ART
188
Section
C,
Fall
2014:
Take -­?Home
Writing
Assignment
#2

Prompt:

•  Study
the      photograph    of  Edward
Steichen’s
Flatiron
(1904).
Then
read
the
attached

text
from
Charles
Baudelaire
–
a
letter
to
his
mother
from
1859,
in
which
he
sets
forth
this

opinion
of
the
gains
and
losses
of
photography,
and
of
photography’s
relationship
to
the

practice
of
“art.”

o  Consider
the
claims
that
Baudelaire
makes
and
the
points
of
arg ument
that
he
makes

in
order
to
support
those
claims.
Be
patient
and
read
Baudelair e’ s
letter
carefully,
for
it

is
dense
and
may
contain
unfamiliar
terms
and
ideas.
Indeed
I
r ecommend
that
you

scan
the
letter
a
couple
of
times
and
bring
its
various
terms
and
ideas
to
mind
before

you
begin
to
read
the
letter
word -­?for-­?word
from
beginning
to
end.

•  Now
look
back
at
the
Steichen
photograph
and
decide
how
Baudelaire
would
have

responded
to
it.
Would
he
have
approved
of
it?
If
so,
why
or
for
what
reason?
Would
he

have
disapproved
of
it?
If
so,
why
or
for
what
reason?
What
qualifies
Steichen’s
photograph

as
“art”
and
what
disqualifies
it?
Or
what
qualifies
it
as
something
other
than
“art?”

•  Now
Compose
your
thoughts
into
an
essay
of
one
and
a
half
to
two
pages
in
length
(full

formatting
requirements
are
provided
below).

o  Be
specific.

!  Use
simple,
co ncrete
observations
of
the
photograph
to
construct
your
essay

and
support
your
ideas.
Don’t
shy
away
from
patient,
rigorous,
highly
specific

descriptions
of
the
photograph!

!  Likewise,
use
references
to
specific
ideas
and
statements
from
Baudelaire’s

letter.
There
is
no
need
for
page
numbers,
parenthetical
citations,
footnotes,

or
a
bibliography.
You
should,
however,
use
quotation
marks
any
time
you

quote
Baudelaire’s
letter
directly.
Quotation
marks
are
unnecessary
in

instances
in
which
you
paraphrase
or
summarize
his
statements.

o  Be
careful
about
not
trying
to
do
(or
say)
too
much
in
your
two
pages
of
text.
Keep

your
ideas
simple
and
straightforward
and
then
explain
and
support
them
thoroughly

and
precisely.
It
is
better,
in
this
case,
to
make
fewer
points/c laims
and
support
those

points/claims
well
than
to
make
many
intriguing
claims
on
which
you
are
unable
to

follow
through
with
supporting
observations
and
explanation.

One
final
instruction:
Consult
no
materials
beyond
the
Baudelaire
letter
and
the
Steiche n

photograph.
Additional
research
into
Baudelaire
or
Steichen
is,
for
the
purposes
of
this
assignment,

unnecessary
and
a
waste
of
time
that
would
better
be
spent
analyzing
the
attached
letter
and

photograph
carefully.

Format:
Papers must be:
•  At least one and  a half page s in length  and  no more than two pages ;
•  stapled;
•  double -spaced ;
•  written in 12-point,  Times New Roman font ;
•  have one -inch margins  all around – no more, no less ;
•  begin with a single  header  line which includes your name and Miami email address  and
“ART 188 Section C Take-home #2 ”, foll owed immediately in the second line with the
beginning of your essay .

For additional clarification of these requirements consult the sample on the following page.

Structure your pros e into sentences and paragraphs  and follow  standard rules of English syntax,
grammar, spelling, and punctuation.   If you find yourself with more than two page s,  trim your essay,
refocus it, or edit it to be more concise  so that your choice of painting can be supported within  two
pages or less.  Extra pages will be ignored – and needless to say, they will not guarantee you a passing
grade.

Grading:

Papers will be graded on a credit/no-credit basis acco rding to the following criteria:
80%: does the paper respond  directly and only to the prompt in a thoughtful manner ?
10%: does the paper meet the formatting requirements explained above?
10%: has the paper been proofread for problems with spelling, syntax, grammar, and punctuation, and
have any problems been corrected?

Jane Doe    doej___@miamioh.edu  ART188 Section C    Take -home # 2