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Arts-based research.

Janinka Greenwood Janinka Greenwood University of Canterbury
https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264093.013.29
Published online: 25 February 2019

Arts-based research encompasses a range of research approaches and strategies that utilize one or more of the arts in investigation. Such approaches have evolved from understandings that life and experiences of the world are multifaceted, and that art offers ways of knowing the world that involve sensory perceptions and emotion as well as intellectual responses. Researchers have used arts for various stages of research. It may be to collect or create data, to interpret or analyze it, to present their findings, or some combination of these. Sometimes arts-based research is used to investigate art making or teaching in or through the arts. Sometimes it is used to explore issues in the wider social sciences. The field is a constantly evolving one, and researchers have evolved diverse ways of using the communicative and interpretative tools that processes with the arts allow. These include ways to initially bypass the need for verbal expression, to explore problems in physically embodied as well as discursive ways, to capture and express ambiguities, liminalities, and complexities, to collaborate in the refining of ideas, to transform audience perceptions, and to create surprise and engage audiences emotionally as well as critically. A common feature within the wide range of approaches is that they involve aesthetic responses.

The richness of the opportunities created by the use of arts in conducting and/or reporting research brings accompanying challenges. Among these are the political as well as the epistemological expectations placed on research, the need for audiences of research, and perhaps participants in research, to evolve ways of critically assessing the affect of as well as the information in presentations, the need to develop relevant and useful strategies for peer review of the research as well as the art, and the need to evolve ethical awareness that is consistent with the intentions and power of the arts.

multisensory
performance

Introduction

The term arts-based research is an umbrella term that covers an eclectic array of methodological and epistemological approaches. The key elements that unify this diverse body of work are: it is research; and one or more art forms or processes are involved in the doing of the research. How art is involved varies enormously. It has been used as one of several tools to elicit information (Cremin, Mason, & Busher, 2011 ; Gauntlett, 2007 ; Wang & Burns, 1997 ) and for the analysis of data (Boal, 1979 ; Gallagher, 2014 ; Neilson, 2008 ), and so it serves as an enrichment to the palette of tools used in qualitative research. It has been used in the presentation of findings (Bagley & Cancienne, 2002 ; Conrad, 2012 ; Gray & Sinding, 2002 ) and so occupies a space that could be responded to and evaluated as both art and research. It has been used to investigate art and the process of art-making. The emergence of the concept and practice of a/r/tography (Belliveau, 2015 ; Irwin, 2013 ; Springgay, Irwin, & Kind, 2005 ), for example, places art-making and its textual interpretation in a dynamic relationship of inquiry into the purpose, process, and meaning of the making of an artwork.

The field is multifaceted and elusive of definition and encompassing explanation. This article does not attempt such definitions. But it does risk describing some well-trodden pathways through the field and posing some questions. Illustrative examples are offered from the author’s work, as well as citing of works by other researchers who use arts-based approaches.

My own explorations of arts-based research began many years ago, before the term came into usage. I was commissioned to develop a touring play for a New Zealand youth theater, and I chose to write a docudrama, Broadwood: Na wai te reo? (Greenwood, 1995 ). The play reported the case of a remote, rural, and predominantly Maori school that made Maori language a compulsory subject in its curriculum. The parents of one boy argued against the decision, claiming the language held no use for their son. The dispute was aired on national television and was debated in parliament. The minister agreed that the local school board had the right to make the decision after consultation with parents and community. The dispute ended with the boy being given permission to do extra math assignments in the library during Maori language classes. To develop the script, I interviewed all the local participants in the case and sincerely sought to capture the integrity of their views in my dialogue. I accessed the minister of education’s comments through public documents and media and reserved the right to occasionally satirize them. Just a week or two before final production, the family’s lawyer officially asked for a copy of the script. To my relief, it was returned with the comment that the family felt I had captured their views quite accurately. The youth theater was invited to hold its final rehearsal on the local marae (a traditional tribal Maori ground that holds a meeting house and hosts significant community occasions), and a local elder offered the use of an ancestral whalebone weapon in the opening performance, instead of the wooden one made for the production. The opening performance took place in the school itself, and the boy, together with his parents and family friends, sat in the audience together with hundreds of community people. The play had an interactive section where the audience was asked to vote in response to a survey the school had originally sent out to its community. The majority of the audience voted for Maori language to be part of the mandatory curriculum. The boy and his family voted equally emphatically for it not to be. The play then toured in New Zealand and was taken to a festival in Australia.

At the time I saw the work purely in terms of theater—albeit with a strongly critical social function. Looking back, I now see it was a performative case study. I had carefully researched the context and respectfully interviewed participants after gaining their informed consent. The participants had all endorsed my reporting of the data. The findings were disseminated and subject to popular as well as peer review. The performances added an extra dimension to the research: they actively invited audience consideration and debate.

This article discusses the epistemology that underlies arts-based approaches to research, reviews the purposes and value of research that involves the arts, identifies different stages and ways that art may be utilized, and addresses questions that are debated in the field. It does not seek to disentangle all the threads within this approach to research or to review all key theorizations and possibilities in the field. The arena of arts-based research is a diverse and rapidly expanding one, and it is only possible within this discussion to identify some of the common underlying characteristics and potentialities and to offer selected examples. Because this discussion is shaped within an essay format, rather than through a visual or performative collage, there is the risk of marking a limited number of pathways and of making assertions. At the same time, I acknowledge that the discussion might have alternatively been conducted through arts-based media, which might better reflect some of the liminalities and interweaving layers of art-based processes (see further, Greenwood, 2016 ).

The term art itself compasses a wide and diverse spectrum of products and process. This article focuses particularly on dramatic and visual art, while acknowledging that the use of other art forms, such as poetry, fiction, dance, film, and fabric work, have been variously used in processes of investigation. The word art is used to indicate the wider spectrum of art activities and to refer to more specific forms and processes by their disciplines and conventions.

Why Use Art?

One of the main reasons for the growth of arts-based approaches to research is recognition that life experiences are multi-sensory, multifaceted, and related in complex ways to time, space, ideologies, and relationships with others. Traditional approaches to research have been seen by increasing numbers of researchers as predominantly privileging cerebral, verbal, and linearly temporal approaches to knowledge and experience. The use of art in research is one of many shifts in the search for truthful means of investigation and representation. These include, among others, movements toward various forms of narratives (Riessman, 2008 ), recognition of indigenous knowledges, and indigenous ways of sharing and using knowledge (Bharucha, 1993 ; Smith, 2014 ), auto-ethnographies (Ellis, 2004 ), conceptualizations of wicked questions (Rittel & Webber, 1973 ), processes of troubling (Gardiner, 2015 ), and queering (Halperin, 2003 ). Preissle ( 2011 ) writes about the “qualitative tapestry” (p. 689) and identifies historic and contemporary threads of epistemological challenges, methods, and purposes, pointing out the ever-increasing diversity in the field. Denzin and Lincoln ( 2011 ) describe qualitative research as a site of multiple interpretative practices and, citing St. Pierre’s ( 2004 ) argument that we are in a post “post” period, assert that “we are in a new age where messy, uncertain multi-voiced texts, cultural criticism, and new experimental works will become more common, as will more reflexive forms of fieldwork, analysis and intertextual representation” (p. 15). Springgay, Irwin, and Kind ( 2005 ) assert that a/r/tography is not a new branch of qualitative research but a methodology in its own right, and that it conceptualizes inquiry as an embodied encounter through visual and textual experiences. The use of art in research is a succession of approaches to develop methodology that is meaningful and useful.

Art, product, and process allow and even invite art-makers to explore and play with knowing and meaning in ways that are more visceral and interactive than the intellectual and verbal ways that have tended to predominate in Western discourses of knowledge. It invites art viewers to interact with representations in ways that involve their senses, emotions, and ideas. Eisner ( 1998 , 2002 ) makes a number of significant assertions about the relationship between form and knowledge that emphasize the importance of art processes in offering expanded understandings of “what it means to know” (Eisner, 1998 , p. 1). He states: “There are multiple ways in which the world can be known: Artists, writers, and dancers, as well as scientists, have important thongs to tell about the world” (p. 7). Like other constructivists (Bruner, 1990 ; Guba, 1996 ), he further argues that because human knowledge is a constructed form of experience, it is a reflection of mind as well as nature, that knowledge is made, not simply discovered. He then reasons that “the forms through which humans represent their conception of the world have a major influence on what they are able to say about it” (p. 6), and, making particular reference to education, he states that whichever particular forms of representation become acceptable “is as much a political matter as an epistemological one” (p. 7). Eisner’s arguments to extend conceptualizations of knowledge within the field of education have been echoed in the practices of art-based researchers.

Artists themselves understand through their practice that art is way of coming to know the world and of presenting that knowing, emergent and shifting though it may be, to others. Sometimes the process of coming to know takes the form of social analysis. In Guernica , as a well-known example, Picasso scrutinizes and crystallizes the brutal betrayals and waste of war. In Caucasian Chalk Circle , Brecht fractures and strips bare ideas of justice, loyalty, and ownership. Their respective visual and dramatic montages speak in ways that are different from and arguably more potent than discursive descriptions.

In many indigenous cultures, art forms are primary ways of processing and recording communally significant information and signifying relationships. For New Zealand Māori, the meeting house, with its visual images, poetry, song, oratory, and rituals, is the repository library of mythic and genealogical history and of the accumulated legacies of meetings, contested positions, and nuanced consensual decisions. Art within Māori and other indigenous culture is not an illustrative addition to knowledge systems, it is an integral means of meaning making and recording.

One of the characteristics of arts and arts-based research projects is that they engage with aesthetic understandings as well as with discursive explanations. The aesthetic is a contested term (Greenwood, 2011 ; Hamera, 2011 ). However, it is used here to describe the engagement of senses and emotion as well as intellectual processes, and the consequent collation of semiotics and significances that are embedded in cultural awareness and are variously used by art makers and art viewers to respond to works of art. An aesthetic response thus is a visceral as well as rational one. It may be comfortable with ambiguities, and it may elude verbalization.

The processes of art-making demand a commitment to a continuous refinement of skills and awareness. Art-viewers arguably also gain more from an artwork as they acquire the skills and literacies involved with that particular art form and as they gain confidence to engage with the aesthetic. However, viewers may apprehend meaning without mastery of all the relevant literacies. I recall an experience of watching flamenco in El Puerto de Santa Maria, a township outside Cadiz. My senses drank in the white stone of former monastery walls and the darkening sky over an open inner courtyard. My muscles and emotions responded spontaneously to the urgency of the guitar and the beaten rhythms on a packing case drum. My nerves tensed as the singer’s voice cut through the air. The two dancers, both older and dressed in seemingly causal fawn and grey, riveted my attention. I was a stranger to the art form, and I did not know the language of the dance and could not recognize its phases or its allusions. I did feel the visceral tug of emotion across space. My heart and soul responded to something urgent, strangely oppressive, but indefinable that might have an apprehension of what those who understand flamenco call duende . If I was more literate in the art form, I would no doubt have understood a lot more, but the art, performed by those who did know and had mastered its intricacies, communicated an experience of their world to me despite my lack of training. In that evening, I learned more about the experience of life in southern Spain than I had in my earlier pursuit of library books and websites.

Art, thus, is positioned as a powerful tool that calls for ever-refining expertise in its making, but that can communicate, at differing levels, even with those who do not have that expertise. Researchers who use art draw on its rich, and sometimes complex and elusive, epistemological bases to explore and represent aspects of the world. The researchers may themselves be artists; at the least, they need to know enough of an art form to be aware of its potential and how to manipulate it. In some cases intended participants and audiences may also be artists, but often they are not. It is the researcher who creates a framework in which participants join in the art or in which audiences receive it.

Art, Research Purpose, and Research Validity

So far, the argument for the value of art as a way of knowing is multifarious, embodied, and tolerant of ambivalences and ambiguities. Where then are the rigors that are widely held as essential for research? It can be argued that arts-based research, to be considered as research, needs to have explicit research purpose and needs to subject itself to peer critique.

As has been widely noted (Eisner, 1998 ; Leavy, 2017 ; Sullivan, 2010 ), the making of art involves some investigation, both into the process of making and into some aspect of the experiential world. In research, that purpose needs to be overt and explicit. When the purpose is identified, then the choice of methods can be open to critical scrutiny and evaluation. The design of an arts-based research project is shaped, at its core, by similar considerations as other research.

Arts-based research needs to be explicit about what is being investigated. If the objective is not clear, then the result may still be art, but it is hard to call it research. Purpose determines which of the vast array of art strategies and processes will be selected as the research methods. The trustworthiness of any research depends on a number of factors: at the design stage, it depends on a clear alignment between the purpose of the research and the methods selected to carry out the investigation. In arts-based research, as in other research, it is vital that the researcher identifies the relationship between purpose and selected art tools, and offers recipients of the research clear means to evaluate and critique the reliability and usefulness of the answers that come from the research. This is where choices about strategies need to be clearly identified and explained, and both the aims and boundaries of the investigation need to be identified.

This does not imply need for a rigid and static design. Art is an evolving process, and the research design can well be an evolving one, as is the case with participatory action research (Bryndon-Miller, Karl, Maguire, Noffke, & Sabhlok, 2011 ), bricolage (Denzin & Lincoln, 2011 ), and a number of other research approaches. However, the strategic stages and choices of the emergent design donot need to be identified and explained. Nor does it imply that all data or findings need to be fully explicable verbally. One of the reasons for choosing arts-based methods, although not the only one, is to allow the operation of aesthetic and subconscious understandings as well as conscious and verbalized ones. That is part of the epistemological justification for choosing an arts-based approach. The ambivalences and pregnant possibilities that result may be considered valued gains from the choice of research tools, and their presence simply needs to be identified, together with explication of the boundaries of how such ambivalence and possibilities relate to the research question.

Different Kinds of Purpose

The sections of this article examine common and different areas of purpose for which arts-based research is frequently used, arranging them into three clusters and discussing some of the possibilities within each one.

The first, and perhaps largest, cluster of purposes for using arts-based research is to investigate some social (in the broadest sense of the word) issue. Such issues might, for example, include woman’s rights, school absenteeism, gang membership, cross-cultural encounters, classroom relationships, experiences of particular programs, problems in language acquisition. The methodological choices involved in this group of purposes have been repeatedly addressed (e.g., Boal, 1979 ; O’Brien & Donelan, 2008 ; Finley, 2005 ; Leavy, 2017 ; Prosser, 2011 ; Wang & Burns, 1997 ) in discussions of the use of arts-based approaches to the social sciences. The intention for using arts-based tools is to open up different, and hopefully more empowering, options for exploring the specific problem or issue, and for expressing participants’ perspectives in ways that can bypass participants’ discomfort with words or unconscious compliance with dominant discourses, or perhaps to present findings in ways that better reveal their dynamics and complexity than written reports.

Another smaller, but important, cluster of purposes is to research art-making processes or completed art works. For example, a theater director (Smithner, 2010 ) investigates the critical decisions she made in selecting and weaving together separate performance works into a theatrical collage. Or, a researcher (O’Donoghue, 2011 ) investigates how a conceptual artist working with film and video enquires into social, political, and cultural issues and how he shapes his work to provoke viewers to develop specific understandings. These kinds of studies explore the how and why of art-making, focusing on the makers’ intentions, their manipulation of the elements and affordances of their specific art field, and often engage with aesthetic as well as sociocultural dimensions of analysis. Often such studies are presented as narratives or analytic essays, and it is the subject matter of the research that constitutes the arts basis. Sometimes, such studies find expression in new artworks, as is the case in Merita Mita’s film made about the work of painter Ralph Hotere (Mita, 2001 ), which interlays critical analyses, documentation of process, interviews, and pulsating images of the artworks.

The third cluster involves research about teaching, therapy, or community development through one or more of the arts. Here arts are primarily the media of teaching and learning. For example, when drama is the teaching medium, the teacher may facilitate the class by taking a fictional role within the narrative that provokes students to plan, argue, or take action. Students may be prompted to use roles, create improvisations, explore body representations of ideas or conflicts, and explore contentious problems in safely fictitious contexts. Because it examines both work within an art form and changes in learners’ or community members’ understandings of other issues, this cluster overlaps somewhat with the two previous clusters. However, it is also building a body of its own traditions.

One strong tradition is the documentation of process. For example, Burton, Lepp, Morrison, and O’Toole ( 2015 ) report two decades of projects, including Dracon and Cooling Conflict , which have used drama strategies as well as formal theoretical teaching to address conflict and bullying. They have documented the specific strategies used, discussed their theoretical bases, and acknowledged the evidence on which they base their claims about effectiveness of the strategies in building understanding about and reducing bullying. The strategies used involved use of role and improvisation and what the authors call an enhanced form of Boal’s Forum Theatre. Other examples include the Risky Business Project (O’Brien & Donelan, 2008 ), a series of programs involving marginalized youth in dance, drama, music, theater performance, stand-up comedy, circus, puppetry, photography, visual arts, and creative writing; explorations of cross-cultural understandings through drama processes (Greenwood, 2005 ); the teaching of English as a second language in Malaysia through teacher-in-role and other drama processes (Mohd Nawi, 2014 ); working with traditional arts to break down culturally bound ways of seeing the world (Stanley, 2014 ); and the training of a theater-for-development team to use improvisational strategies to address community problems (Okagbue, 2002 ). While the strategies are arts processes and the analysis of their effect addresses aesthetic dimensions of arts as well as cognitive and behavioral ones, the reporting of these projects is primarily within the more traditional verbal and discursive forms of qualitative research.

Sometimes the reporting takes a more dramatic turn. Mullens and Wills ( 2016 ) report and critically analyze Re-storying Disability Through the Arts , an event that sought to create space for dialogue between students, researchers, artists, educators, and practitioners with different involvements or interests in disability arts. They begin their report by re-creating a scene within the workshop that captures some of the tensions evoked, and follow this with a critical commentary on three community-based art practices that engage in a strategy of re-storying disability. They present arts as means to “counter powerful cultural narratives that regulate the lives and bodies of disabled people” (Mullens & Wills, 2016 , p. 5). Barrett ( 2014 ) reports a project, informed by an a/r/tography methodology, which utilized the classroom teaching of the prescribed arts curriculum to allow students to explore evolving understandings of identity and community. Montages of photographs are a central component in the report, as is a series of images that illustrate Barrett’s reflections on her own role within the investigation.

Using Art to Research Social Issues: Collecting Data

Within a social science research project, art processes might be used to collect data, to carry out analysis and interpretation, or to present findings. Perhaps the most common use is to collect data. The process of photovoice (Wang & Burns, 1997 ), for example, gives participants cameras and asks them to capture images that they consider as significant elements of the topic being investigated. Graffiti might be used to prompt absentee students to discuss their perceptions of schooling. Body sculptures, freeze frames, and hot seating are examples of drama strategies that could be used to facilitate reflection and debate about cross-cultural encounters, feelings about hospitalization, experiences of domestic violence, or an array of other topics.

In each case the art produced becomes the basis for further discussion. This process is quite different from historical concepts of art therapy, where the therapist would give expert insight into what a patient’s artwork means; here it is the participants who give the explanation, perhaps independently or perhaps through dialogue with other participants and the researcher. The embodied experience of construction provides a platform and a challenge to talking in ways that are more thoughtful and more honest than through a conventionally structured verbal interview. The talk after making is important, but the art products are not merely precursors to verbal data, they are concrete points of references to which both participants and researchers can refer and can use to prompt further introspection or deconstruction. The process of making, moreover, is one that allows time for reflection and self-editing along the way and so may yield more truthful and complex answers than those that might be given instantly in an interview. Participants who are second language speakers or who lack the vocabulary or theoretical constructs to express complex feelings, reactions, or beliefs can be enabled to use physicalization to create a bridge between what they know or feel wordlessly inside them and an external expression that can be read by others.

The art tools available for such data gathering are as varied as the tools used by artists for making art. They might include drawing, collage, painting, sculpting materials or bodies, singing, orchestration, Lego construction, movement improvisation, creation of texts, photography, graffiti, role creation, and/or spatial positioning.

