For Year 8 Integrated Studies Students

1. YEAR 8 Integrated Studies
DUE: Early next term
Today and Tomorrow – Researching art
work, taking notes, beginning to write art
commentary

2. The TASK Basics
400 word (3 minute) commentary which highlights:
Subject Matter (Two sentences for this section):
1. Who (the artist name if known)
2. What (the name of art work, what it is e.g. scroll, painting,
pottery, and what it shows)
3. Where (where it was made or where it originated from)
4. When (when it was made or published)
For Example: The famous Japanese woodblock print titled
„The Great Wave off Kanagawa‟ was created by artist
Hokusai in Tokyo and published sometime between 1830
and 1833 during the Edo period. This print depicts an
enormous wave threatening boats in the seas off Japan
and includes a view of Mount Fuji in the background.

3. The TASK Basics cont…
Artist and type of art (one sentence, you would have likely
covered
this in subject matter):
IF you have already covered stating the artist and the type of
art you are looking at in the subject matter section then for
this section you could write about the following if this
information is available to you –
 The artists reasons for creating this work or if there was a purpose for the
work
 If the work is famous or well known
 Whether the artwork you are looking at is within a series of prints or
paintings or if it is stand alone piece
For example: ‘The Great Wave if Kanagawa‟ is one of the most recognised
works of Japanese art and was artist Hokusai‟s most famous. He
created this work to be the first in a series of woodblock prints depicting

4. The TASK Basics cont…
Period of Time: Events and Concerns (two sentences):
E.g. Edo Period
Events – Battle of Sekigahara, new Shogun Ieyasu
Concerns – Increase in foreign trade, higher taxes,
introduction of Western culture (banned then allowed)
Culture of Period (one or two sentences):
E.g. Edo Period
Social Structures, Etiquette, beliefs, social practices
- Suppression of Christianity
- Martial art training
- Strict social order – samurai, peasants, artisans,
merchants
- Thriving culture - new art forms of Kabuki and ukiyo-e
(woodblock prints)

5. The TASK Basics Cont…
Effects, techniques and material used in the
work (choose two elements to focus on using two to three
sentences):
E.g. For „The Great Wave‟
Colour – Dark & light shades of blue (the light depicts the
fresh, cool and natural side of the wave, and the dark
depicts the deep threatening side)
Shape – Curved wave and claw like froth depicts menacing
wave about to take prey
Position – Mount Fuji in the background is a peaceful
contrast to the frightening wave in the forefront
Size – The wave the largest image in this print to bring
focus to it‟s power, the boats small and thin depicting
their fragile nature

6. The TASK Basics Cont…
Symbolic Elements: symbols & references (two
sentences, find at least one or two symbols in image):
Symbol – an object that can represent something else ,
e.g. can represent peace; and can
symbolise love.
Japanese symbols – Samurai sword - power, strength,
courage, honour; the Buddha - peace, spirituality; the
Lotus flower – purity and enlightenment
In a sentence -
E.g. The image of Mount Fuji in the background of the
Great Wave symbolises a sacred and peaceful part of
nature and of Japan.

7. The TASK Basics Cont…
Role of Art generally in period (one or two sentences):
Example for Edo Period – A change in the strict laws of the
previous period gave way to increased leisure amongst the
people and the flowering of culture. This included an emergence
of beautiful woodblock prints which often depicted realistic
representations of nature such as animals and flowers.
Importance of subject matter and work itself in terms of Japanese
Identity (one to
two sentences):
E.g. „The Great Wave‟ –
- This print could be bringing into focus the courage and confidence
of the brave Japanese fisherman and their duty to persevere
through the most dangerous conditions to serve their community.
- Could also be bringing into focus the beauty of Mount Fuji and it‟s
representation of the peaceful and sacred identity of the
Japanese people in contrast to the fierce and powerful
dominance of the wave.

8. Useful websites for assignment
 Tokyo National Museum (go to collections drop down list, then
to emuseum to find categories): http://www.tnm.jp/?lang=en
 Simply Google „Medieval Japanese art‟ and have a browse of
the options
 Art history in Japan:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_art
 Unit of work on Japanese art:
http://www.colorado.edu/cas/tea/curriculum/imaging-japanese-
history/medieval/m2-online-handout.html
 History of Japan and art forms:
http://www.etap.org/demo/grade7_history/lesson5/instructiont
utor_last.html
* REMEMBER MAKE SURE TO KEEP LINKS TO MAKE
BIBLIOGRAPHY!!

9. Writing in the correct Person
In this assignment you must write in 2nd and/or 3rd
person NOT in 1st person.
This means that you cannot say “I believe this art work
depicts…” or “I think” or “In my opinion” or “we think
as a class that….”
INSTEAD you must write in either –
2nd person e.g. You can see in the art work that artist
Hokusai has used claw like shapes for the top of the
wave to depict an animal lunging for its prey.
And/or
3rd person e.g. This painting symbolises the courage
and honour of the samurai warriors through the artists
use of bold shades of black and gold.

10. Using a range of Adjectives
An Adjective is a „describing‟ word, and helps add meaning
to a noun. It can describe something in terms of its shape,
colour, size, texture and so on (e.g. smooth, square, thin,
fresh, dark, bold)
When describing your art work it would be a good idea to
make yourself
familiar with a few different adjectives and their meanings!!
Have a look at these two links for ideas –
http://grammar.yourdictionary.com/word-lists/list-of-
descriptive-words-to-critique-art.html
http://www.macmillandictionary.com/thesauruscategory/britis
h/Words-used-to-describe-works-of-art-and-pictures