Step 1: Describe your reactions to the artifact including the artistic elements, time period, and materials used to create the artifact.
Describe your reactions to the artifact and how it makes you feel.
Identify elements such as shapes, colors, instruments, et cetera, that you see or hear.
Explain the reasoning and possible influences for choosing this artifact.
Identify additional information about the artifact such as the artist or musician, when it was created, and materials used.
If it’s a painting, what materials were used?
If it’s a piece of music, how long is the piece?
Step 2: Describe the historical and artistic contexts of the artifact.
Describe the historical context such as the time period, the place, and reasons why the artist might have had for creating the artifact.
Describe the artistic context such as the visual and aural techniques and symbols. Include reasons that explain why these techniques were used.
Step 3: Interpret the meaning of the artifact using the historical and artistic contexts to support the interpretation.
Discuss what you think the artist was trying to say through the artifact.
Use the historical context, artistic context, and specific details to support your conclusions about the artist’s message.
Connect your interpretation of the artifact to your own cultural lens and identify how your cultural lens influenced your interpretation.
Step 4: Connect to the cultural values conveyed through the artifact.
Identify two cultural values that you believe the artist was trying to convey through the artifact.
Relate the artist’s cultural values to your own. Examine the similarities or differences that you see between your cultural values and the artist’s cultural values.
Step 5: Reflect on what you learned about how culture shapes our perspectives and impacts the decisions you make about the meaning of the cultural artifact.
Explain how your cultural perspective shaped your response and connection with the artifact.
Describe how using the four steps for analyzing artifacts helped you to engage with the artifact and if your feelings about the artifact stayed the same or changed after you engaged with it more deeply.
Save your assessment with this title: Your Name_HUM-FPX1100_Assessment _1_Cultural_Artifact_Analysis.