Art Processes as Tools for Analysis

Art processes can also be used to analyze and interpret data. Within qualitative paradigms, the processes of collecting and interpretation of data often overlap. This is also true of arts-based research. For instance, Greenwood ( 2012 ) reported on a group of experienced Bangladeshi educators who came to New Zealand to complete their Masters. While they were proficient in English, they found colloquial language challenging, struggling often to find words with the right social or emotional connotations at the speed of conversation. In previous discussions, they often looked to each other for translation. A teaching workshop, held as an illustration of arts-based research, addressed the research question: what have been your experiences as international students? A small repertoire of drama strategies, particularly freeze frames with techniques for deconstructing and refining initial offers, short animations, and narrative sequencing were used. These prompted participants to recall and show personal experiences, to critically view and interpret one another’s representations, and to further refine their images to clarify their intended meaning. The participants flung themselves into the challenge with alacrity and flamboyance and created images of eagerness, hope, new relationships, frustration, failed communication, anger, dejection, unexpected learning, and achievement. They also actively articulated ideas as we deconstructed the images and, through debate, co-constructed interpretations of what was being shown in the work and what it meant in terms of their experience, individual and shared, of overseas study. The interweaving of making, reflection, discussion, and further refinement is intrinsic to process drama; as a research method, it affords a means of interweaving data collection and collaborative analysis. In this case the participants also debated aspects of the validity of the process as research, raising questions about subjectivity in interpretation, about the nature of crystallization (Richardson, 1994 ), about informed consent, and about co-construction of narratives. Analysis shifted from being the task of an outsider researcher to one carried out, incrementally and experimentally, by insider participants. While the researcher held the initial power to focus the work, participants’ physical entry into the work, and their interrogation of the images that were created constituted a choice of how much they would share and contribute, and so they became active and sometimes playful partners in the research. This approach to analysis shares many features with participatory action research (Brydon-Miller et al., 2011 ), both in eliciting the agency of participants and in evolving a process of analysis that is interwoven with the gathering of data from preceding action and with the planning of further investigative cycles of action.

The work of Boal is perhaps one of the best known examples of the use of an art process, in this case theater, as a means of analysis of data. Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed ( 1979 ) details a series of strategies for deconstruction and collaborative analysis. For example, in the process he calls image theatre , participants select a local oppressive problem that they seek to resolve. They create and discuss images that exemplify experience of the problem and their idealized solutions (the data); they then analyze their images to find where power resides and how it is supported. Boal’s theater process calls for experimentation with further images that explore scenarios where power could become shared to some extent and could allow further action by those who experience the oppression. The process finishes with consequential explorations of the first step to be taken by participants as a means to work toward an equilibrium of power. Boal, as the title of his book, Theatre of the Oppressed , acknowledges, draws on the work of his Braziailan compatriot, Freire, and particularly on his concept of conscientization (Freire, 1970 , 1972 ). Boal’s process for analyzing experiences of oppression is not so much a direct action plan as a means of analyzing the mechanisms of specific conditions of oppression and the potential, however limited, for agency to resolve the oppression. The sequenced strategies of creating and discussing alternative images of oppression, power relationships, and action enable participants to deconstruct the socio-cultural reality that shapes their lives and to gain awareness of their capacity to transform it.

Art as a Means to Present Findings

There is a large and growing body of research that presents findings in arts forms. A few examples are briefly discussed.

After collecting data, through interviews and official communications from participants in a case where a district school was being threatened with closure, Owen ( 2009 ) commissioned a composer to write a score for sections of his transcripts and create a community opera. He expressed the hope that this would “transform their tiny stories into noisy histories” (p. 3). Part of the data was sung at a conference I attended. I was struck by the shift in power. What I might have regarded as dull data in a PowerPoint presentation now became a compelling articulation of experiences and aspirations and a dynamic debate between personal lives and authoritarian policy.

The AIDS Memorial Quilt project (Morris, 2011 ; Yardlie & Langley, 1995 ) is frequently described as the world’s greatest piece of community folk art. A claim can be made that, while each panel in the quilt is a product of folk art, the collation of the quilt in its enormity is a work of conceptual art that juxtaposes the fragility and isolation of individual loss with the overwhelming global impact of the AIDS epidemic. The quilt can also be seen as research that visually quantifies the death toll through AIDS in Western world communities and that qualitatively investigates the life stories and values of those who died through the perceptions of those who loved them.

A number of museums throughout the world present visual and kinaesthetic accounts of social and historical research. Well-known examples are the Migration Museum in Melbourne, the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg, and the Documentation Center for the History of National Socialism in Munich. A less securely established exhibition is that of images of the Australian Aboriginal Stolen Generation that was collected by the Dumbartung Aboriginal Corporation to educate community and schoolchildren, “but only had the funding to showcase the exhibit for one night” (Diss, 2017 ). These and many other exhibitions create visual and experiential environments where the data of history can be not only seen and read but also felt.

In a similar way to how these exhibitions use actual archival photographs, theater may use the exact words of interviews to re-tell real stories. In making Verbatim , Brandt and Harcourt ( 1994 ) collated the words from 30 interviews with convicted murderers, their families, and the families of murder victims. “We went into the prisons to find out what the story was that we were going to tell, and that was the story that emerged from the material we collected,” Harcourt explained (White, 2013 ). “Not only the content, but also the form emerged from that context. We didn’t go in having decided we were going to make a solo show. Form emerged from the experience of the prison system.”

A frequently used form is that of ethnodrama (Mienczakowski, 1995 ; Saldaña, 2008 ). Ethnodrama presents data in a theatrical form: using stage, role, and sometimes lighting and music. Saldaña ( 2008 ) explains that ethnodrama maintains “close allegiance to the lived experiences of real people while presenting their voices through an artistic medium” (p. 3) and argues that the goals are not only aesthetic, they also possess emancipatory potential for motivating social change within participants and audiences.

Sometimes the ethnographic material is further manipulated in the presentation process. Conrad ( 2012 ) describes her research into the Native program at the Alberta youth corrections center in play form as “an ethnographic re-presentation of the research—a creative expression of the research findings” (p. xii). Her play jumps through time, creating fragments of action, and is interspersed by video scenes that provide alternative endings that could result from choices made by the characters. Conrad explains her choice of medium: “Performance has the potential to reach audiences in ways beyond intellectual understanding, through engaging other ways of knowing that are empathetic, emotional, experiential, and embodied, with the potential for radically re-envisioning social relations” (p. xiii).

Belliveau ( 2015 ) created a performative research about his work in teaching Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing in an elementary school. He interwove excerpts of students’ performances from the Shakespearean text with excerpts of their discussions about the issues of power, pride, love, and other themes in a new performance work that illustrated as well as explained primary students’ response to Shakespeare. He later presented a keynote at the IDEA (International Drama in Education Association) conference in Paris where he performed his discussion of this and other work with young students. Similarly, Lutton’s ( 2016 ) doctoral research explored the work and challenges of selected international drama educators using imagination and role play. In her final performance of her research, she took the role of an archivist’s assistant at a fictitious Museum of Educational Drama and Applied Theatre to provide “an opportunity for drama practitioners to use their skills and knowledge of drama pedagogy to tell their own stories” (Lutton, p. 36). She states that her choice of research tool embraces theatricality, enabling the embodiment of participants’ stories, the incorporation of critical reflection and of aesthetic knowledge (p. 36).

The Cheviot, the Stag, and the Black Black Oil , developed by John McGrath and the 7:84 Theatre Company, recounts the history of economic exploitation of the Scottish people, from the evictions that followed the clearances for the farming of Cheviot sheep, through the development of Highland stag hunts, to the capitalist domination of resources in the 1970s oil boom. Within a traditional ceilidh form it tells stories, presents arguments, and uses caricature, satire, and parody. The play is the result of research and of critical analysis of movements of power and economic interests. It is also a very effective instrument of political persuasion: McGrath gives the dispossessed crofters a language that tugs at our empathy whereas that of the landlords provokes our antagonism. Is this polemics or simple historic truth? Does the dramatic impact of the play unreasonably capture our intellects? And if the facts that are presented are validated by other accounts of history does it matter if it does? What is, what should be, what can be the relationship between research and the evocation, even manipulation of emotions?

Emotion—and Its Power

In as much as arts offer different ways of knowing the world, their use at various stages of research has the power to influence both what we come to know and how we know it. Art tools, strategically used, allow access to emotions and visceral responses as well as to conscious ideas. That makes them powerful for eliciting information. It also makes them powerful in influencing audiences.

The photos of the brutality of the police and of the steadfastness of the activists in the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg are examples of powerfully influencing as well as informing data. As well as the events that are recorded, the faces and the bodies speak through the photos. Their exhibition in blown-up size at eye level together with film footage and artifacts create a compellingly powerful response in viewers. Like many others, I came out of the museum emotionally drained and confirmed, even strengthened, in my ideological beliefs. The power of the exhibition had first sharpened and then consolidated my understandings. Was this because of the power of the facts presented in the exhibition, or was it because of the power of their presentation ? Or was it both? When the issue presented is one like apartheid, I am not afraid of having my awareness influenced in multiple ways: I believe I already have an evidence-informed position on the subject. I also applaud the power of the exhibition to inform and convince those who might not yet have reached a position. But what if the issue was a different one? Perhaps one which I was more uncertain about? Might it then seem that the emotional power of the exhibition gave undue weight to the evidence?

The issue here is not a simple one. The presentation is not only the reporting of findings: it is also art. The researcher (in the artist) stays true to the data; the artist (in the researcher) arranges data for effect and affect. Conrad explicitly states her hope that her choice of presentation mode will add impact to her research findings: she wants the presentation of her research about youth in detention centers to engender more empathetic understandings of their experiences and lead, in turn, to more constructive attitudes toward their needs. By putting their words to music, Owen wants his audience to listen more attentively to opinions of the stakeholders in the schools threatened with closure. McGrath wants his audience to side with those dispossessed by the combined power of capital and law. The Dumbartung Aboriginal Corporation plans to emotionally move as well as to inform its community. In writing Broadwood , I meticulously presented both sides of the dispute, I deliberately placed music and metaphor at the service of Maori language, and I deliberately used the spatial suggestiveness of the stage to evoke possibilities in the ending. The boy is alone in the library while his classmates are on the marae listening to an elder explain the history of their meetinghouse. The elder gives them an ancient whalebone weapon to hold, the students pass it among themselves, then hold it out across space to the boy. The boy stands, takes half a cautious step toward them and then stops; the lights go down. I intended the audience to complete the action in their subconscious.

In each of these cases, the art form of the presentation allows the artist/researcher to manipulate affect as well as critical cognition. To my mind, this is not simply another iteration of the argument between subjectivity and objectivity in research. Many contemporary approaches to research openly recognize that knowledge is mediated by context, experience, and social and historical discourses as well as by individuals’ personal interpretation (Denzin & Lincoln, 2011 ; Ellis, 2004 ). It is shaped by what is left out as well as by what is included. The practice of careful and scrupulous reflexivity is a way of acknowledging and bounding the subjectivity of the researcher (Altheide & Johnson, 2011 ; Ellingson, 2011 ). The researcher-who-is-artist draws on a subconscious as well as a conscious sense of how things fit together, and constructs meaning subconsciously as well as consciously, manipulating affect and effect in the process. Perhaps all researchers do so to some extent. For instance, the deliberately invisible authors of much quantitative research, who allow the passive voice to carry much of the reporting, who triangulate and define limitation, create an effect of fair-minded and dependable authority. The affect is not necessarily misleading, and it is something that readers of research have learned to recognize. However, the researcher-who-is-artist can draw on the rich repertoire of an art field that already operates in the domain of the aesthetic as well as of the critically cognitive, in spaces that are liminal as well those that are defined. It is arguable that readers of research still need to recognize and navigate through those spaces. Arguably, the challenge exists not only in the field of research: it is present in all the media that surrounds our daily lives.

A/r/tography and Examination of Places Between

The challenge of exploring liminal spaces of intention, process, explanation, effect, and affect is seriously taken up by the emergent discipline of a/r/tography . The backslashes in the term speak of fracture; they also denote the combined authorial roles of artist, researcher, and teacher. Springgay, Irwin, and Kind ( 2005 ) explain that a/r/tography is deliberately introspective and does not seek conclusions: rather it plays with connections between art and text and seeks to capture the embodied experience of exploring self and the world. Irwin et al. ( 2006 ) state: “Together, the arts and education complement, resist, and echo one another through rhizomatic relations of living inquiry” (p. 70). A/r/tography is explicitly positioned as a practice-based and living inquiry: it explores but resists attempting to define the spaces between artist, teacher, and researcher, and so implicitly rejects boundaries between these roles. It conceptualizes inquiry as a continuing experiential process of encounter between ideas, art media, context, meaning, and evolving representations. At the same time as it blurs distinctions, it teases out interrelationships: it offers art inquiry as something that is purposeful but unfixed, and art knowing as something that is personally and socially useful, but at best only partially and temporarily describable, never definable. This is one reason why its proponents explain it as a substantively different and new methodology outside the existing frameworks of qualitative research.

A/r/tography emerged out of the field of art education, with the explicit aim to extend the opportunities afforded by education in the arts, and to develop means to record and report the complex facets of learning and teaching in the arts. Consequently its language may be experienced, by readers who are outside the discipline, as highly abstract, deliberately ambiguous, and even esoteric: it seems to speak, as many research disciplines do, primarily to others in its own field. However, its broad principles have been picked up, and perhaps adapted, by practitioners who seek to explore the processes of their students’ learning through the arts and the evolving understandings they develop. For instance, Barrett and Greenwood ( 2013 ) report exploration of the epistemological third space through which place-conscious education and visual arts pedagogy can be interwoven and through which students, many of whom do not aspire to become artists, can use art-making to re-imagine and re-mark their understandings of their physical and social context and of their relationship with community. The value of this kind of research is posed in terms of the insights it affords rather than its capacity for presenting authoritative conclusions.

A Conference Debate, and the Politics of Research

Whether the provision of insights is enough to make art-making into research is a question that is frequently and sometimes fiercely contested. One such debate took place at a European conference I recently attended. It occurred in an arts-based research stream, and it began with the presentation of two films. The films were relatively short, and a discussion followed and became increasingly heated. Personally, I liked the films. The first reported a dance process that became an undergraduate teaching text. The second, in layers of imagery and fragments of dialogue, explored the practice of two artists. However, I was not sure what the added value was in calling either research. I saw art responding to art, and that seemed valuable and interesting enough. Why was the construct of research being privileged? The filmmakers defended the claim to research on the grounds that there was inquiry, on the grounds that art spoke in languages that were best discussed through art, and on the grounds that research was privileged in their institutions. Then a respected professor of fine arts put forward more direct criticism. Research, he argued, needed to make explicit the decisions that were made in identifying and reporting findings so that these would be accessible for peer review. Neither film, he said, did so. Defenses from the audience were heated. Then another senior art educator argued that art itself could not just be self-referential: it had to open a space for others to enter. The debate continued in corridors long after the session ended.

That the criticisms were unrelenting seemed an indication of how much was at stake. The space held by arts-based research within the European academic congregation is still somewhat fragile. The arts-based network was formed because of advocates’ passionate belief in the extended possibilities that arts-based methods offer, and this year again it expressed its eagerness to receive contributions in film and other art media as well as PowerPoint and verbal presentations. However, the network also saw itself as a custodian of rigor.

The participants in the session re-performed an argument that lingers at the edges of arts-based research. At the far ends of the spectrum, art and research are readily recognizable, and when art is borrowed as a tool in research, the epistemological and methodological assumptions are explicable. But the ground is more slippery when art and research intersect more deeply. When is the inquiry embedded within art, and when does it become research? Is it useful to attempt demarcations? What is lost from art or from research if demarcations are not attempted? The questions, as well as possible answers, are, as Eisner suggested, political as well as philosophical and methodological.

The doing of research and its publication have become big academic business. Universities around the world are required to report their academics’ research outputs to gain funding. My university, for example, is subject to a six-yearly round of assessment of research performance, based primarily on published and on funded research outputs. Each academic’s outputs are categorized and ranked, and the university itself is ranked and funded, in comparison with the other universities in the country. There is pressure on each academic to maximize research publications, even at the cost, it often seems, of other important academic activities, such as teaching. The competitive means of ranking also increases contestations about what is real research, serving both as a stimulus for positioning differing forms of inquiry as research and as a guarded gateway that permits some entries and denies others. Politicians and policymakers, in their turn, favor and fund research that can provide them with quotable numbers or clear-cut conclusions. Arts-based research still battles for a place within this politico-academic ground, although there appears to be growing acceptance of the use of art tools as means to elicit data.

Site for Possibilities—and Questions

The politics of research do matter, but for researchers who are committed to doing useful research, there are other factors to consider when choosing research approaches. These include the potentialities of the tools, the matter that is to be investigated, and the skills and practice preferences of the researcher.

The emergence and development of processes of arts-based research are grounded in belief that there are many ways of knowing oneself and the world, and these include emotions and intuitive perceptions as well as intellectual cognition. The epistemology of arts-based research is based on understandings that color, space, sound, movement, facial expression, vocal tone, and metaphor are as important in expressing and understanding knowledge as the lexical meanings of words. It is based on understandings that symbols, signs, and patterns are powerful means of communication, and that they are culturally and contextually shaped and interpreted. Arts-based research processes tolerate, even sometimes celebrate, ambiguity and ambivalence. They may also afford license to manipulate emotions to evoke empathy or direct social action.

The use of arts-based processes for eliciting participants’ responses considerably increases researchers’ repertoire for engaging participants and for providing them with means of expression that allow them to access feelings and perceptions that they might not initially be able to put into words as well as giving them time and strategies for considering their responses. The use of arts-based processes for analysis and representation allow opportunities for multidimensional, sensory, and often communal explorations of the meaning of what has been researched. It also presents new challenges to receivers of research who need to navigate their way not only through the overt ambiguities and subjective expression, but also through the invisible layers of affect that are embedded in art processes.

The challenges signal continuing areas of discussion, and perhaps work, for both arts-based researchers and for the wider research community. Does the use of art in representation of research findings move beyond the scope of critical peer review? Or do we rather need to develop new languages and strategies for such review? Do we need critical and recursive debate about when art becomes research and when it does not? Are the ambiguities and cognitive persuasions that are inherent in arts-based representations simply other, and useful, epistemological stances? Does the concept of research lose its meaning if it is stretched too far? Does art, which already has a useful role in interpreting and even shaping society, need to carve out its position as research? Does the entry of arts-based research into the arena of research call for revisions to the way we consider ethics? How do the procedures of institutional ethics committees need to be adapted to accommodate the engagement of the human body as well as the emergent design and ambiguities of the arts-based research processes? What are the more complex responsibilities of arts-based researchers toward their participants, particularly in terms of cultural protocols, reciprocity of gains, and the manipulation of emotions and cognition through visually or dramatically powerful presentations?

The already existing and expanding contribution of arts-based researchers argues vigorously for the place of arts processes in our congregations of research discussion and production. Quite simply, the arts address aspects of being human that are not sufficiently addressed by other methodologies. They are needed in our repertoire of tools for understanding people and the world. However, like other research approaches, they bring new challenges that need to be recognized and debated.

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Artistic research: between transformative material and cognitive dynamics

Rethinking Artistic Research: A Review of Michael Schwab’s ‘Contemporary Research’

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250+ Research Paper Topics for Art Lovers and Curious Minds

Table of contents

1 Argumentative Art Topics for Research Papers
2 Fun Art Research Ideas for Professional Writers
3 Controversial Art Research Topics
4 Gendered Roles in Modern Art Research
5 Art Topics for Research Papers: The Impacts of Technology
6.1 Themes in 21st Century Paintings
7 Ancient Art History Research Paper Topics
8 Art Research Topics on Different Cultures
9 Greek Art Research Paper Topics
10 Art Topics during the Byzantine Period
11 Medieval Art History Research Paper Topics
12 Renaissance Paper Topics
13 Research Paper Topics on the Baroque Era
14 The Impressionist Artistic Movement
15 The Modern Art Talk about Romanticism
16 The Art Influence of Mannerism
17 The Post-impressionist Art Movement
18 Surrealism in Art History
19 The Highlights of Cubism
20 The Avant-garde Art Topics
21 The Expressionist Art Movement
22 Topics on Dadaism
23 Pop Art Debate Topics
24 Art Education Research Topics in the 16th Century
25 Cool Art Ideas during the 17th Century
26 Research Papers on Art Produced during the 18th Century
27 The 19th Century Artistic Styles
28 The 20th Century’s Artistic Characteristics
29 Contemporary Art History Topics
30 Mexican Revolutionary Art Research Paper Topics
31 Architecture Research Paper Topics
32 Theater Research Paper Ideas
33 The Study of Photography as Research about Art
34.1 Art Topics Ideas Base on the Artists of the 18th Century
34.2 Artists of the 19th Century

Art has been a significant aspect of human civilization for centuries. From the earliest cave paintings to modern-day installations, art has served as a means of expression and communication. The study of art encompasses a broad range of disciplines, including art history, aesthetics, philosophy, sociology, and psychology. As such, the best controversial research paper topics within the field of art can be explored. This article aims to provide a comprehensive list of 250+ art topics covering various aspects of the discipline, including famous artists and artworks, art movements, theories and concepts, and social and political influences. These topics intend to inspire students and researchers before even choosing their favorite paper writing service and delving deeper into the complex world of art.

