Word Count: 1500 words, excluding bibliography
Assignment Brief
Critical Text and Presentation
For this assignment students are required to write a critical text about one art work in any medium (ink, oil
painting, sculpture, installation, video, etc). The text will explore and analyse how the work’s process and
medium acts is integral to a certain level of critical thinking in the context of specific cultural, social and/or
political environments.
Please select a work by an artist originating from China, Taiwan or Hong Kong dating from 2000 up to the
present. You need to consult with your course leader once you have selected the work.
The criteria for the assessment will be the following:
Quality and fluency of writing
Evidence of critical thinking
Clarity of articulation of complex ideas
Effective structure
Accurate use of references, figures, footnotes and bibliography
MAMCAA06 CONTEMPORARY CHINESE ART: ESSAY
[70% of unit mark]
Submission Deadline: Wednesday 13th May, 23:59pm
Choose ONE of the following and write a 2500-3000 word essay in answer to the question posed. The
word count includes references but excludes the bibliography.
1. In an increasingly commercialised art world, what is the value of criticality and how is it received?
Select at least two examples of contemporary Chinese artists to explore this question.
2. How do certain artistic processes and/or media engage critical thinking as a central significance in the
work? Choose at least two works by one contemporary Chinese artist in your essay.
3. Choose one medium (eg. installation, video, sound, painting) through which to explore how it has
critical potential in artistic practice, exploring at least two artworks in that medium relevant to the
course.
This essay will be assessed according to the following criteria:
Adherence to assignment requirements /writing style (correct word length, appropriate academic
conventions, extent to which completed work answers all aspects of the brief; language and vocabulary )
Research (quality, range and scope of sources used/ use of footnotes/ effective research methodology)
Analytical and synthetic skills (quality of ability to analyse and synthesise visual and contextual material
from a variety of sources)
Formulation and cogency of argument (quality of ability to develop, sustain and support an argument; to
follow a well-constructed route through the topic/issue)
Critical skills (quality of ability to evaluate material; to question and debate issues; to offer original
interpretations)
