. The book begins with an overview chapter, followed by seven chapters on research skills, including literature reviews, choosing topics, formulating questions, citing sources, disseminating results, and working with data and human subjects. A wide variety of subdisciplines follow in Chapters 9 through 18, with sample project ideas from each, as well as undergraduate research conference abstracts. The final chapter is an annotated guide to online resources that students can access and readily operate. Each chapter opens with inspiring quotations, and wraps up with applicable discussion questions. Professors and students can use Undergraduate Research in Art as a text or a reference book.
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