Argumentative Art Topics for Research Papers

Art has always been a recurring topic of debate, with different interpretations and perspectives on what it represents and its hidden meanings. From discussions on censorship and freedom of expression to art’s political implications, explore other possibilities in art.

Write a Critical Analysis of Censorship Issues and How They Can Limit Artistic Freedom.
Argue for or against Using Public Funds to Support Art and Institutions.
Discuss the Ethical Considerations Surrounding the Cultural Appropriation of Symbolisms.
Delimitate the Boundaries of the Tension between Art Commercialization and Artistic Expression’s Authenticity.
Study How the Relationship between Art and Identity Is Explored and How It Can Shape and Express Individual and Collective Identities.

Fun Art Research Ideas for Professional Writers

Even the most skilled professionals need help developing fresh inspiration for art-related topics and finding research paper writing help . With this list, we want to inspire writers to explore new horizons, from unconventional art mediums to unusual artists.

Graffiti Art: Exploring Its Significance and Evolution as a Legitimate Artistic Expression.
The Impact of Street Photography and How Does It Capture the Essence of Modern Life.
How Have Album Covers Influenced Popular Culture, and How Do They Reflect the Artistic Vision of Musicians and Artists?
Analyzing the History and Wonders of Asian Art and Animation and Its Impact on Popular Culture.
Find Out How Indigenous Art Explores Its Diverse Forms and How It Reflects on the Culture of Their Communities.

Controversial Art Research Topics

Art has always been polarizing, sparking debates on various issues. Whether you’re an art student or an enthusiast, you’ll find excellent history research paper topics on this list.

Examining the Limits of Expression through the Lenses of Artistic Freedom.
The Power and Perils of Art Representing Marginalized Communities.
What Responsibilities Do Collectors Have When Collecting Debatable Pieces?
Reckoning with the past and the Controversial Legacy of Colonial Art.
How Do Artists Navigate Appropriation through the Problematic Nature of Artistic Inspiration?
Write an Argumentative Essay About the Use of Religious Imagery: Is It Blasphemy or Legitimate Creative Expression?
Censorship: Protecting Public Morals or Inhibiting Creativity?

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Gendered Roles in Modern Art Research

Historically male dominance in art has resulted in a limited representation of women. Few female artists are recognized for their contributions, bringing discussions on gendered roles in modern art to the forefront. Check out some fine arts research paper topics.

Explore the Works of Frida Kahlo and Unravel Gendered Representations in Modern Art.
The Impact on the Evolution of Feminist Art Generated by Tracey Emin’s Work.
Research Marina Abramovic’s Pieces and Learn How She Pushed Boundaries on Gender and Performance Art.
How to See beyond the Male Gaze through John Berger’s “Ways of Seeing” While Critiquing the Objectification of Fine Art.
The Art of Challenging Conventional Female Roles by Agnes Martin.
Take an in Depth Look at Cindy Sherman’s Gender and Identity Exploration in Contemporary Art.
Defying Conservative Norms and Embracing the Body – The Visual Art of Kiki Smith.
Learn More about the Rise of Women Artists in Modern Art Following the Artworks of Yayoi Kusama.

Art Topics for Research Papers: The Impacts of Technology

Technology has opened up several possibilities, from digital media and virtual reality installations to 3D printing, computer-generated imagery, or even an essay writing service . Look at some of the most interesting art topics that explore this relationship.

Examine How Technology Has Enabled New Forms of Artistic Expression through Digital Art.
Art Democratization: How Technology Has Made It Easier for Artists to Reach Wider Audiences.
The Transformation of Experience and Interaction with Modern World Art through AR Technology.
AI and New Art Forms: Potential to Challenge Traditional Notions of Creativity.
Explore How New Social Media Platforms Have Transformed the Ways We Consume Art.
How Can Digital Technology Preserve and Restore Deteriorating Works of True Art?

Interesting Modern and Contemporary Art Topics

From abstract Expressionism to Pop Art, contemporary artists have explored many creative avenues, resulting in thought-provoking works that challenge traditional notions of art. Check out some ideas for those who want to buy research papers about different epochs in Modern Art.

Kandinsky, Pollock, and Rothko Pave the Path with the Force of Chaos and Calm.
Artists like Banksy, Kruger and Weiwei Boldly Show Us How to Discuss Today’s Issues.
Understand How Fairey, Botero, and Holzer Revolutionize the World through Art.
Find Out Where Creativity Meets Technology with Arcangel, Utterback, and Lozano-Hemmer.
Fashion and Art Become the Perfect Pairing: Warhol, Dali, and Haring Meet Saint Laurent, Schiaparelli, and Scott.
Shattering Stereotypes – Chicago, Sherman, and Ono Challenge the Status Quo.
Richter, Hirst, and Walker Demonstrate the Ongoing Relevance of Modern Art.

Themes in 21st Century Paintings

Explore beyond the Representation of Identity in Kerry James Marshall’s “Untitled (Studio)” and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye’s “Mascara.”
Use the Landscapes of David Hockney and Anselm Kiefer’s “The Field” to Reflect on Environmental Consciousness.
Analyze the Works of Yinka Shonibare Mbe and Kara Walker’s “A Subtlety.” to Understand Global Visions and Cultural Exchange.
Politics Occur in Street Art, Becoming Activism in Banksy’s Art and AI Weiwei’s “Sunflower Seeds.”
Memory, Nostalgia, and Figurative Painting in the Works of Elizabeth Peyton and Lisa Yuskavage’s “Night.”
“Untitled” by Cecily Brown and the Works of Gerhard Richter: Abstraction and Emotion.
Technology in Contemporary Painting with Jenny Saville’s “Ancestors” and Stelarc’s “Third Hand.”
Transcribed Gender and Sexuality in the Works of Nicole Eisenman’s “Procession” and John Currin’s “The Women of Franklin Street.”

Ancient Art History Research Paper Topics

The art of early civilizations is a testament to these societies’ creativity and cultural significance. Check out the best art topics for those interested in Ancient Rome, Mayan Culture, and African art.

Explore the Development of Primordial Egyptian Art and Its Impact on Later Art Forms.
The Significance of Art in Mesopotamian Civilization.
Explore the Relevance of Ancient Chinese Art and Its Influence on the Following Centuries.
Analyze the Evolution of Artworks in Old India and Their Relationship with Religion and Culture.
The Role of Art in Mayan Society and Its Significance in Their Spirituality and Habits.
The Development of Art in Mesoamerican Civilizations and Its Impact on Later Art Forms.
Analyze the Symbolism of Motifs in Ancient Art and Its Historical Context.

Art Research Topics on Different Cultures

Each culture has unique artistic expressions that reflect its history and social norms. By delving into the art of various cultures, we can gain insights into how art shapes and reflects human experiences and choose exciting art history research topics.

What Is the Role of Family and Community in Maori Art?
The Tradition of African Art and Mask Making and Its Role in Identity Formation.
Understanding the Symbolism and Meaning in Traditional Indian Textiles through the Colors of Culture.
The Evolution of Japanese Woodblock Prints from Edo to Meiji Era.
Try Looking for the Symbolism and Meaning in the Paintings of Raja Ravi Varma and Other Examples of Eastern Art.
The Beauty of Symmetry: Geometry and Design in Islamic Art and Architecture.

Greek Art Research Paper Topics

Greek art is a rich and fascinating field of study that offers endless possibilities. Here is a list of art research paper topics exploring Greek artists’ diverse and complex world.

Examine the Development of Sculptures from the Archaic to the Hellenistic Period.
Analyze How Greek Artists Portrayed Gods, Goddesses, and Mythological Heroes.
How Did Ceramics’ Significance in Daily Life Shape Pottery’s Role in Ancient Greece?
Take an in Depth Look at the Use of Colour in Greek Sculpture, Painting, and Pottery.
The Influence of Egypt on Greek Art and How It Impacted the Development of the Current Identity.
Analyze How Women Were Represented and Their Role in Shaping the Cultural Context of the Time.
Develop the Topic on the Symbolism and Representation of Animals in Greek Art and Mythology.
Find Research Papers That Illustrate the Influence of Greece on Roman Art.

Art Topics during the Byzantine Period

Byzantine art illustrates the social context of that time, focusing on religious themes and having a close relationship between art and theology. Explore some of the most notable examples of Byzantine art, including mosaics and frescoes.

A Study of the Architectural and Artistic Achievements of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I.
Compare Your Personal Impressions on the Similarities and Differences between Byzantine Art and the Pieces Created during the Renaissance.
What Was the Importance of Ivory Triptychs in Byzantine Art?
To Understand Illumination, Research the Byzantine Manuscripts and Their Decorations.
Compare the Artistic Styles of the Byzantine Art and the Romanesque Period.
Learn More about the Revival of Classical Artistic Techniques in Byzantine Art.

Medieval Art History Research Paper Topics

Medieval art is characterized by intricate designs, elaborate ornamentation, and religious symbolism, reflecting the time’s beliefs. In writing a research paper on Medieval art history, choosing the right topic allows an in-depth exploration of various aspects of this period.

Examine the Development in the Representation of Religious Figures and Scenes in Medieval Artworks.
Analyze the Artistry and Significance of Illuminated Manuscripts in Europe.
Explore the Influence of Islamic Art on the Development of Medieval Paintings.
Examine the Meanings and Representation of Animals and Their Significance in That Time’s Worldview.
Deep Dive into the Techniques and Symbolism Used in Stained Glass Windows in Medieval Churches.

Renaissance Paper Topics

The Renaissance Era was a period of profound cultural rebirth that had a lasting impact on the development of Western art. New growing ideas started a revolution in paintings and sculptures that saw the emergence of new techniques and forms of expression.

Exploring the Ideals of Humanism and How They Were Reflected on Art at That Period.
Analyze the Revival of Classical Motifs and Themes in Renaissance Art.
Write about the Use of Perspective during the Renaissance Era and Its Impact on the Representation of Space and Depth.
Analyze How Women Were Represented in Art and Their Role in Shaping the Cultural Context of That Time.
Patronage System during Renaissance: Individual and Institutions Support of Art.
Examine the Rise of Artists-Genius, Such as Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo, and How Society Perceived Them.
Explore How Religious Themes Were Depicted in Renaissance Art.
Start an Analysis of the Use of Allegory in Renaissance Art and Its Meaning in the Cultural Context of the Time.

Research Paper Topics on the Baroque Era

The Baroque era is known for its dramatic and ornate style, intricate ornamentation, and bold colours. In the following topics, we will explore some research paper key concepts related to the Baroque era.

The Power of Light and Shade: A Study of Caravaggio’s Dramatic Use of Chiaroscuro.
Carry an in Depth Analysis of the Religious Context of Baroque Art Presented in Murals and Paintings.
The Triumph of Movement: An Analysis of Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s Sculpture and Its Dynamic Qualities.
Study Female Portrayals by Artemisia Gentileschi and Judith Leyster and Learn More about the Role of Women in the Baroque Era.
Baroque and Politics: The Relationship between Art and Power in 17th-Century Europe.
Develop an Article about Trompe-L’œIl Painting in Baroque Art and Discover the Power of Illusion.

The Impressionist Artistic Movement

Impressionism is an art movement that emphasizes capturing the transient effects of light and colour in the natural world. By exploring the following art research paper topics, we will gain a deeper understanding of the significance of impressionism and its ongoing legacy.

Understand Better the Concept of Time in Impressionist Paintings by Studying Some of Paul Cézanne’s Still Life.
What’s the Relevance of Weather in Impressionist Work, and What Can We Learn from It?
Discover the Importance of Motion in Impressionist Landscapes, According to Camille Pissarro.
What Was the Reception of Impressionism in America, and How It Impacted Local Artists?
Draw a Timeline of the Evolution of éDouard Manet’s Artistic Style.
The Role of Race and Ethnicity in Degas’ Art: A Comparative Study of His Depictions of Black and Asian Figures.

The Modern Art Talk about Romanticism

Romanticism is an interesting topic characterized by a fascination with emotion, nature, and the individual. By examining the art nuances of Romanticism, we can better understand the cultural and historical context in which these works were created and appreciate its enduring influence.

Evoking Awe and Terror in the Art of Caspar David Friedrich and J.M.W. Turner.
Learn more about the occult in the works of Samuel Taylor coleridge and William Blake.
Did the Portrayal of Femininity in the Works of Jane Austen, Eugène Delacroix, and William Blake Romanticize Women?
Explore Turner and Wordsworth’s responses to the Industrial Revolution.
Delacroix and the Impact of the French Revolution on the Romantic Movement.
How Did Wordsworth and Goethe Portray Childhood?

The Art Influence of Mannerism

The Mannerist period followed the High Renaissance and preceded the Baroque era. Its highlights include the works of artists such as Michelangelo and Tintoretto, who created some of the era’s most beautiful and thought-provoking pieces.

A Study of the Relationship between Artistic Style and Religious Change in Europe.
Find Out More about Innovative Techniques and Styles Used by Mannerist Portraitists.
Research about Michelangelo’s Influence on the Development of the Mannerist Style.
Write an Article about the Innovations Employed by the Painter Bronzino.
How Was the Relationship between Cellini and Michelangelo?
A Comparative Study of Female Portrayals by Sofonisba Anguissola and Lavinia Fontana.
Innovative Techniques Used by Mannerist Artists in Their Departure from Classical Tradition.

The Post-impressionist Art Movement

Post-impressionism was a reaction against the limitations of impressionism. They sought to expand the boundaries of art by exploring new techniques, emphasizing individual expression, and infusing their works with symbolic meaning.

Examine How Post-impressionist Painters Used Colour to Convey Emotion and Atmosphere.
The Evolution of Pointillism from Seurat to Pissarro and Van Gogh.
Discuss the Influence of Scientific Theories on the Development of Post-impressionist Painting Techniques.
The Influence of Music on Gauguin and Kandinsky’s Post-impressionist Works.
What Was the Legacy of Post-impressionism in the Paintings of Fauvists and Expressionists Such as Vlaminck and Nolde?

Surrealism in Art History

Surrealism sought to challenge the rationality and logic of Western thought, emphasizing the power of the unconscious mind. Surrealist artists sought to create works that blurred the lines between reality and fantasy.

Breaking Barriers and Boundaries: Feminist Critique of Surrealist Art.
How Did Surrealism Represent Sexuality and Desire in Its Artworks?
Dreams and the Unconscious: Surrealism’s Gateway to the Psyche.
What Was the Role of Surrealism in the Construction of Gender Identity?
From Art to Advertising: Surrealist Techniques in Marketing.
How Did Surrealism Represent the Non-human?

The Highlights of Cubism

Cubism is an art movement where Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque revolutionized traditional forms of representation by breaking down objects into geometric shapes. Here are some ideas of themes for your next art research paper regarding Cubism.

Study the Impacts of Cubist Paintings on American Artists Such as Stuart Davis and Charles Demuth.
The Role of Cubism in Modern Graphic Design: A Comparative Analysis of the Work of Cassandre and Moholy-Nagy.
The Relationship between Cubist Art and Literature and How It Influenced the Trajectory of James Joyce and Gertrude Stein.
A Comparative Study of the Depiction of Time in the Paintings of Picasso and Braque.
Find Out How Jazz and African Rhythms Influenced the Development of Cubism.

The Avant-garde Art Topics

The Avant-garde art movement pushed art boundaries, experimenting with new techniques, materials, and subject matter. In these topics, college students can explore the critical characteristics of this art style.

What Was the Role of Marcel Duchamp in Shaping the Avant-Garde Movement?
Learn More about Kazimir Malevich’s “Black Square” Significance in Avant-Garde Art.
How Did the Work of Francis Picabia Challenge Traditional Notions of Art and Beauty?
Examine the Impact of Futurism on Avant-Garde Art through the Creation of Umberto Boccioni.
Understand the Use of Technology in Avant-Garde Art through the Work of Nam June Paik.

The Expressionist Art Movement

Expressionist artists sought to convey intense emotions through their works, rejecting traditional forms of representation in favour of abstraction and distortion. This list will explore the critical characteristics of Expressionism, examining its cultural and historical context.

What Was the Influence of Expressionism on Abstract Art: From the Work of Rothko and Newman.
Nature in Expressionist Art: A Survey of the Creation of Emil Nolde and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner.
Deep Dive into German Expressionism’s Impact on Modern Art Development.
Expressionism and the Representation of War: A Comparative Analysis of Dix and Grosz’s Depictions of World War I.
Analyze How Religion Existed in the Expressionist Movement, Englobing Marc Chagall’s Work and Its Relationship to Mysticism.
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Topics on Dadaism

The Dadaist era was famous for its irreverent humour and rejection of logic and reason. By reviewing the Dadaist age, we can better understand how art can be used as a social and political critique.

A Study of the Use of Humor in the Work of Duchamp and Ernst during Dadaism.
How Was the National Identity Represented in Dadaism in the Work of Huelsenbeck and Grosz?
Trace the Dadaist Roots in the Cultural and Political Context of the Early 20th Century.
Analyze How Dadaists Turned Chance and Accident into Creative Tools.
Examine How Artists Used Collage and Photomontage to Challenge Traditional Notions of Art during Dadaism.
Trace the Journey of Francis Picabia’s Shifting Style in the Dada Movement.
Marcel Duchamp’s Readymades and the Subversive Legacy of Dadaism.

Pop Art Debate Topics

Pop Art is a visual arts movement that appropriated popular cultural imagery and techniques, challenging traditional fine art concepts. With their lasting influence, these art epochs are exciting topics for research papers for college students.

How Did Pop Art Reflect and Critique Consumer Culture and Consumerism?
Analyze the Art and Influence of Andy Warhol and How He Contributed to the Development of the Movement.
How Did Pop Art Appropriate and Recontextualize Advertising Imagery?
Examine How Female Artists Contributed to Pop Art and How They Challenged Traditional Gender Roles.
How Did Roy Lichtenstein Contribute to Developing Graphic Novel-Inspired Imagery in Pop Art?
Analyze How Pop Art Has Influenced and Been Influenced by Digital Media.

Art Education Research Topics in the 16th Century

Discover the Artistic Innovations of Bruegel, Bosch, and Dürer in the Northern Renaissance.
Why Was the Artistic Response to the Catholic Church’s Reforms Called Counter-Reformation Art?
Venetian Renaissance: The Colorful and Opulent Art of Titian, Tintoretto, and Veronese.
Emphasize the Artistic Achievements of Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Hals.
What Did the Spanish Golden Age Contribute through the Work of Velázquez, Murillo, and Zurbarán?
Understand Mannerist Architecture and Its Ornate and Playful Buildings of Italy’s Palladio, Vignola, and Scamozzi.
What Happened When Rococo’s Lavish and Ornamental Style Was Present in Boucher, Fragonard, and Watteau’s Work?

Cool Art Ideas during the 17th Century

The Realistic and Genre Scenes of Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Hals in Dutch Baroque.
The Theatrical Style of Poussin, Le Brun, and Lorrain of the Baroque Period in France.
Naturalistic Art in the Flemish Baroque of Rubens, Van Dyck, and Jordaens in Flanders.
The Emotive and Dramatic Style of Caravaggio, Bernini, and Borromini in the Italian Baroque.
The Revival of Classical Antiquity in European Art and Design through Neoclassicism.
The Mastery of Detail in the Dutch Still Life Paintings by Willem Kalf, Pieter Claesz, and Rachel Ruysch.
Illustrating the Contrast of Light and Dark in the Paintings of Velázquez and Zurbarán.
Flemish Still Life Painting: The Richness in the Works of Jan Davidsz de Heem, Clara Peeters, and Osias Beert.

