For the assignment, you will curate a hypothetical exhibition of three (3) works of 20th-century graphic design and write a corresponding ‘curatorial essay’.
What is a curatorial essay? A curatorial essay (or curatorial statement) is written by the curator to explain the rationale behind the exhibition. It is usually a persuasive essay that informs the reader about the premise of the exhibit and describes in detail some of the works in order to show how these works relate together and why it is significant to see them together.
Organizing your curatorial essay:
The initial paragraph should establish the overall premise of the exhibition, the main theme or concept of the show.
The middle paragraphs should describe detailed aspects about each of the three works. Describe what they have in common (themes, style, techniques, technologies, location, time period, politics, etc.) and how they each illustrate the overall theme/premise of your hypothetical exhibition. You may also chose to describe how they differ if juxtaposition is significant to your thematic.
In the final paragraph, suggest the wider significance of your theme. Describe what you learned from putting the exhibition together and/or what you hope the viewer takes away from the exhibit.
Requirements:
You must select 3 (three) works of 20th-century graphic design, including 1 (one) from the Eskilson textbook.
Your paper should be 1100-1500 words in length and submitted in MLA format.
This assignment will require external historical research and you must cite a minimum of 3 academic sources.
Include an appendix with images of the three works. For each image, include the artwork’s title, artist name, media, and year