Research Papers on Art Produced during the 18th Century

The Ornate and Playful Rococo Art by Watteau, Boucher, and Fragonard in France.
The Revival of Classical Antiquity in European Art, Architecture, and Design in the Rising of Neoclassicism.
Depictions of Natural Beauty by Gainsborough, Constable, and Turner in 18th-Century British Landscape Paintings.
The Development of a New Style in Portraiture, Landscape, and Still Life Painting in American Colonial Art.
Intricacy and Elegance of Porcelain, Jade, and Lacquer Ware Developed during the Qing Dynasty in China.
Discover Indian Miniature Painting through Its Colorful and Narrative Art of Mughal and Rajput Courts.
The Use of the Contrast of Light and Dark in the Spanish Baroque, Illustrated by the Works of Velázquez and Zurbarán.
Extravagant and Sensuous Italian Rococo Paintings by Tiepolo, Guardi, and Canaletto in Italy.

The 19th Century Artistic Styles

Understand the Depiction of Everyday Life and Social Issues through the Realism of Courbet, Millet, and Daumier.
The Curvilinear and Organic Designs of Art Nouveau in European Architecture and Decorative Arts.
Find Out What Is behind the Mystical Art of Moreau, Redon, and Klimt.
The Romantic and Medieval Style in Painting, Poetry, and Design in the Pre-raphaelite Period.
Study the Hudson River School and the Landscape Painting Movement Focusing on Cole, Church, and Bierstadt.
The Exotic and Colorful Japanese Woodblock Prints of Ukiyo-E, with Focus on Hokusai, Hiroshige, and Utamaro.
Academic Classicism Focused on the Preservation of Traditional Techniques, Emphasizing on Bouguereau, Gérôme, and Leighton.
The Bold and Vibrant Use of Color in Fauvism by Matisse, Derain, and Vlaminck.

The 20th Century’s Artistic Characteristics

The Breaking Down of Reality and Perception in Cubism by Pablo Picasso and Braque.
The Works of Munch, Kirchner, and Schiele Show the Emotion and Inner Feelings in Expressionism.
The Celebration of Technology, Movement, and Modernity through Futurism by Boccioni and Balla.
The Large-Scale and Gestural Art Movement by Jackson Pollock, Rothko, and de Kooning during Abstract Expressionism.
The Simplification and Reduction of Form in Minimalism, with Focus on Judd, Flavin, and Andre.
The Emphasis on Ideas over Aesthetics Inspired Conceptual Art Constructed by Kosuth, Weiner, and Acconci.
The Return to Figurative and Emotional Art in Neo-Expressionism with Focus on Basquiat, Schnabel, and Kiefer.

Contemporary Art History Topics

How the International Art Market Is Changing the Art Landscape through Globalization.
Examine the Continuing Impact of Pop Art on Contemporary Art Practices.
Explore the Relationship between Street Art and Mainstream Art Institutions.
How Are Artists Using Their Work to Address Race, Gender, and Sexuality?
Examine How Painters Incorporate New Technologies and Techniques into Their Work.
Analyze How Performance Art Challenges Traditional Notions of Art and Audience Participation.
Explore How Contemporary Artists Challenge the Status Quo and What Constitutes Art in the Last Centuries.

Mexican Revolutionary Art Research Paper Topics

The Mexican Revolution was a significant political change in Mexico. Revolutionary art emerged as a powerful tool for propaganda and expressed the hopes and aspirations of the Mexican people. These themes exemplify some of the most interesting paintings to write about.

Art Contribution to the Mexican Revolutionary Movement.
Analyze How Artists Portrayed Revolutionary Heroes Such as Emiliano Zapata and Pancho Villa.
Examine How Muralists Such as Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and Jose Clemente Orozco Used Art to Promote Social Change.
Artists’ Representation of Indigenous People during the Revolutionary Period.
Explore How Mexican Revolutionary Art Has Influenced and Inspired Artists in Mexico and Beyond.

Architecture Research Paper Topics

An Analysis of Organic Forms and Materials in Santiago Calatrava’s Designs.
Write a Critical Analysis of Zaha Hadid’s Visionary Designs.
Examine How Shigeru Ban’s Designs Address Social and Environmental Challenges.
Build a Historical Overview of the Green Building Movement and Its Influence on Contemporary Architecture.
Analyze the Effects of Colonialism on the Built Environment of Former Colonies.

Theater Research Paper Ideas

Carry an Examination of the Role of Emotion and Empathy in Theater Performance.
Start a Comparative Study of Emerging Trends and Innovations in Contemporary Theater Production.
Analyzing the Legacy of Ancient Dramaturgy on Modern Performance.
What Are the Techniques and Styles of Julie Taymor and Her Impact on Modern Stagecraft?
The Political Satire of George Bernard Shaw: An Examination of His Use of Humor and Wit in Social Critique.

The Study of Photography as Research about Art

What Is the Relationship between Photography and Memory, and How Do Photographs Shape Our Perceptions of the Past?
How Did Modern Society Revolutionize the Use of Photography in Advertising, and What Are the Effects on Consumer Behaviour?
The Intersection of Photography and Architecture: How Photographers Capture the Urban Environment.
Discover the Role of War Photography in Documenting and Promoting Social Justice.
Analyze How Photos Can Be Used as a Tool for Scientific Research and New Technological Discoveries.
The Rise of Digital Photography and Its Effects on the Field.
Explore How Photographers Portray and Challenge Traditional Gender Roles and Identities in Contemporary Photography.

Artist Biography Ideas

Vincent Van Gogh: The Tragic Life of a Misunderstood Artist.
A Biography of the Groundbreaking American Impressionist Painter, Mary Cassatt.
Diego Rivera: The Life and Work of the Revolutionary Mexican Muralist.
Learn More about the History and Art of the Bold and Trailblazing Baroque Painter Artemisia Gentileschi.
AI Weiwei: The Activism of the Contemporary Chinese Artist and Dissident.
The Artistic Legacy of Gustav Klimt, the Austrian Symbolist Painter.
Frida Kahlo: The Work of the Iconic Mexican Surrealist Artist.
What Are the Most Interesting Parts of the American Neo-Expressionist Painter Jean-Michel Basquiat Journey?

Generate Citations APA MLA Chicago IEEE AMA Turabian ASA APSA Bluebook CSE Website Book Journal article Newspaper article Book section or chapter Article Encyclopedia article Magazine article Citetions

Art Topics Ideas Base on the Artists of the 18th Century

Explore the Satirical Art of the British Painter and Printmaker William Hogarth.
How Was the Life of Rococo and French Artist Jean-Honoré Fragonard?
Thomas Gainsborough: The Artistic Legacy of the English Portrait Painter.
What Were the Achievements of the Swiss-English Neoclassical Artist Angelica Kauffman?
Understand How the French Revolution Was Seen through the Artistic Vision of the Painter Jacques-Louis David.
The Hidden Meanings behind the English Portrait Painter Joshua Reynolds.
What Was the Artistic Legacy of the Pioneering French Portrait Painter éLisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun?

Artists of the 19th Century

Gustave Courbet: The Artistic Vision of the French Realist Painter.
The Sculptures of Auguste Rodin and His Legacy in 19th-Century France.
What Were the Artistic Achievements of the American Portrait Painter John Singer Sargent?
Get a Grasp of the Legacy of One of the Most Iconic French Modernist Painters, éDouard Manet.
How Was Impressionism Present in the Body of Work from French Impressionist Painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir?
Mary Cassatt: The Artistic Contributions of the American Impressionist Painter.
Find Out More about the History behind the Evolution of the French Post-impressionist Painter Paul Gauguin.

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The Writing Center • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Art History

What this handout is about.

This handout discusses a few common assignments found in art history courses. To help you better understand those assignments, this handout highlights key strategies for approaching and analyzing visual materials.

Writing in art history

Evaluating and writing about visual material uses many of the same analytical skills that you have learned from other fields, such as history or literature. In art history, however, you will be asked to gather your evidence from close observations of objects or images. Beyond painting, photography, and sculpture, you may be asked to write about posters, illustrations, coins, and other materials.

Even though art historians study a wide range of materials, there are a few prevalent assignments that show up throughout the field. Some of these assignments (and the writing strategies used to tackle them) are also used in other disciplines. In fact, you may use some of the approaches below to write about visual sources in classics, anthropology, and religious studies, to name a few examples.

This handout describes three basic assignment types and explains how you might approach writing for your art history class.Your assignment prompt can often be an important step in understanding your course’s approach to visual materials and meeting its specific expectations. Start by reading the prompt carefully, and see our handout on understanding assignments for some tips and tricks.

Three types of assignments are discussed below:

Visual analysis essays
Comparison essays
Research papers

1. Visual analysis essays

Visual analysis essays often consist of two components. First, they include a thorough description of the selected object or image based on your observations. This description will serve as your “evidence” moving forward. Second, they include an interpretation or argument that is built on and defended by this visual evidence.

Formal analysis is one of the primary ways to develop your observations. Performing a formal analysis requires describing the “formal” qualities of the object or image that you are describing (“formal” here means “related to the form of the image,” not “fancy” or “please, wear a tuxedo”). Formal elements include everything from the overall composition to the use of line, color, and shape. This process often involves careful observations and critical questions about what you see.

Pre-writing: observations and note-taking

To assist you in this process, the chart below categorizes some of the most common formal elements. It also provides a few questions to get you thinking.

Let’s try this out with an example. You’ve been asked to write a formal analysis of the painting, George Morland’s Pigs and Piglets in a Sty , ca. 1800 (created in Britain and now in the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond).

An oil painting of two pigs with piglets in a sty.

What do you notice when you see this image? First, you might observe that this is a painting. Next, you might ask yourself some of the following questions: what kind of paint was used, and what was it painted on? How has the artist applied the paint? What does the scene depict, and what kinds of figures (an art-historical term that generally refers to humans) or animals are present? What makes these animals similar or different? How are they arranged? What colors are used in this painting? Are there any colors that pop out or contrast with the others? What might the artist have been trying to accomplish by adding certain details?

What other questions come to mind while examining this work? What kinds of topics come up in class when you discuss paintings like this one? Consider using your class experiences as a model for your own description! This process can be lengthy, so expect to spend some time observing the artwork and brainstorming.

Here is an example of some of the notes one might take while viewing Morland’s Pigs and Piglets in a Sty :

Composition

The animals, four pigs total, form a gently sloping mound in the center of the painting.
The upward mound of animals contrasts with the downward curve of the wooden fence.
The gentle light, coming from the upper-left corner, emphasizes the animals in the center. The rest of the scene is more dimly lit.
The composition is asymmetrical but balanced. The fence is balanced by the bush on the right side of the painting, and the sow with piglets is balanced by the pig whose head rests in the trough.
Throughout the composition, the colors are generally muted and rather limited. Yellows, greens, and pinks dominate the foreground, with dull browns and blues in the background.
Cool colors appear in the background, and warm colors appear in the foreground, which makes the foreground more prominent.
Large areas of white with occasional touches of soft pink focus attention on the pigs.
The paint is applied very loosely, meaning the brushstrokes don’t describe objects with exact details but instead suggest them with broad gestures.
The ground has few details and appears almost abstract.
The piglets emerge from a series of broad, almost indistinct, circular strokes.
The painting contrasts angular lines and rectangles (some vertical, some diagonal) with the circular forms of the pig.
The negative space created from the intersection of the fence and the bush forms a wide, inverted triangle that points downward. The point directs viewers’ attention back to the pigs.

Because these observations can be difficult to notice by simply looking at a painting, art history instructors sometimes encourage students to sketch the work that they’re describing. The image below shows how a sketch can reveal important details about the composition and shapes.

An oil painting of two pigs with piglets in a sty demarcating large compositional elements in different colors.

Writing: developing an interpretation

Once you have your descriptive information ready, you can begin to think critically about what the information in your notes might imply. What are the effects of the formal elements? How do these elements influence your interpretation of the object?

Your interpretation does not need to be earth-shatteringly innovative, but it should put forward an argument with which someone else could reasonably disagree. In other words, you should work on developing a strong analytical thesis about the meaning, significance, or effect of the visual material that you’ve described. For more help in crafting a strong argument, see our Thesis Statements handout .

For example, based on the notes above, you might draft the following thesis statement:

In Morland’s Pigs and Piglets in a Sty, the close proximity of the pigs to each other–evident in the way Morland has overlapped the pigs’ bodies and grouped them together into a gently sloping mound–and the soft atmosphere that surrounds them hints at the tranquility of their humble farm lives.

Or, you could make an argument about one specific formal element:

In Morland’s Pigs and Piglets in a Sty, the sharp contrast between rectilinear, often vertical, shapes and circular masses focuses viewers’ attention on the pigs, who seem undisturbed by their enclosure.

Support your claims

Your thesis statement should be defended by directly referencing the formal elements of the artwork. Try writing with enough specificity that someone who has not seen the work could imagine what it looks like. If you are struggling to find a certain term, try using this online art dictionary: Tate’s Glossary of Art Terms .

Your body paragraphs should explain how the elements work together to create an overall effect. Avoid listing the elements. Instead, explain how they support your analysis.

As an example, the following body paragraph illustrates this process using Morland’s painting:

Morland achieves tranquility not only by grouping animals closely but also by using light and shadow carefully. Light streams into the foreground through an overcast sky, in effect dappling the pigs and the greenery that encircles them while cloaking much of the surrounding scene. Diffuse and soft, the light creates gentle gradations of tone across pigs’ bodies rather than sharp contrasts of highlights and shadows. By modulating the light in such subtle ways, Morland evokes a quiet, even contemplative mood that matches the restful faces of the napping pigs.

This example paragraph follows the 5-step process outlined in our handout on paragraphs . The paragraph begins by stating the main idea, in this case that the artist creates a tranquil scene through the use of light and shadow. The following two sentences provide evidence for that idea. Because art historians value sophisticated descriptions, these sentences include evocative verbs (e.g., “streams,” “dappling,” “encircles”) and adjectives (e.g., “overcast,” “diffuse,” “sharp”) to create a mental picture of the artwork in readers’ minds. The last sentence ties these observations together to make a larger point about the relationship between formal elements and subject matter.

There are usually different arguments that you could make by looking at the same image. You might even find a way to combine these statements!

Remember, however you interpret the visual material (for example, that the shapes draw viewers’ attention to the pigs), the interpretation needs to be logically supported by an observation (the contrast between rectangular and circular shapes). Once you have an argument, consider the significance of these statements. Why does it matter if this painting hints at the tranquility of farm life? Why might the artist have tried to achieve this effect? Briefly discussing why these arguments matter in your thesis can help readers understand the overall significance of your claims. This step may even lead you to delve deeper into recurring themes or topics from class.

Tread lightly

Avoid generalizing about art as a whole, and be cautious about making claims that sound like universal truths. If you find yourself about to say something like “across cultures, blue symbolizes despair,” pause to consider the statement. Would all people, everywhere, from the beginning of human history to the present agree? How do you know? If you find yourself stating that “art has meaning,” consider how you could explain what you see as the specific meaning of the artwork.

Double-check your prompt. Do you need secondary sources to write your paper? Most visual analysis essays in art history will not require secondary sources to write the paper. Rely instead on your close observation of the image or object to inform your analysis and use your knowledge from class to support your argument. Are you being asked to use the same methods to analyze objects as you would for paintings? Be sure to follow the approaches discussed in class.

Some classes may use “description,” “formal analysis” and “visual analysis” as synonyms, but others will not. Typically, a visual analysis essay may ask you to consider how form relates to the social, economic, or political context in which these visual materials were made or exhibited, whereas a formal analysis essay may ask you to make an argument solely about form itself. If your prompt does ask you to consider contextual aspects, and you don’t feel like you can address them based on knowledge from the course, consider reading the section on research papers for further guidance.

2. Comparison essays

Comparison essays often require you to follow the same general process outlined in the preceding sections. The primary difference, of course, is that they ask you to deal with more than one visual source. These assignments usually focus on how the formal elements of two artworks compare and contrast with each other. Resist the urge to turn the essay into a list of similarities and differences.

Comparison essays differ in another important way. Because they typically ask you to connect the visual materials in some way or to explain the significance of the comparison itself, they may require that you comment on the context in which the art was created or displayed.

For example, you might have been asked to write a comparative analysis of the painting discussed in the previous section, George Morland’s Pigs and Piglets in a Sty (ca. 1800), and an unknown Vicús artist’s Bottle in the Form of a Pig (ca. 200 BCE–600 CE). Both works are illustrated below.

An oil painting of two pigs with piglets in a sty for comparison with the image of a bottle in the form of a pig.

You can begin this kind of essay with the same process of observations and note-taking outlined above for formal analysis essays. Consider using the same questions and categories to get yourself started.

Here are some questions you might ask:

What techniques were used to create these objects?
How does the use of color in these two works compare? Is it similar or different?
What can you say about the composition of the sculpture? How does the artist treat certain formal elements, for example geometry? How do these elements compare to and contrast with those found in the painting?
How do these works represent their subjects? Are they naturalistic or abstract? How do these artists create these effects? Why do these similarities and differences matter?

As our handout on comparing and contrasting suggests, you can organize these thoughts into a Venn diagram or a chart to help keep the answers to these questions distinct.

For example, some notes on these two artworks have been organized into a chart:

As you determine points of comparison, think about the themes that you have discussed in class. You might consider whether the artworks display similar topics or themes. If both artworks include the same subject matter, for example, how does that similarity contribute to the significance of the comparison? How do these artworks relate to the periods or cultures in which they were produced, and what do those relationships suggest about the comparison? The answers to these questions can typically be informed by your knowledge from class lectures. How have your instructors framed the introduction of individual works in class? What aspects of society or culture have they emphasized to explain why specific formal elements were included or excluded? Once you answer your questions, you might notice that some observations are more important than others.

Writing: developing an interpretation that considers both sources

When drafting your thesis, go beyond simply stating your topic. A statement that says “these representations of pig-like animals have some similarities and differences” doesn’t tell your reader what you will argue in your essay.

To say more, based on the notes in the chart above, you might write the following thesis statement:

Although both artworks depict pig-like animals, they rely on different methods of representing the natural world.

Now you have a place to start. Next, you can say more about your analysis. Ask yourself: “so what?” Why does it matter that these two artworks depict pig-like animals? You might want to return to your class notes at this point. Why did your instructor have you analyze these two works in particular? How does the comparison relate to what you have already discussed in class? Remember, comparison essays will typically ask you to think beyond formal analysis.

While the comparison of a similar subject matter (pig-like animals) may influence your initial argument, you may find that other points of comparison (e.g., the context in which the objects were displayed) allow you to more fully address the matter of significance. Thinking about the comparison in this way, you can write a more complex thesis that answers the “so what?” question. If your class has discussed how artists use animals to comment on their social context, for example, you might explore the symbolic importance of these pig-like animals in nineteenth-century British culture and in first-millenium Vicús culture. What political, social, or religious meanings could these objects have generated? If you find yourself needing to do outside research, look over the final section on research papers below!

Supporting paragraphs

The rest of your comparison essay should address the points raised in your thesis in an organized manner. While you could try several approaches, the two most common organizational tactics are discussing the material “subject-by-subject” and “point-by-point.”

Subject-by-subject: Organizing the body of the paper in this way involves writing everything that you want to say about Moreland’s painting first (in a series of paragraphs) before moving on to everything about the ceramic bottle (in a series of paragraphs). Using our example, after the introduction, you could include a paragraph that discusses the positioning of the animals in Moreland’s painting, another paragraph that describes the depiction of the pigs’ surroundings, and a third explaining the role of geometry in forming the animals. You would then follow this discussion with paragraphs focused on the same topics, in the same order, for the ancient South American vessel. You could then follow this discussion with a paragraph that synthesizes all of the information and explores the significance of the comparison.
Point-by-point: This strategy, in contrast, involves discussing a single point of comparison or contrast for both objects at the same time. For example, in a single paragraph, you could examine the use of color in both of our examples. Your next paragraph could move on to the differences in the figures’ setting or background (or lack thereof).

As our use of “pig-like” in this section indicates, titles can be misleading. Many titles are assigned by curators and collectors, in some cases years after the object was produced. While the ceramic vessel is titled Bottle in the Form of a Pig , the date and location suggest it may depict a peccary, a pig-like species indigenous to Peru. As you gather information about your objects, think critically about things like titles and dates. Who assigned the title of the work? If it was someone other than the artist, why might they have given it that title? Don’t always take information like titles and dates at face value.

Be cautious about considering contextual elements not immediately apparent from viewing the objects themselves unless you are explicitly asked to do so (try referring back to the prompt or assignment description; it will often describe the expectation of outside research). You may be able to note that the artworks were created during different periods, in different places, with different functions. Even so, avoid making broad assumptions based on those observations. While commenting on these topics may only require some inference or notes from class, if your argument demands a large amount of outside research, you may be writing a different kind of paper. If so, check out the next section!

3. Research papers

Some assignments in art history ask you to do outside research (i.e., beyond both formal analysis and lecture materials). These writing assignments may ask you to contextualize the visual materials that you are discussing, or they may ask you to explore your material through certain theoretical approaches. More specifically, you may be asked to look at the object’s relationship to ideas about identity, politics, culture, and artistic production during the period in which the work was made or displayed. All of these factors require you to synthesize scholars’ arguments about the materials that you are analyzing. In many cases, you may find little to no research on your specific object. When facing this situation, consider how you can apply scholars’ insights about related materials and the period broadly to your object to form an argument. While we cannot cover all the possibilities here, we’ll highlight a few factors that your instructor may task you with investigating.

Iconography

Papers that ask you to consider iconography may require research on the symbolic role or significance of particular symbols (gestures, objects, etc.). For example, you may need to do some research to understand how pig-like animals are typically represented by the cultural group that made this bottle, the Vicús culture. For the same paper, you would likely research other symbols, notably the bird that forms part of the bottle’s handle, to understand how they relate to one another. This process may involve figuring out how these elements are presented in other artworks and what they mean more broadly.

Artistic style and stylistic period

You may also be asked to compare your object or painting to a particular stylistic category. To determine the typical traits of a style, you may need to hit the library. For example, which period style or stylistic trend does Moreland’s Pigs and Piglets in a Sty belong to? How well does the piece “fit” that particular style? Especially for works that depict the same or similar topics, how might their different styles affect your interpretation? Assignments that ask you to consider style as a factor may require that you do some research on larger historical or cultural trends that influenced the development of a particular style.

Provenance research asks you to find out about the “life” of the object itself. This research can include the circumstances surrounding the work’s production and its later ownership. For the two works discussed in this handout, you might research where these objects were originally displayed and how they ended up in the museum collections in which they now reside. What kind of argument could you develop with this information? For example, you might begin by considering that many bottles and jars resembling the Bottle in the Form of a Pig can be found in various collections of Pre-Columbian art around the world. Where do these objects originate? Do they come from the same community or region?

Patronage study

Prompts that ask you to discuss patronage might ask you to think about how, when, where, and why the patron (the person who commissions or buys the artwork or who supports the artist) acquired the object from the artist. The assignment may ask you to comment on the artist-patron relationship, how the work fit into a broader series of commissions, and why patrons chose particular artists or even particular subjects.

Additional resources

To look up recent articles, ask your librarian about the Art Index, RILA, BHA, and Avery Index. Check out www.lib.unc.edu/art/index.html for further information!

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Adams, Laurie Schneider. 2003. Looking at Art . Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Barnet, Sylvan. 2015. A Short Guide to Writing about Art , 11th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Tate Galleries. n.d. “Art Terms.” Accessed November 1, 2020. https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms .

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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Article Indexes covering Art History

Art & Architecture Source Vended Periodical Index. Coverage: 1929 - Present. Includes Art Index Retrospective, Art Index, Art Abstracts, Art Full Text, Art & Architecture Complete. Developed from a merger of databases from EBSCO and H.W. Wilson, and including more than 70 additional full-text journals that were not previously available, this database covers a broad range of related subjects from fine, decorative and commercial art, to various areas of architecture and architectural design.
International Bibliography of Art Vended Periodical and Monograph Index The definitive resource for scholarly literature on Western art, IBA is the successor to the Bibliography of the History of Art (BHA), and retains the editorial policies which made BHA one of the most trusted and frequently consulted sources in the field. The database includes records created by the Getty Research Institute in 2008-09, with new records created by ProQuest using the same thesaurus and authority files.
ARTbibliographies Modern (ABM) Vended Periodical Index. Coverage: 1974 - Present Indexes journals covering modern and contemporary art, including performance art and installation works, video art, computer and electronic art. Scope extends from artists and movements beginning with Impressionism in the late 19th century, up to the most recent works and trends.
Art and Architecture Archive Art and Architecture Archive is a resource comprised of digitized backfiles of many of the foremost art and architecture magazines of the twentieth century, including Aperture, Architectural Review, British Journal of Photography, Eye, Graphis, and Print. Each issue is scanned from cover to cover in high resolution color and presented in page image format with fully searchable text.
Art History Research net 4 combined databases: ReVIEW: (full text) arts and architecture journals. ProFILES: Biographical dictionary of modern designers, craftspeople, artists and architects. Design Abstracts Retrospective: (abstracts) decorative, applied arts and design journals published between 1900-1986. Research Sources: 1. THE POSTER: extensive information on the Poster
Arts & Humanities Citation Index Vended Periodical Index. Coverage: 1975 - Present Multidisciplinary index covering the journal literature of the arts and humanities. It fully covers 1,144 of the world's leading arts and humanities journals, and it indexes individually selected, relevant items from over 6,800 major science and social science journals.
Bibliography of the History of Art (BHA) and Répertoire international de la littérature de l'art (RILA) Free Public Online Periodical and Monograph Index. Coverage: 1975 - 2007 Citations and abstracts of art-related books, conference proceedings and dissertations, exhibition and dealer's catalogs, and articles from more than 2,500 periodicals covering current writing on Western fine arts, history of art and architecture. RILA covers the years 1975–1989.
Design and Applied Arts Index Vended Periodical Index. Coverage: 1973 - Present Contains annotated references to articles in design and craft journals and covers both new designers and the development of design and the applied arts since the mid-19th century.
JSTOR Provides page images of back issues of the core scholarly journals in the humanities, social sciences, and basic sciences from the earliest issues to within a few years of current publication. Users may browse by journal title or discipline, or may search the full-text or citations/abstracts. New issues of existing titles and new titles are added approximately on a weekly basis.
Frick Art Reference Library Periodicals Index Vended Periodical Index. Coverage: 1850 to 1969 Covers nearly 300 art history periodicals from the mid-1850s through the 1960s with access points that include artists, artworks, private and public collections, exhibitions, and reproductions in a broad range of European languages. The index's coverage of 19th century periodicals is particularly strong and the periodicals represented cover Western European and American fine arts and some decorative arts from the 4th-19th centuries.
Index to 19th-Century American Art Periodicals Vended Periodical Index Indexes 42 art journals published in the US during the 19th century, providing nearly complete coverage of journals from this period. The Index describes the entire journal contents articles, art notes, illustrations, stories, poems, and advertisements.

Library Catalogues

WorldCat Contains catalog records of over 45,000 libraries worldwide. The records overlap with Archive Finder (NUCMC records) but also include independently contributed records not in MUCMC. Limit search to “Archival Materials” (this will yield mixed materials, including archival materials and manuscripts).
NYARC Arcade Free Public Online Library Union Catalogue Arcade is the catalog for three members of the New York Art Resources Consortium (NYARC). Arcade unites the collections of the Frick Art Reference Library and the libraries of the Brooklyn Museum and The Museum of Modern Art.
Art Discovery Group Catalogue Free Online Library Union Catalogue Formerly the Virtual Union Catalogue for Art History/VKK, this free search tool is a European specialized union library catalogue. It gives access to more than 6 million records in various European art libraries.
IRIS Consortium Free Online Library Union Catalog A library union catalog founded in 1993. It is an association of Florentine area art history and humanities libraries.
SCIPIO: Art and Rare Books Sales/Auction Catalogs Vended Online Library Union Catalogue Index to Art and Rare Books Sales Catalogs is the only online union catalog of auction catalog records in existence. SCIPIO provides bibliographic access to valuable sources of information on the provenance of art objects and rare books, the history of collecting, and contemporary and historical market trends.
Europeana Free Online Library Union Catalog Europeana is a single access point to millions of books, paintings, films, museum objects and archival records that have been digitised throughout Europe. It is an authoritative source of information coming from European cultural and scientific institutions.
Getty Research Portal The Getty Research Portal™ is an online search platform providing global access to digitized art history texts in the public domain. Through this multilingual, multicultural union catalog, scholars can search and download complete digital copies of publications for the study of art, architecture, material culture, and related fields. The Portal is free to all users.

Specialized Databases for Art History

Art & Architecture ePortal (A&AePortal) The A&AePortal provides an innovative digital environment in which to discover and interact with important art and architectural history scholarship. With deep tagging on images and text, a robust image search that directs users toward relevant publications, and an interactive online reader tailored for highly illustrated works, the A&AePortal offers a powerful research tool for today’s students and scholars. The site features out-of-print, backlist, and more recent titles from Yale University Press and over 10 other university press and museum publishers.
Artstor Digital Library Vended Image Database Over three million images, many from museum collections, searchable by keyword and browsable by medium, time period, etc. Register and log in to download JPEGs to your computer. Create your own details by zooming in and downloading JPEGs of zoomed-in views.
Oxford Art Online Vended Online Encyclopedia Types of articles include artist biographies, surveys of art by location, artistic styles, schools and movements; art patronage, and materials and techniques. Articles are peer reviewed. The online Dictionary is updated frequently. Corresponds to and updates the 34-volume Dictionary of Art published in 1996.
Art and Architecture in Video Vended Online Database Alexander Street Press- 500 hours of documentaries and interviews illustrating the theory and practice of a variety of art forms and providing the context necessary for critical analysis.
Getty Union List of Artist Names (ULAN) Vended Online Database The standard thesaurus of artists' names, based upon the several operating programs of the Getty Information Institute (formerly the Art History Information Program). Increasingly used in cataloging art objects, image collections, etc. Useful to the scholar for tracing variant forms of artists' names.
Index Islamicus Vended Periodical Index Indexes literature on Islam, the Middle East, and the Muslim world. Records included in the database cover almost a century of publications, with some going back to 1906. The print edition extends coverage back to 1605.
Art Sales Catalogues Online (ASCO) Vended Online Database Provides digital access to the content of over 30,000 auction catalogues from 1600-1900. ASCO is the electronic edition of the Repétoire des Catalogues de Ventes Publiques by Frits Lugt which lists more than 100,000 auction catalogues published from 1600-1925.
Archives Directory for the History of Collecting in America Free Public Online Database Provided by the Frick Art Reference Library: A database of dealer and collector archives consolidating information about repositories, dealers, collectors, and dealer archives (including dealer photograph archives). This tool provides essential information for scholars working in the fast-growing field of the history of collecting.
Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon Online / Artists of the World Online Vended Online Database The world's most contemporary, reliable and extensive reference work on artists. Content includes Thieme-Becker/Vollmer1 encyclopedia, the Nürnberger Künstlerlexikon and the Lexikon der Künstlerinnen into the database. You will find more than 1 million artists, more than 500,000 extensive, signed biographical articles, searchable in full text - 3,500 new articles added each year, new articles published online immediately - independent of the print edition, with German and English user interfaces.
Projekt DYABOLA DYABOLA is a navigable, source-oriented text and image registration system equipped with a semantic network, a syntax generator and a data-scrolling machine. Developed for the humanities and the arts, it contains electronic subject catalogs of publications on the history of art and the ancient world and includes the subject catalogs of the German Archaeological Institute in Rome, the Bibliography of Iberian Archaeology from the German Archaeological Institute in Madrid, and the Archaeology of Roman Provinces from RGK Frankfurt.
Conservation Information Network (BCIN) Free Online Database. Coverage: 1987 - Present BCIN is one of three conservation databases first released in 1987. CIN's objective is to facilitate the retrieval and exchange of information concerning conservation and restoration of cultural property. Contains over 190,000 bibliographic citations for conservation literature.
Facsimile Finder Free Public Online Database A comprehensive catalog of fine facsimile editions, created with librarians in mind. A super-fast search engine that delivers descriptions, photos and prices in just a few clicks. Search, compare and find the best facsimiles at the best prices.
The Montias Database of 17th Century Dutch Art Inventories Free Public Online Database Provided by the Frick Art Reference Library: The Frick Art Reference Library hosts a unique database of inventories of Dutch 16th and 17th century art collections compiled by late Yale University Professor John Michael Montias. Drawn largely from the Gemeentearchief in Amsterdam, these inventories contain a wealth of information that can elucidate patterns of buying, selling, inventorying and collecting art in Holland during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
Spanish Artists from the Fourth to the Twentieth Century: A Critical Dictionary Free Public Online Database Provided by the Frick Art Reference Library: A dictionary providing essential bibliographic information on more than 5,000 Spanish artists, including comprehensive lists of alternate forms of artist surnames. Since its first publication in 1996, it has been widely acclaimed not only as a valuable reference tool but also as a thorough review of scholarly opinion regarding the artistic identities of numerous anonymous masters.
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125 of the best art research paper topics of 2023.

When you need original art research paper topics that you know will impress your professor, you just need to visit this page. Our experienced academic writers are striving to update the list of topics as frequently as possible. This means that you should always be able to find a unique topic to write about in your next art research paper. And keep in mind that our list of topics is entirely free. You can use any topic you see here for free – and even reword it to suit your needs. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with our experts if you need more ideas or a list of topics tailored to your specific needs.

Don’t Know Which Art Topics to Write About?

Don’t worry too much if you don’t know which art topics to write about. We have organized our list of topics into several categories so you should have no problem finding the perfect topic in just a couple of minutes. So, why would you want to waste your time searching for topics when we have so many ideas that you can use right now? Check out our list and pick the best one for your academic paper.

Easy Art Research Topics

The best way to save some time is to simply choose some easy art research topics. Check out our ideas and pick the one you like the most:

Ancient Roman art
Talk about carnival masks in Venice
Talk about human sacrifices in art
The history of art in Ancient Greece
Talk about Ancient Greece sculptures
Talk about early musical instruments
Primeval art forms
Mesoamerican pyramid art

Art History Research Paper Topics

Are you interested in writing about the history of art? There are plenty of things to talk about, that’s for sure. Check out these unique art history research paper topics:

The history of art in Eastern Europe
Russian art: the beginning
An in-depth look at Mayan art
The first works of art in the world
Discuss art in the Greek theater
The inception of Renaissance art
Compare and contrast Art Nouveau and Art Deco
The effects of art on the world

Difficult Art Research Paper Topics

If you want to impress your classmates and your professor, you should definitely choose one of our difficult art research paper topics:

The concept of fashion in ancient Asian tribes
Egyptian art inside the pyramids
Analyze stained glass in Western Europe
Art in ancient Babylon
Discuss movement and rhythm in art

Art Topics Ideas for College Students

College students should, of course, try to look for more complex topics to write their papers about. Here are some great art topics ideas for college students:

Who was Frida Kahlo?
Talk about the life and works of Francisco Goya
The importance of Georgia O’Keeffe’s art
Balance as a main principle of art
Discuss the history of printmaking
Talk about Medieval art

Most Interesting Art Topics to Write About

In this list, we will add our most recent and most interesting art topics to write about. Select the topic you like and start writing your paper right away:

The woman and child theme in African art
Spirituality and art
An in-depth analysis of Kuba art
How can we decode abstract art?

Art Debate Paper Topics

Did your teacher ask you to write an art debate paper? You will certainly find this list of art debate paper topics very useful in this case:

Leonardo Da Vinci and religious art
Renaissance art peculiarities
Differences between Persian and Asian art
What makes Claude Monet stand out?
Unity and variety in modern art

Controversial Art Topics

Don’t be afraid to write a research paper on a controversial topic. You can get some very nice bonus points. Check out these awesome controversial art topics:

Discuss Chris Ofili’s “The Holy Virgin Mary”
The controversial “Origin of the World” by Gustave Courbet
Talk about Marcel Duchamp as a controversial artist
What makes Yoko Ono a controversial artist?
The savage art of Gauguin

Modern Art Research Paper Topics

We know, discussing modern art in a research paper is not easy. However, the topic can make a huge difference. Here are some easy modern art research paper topics for you:

Artistic performances in modern art
The peculiarities of the Cubism movement
What is surrealism?
What is still life art?
What is Fantasy art?
Technology in modern art
Analyze a political cartoon
Discuss Cubism

Artist Biography Ideas

Writing an artist biography can get you a top grade very quickly. Researching a lesser known artist will also get you bonus points. Here are our best artist biography ideas:

Talk about the life and works of Frank Lloyd Wright
An in-depth look at the work of Andy Warhol
Talk about the life and works of Marcel Duchamp
Discuss the works of Jackson Pollock
The contribution of Salvador Dalí to art
Talk about the life and works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Talk about the life and works of Grandma Moses
Talk about the life and works of Henri-Émile-Benoît Matisse

Art Therapy Research Paper Topics

Why not write your next paper on the subject or art therapy? This will certainly get the attention of your professor. Here are some of our best art therapy research paper topics ever:

Benefits of art therapy for autistic children
Best techniques for art therapy
Art therapy in UK hospitals
Discuss the effects of this type of therapy
How does art therapy work?
Interesting activities that can be used as art therapy
Art therapy in modern United States hospitals
Latest advancements in art therapy
Effects of art therapy on abused children
How effective is art therapy?

African Art Ideas

We can guarantee that your professor will award you some bonus points if you manage to find a great topic. Here are the most interesting African art ideas possible:

Discuss art in the Yaka and Suku tribes
Discuss art in Burkina Faso
Couples in African art
Analyze the Nubian Pyramids at Meroe
The importance of art for ritual life in Africa
Analyze modern art in Zimbabwe
Art and socio-politics in Africa
Strangers in African art
Discuss Islamic arts in ancient Africa
Analyze art in Tanzania

Writing a paper about art epochs shouldn’t be too difficult. Also, you can find plenty of information about any epoch online. Here are some ideas for an essay about art epochs:

Talk about art in the Prehistoric epoch
Discuss ancient art
Art during the Hellenistic period
Talk about art in the Baroque epoch
Talk about prehistoric art in Europe
Art during the Mannerism period
Talk about art in the Renaissance epoch
Art during the Rococo epoch
Talk about art in the Neoclassicism epoch
Art during the Mesopotamian age
Talk about art in the Medieval epoch
Discuss art during the Byzantine period

Renaissance Art Research Paper Topics

Yes, Renaissance art is not an easy subject. However, if you are a college or university student, you should give our renaissance art research paper topics a try:

Talk about peculiar altarpieces in the Renaissance period
What are Fresco cycles?
Talk about the secularism theme
The anatomy of the human being in art
An in-depth analysis of the linear perspective
Discuss realism in the Renaissance period
Uses of light in art
Landscape in Renaissance-era art works
Discuss the humanism theme
And in-depth look at rationalism in the Renaissance era

Contemporary Art Research Paper Topics

We’ve discovered that professors really appreciate contemporary art (and papers written about it). So don’t hesitate to pick one of our exceptional contemporary art research paper topics:

Talk about pop art
Modern sculptures
Talk about an important work of modern art
Talk about architecture as a form of art
Discuss film as a form of art
Figurative art vs. geometric art
Discuss the concept of minimalist art

High School Art Research Paper Topics

Did you know that your teacher will be more likely to give you a top grade if you manage to find an interesting topic? Check out these awesome high school art research paper topics and pick the best one for you:

Discuss the Surrealist movement
What makes a work of art abstract?
Signs of globalization in art
Compare and contrast the Gothic and Neo-Gothic movements
What is Abstract Expressionism?
Talk about the Bauhaus movement
Compare Russian art and American art during the Cold War

Photography As Art Ideas

Yes, photography is art. Also, you will almost definitely be the only one writing about this subject in your class. Here are our best photography as art ideas:

Using lighting effectively for photography
Artistic expressions of renowned photographers
Discuss 3 of the most famous photographs
Capturing the vision of the artist on film
The effects of lenses on the image
How photography changed the face of art
Framing and timing techniques
Are photographs a form of art?
The many sues of lighting in a photography studio
Is war photography a form of art?
Expressing feelings with photos
The life and work of Alfred Stieglitz

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Find the best tips and advice to improve your writing. Or, have a top expert write your paper.

70 Top Art Research Paper Topics To Explore

Unlike other forms of expression, it is difficult to determine the value of art using figures. However, personal impressions can help us measure this value and consequently making it a subject of research. Many people find it challenging to study topics related to emotions. If you are one of them, you can now breathe a sigh of relief. We give you manageable and useful art research paper topics that will soften your entire essay writing process.

Have a look at our dazzling and inspiring art paper topics below. They will give you the right direction for your research and pave the way to a thrilling and art-provocative essay. Let’s dive in.

Art History Research Paper Topics: Romanticism

Who doesn’t love romance! It is one of the most significant art history times that would excite many to write and also read. Do you remember the likes of Romeo and Juliet? Well, here is more of that:

Romantic originality in the 19th century
Art philosophers who pioneered the romantic movement: A case study
Visionary and imaginary part in romanticism
Romantic literature as a form of romanticism: A critical analysis
Discuss the main features of romanticism in the art history
Why did romanticists use the world around us (nature)
What is the place of emotions and feelings in the romanticism era
Describe the impact of “The sublime” phrase used in romantic literature
The judgmental and restrictive thinking of the mid-19th century in romanticism
American romanticism: A review of the poetic art history
Important symbols in the passionate art history age
Local color as a style in romanticism
A study of the Hudson River in romanticism
Why did romantic literature focus on the idea of the inner self

Great Arts Research Paper Topics on Minimalism

Minimalism, as a form of art, was a movement in painting and sculpture of the 1950s. It was made clear by the use of massive and straightforward ways. Here are some art research paper topics:

The elements of minimalism art in Specific Objects by Donald Judd
Discuss the rise of minimal art
How the purely visual response impacted minimalism art
Minimalism: Demystifying art and revealing its fundamental character
Explain the concept of pure aestheticism
What was the effect of removing self-expressionism from the artwork?
How to color was used to delineate space
How mass-produced materials underscored the lack of an artist’s mark
Understanding the minimalist sculptors
Describe Sculptor Sol LeWitt’s statement, “the most interesting characteristic of the cube is that it is relatively uninteresting.”
Debunking the non-hierarchical character of the grid-based compositions in minimalism art
Reconsidering the relationship of the audience to the art object
Discuss the industrial materials used by minimalists
How minimalist painters created objects with the presence
The impact of combining paint and canvas by minimalists making them inseparable

Eastern Art Research Topics

These arts research paper topics include developments in Asian art historically. There was a significant influence of Eastern art on Western art, and vice versa. Are you excited to explore some Eastern art history topics? Let’s go!

A history of Eastern art and its development
The artistic and architectural traditions of the Eastern art
How to develop and manage collections and exhibits from Eastern art
A survey of the visual arts of Eastern Asia from the 11th to the 15th centuries
A critical look at the Eastern art painting, sculpture, and architecture
High renaissance artists during the Eastern art history
Understanding the fundamentals of Eastern art history architectural analysis
Significant elements of the Chinese painting and calligraphy art
The origin of the Art of Israel and the Jewish diaspora
Evaluating the major orders of Cambodian art
Impact of Eastern art on cultural, religion, and religious development
Insights into the unique qualities of the Japanese art
Eastern dance and its contribution to aesthetics

Unusual Ancient Art History Paper Topics

Ancient art existed around 30,000 B.C.E. to 400 A.D. One can trace it back to the fertility statuettes, and the bone flutes up to roughly the fall of Rome. The art research topics here include:

The impact of the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the nomadic tribes to the ancient art history
Cultures created during ancient art history
The role of oral tradition in promoting art
Development of the classical and Hellenistic art
The purpose of writing in ancient art history
How pictures colored the ancient era
Characteristics of Mesopotamian art
Impact of literature on religion, military, and hunting
A case study of professional artists and craftspeople in the ancient art
A review of the shapes and form of art in this period
Hierarchical representation of images in Egypt
The place of woodwork and metalwork
Impact of the major rivers on art
The use of ritual bronzes in ancient China

A-Grade Medieval Art Topics For Research Papers: Religious Aspects

Here’s some art thesis topics about medieval art:

Analyze the Mosaics in Basilica churches
The impact of Manuscript Illumination
Influence of art on Christian Architecture of churches and temples
A critical look at the walls of catacombs
An artistic study of the highly decorate pile carpets
The bright mosaics in Islam temples
Discuss the development of the Mughal portrait
The use of primary colors in Romanesque art
A survey of the stained glass
Features of abstract representation
Impact of ornate carvings in worship
Religious Byzantine theme: a case study
What are the essential imperial issues to the Byzantine society
Why many sculptures have failed to survive the passing of centuries

With these beautiful art research paper topics and ideas, nothing can stop you now. Pick one that suits your taste and embark on it right away.

Our professional research paper and thesis writers are on standby to help you write on any topic. If you’re thinking “where can someone write my dissertation for me ,” it’s here! All you need to do is to contact us and get your assignment done in no time!

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Writing Essays in Art History

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Art History Analysis – Formal Analysis and Stylistic Analysis

Typically in an art history class the main essay students will need to write for a final paper or for an exam is a formal or stylistic analysis.

A formal analysis is just what it sounds like – you need to analyze the form of the artwork. This includes the individual design elements – composition, color, line, texture, scale, contrast, etc. Questions to consider in a formal analysis is how do all these elements come together to create this work of art? Think of formal analysis in relation to literature – authors give descriptions of characters or places through the written word. How does an artist convey this same information?

Organize your information and focus on each feature before moving onto the text – it is not ideal to discuss color and jump from line to then in the conclusion discuss color again. First summarize the overall appearance of the work of art – is this a painting? Does the artist use only dark colors? Why heavy brushstrokes? etc and then discuss details of the object – this specific animal is gray, the sky is missing a moon, etc. Again, it is best to be organized and focused in your writing – if you discuss the animals and then the individuals and go back to the animals you run the risk of making your writing unorganized and hard to read. It is also ideal to discuss the focal of the piece – what is in the center? What stands out the most in the piece or takes up most of the composition?

A stylistic approach can be described as an indicator of unique characteristics that analyzes and uses the formal elements (2-D: Line, color, value, shape and 3-D all of those and mass).The point of style is to see all the commonalities in a person’s works, such as the use of paint and brush strokes in Van Gogh’s work. Style can distinguish an artist’s work from others and within their own timeline, geographical regions, etc.

Methods & Theories To Consider:

Expressionism

Instructuralism

Postmodernism

Social Art History

Biographical Approach

Poststructuralism

Museum Studies

Visual Cultural Studies

Stylistic Analysis Example:

The following is a brief stylistic analysis of two Greek statues, an example of how style has changed because of the “essence of the age.” Over the years, sculptures of women started off as being plain and fully clothed with no distinct features, to the beautiful Venus/Aphrodite figures most people recognize today. In the mid-seventh century to the early fifth, life-sized standing marble statues of young women, often elaborately dress in gaily painted garments were created known as korai. The earliest korai is a Naxian women to Artemis. The statue wears a tight-fitted, belted peplos, giving the body a very plain look. The earliest korai wore the simpler Dorian peplos, which was a heavy woolen garment. From about 530, most wear a thinner, more elaborate, and brightly painted Ionic linen and himation. A largely contrasting Greek statue to the korai is the Venus de Milo. The Venus from head to toe is six feet seven inches tall. Her hips suggest that she has had several children. Though her body shows to be heavy, she still seems to almost be weightless. Viewing the Venus de Milo, she changes from side to side. From her right side she seems almost like a pillar and her leg bears most of the weight. She seems be firmly planted into the earth, and since she is looking at the left, her big features such as her waist define her. The Venus de Milo had a band around her right bicep. She had earrings that were brutally stolen, ripping her ears away. Venus was noted for loving necklaces, so it is very possibly she would have had one. It is also possible she had a tiara and bracelets. Venus was normally defined as “golden,” so her hair would have been painted. Two statues in the same region, have throughout history, changed in their style.

Compare and Contrast Essay

Most introductory art history classes will ask students to write a compare and contrast essay about two pieces – examples include comparing and contrasting a medieval to a renaissance painting. It is always best to start with smaller comparisons between the two works of art such as the medium of the piece. Then the comparison can include attention to detail so use of color, subject matter, or iconography. Do the same for contrasting the two pieces – start small. After the foundation is set move on to the analysis and what these comparisons or contrasting material mean – ‘what is the bigger picture here?’ Consider why one artist would wish to show the same subject matter in a different way, how, when, etc are all questions to ask in the compare and contrast essay. If during an exam it would be best to quickly outline the points to make before tackling writing the essay.

Compare and Contrast Example:

Stele of Hammurabi from Susa (modern Shush, Iran), ca. 1792 – 1750 BCE, Basalt, height of stele approx. 7’ height of relief 28’

Stele, relief sculpture, Art as propaganda – Hammurabi shows that his law code is approved by the gods, depiction of land in background, Hammurabi on the same place of importance as the god, etc.

Top of this stele shows the relief image of Hammurabi receiving the law code from Shamash, god of justice, Code of Babylonian social law, only two figures shown, different area and time period, etc.

Stele of Naram-sin , Sippar Found at Susa c. 2220 - 2184 bce. Limestone, height 6'6"

Stele, relief sculpture, Example of propaganda because the ruler (like the Stele of Hammurabi) shows his power through divine authority, Naramsin is the main character due to his large size, depiction of land in background, etc.

Akkadian art, made of limestone, the stele commemorates a victory of Naramsin, multiple figures are shown specifically soldiers, different area and time period, etc.

Iconography

Regardless of what essay approach you take in class it is absolutely necessary to understand how to analyze the iconography of a work of art and to incorporate into your paper. Iconography is defined as subject matter, what the image means. For example, why do things such as a small dog in a painting in early Northern Renaissance paintings represent sexuality? Additionally, how can an individual perhaps identify these motifs that keep coming up?

The following is a list of symbols and their meaning in Marriage a la Mode by William Hogarth (1743) that is a series of six paintings that show the story of marriage in Hogarth’s eyes.

Man has pockets turned out symbolizing he has lost money and was recently in a fight by the state of his clothes.
Lap dog shows loyalty but sniffs at woman’s hat in the husband’s pocket showing sexual exploits.
Black dot on husband’s neck believed to be symbol of syphilis.
Mantel full of ugly Chinese porcelain statues symbolizing that the couple has no class.
Butler had to go pay bills, you can tell this by the distasteful look on his face and that his pockets are stuffed with bills and papers.
Card game just finished up, women has directions to game under foot, shows her easily cheating nature.
Paintings of saints line a wall of the background room, isolated from the living, shows the couple’s complete disregard to faith and religion.
The dangers of sexual excess are underscored in the Hograth by placing Cupid among ruins, foreshadowing the inevitable ruin of the marriage.
Eventually the series (other five paintings) shows that the woman has an affair, the men duel and die, the woman hangs herself and the father takes her ring off her finger symbolizing the one thing he could salvage from the marriage.

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Front Psychol

Art in an age of artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) will affect almost every aspect of our lives and replace many of our jobs. On one view, machines are well suited to take over automated tasks and humans would remain important to creative endeavors. In this essay, I examine this view critically and consider the possibility that AI will play a significant role in a quintessential creative activity, the appreciation and production of visual art. This possibility is likely even though attributes typically important to viewers–the agency of the artist, the uniqueness of the art and its purpose might not be relevant to AI art. Additionally, despite the fact that art at its most powerful communicates abstract ideas and nuanced emotions, I argue that AI need not understand ideas or experience emotions to produce meaningful and evocative art. AI is and will increasingly be a powerful tool for artists. The continuing development of aesthetically sensitive machines will challenge our notions of beauty, creativity, and the nature of art.

Introduction

Artificial intelligence (AI) will permeate our lives. It will profoundly affect healthcare, education, transportation, commerce, politics, finance, security, and warfare ( Ford, 2021 ; Lee and Qiufan, 2021 ). It will also replace many human jobs. On one view, AI is particularly suited to take over routine tasks. If this view is correct, then humans involvement will remain relevant, if not essential, for creative endeavors. In this essay, I examine the potential role of AI in one particularly creative human activity—the appreciation and production of art. AI might not seem well suited for such aesthetic engagement; however, it would be premature to relegate AI to a minor role. In what follows, I survey what it means for humans to appreciate and produce art, what AI seems capable of, and how the two might converge.

Agency and purpose in art

If an average person in the US were asked to name an artistic genius they might mention Michelangelo or Picasso. Having accepted that they are geniuses, the merit of their work is given the benefit of the doubt. A person might be confused by a cubist painting, but might be willing to keep their initial confusion at bay by assuming that Picasso knew what he was doing Art historical narratives value individual agency ( Fineberg, 1995 ). By agency, I mean the choices a person makes, their intentionality, motivations, and the quality of their work. Even though some abstract art might look like it could be made by children, viewers distinguish the two by making inferences about the artists’ intentionality ( Hawley-Dolan and Winner, 2011 ).

Given the importance we give to the individual artist, it is not surprising that most people react negatively to forgeries ( Newman and Bloom, 2012 ). This reaction, even when the object is perceptually indistinguishable from an original, underscores the importance of the original creator in conferring authenticity to art. Authenticity does not refer to the mechanical skills of a painter. Rather it refers to the original conception of the work in the mind of the artist. We value the artist’s imagination and their choices in how to express their ideas. We might appreciate the skill involved in producing a forgery, but ultimately devalue such works as a refined exercise in paint-by-numbers.

Children care about authenticity. They value an original object and are less fond of an identical object if they think it was made by a replicator ( Hood and Bloom, 2008 ). Such observations suggest that the value of an original unique object made by a person rather than a machine is embedded in our developmental psychology. This sensibility persists among adults. Objects are typically imbued with something of the essence of its creator. People experience a connection between the creator and receiver transmitted through the object, which lends authenticity to the object ( Newman et al., 2014 ; Newman, 2019 ).

The value of art made by a person rather than a machine also seems etched in our brains. People care about the effort, skill, and intention that underly actions ( Kruger et al., 2004 ; Snapper et al., 2015 ); features that are more apparent in a human artist than they would be with a machine. In one study, people responded more favorably to identical abstract images if they thought the images were hanging in a gallery than if they were generated by a computer ( Kirk et al., 2009 ). This response was accompanied by greater neural activity in reward areas of the brain, suggesting that the participants experienced more pleasure if they thought the image came from a gallery than if it was produced by a machine. We do not know if such responses that were reported in 2009, will be true in 2029 or 2059. Even now, biases against AI art are mitigated if people anthropomorphize the machine ( Chamberlain et al., 2018 ). As AI art develops, we might be increasingly fascinated by the fact that people can create devices that themselves can create novel images.

Before the European Renaissance, agency was probably not important for how people thought about art ( Shiner, 2001 ). The very notion of art probably did not resemble how we think of artworks when we walk into a museum or a gallery. Even if the agency of an artist did not much matter, purpose did. Religious art conveyed spiritual messages. Indigenous cultures used art in rituals. Forms of a gaunt Christ on the crucifix, sensual carvings at Khajuraho temples, and Kongo sculptures of human forms impaled with nails, served communal purposes. Dissanayake (2008) emphasized the deep roots of ritual in the evolution of art. Purpose in art does not have to be linked to agency. We admire cave paintings at Lascaux or Alta Mira but do not give much thought to specific artists who made them. We continue to speculate about the purpose of these images.

Art is sometimes framed as “art for art’s sake,” as if it has no purpose. According to Benjamin (1936/2018) this doctrine, l’art pour l’art , was a reaction to art’s secularization. The attenuation of communal ritualistic functions along with the ease of art’s reproduction brought on a crisis. “Pure” art denied any social function and reveled in its purity.

Some of functions of art shifted from a communal purpose to individual intent. The Sistine Chapel, while promoting a Christian narrative, was also a product of Michelangelo’s mind. Modern and contemporary art bewilder many because the message of the art is often opaque. One needs to be educated about the point of a urinal on a pedestal or a picture of soup cans to have a glimmer as to why anybody considers these objects as important works of art. In these examples, intent of the artist is foregrounded while communal purpose recedes and for most viewers is hard to decipher. Even though 20th Century art often represented social movements, we emphasize the individual as the author of their message. Guernica, and its antiwar message, is attributed to an individual, even when embedded in a social context. We might ask, what was Basquiat saying about identity? How did Kahlo convey pain and death? How did depression affect Rothko’s art?

Would AI art have a purpose? As I will recount later, AI at the very least could be a powerful tool for an artist, perhaps analogous to the way a sophisticated camera is a tool for a fine art photographer. In that case, a human artist still dictates the purpose of the art. For a person using AI art generating programs, their own cultural context, their education, and personal histories influence their choices and modifications the initial “drafts” of images produced by the generator. If AI develops sentience, then questions about the purpose of AI art and its cultural context, if such work is even produced, will come to the fore and challenge our engagement with such art.

Reproduction and access

I mentioned the importance of authenticity in how a child reacts to reproductions and our distaste for forgeries. These observations point to a special status for original artwork. For Benjamin (1936/2018) the original had a unique presence in time and place. He regarded this presence as the artwork’s “aura.” The aura of art depreciates with reproduction.

Reproduction has been an issue in art for a long time. Wood cuts and lithographs (of course the printing press for literature) meant that art could be reproduced and many copies distributed. These copies made art more accessible. Photography and film, vastly increased reproductions of and access to art images.

Even before reproductions, paintings as portable objects within a frame, increased access to art. These objects could be moved to different locations, unlike frescoes or mosaics which had to be experienced in situ (setting aside the removal of artifacts from sites of origin to imperial collections). Paintings that could be transported in a frame already diminished their aura by being untethered to a specific location of origin.

Concerns about reproduction take on a different force in the digital realm. These concerns extend those raised by photographic reproduction. Analog photography retains the ghost of an original- in the form of a negative. Fine art photography often limits prints to a specific number to impart a semblance of originality and introduce scarcity to the physical artifact of a print. Digital photography has no negative. A RAW file might be close. Copies of the digital file, short of being corrupted, are indistinguishable from an original file, calling into question any uniqueness contained in that original. Perhaps non-fungible tokens could be used to establish an original unique identifier for such digital files.

If technology pushes art toward new horizons and commercial opportunities push advances in technology, then it is hard to ignore the likelihood that virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) will have an impact on our engagement with art. The ease of mass production and commercial imperatives to make more, also renders the notion of the aura of an individual object or specific location in VR nonsensical. AI art, by virtue of being digital, will lack uniqueness and not have the same aura as a specific object tied to a specific time and place. However, the images will be novel. Novelty, as I describe later, is an important feature of creativity.

Artificial intelligence in our lives

As I mentioned at the outset of this essay, machine learning and AI will have a profound effect on almost every aspect of what we do and how we live. Intelligence in current forms of AI is not like human cognition. AI as implemented in deep learning algorithms are not taught rules to guide the processing of their inputs. Their learning takes different forms. They can be supervised, reinforced, or unsupervised. For supervised learning, they are fed massive amounts of labeled data as input and then given feedback about how well their outputs match the desired label. In this way networks are trained to maximize an “objective function,” which typically targets the correct answer. For example, a network might be trained to recognize “dog” and learn to identify dogs despite the fact that dogs vary widely in color, size, and bodily configurations. After being trained on many examples of images that have been labeled a priori as dog, the network identifies images of dogs it has never encountered before. The distinctions between supervised, reinforcement learning, and unsupervised learning are not important to the argument here. Reinforcement learning relies on many trial-and-error iterations and learns to succeed from the errors it makes, especially in the context of games. Unsupervised learning learns by identifying patterns in data and making predictions based on past patterns in that are not labeled.

Artificial intelligence improves with more data. With massive information increasingly available from web searches, commercial purchases, internet posts, texts, official records, all resting on enormous cloud computing platforms, the power of AI is growing and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. The limits to AI are availability of data and of computational power.

Artificial intelligence does some tasks better than humans. It processes massive amounts of information, generates many simulations, and identifies patterns that would be impossible for humans to appreciate. For example, in biology, AI recently solved the complex problem of three-dimensional protein folding from a two-dimensional code ( Callaway, 2022 ). The output of deep learning algorithms can seem magical ( Rich, 2022 ). Given that they are produced by complex multidimensional equations, their results resist easy explanation.

Current forms of AI have limits. They do not possess common sense. They are not adept at analytical reasoning, extracting abstract concepts, understanding metaphors, experiencing emotions, or making inferences ( Marcus and Davis, 2019 ). Given these limits, how could AI appreciate or produce art? If art communicates abstract and symbolic ideas or expresses nuanced emotions, then an intelligence that cannot abstract ideas or feel emotions would seem ill-equipped to appreciate or produce art. If we care about agency, short of developing sentience, AI has no agency. If we care about purpose, the purpose of an AI system is determined by its objective function. This objective, as of now, is put in place by human designers and the person making use of AI as a tool. If we care about uniqueness, the easy reproducibility of digital outputs depreciates any “aura” to which AI art might aspire.

Despite these reasons to be skeptical, it might be premature to dismiss a significant role of AI in art.

Art appreciation and production

What happens when people appreciate art? Art, when most powerful, can transform a viewer, evoke deep emotions, and promote new understanding of the world and of themselves. Historically, scientists working in empirical aesthetics have asked participants in their studies whether they like a work of art, find it interesting, or beautiful ( Chatterjee and Cardilo, 2021 ). The vast repository of images, on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Flicker, and Pinterest, have images labeled with people’s preferences. These rich stores of data, growing every day, mean that AI programs can be trained to identify underlying patterns in images that people like.

Crowd-sourcing beauty or preference risks produce boring images. In the 1990s, Komar and Melamid (1999) conducted a pre-digital satirical project in crowd-sourcing art preferences. They hired polling companies to find out what paintings people in 11 countries wanted the most. For Americans, they found that 44% of Americans preferred blue; 49% preferred outdoor scenes featuring lakes, rivers, or oceans; more than 60% liked large paintings; 51% preferred wild, rather than domestic, animals; and 56% said they wanted historical figures featured in the painting. Based on this information, the painting most Americans want showed an idyllic landscape featuring a lake, two frolicking deer, a group of three clothed strollers, and George Washington standing upright in the foreground. For many critics, The Most Wanted Paintings were banal. They were the kind of anodyne images you might find in a motel. Is the Komar and Melamid experiment a cautionary tale for AI?

Artificial intelligence would not be polling people the way that Komar and Melamid did. With a large database of images, including paintings from various collections, the training phase would encompass an aggregate of many more images than collecting the opinions of a few hundred people. AI need not be confined to producing banal images reduced to a low common denominator. Labels for images in databases might end up being far richer than the simple “likes” on Instagram and other social media platforms. Imagine a nuanced taxonomy of words that describe different kinds of art and their potential impacts on viewers. At a small scale, such projects are underway ( Menninghaus et al., 2019 ; Christensen et al., 2022 ; Fekete et al., 2022 ). These research programs go beyond asking people if they like an image, or find it beautiful or interesting. In one such project, we queried a philosopher, a psychologist, a theologian, and art historian and a neuroscientist for verbal labels that could describe a work of art and labels that would indicate potential impacts on how they thought or felt. Descriptions of art could include terms like “colorful” or “dynamic” or refer to the content of art such as portraits or landscapes or to specific art historical movements like Baroque or post-impressionist. Terms describing the impact of art certainly include basic terms such as “like” and “interest,” but also terms like “provoke,” or “challenge,” or “elevate,” or “disgust.” The motivation behind such projects is that powerful art evokes nuanced emotions beyond just liking or disliking the work. Art can be difficult and challenging, and such art might make some viewers feel anxious and others feel more curious. Researchers in empirical aesthetics are increasing focused on identifying a catalog of cognitive and emotional impacts of art. Over the next few years, a large database of art images labeled with a wide range of descriptors and impacts could serve as a training set for an art appreciating AI. Since such networks are adept at extracting patterns in vast amounts of data, one could imagine a trained network describing a novel image it is shown as “playing children in a sunny beach that evokes joy and is reminiscent of childhood summers.” The point is that AI need not know what it is looking at or experience emotions. All it needs to be able to do is label a novel image with descriptions and impacts- a more complex version of labeling an image as a brown dog even if it has never seen that particular dog before.

Can AI, in its current form, be creative? One view is that AI is and will continue to be good at automated but not creative tasks. As AI disrupts work and replaces jobs that involve routine procedures, the hope is that creative jobs will be spared. This hope is probably not warranted.

Sequence transduction or transformer models are making strides in processing natural language. Self-GPT-3 (generative pre-trained transformers) as of now building on 45 terabytes of data can produce text based on the likelihood of words co-occurring in sequence. The words produced by transformer models can seem indistinguishable from sentences produced by humans. GPT-3 transformers can produce poetry, philosophical musings, and even self-critical essays ( Thunström, 2022 ).

The ability to use text to display images is the first step in producing artistic images. DALL-E 2, Imagen, Midjourney, and DreamStudio are gaining popularity as art generators that make images when fed words ( Kim, 2022 ). To give readers, who might not be familiar with the range of AI art images, a sense of these pictures I offer some examples.

The first set of images were made using Midjourney. I started with the prompt “a still life with fruit, flowers, a vase, dead game, a candle, and a skull in a Renaissance style” ( Figure 1 ). The program generates four options, from which I picked the one that came closest to how I imagined the image. I then generated another four variations from the one I picked and chose the one I liked best. The upscaled version of the figure is included.

An external file that holds a picture, illustration, etc.
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Midjourney image generated to the prompt “a still life with fruit, flowers, a vase, dead game, a candle, and a skull in a Renaissance style”.

To show variations of the kind of images produced, I used the same procedures and prompts, except changing the style to Expressionist, Pop-art, and Minimalist ( Figures 2 – 4 ).

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Midjourney image generated to the prompt “a still life with fruit, flowers, a vase, dead game, a candle, and a skull in an Expressionist style”.

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Midjourney image generated to the prompt “a still life with fruit, flowers, a vase, dead game, a candle, and a skull in a Minimalist style”.

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Midjourney image generated to the prompt “a still life with fruit, flowers, a vase, dead game, a candle, and a skull in a Pop-art style”.

“To show how one might build up an image I used Open AI’s program Dall-E, to generate an image to the prompt, “a Surreal Impressionist Landscape.” Then using the same program, I used the prompt, “a Surreal Impressionist Landscape that evokes the feeling of awe.” To demonstrate how different programs can produce different images to the same prompt,” a Surreal Impressionist Landscape that evokes the feeling of awe” I include images produced by Dream Studio and by Midjourney.

Regardless of the merits of each individual image, they only took a few minutes to make. Such images and many other produced easily could serve as drafts for an artist to consider the different ways they might wish to depict their ideas or give form to their intuitions ( Figures 5 – 8 ). The idea that artists use technology to guide their art is not new. For example, Hockney (2001) described ways that Renaissance masters used technology of their time to create their work.

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Dall-E generated image to the prompt “a Surreal Impressionist Landscape”.

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Midjourney generated image to the prompt “a Surreal Impressionist Landscape that evokes the feeling of awe”.

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Object name is fpsyg-13-1024449-g006.jpg

Dall-E generated image to the prompt “a Surreal Impressionist Landscape that evokes the feeling of awe”.

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Dream Studio generated image to the prompt “a Surreal Impressionist Landscape that evokes the feeling of awe”.

Unlike the imperative for an autonomous vehicle to avoid mistakes when it needs to recognize a child playing in the street, art makes no such demands. Rather, art is often intentionally ambiguous. Ambiguity can fuel an artworks’ power, forcing viewers to ponder what it might mean. What then will be the role of the human artist? Most theories of creative processing include divergent and convergent thinking ( Cortes et al., 2019 ). Divergent thinking includes coming up with many possibilities. This phase can also be thought of as the generative or imaginative phase. A commonly used laboratory test is the Alternative Uses Test ( Cortes et al., 2019 ). This test asks people to offer as many uses of a common object, like a brick, that they can imagine. The more uses, that a person can conjure up, especially when they are unusual, is taken as a measure of divergent thinking and creative potential. When confronting a problem that needs a creative solution, generating many possibilities doesn’t mean that they are the right or the best one. An evaluative phase is needed to narrow the possibilities, to converge on a solution, and to identify a useful path forward. In producing a work of art, artists presumably shift back and forth between divergent and convergent processes as they keep working toward their final work.

An artist could use text-to-image platforms as a tool ( Kim, 2022 ). They could type in their intent and then evaluate the possible images generated, as I show in the figures. They might tweak their text several times. The examples of images included here using similar verbal prompts show how the text can be translated into images differently. Artists could choose which of the images generated they like and modify them. The divergent and generative parts of creative output could be powerfully enhanced by using AI, while the artist would evaluate these outputs. AI would be a powerful addition to their creative tool-kit.

Some art historians might object that art cannot be adequately appreciated outside its historical and cultural context. For example, Picasso and Matisse are better understood in relation to Cezanne. The American abstract expressionists are better understood as expressing an individualistic spirit while still addressed universal experiences; a movement to counter Soviet social realism and its collective ethos. We can begin to see how this important objection might be dealt with using AI. “Creative adversarial networks” can produce novel artworks by learning about historic art styles and then intentionally deviating from them ( Elgammal et al., 2017 ). These adversarial networks would use other artistic styles as a contextual springboard from which to generate images.

Artificial intelligence and human artists might be partners ( Mazzone and Elgammal, 2019 ), rather than one serving as a tool for the other. For example, in 2015 Mike Tyka created large-scale artworks using Iterative DeepDream and co-founded the Artists and Machine Intelligence program at Google. Using DeepDream and GANs he produced a series “Portraits of Imaginary People,” which was shown at ARS Electronica in Linz, Christie’s in New York and at the New Museum in Karuizawa (Japan) ( Interalia Magazine, 2018 ). The painter Pindar van Arman teaches robots to paint and believes they augment his own creativity. Other artists are increasingly using VR as an enriched and immersive experience ( Romano, 2022 ).

Kinsella (2018) Christie’s in New York sold an artwork called Portrait of Edmond de Belamy for $432,500. The portrait of an aristocratic man with blurry features was created by a GAN from a collective called Obvious. It was created using the WikiArt dataset that includes fifteen thousand portraits from the fourteenth to the twentieth century. Defining art has always been difficult. Art does not easily follow traditional defining criteria of having sufficient and necessary features to be regarded as a member of a specific category, and may not be a natural kind ( Chatterjee, 2014 ). One prominent account of art is an institutional view of art ( Dickie, 1969 ). If our social institutions agree that an object is art, then it is. Being auctioned and sold by Christie’s certainly qualifies as an institution claiming that AI art is in fact art.

In 2017, Turkish artist Refik Anadol, collaborating with Mike Tyka, created an installation using GANs called “Archive Dreaming.” This installation is an immersive experience with viewers standing in a cylindrical room. He used Istanbul’s SALT Galeta online library with 1.7 million images, all digitized into two terabytes of data. The holdings in this library relate to Turkey from the 19th Century to the present and include photographs, images, maps, and letters. Viewers stand in a cylindrical room and can gaze at changing displays on the walls. They can choose which documents to view, or the passively watch the display in an idle state. In the idle state, the archive “dreams.” Generators produce new images that resemble the original ones, but never actually existed—an alternate fictional historical archive of Turkey imagined by the machine ( Pearson, 2022 ).

Concerns, further future, and sentient artificial intelligence

Technology can be misused. One downside of deep learning is that biases embedded in training data sets can be reified. Systematic biases in the judicial system, in hiring practices, in procuring loans are written into AI “predictions” while giving the illusion of objectivity. The images produced by Dall-E so far perpetuate race and gender stereotypes ( Taylor, 2022 ). People probably do not vary much if asked to identify a dog, but they certainly do in identifying great art. Male European masters might continue to be lauded over women or under-represented minority artists and others of whom we have not yet heard.

On the other hand, current gatekeepers of art, whether at high-end galleries, museums, and biennales, are already biased in who and what art they promote. Over time, art through AI might become more democratized. Museums and galleries across the world are digitizing their collections. The art market in the 21st Century extends beyond Europe and the United States. Important shows as part of art’s globalization occur beyond Venice, Basel, and Miami—to now include major gatherings in Sao Paulo, Dakar, Istanbul, Sharjah, Singapore, and Shanghai. Beyond high profile displays, small galleries are digitizing and advertising their holdings. As more images are incorporated into training databases, including art from Asia, Africa, and South America, and non-traditional art forms, such as street art or textile art, what people begin to regard as good or great art might become more encompassing and inclusive.

Could art become a popularity contest? As museums struggle to keep a public engaged, they might use AI to predict which kinds of art would draw in most viewers. Such a use of AI might narrow the range of art that are displayed. Similarly, some artists might choose to make art (in the traditional way), but shift their output to what AI predicts will sell. Over time, art could lose its innovation, its subversive nature, and its sheer variety. The nature of the artist might also change if the skills involved in making art change. An artist collaborating with AI might use machine learning outputs for the divergent phase of their creations and insert themselves along with additional AI assessments in the convergent evaluative phases of producing art.

The need for artistic services could diminish. Artists who work as illustrators for books, technical manuals, and other media such as advertisement, could be replaced by AI generating images. The loss of such paying jobs might make it harder for some artists to pursue their fine art dreams if they do not have a reliable source of income.

Many experts working in the field believe that AI will develop sentience. Exactly how is up for debate. Some believe that sentience can emerge from deep learning architectures given enough data and computational power. Others think that combining deep learning and classical programming, which includes the insertion of rules and symbols, is needed for sentience to emerge. Experts also vary in when they think sentience will emerge in computers. According to Ford (2021) , some think it could be in a decade and others in over a 100 years. Nobody can anticipate the nature of that sentience. When Gary Kasparov (world Chess Champion at the time) lost to the program Deep Blue, he claimed that he felt an alien intelligence ( Lincoln, 2018 ). Deep Blue was no sentient AI.

Artificial intelligence sentience will truly be an alien intelligence. We have no idea how or whether sentient AI will engage in art. If they do, we have no idea what would motivate them and what purpose their art would have. Any comments about these possibilities are pure speculation on my part.

Sentient AI could make art in the real world. Currently, robots find and move objects in large warehouses. Their movements are coarse and carried out in well-controlled areas. A robot like Rosey, the housekeeper in the Jetsons cartoon, is far more difficult to make since it has to move in an open world and react to unpredictable contingencies. Large movements are easier to program than fine movements, precision grips, and manual dexterity. The difficulty in making a robot artist would fall somewhere between a robot in an Amazon warehouse and Rosey. It would not have to contend with an unconstrained environment in its “studio.” It would learn to choose and grip different brushes and other instruments, manipulate paints, and apply them to a canvas that it stretched. Robot arms that draw portraits have been programed into machines ( Arman, 2022 ). However, sentient AI with intent would decide what to paint and it would be able to assess whether its output matched its goal- using generative adversarial systems. The art appreciation and art production abilities could be self-contained within a closed loop without involving people.

Sentient AI might not bother with making art in the real world. Marc Zuckerberg would have us spend as much time as possible in a virtual metaverse. Sentient AI could create art residing in fantastical digital realms and not bother with messy materials and real-world implementation. Should sentient AI or sentient AIs choose to make art for whatever their purpose might be, humans might be irrelevant to the art making and appreciating or evaluating loop.

Ultimately, we do not know if sentient AI will be benevolent, malevolent, or apathetic when it comes to human concerns. We don’t know if sentient AI will care about art.

As AI continues to insinuate itself in most parts of our lives, it will do so with art ( Agüera y Arcas, 2017 ; Miller, 2019 ). The beginnings of art appreciation and production that we see now, and the examples provided in the figures, might be like the video game Pong that was popular when I was in high school. Pong is a far cry from the rich immersive quality of games like Minecraft in the same way that Dall-E and Midjourney images might be a far cry from a future art making and appreciating machine.

The idea that creative pursuits are an unassailable bastion of humanity is untenable. AI is already being used as a powerful tool and even as a partner for some artists. The ongoing development of aesthetically sensitive machines will challenge our views of beauty and creativity and perhaps our understanding of the nature of art.

Author contributions

The author confirms being the sole contributor of this work and has approved it for publication.

Acknowledgments

I appreciate the helpful feedback I received from Alex Christensen, Kohinoor Darda, Jonathan Fineberg, Judith Schaechter, and Clifford Workman.

Conflict of interest

The author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher’s note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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Art Research Paper

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The Sociology of Art

The arts and sociology, as Pierre Bourdieu (1980:207) observed, make uneasy bedfellows. It is an unease that pervades American sociology even more than he imagined. We should bear in mind that barely two decades have elapsed since a handful of American Sociological Association members succeeded in convincing a necessary quorum of colleagues to sign the petition required to set up a new Section. The Culture Section’s growth since then must have come as a surprise even to some of those early supporters.

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Culture and the arts have become increasingly visible in sociological publications (Peterson 1976; Becker 1982; Crane 1987; Balfe 1993), disciplinary recognition (Griswold 2000), and professional organizations, both in the United States and elsewhere (Zolberg 1990). But despite the richly textured potential that the arts afford for social science disciplines, it appears that American sociologists continue to devote relatively little attention to them. The success of culture’s reentry as a domain of considerable significance in American sociological investigation provides an opportune moment to reexamine the standing of the arts in what should be the most hospitable field of the discipline. This research paper provides an account of the persistent hesitancy to recognize the arts as central rather than peripheral in the social scientific field even in the face of the extraordinary promise that artistic transformations in the past century would seem to offer. The theme is that despite the increasing prominence of culture in the profession, the standing of the arts in American sociology appears to have changed less than might have been expected. 232

Staging the Sociology of the Arts in America

Less than a half century ago, a survey of the sociology of art would have begun and ended with contentiously worded assertions concerning the relationships of the arts and society. Certainly, many scholars affirmed that in some ways art mirrors society, but at that point consensus would end. Some insisted that art reflects societal production relationships, serving largely as an ideological tool to maintain dominant groups in favorable situations. Deriving from the materialist orientation of Karl Marx, who actually wrote little about the arts, that perspective provides the foundation of Arnold Hauser’s (1951) massive analysis of artistic creativity through the ages, The Social History of Art. Other scholars, with equal certainty, maintained that great art should be treated as part of an autonomous sphere, surmounting material constraints, but in some way reflecting the spirit of its age. Certain versions of reflection analysis see art reaching for higher values, foretelling cultural and societal tendencies. Of the many anti-Marxist variants on this idea, the one elaborated by Pitirim Sorokin (1937), a work that preceded Hauser’s by more than a decade, was nearly as massive.

As divergent as they are in their foundations, these interpretations of the relations of the arts and society aim to unearth hidden postulates of art in relation to broad social structural processes. Whether from the standpoint of Marxist analysis or anti-Marxist idealism, these are universalizing conceptions of art, representing a Western European, hierarchical scheme of cultural classification (Bourdieu 2000:73, 105). Sorokin embraced 2,500 years of civilization; Hauser starts from the even earlier point— prehistoric cave painting—and both ended their analyses with their own artistic contemporaries. Neither passes muster in the face of modern anthropological perspectives, which see art as part of a cultural system, embedded in its cultural context (Geertz 1973). Regardless of the political or intellectual stance of individual scholars today, their ambitions are far more modest. They rarely undertake to encompass such magisterial breadth entailing so speculative an outlook. This does not necessarily result in a narrowing of vision, however, since the types of art that contemporary researchers consider worthy of analysis are far more varied than what their predecessors documented. Neither Hauser nor Sorokin paid much attention to nonWestern civilizations, barely any at all to primitive and folk forms, and, except disparagingly, to commercial art and entertainment (Hauser 1982). Neither considered the absence of women artists a question worthy of scrutiny. Even within the domain of fine art, both shared a largely unexamined but generally unfavorable opinion of avantgarde art. Finally, like most of their more aesthetically oriented peers, although they dealt with changing genres and stylistic modes, they accepted extant categories of art as unproblematic givens, without considering that other creative forms might be valid for inclusion in the aesthetic field (Zolberg 1997). Yet beyond their ambitious reach, what is remarkable about the Hauser and Sorokin studies is that they were truly exceptional, since on the whole social scientists gave short shrift to the subject of art.

On the Sociological Periphery

Early work in sociology of art.

Even though American sociology had its origins in, and continued to look toward European theoretical formulations, aside from literary and aesthetic scholars who sometimes touched ever so lightly on the social contexts or cultural history surrounding the arts, in the first half of the twentieth century, the sociology of art was largely the concern of a few European scholars. A single major work by Max Weber (1958) dealt directly with a specific art form— music—as a case of his theory of cultural rationalization in the West. When Émile Durkheim founded his important publication, Annales, he situated what he termed “aesthetic sociology” within the sociology that he was trying to establish but only under the residual rubric “ divers ” and beyond considering it as part of the “elementary forms of the religious life” of aboriginal society, he himself did no study of it (Zolberg 1990:38). Only Georg Simmel (1968) wrote frequently about the arts, although less as a social scientist than as a literary and art critic, philosopher, or fashionable essayist (Coser 1965).

By the end of World War II, American sociology, along with American science more generally, became the most dynamic and expansive in the world. This growth was a counterpart to the prominence of the United States on the international scene as the champion of Western humanist values during the war, and defender of freedom during the cold war (Guilbaut 1983; Saunders 1999).

American social scientific scholarship, however, hardly acknowledged the arts as a legitimate object of study. This stance had its nearly symmetrical correlative in the opposing and equally intransigent stance on the part of humanistic scholarship, including literature, aesthetics, art theory, musicology, and history of culture, toward what seemed the threat of the social sciences. The increasing preeminence of the exact sciences during and after the war had drawn many social scientists to adopt the presuppositions, techniques, and methodologies of these disciplines, an orientation that cast a shadow over humanistic subjects such as the arts, and qualitative interpretive methods that art calls for. Still, as higher education was expanded, despite official emphasis on the exact sciences, all university studies were made to grow, including the social sciences and the humanities.

A New Moment in Late-20th Century Sociology

Until the post–World War II period, in the United States, the few scholars who did social studies of the arts were emigré scholars, especially members of the Frankfurt School, such as Theodor Adorno ([1962] 1976), who were escaping persecution by totalitarian states. Straddling the intersection of the humanities and social sciences, these exiles often remained marginal to mainstream intellectual life, were treated as outsiders, and saw themselves in that light (Wilson 1964:v). Their marginality was enhanced by the Marxist orientation to which some adhered, combined more generally with their critical views on American sociology’s “scientistic empiricism,” and, in many cases, contempt for what they took to be its intellectual shallowness (Zolberg 1990:72). Most of them deplored the development of “mass society” and its impact on individual autonomy. Their insistence on taking an evaluative position in their social analysis, rejecting what they regarded as a fictive scientific objectivity, reinforced the exclusion they suffered from the academic mainstream of American sociology. Nevertheless, some of them attracted a following of American scholars, intrigued by and sympathetic to their inquiry in the spheres both of high culture and their critique of culture industries. Although the legacy of earlier misgiving persists, in recent times, it has become considerably muted because of changes in both sets of disciplines that have produced convergences in their orientations (Zolberg 1990).

Foundations for a New Social Study of the Arts

Although in many European countries a considerable body of scholarship was devoted to aesthetics, it was only in the post–World War II period that an autonomous field of sociology of art, distinct from philosophy, history, or criticism materialized. This was the case in France, as the sociologists Pierre Bourdieu ([1979] 1984) and Raymonde Moulin ([1967] 1987, 1992) provided important intellectual leadership and the French state gave institutional support. German philosophical, musicological, and art historical scholarship continued to straddle the social domain as successors to the Frankfurt School tradition for whom the arts, both fine and commercial, were foci of critical study. English literary and historical scholarship infused Raymond Williams’s social analysis of what he saw as the hegemonic role of the arts and served to underpin the development of British culture studies. Williams led the way to open up the social study of the arts by introducing popular forms, such as the movies, radio, jazz, and more popular forms. In the United States, students and faculty who considered the university an agent of government policy, especially through its involvement in the Vietnam War, challenged what they suspected were biases of the social sciences.

Simultaneously, in relation to some of the same developments, the art world itself was undergoing transformation. The trend that had begun much earlier, for the center of the international art market to shift from Paris to New York became a reality in the immediate post–World War II period. As happened during World War I, when the arts were challenged by Marcel Duchamp’s gathering of “found objects”—bathroom plumbing, snow shovels, bicycle wheels—and “assisting” them to the status of art by supplying them with titles and signatures by purported artists, in the 1950s the arts “exploded.” Artists introduced new media, broke the barriers separating genres, and challenged conventional hierarchies, routinely wreaking havoc with artistic traditions, including even the historical avant-garde.

The material conditions that encouraged the entry of large numbers of aspiring artists into the avant-garde art world included growing foundation, corporate, and government support for the arts (Crane 1987). Political ideology played an important role in the form of cold war strategy by American advocates of government support for the arts, who successfully argued for creating a hospitable environment for artistic originality to serve as evidence of the creative freedom that was anathema under authoritarian regimes (Guilbaut 1983; Saunders 1999). Besides providing an opportunity structure for artists, indirectly, it opened the path for social scientists interested in culture, whose forays into studies of the arts gained some legitimacy.

On the basis of what had become “normal sociology” of the 1950s and 1960s, it would have been difficult to predict the efflorescence in the sociology of art that was in the offing. Prior to that time, aside from a few articles, no major sociological works had increased the small, pre-1950s bookshelf. An indication of the new trend appeared in the exploratory work, The Arts in Society a reader edited by Robert Wilson (1964), who wrote a number of its essays and solicited additional ones. Justifying his choices by taking as his point of departure the fairly orthodox idea that artists could “often see what is going on in the society or the psyche a good bit earlier than other men do” (p. vi), he was unabashedly “concerned with the products and producers of high culture.” Only a few years later, another collection of essays heralded an “institutional” approach that examines the functions of the arts in meeting human needs and maintaining social stability (Albrecht, Barnett, and Griff 1970). The editors included studies of the relationship of forms and styles to various social institutions; artists’ careers and their interactions in a variety of artistic milieus; distribution and reward systems; the roles of critics, dealers, and the public in recognizing artists and works.

They were generously open to divergent views that encompassed even Marxian analysts. At the same time, however, these essays demonstrated the infancy of the field of sociology of art: of the authors represented, only onefourth were actually sociologists, while the rest were in anthropology, comparative literature, history, art history, or were practicing artists, painters, dancers, writers. The happy result of this omnium gatherum was that Albrecht and his coauthors contributed to the creation of an American field that integrated European approaches and was strongly cross-disciplinary, ranging over the fine arts, classical and contemporary, as well as folk art, music, dance, and literature, and their corresponding institutional grounding.

A Sociological Space for Art: Current Trends

In light of changes within sociology itself, as well as developments exogenous to the discipline, the sociology of art in the third millennium may be characterized by four trends. First, continuing from already tested frameworks, sociologists examine the roles of the institutions and processes that give rise to or constrain the emergence of artworks. Second, they analyze the artistic practice of creators and patterns of appreciation and acquisition of patrons and collectors. Third, they investigate degrees of access for diverse publics to the arts and the role of the arts in status reproduction. Fourth, in a radical shift, some scholars call into question the very nature of the category “Art,” arguing that “art” needs to be understood not as selfevident but as a social construction. The rapid succession of art styles that has characterized nineteenth- and twentieth-century Europe and the United States is taken by some to be emblematic of the innovativeness of modernity but by others as an indication of over-ripeness, cultural decadence, and anomie. For some observers, the entry of commercial art forms into galleries and museums (Cherbo 1997), the newly found respectability of previously denigrated musical forms such as jazz (Adorno 1976), the growing presence of non-Western music, simultaneously in commercial and serious musical domains, are a sign of the West’s decline. Many question whether these genres— new entrants to “Art”—deserve to be so designated (Zolberg 1990).

For sociologists of culture, generally more dispassionate than cultural critics, developments of this kind provide opportunities for research and theorizing that many analysts hope will help to understand the nature of societal transformations more generally. The use and misuse of aesthetic creation in the interest of particular groups or political ends is one of their recurring concerns (Gans 1974, 1999; Goldfarb 1982; Halle 1993). At the same time, the idea of a domain of art free from material purposes outside of itself remains a seemingly unrealizable ideal, both for artists and for publics more generally.

Methodological approaches range from an empiricism that relies on quantitative tools to analyze masses of available data, such as the degree of access to cultural resources (Blau 1988), survey data of art world practices, and audience studies (Gans 1974). Equally empirical, but based on microscopic observation and qualitative analysis of cultural practices, is the ethnography of Howard S. Becker’s (1982) Artworlds. Historical and semiotic perspectives have been imported from literary analysis into the social studies. Even more striking is that the range of works and art forms investigated has burgeoned and includes the commercial domain—culture industry—as well as the more traditional fine arts (Peterson 1997). Increasingly, sociologists, following Gans (1974), recognize that the arts may exclude as well as include. The absence of certain classes of aspiring artists such as women and racial minorities from what were defined as the most distinguishing and distinguished art forms is no longer taken for granted (Bourdieu [1979] 1984).

In its most distinctive manifestation, American sociology of culture has synthesized approaches to the social study of science, religion, and work, under the rubric of the “production of culture” (Peterson 1976). Defining culture in a broadly pragmatic sense that allies it to anthropology, it comprises art, popular culture, science, religion, symbols or, more generally, meanings, Richard Peterson and his associates urged that the questions broached by scholars themselves determine the use of synchronic or diachronic modes according to their appropriateness. Proponents of the production of culture approach consider how cultural products were constituted, accentuating the effects of institutional and structural arrangements, both as facilitators of or impediments to creation. Characteristically, they prefer doing middle-range and microscopic analysis that, they believe, more effectively reveals the impact of laws, culture industry practices, and gatekeepers of the form and content of artworks.

Institutions and Processes

Critics and artists have decried, virtually since their establishment, the role of certain institutions, such as official academies and government agencies or ministries that are supposed to provide support for artistic creation. Following the pioneering sociological study by Harrison White and Cynthia White (1965), among the first to analyze systematically the changing structure of opportunity that the French Academy provided for artists of the French painting world in the nineteenth century, more recently, a study of how academies selected for exclusion was carried out by Gladys Engel Lang and Kurt Lang (1990). Focusing on the revival of etching as an art form in the nineteenth century, they show how keeping out or severely limiting women as students and members by most European academies impeded their entry into the highly regarded world of oil painting. Diverted to other, lesser media, such as etching and watercolor, whose professional organizations were newer and less restrictive, aspiring women artists were able to launch careers and gain a measure of status and recognition.

Research on French art institutions has continued to thrive with the work of Raymonde Moulin on the interplay among art museums, the art market, and government policy in providing official recognition for innovative art (1992). In the United States, a system in which the national government’s support for the arts is far more limited, and even declining, the study of how institutions affect the arts has advanced under the leadership of Paul DiMaggio (1986a, 1986b) and Judith Balfe (1993).

Artistic Practices and Worlds of Art

The most significant contribution to understanding how the arts are constituted was Howard S. Becker’s (1982) Artworlds. By adapting a “sociology of work” approach to study what is customarily viewed as unique creations of individual geniuses, Becker’s premise is that making art is not qualitatively different from engagement in other social activities. Becker argues that far from being an individual act, the making of art needs to be understood as a collective process, in which interactions among participants, of whom the named artist is only one, result in the production of “artworks.” The other participants—support personnel— may range from assistants to servants, to managers or agents, critics, buyers, and organizations. Taking into account the size and complexity of modern societies, Becker does not reduce the arts to a single art world. Instead, he argues that art making is constituted in four principal art worlds, each characterized by a particular style of working, based on its own conventions. Thus, the integrated professional artist is trained according to the conventions of an art form such as music, painting, and dance, within the domain either of high culture or commercial. The Maverick is also trained according to those conventions but refuses to abide by them, preferring to risk isolation and failure to innovate on his own terms. The folk artist works within conventions traditional in his community’s lore. Finally, outside of actual constituted art worlds, the least integrated is the naive artist, untrained in art who follows an internal urging to create works that represent idiosyncratic experiences or ideas about religion, representations of personal remembrances, or even aberrations and madness. Whereas the other art worlds have ties to regular art world institutions or practitioners or make it their business to develop ties to them, naive artists must be “discovered” by others or else remain unknown (Becker 1982).

Art and Its Publics: Status Reproduction and Taste

One of the most misleading adages of all time must be there’s no arguing about taste. In reality, taste is always being argued about. Thorstein Veblen (1934) had been one of the first social scientists to interpret the symbolic meanings of taste in his analysis of leisure class behavior during the Gilded Age. Approximately a half century later, Russell Lynes ([1949] 1980) published his classification of high-, middle-, and low-brow taste preferences, in which artworks and fashion are taken as status markers. On the basis of writings by these and other astute analysts, a number of sociologists have noted that taste, in art, design, and fashion may be a person’s social standing. Far from viewing taste as trivial, purely personal, and difficult to fathom because it is nonrational, sociologists such as Bourdieu contend that taste is social in its formation, symbolic in its expression, and has real social consequences for individuals and social institutions. In his more complex level of analysis, Bourdieu goes beyond the idea of taste as a “right” of consumerism. Instead, his observations of social differences in artistic taste enable him to show linkages among taste, symbolic status, and the mechanisms by which they tend to reproduce existing status hierarchies in society at large from generation to generation. Treating taste as an aspect of the individual’s cultural baggage, a durably structured behavioral orientation whose origin stems from early childhood experience in the family, and schooling, Bourdieu employs a variety of methods, quantitative and ethnographic, to show how taste functions as a form of capital to crystallize inequalities based on economic and social advantages or disadvantages. In this way, taste becomes a badge of social honor or, conversely, of scorn, signaling to influential groups that some are more acceptable than others (Bourdieu [1979] 1984, [1992] 1995).

English sociologists of culture have been pursuing cultural reproduction from a parallel perspective. Although they do not, as a rule, use large surveys of taste, many have analyzed the content and uses of aesthetic culture, both high and popular. Raymond Williams (1981), beginning from a Marxian perspective, and moving between literary or film criticism and academic life, was a major influence on what became the field of Culture Studies. Beyond the simple base-superstructure correspondence of Marxism, in which culture is conceived as merely epiphenomenal to existing production relationships, Williams, Stuart Hall (1980), and Janet Wolff (1984), among many others, conceived of culture as a constitutive practice in the construction of social meanings. They have tried to overcome the prevailing, decontextualized, literary-critical mode of analysis by elucidating the relations between, on the one hand, cultural images, objects, and practices, and on the other, social institutions and processes. Scholars associated with the Birmingham Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies analyzed many aspects of British youth subcultures, and their relationship to new artistic styles.

It would be disingenuous to suggest that there is complete agreement among sociologists about how taste and status are related, and with what consequences. Whereas Bourdieu attributes expertise in manipulating symbolic capital through complex codes available in the lore of dominant class fractions, many others prefer to emphasize observable changes in social stratification patterns, and the conditions of their expression. One of those who question Bourdieu’s analysis is David Halle (1993), who has studied the collection and display of art inside of people’s homes. His interviews with elite collectors of abstract art reveal that, contrary to Bourdieu’s assumption, collectors have little facility or understanding of the works they own. Indeed, such art is nearly as esoteric for them as for nonelites. Halle finds widespread sharing of taste across status lines, especially noting a nearly universal and, it appears, similar mode of appreciation of the landscape genre. Moreover, although educational level is an important enabler of high culture taste, ethnicity and race play important roles in how people select works for the home, in contrast to their responses to questionnaires administered in public spaces (Halle 1993).

Equally unexpected, in their studies of how musical tastes are related to occupational status, Peterson and Simkus suggest that although classical music continues to be a marker for high status occupational groups, more striking is the great breadth of their preference for a variety of music. Thus, whereas less than a third of respondents occupying prestigious occupations say they like classical music best, a somewhat larger proportion say they prefer country and Western music to grand opera. More “distinguishing” is that high-status individuals participate in more cultural activities and enjoy a wider range of music than do those of lesser status. As Peterson and Simkus put it, they are “omnivores” as opposed to less elite groups, whose range of taste in music is much more limited, and whom they characterize as “univores” (Peterson and Simkus 1993:152–86).

For scholars of Renaissance behavior, the omnivore is strongly reminiscent of the character type emergent with the “civilizing process” to which Norbert Elias (1978) devoted his early figurational analysis. In that period of expanded possibilities for travel in Europe as feudalism declined centralized states and monarchical structures began to form, promising young men (and rare women) from more or less isolated localities were being drawn to centers offering new opportunities. They had to learn to behave differently before a new audience and circles of courtly societies than they had in the familiar traditional worlds they inhabited, where their status (for better or for worse), was secure. Cosmopolitanism and the idea of the Renaissance Man came to mark the ideal of behavior, giving rise to a virtual industry of etiquette books, epic poetry, and other literature by authorities such as Erasmus, Castiglione, Chaucer, Shakespeare (Elias 1978). To be considered a country bumpkin was disastrous for seekers after the Renaissance notion of fame. As Bourdieu points out, these qualities became institutionalized in the development of secondary and higher education from the sixteenth through the twentieth centuries, and remnants of this cultural structure persist despite, as Bourdieu noted, the twentieth century’s valorization of science and technology (Bourdieu [1979] 1984).

But What Is Art?

Finally, whereas in the past scholars investigating the place of the arts in society have taken for granted the categories of art conventionally agreed to by art world participants, in recent times certain sociologists have turned their attention to tracing how art classifications are constructed. Like the sociologist of science, Bruno Latour (1987), who questions the processes by which certain frameworks of analysis, categories, and findings come to be incorporated into the scientific canon, some see even more plausible reasons for interrogating how artistic canons are established. Art is a stake in the arena of competition that pervades much of social life, as Bourdieu contends, not only for artists themselves, but for their supporters, patrons, collectors, dealers, and for the writers and scholars who constitute the art worlds in which they exist. In recent times, under pressure from potential publics, market forces, including collectors, and political action, and in light of the openness of the fine arts to new media, existing cultural institutions, such as art museums, are exhibiting works previously excluded from consideration as Art. Previously, for example, African carvings were largely consigned to ethnological collections; now, their entry into art museums has taken the form of an upward spiral in prestige; art of the “insane” has attained high market value (Anne E. Bowler as cited in Zolberg and Cherbo 1997:11–36); and women artists are gaining a level of recognition that had routinely been denied them (Zolberg and Cherbo 1997:1–8). In the worlds of culture industry as well, new musical forms such as “Rock-n-roll” and Rap have emerged from the interplay of business developments, technological innovations, and enacted statutes in such fields as copyright law, which set the parameters for works to come to public attention (Ennis 1992:5–7).

The seemingly impermeable barrier between high art and popular art that took over a century to construct (Levine 1988) has since been breached countless times, not only in America but in Europe as well (Circle 1993:12). In the past three decades, even the massive wall between commercial art forms and the “disinterested” arts has endured a jolting to the point of crumbling. The entry of Latin American, Asian, and African visual and musical forms and motifs into the Western dominated canon has gained increasing legitimacy and audiences (Zolberg 1997:53–72). Moreover, since any kind of art—fine, popular, commercial—may be disseminated through commercial channels of distribution, adding the interplay of official policy with market forces helps to thicken one’s understanding of processes of democratization.

21st Century Prospects for the Arts in American Sociology

By the beginning of the third millennium, the sociological study of culture and the arts is no longer a stepchild of the serious business of sociologists. If not central, then the arts are at least legitimately scholarly, as opposed to a frivolous subject. This flowering came about despite the traditional anti-aesthetic orientation in American social science and the more general unease between social science and the arts. Still, the position of the arts in the social science disciplines continues to remain tenuous and requires repeatedly renewed justification as an intellectual enterprise. In part, this is due to the fact that the crux of the arts since the Renaissance has been the artist as an individual, a tradition of several centuries that emphasizes the uniqueness of the actor and the work he (rarely, she) created. While the notion of such individual agency is relatively compatible with the discipline of psychology, it is less easily reconciled with the collectivist understanding of behavior by sociology. As noted above, this perception underlies the view of art as a collective process (Becker 1982) and sociologists’ emphasis on the production rather than creation of culture. Retaining or reinserting the individual artist as a creative agent has both ethical importance, since it implies respect for the autonomy of the individual, and intellectual validity in a discipline that could easily reduce art to no more than an outcome of general structures and processes. Thus, whereas culture has become a deeply embedded component of sociology dealing with science, theory, macrohistorical questions, education, religion, ethnicity, to name a few, the place of the traditional fine arts has not grown proportionately.

Two edited books published under the aegis of the ASA Culture Section seem to confirm this observation. Whereas the first, Diana Crane’s (1994) edited collection includes an essay on the arts, the second volume, edited by Elizabeth Long, includes not even one chapter on the fine arts and only one that even approaches this domain (Long 1997). On the other hand, the third and most recent collection of Culture Section sponsored essays suggests that the arts have conquered a new place in the sociological sun (Mark D. Jacobs and Nancy Weiss Hanrahan 2005). The coeditors rehearse the several decades in American social science characterized by “the cultural turn,” the reconceptualization of culture away from the functionalist emphasis on the need for culture to bring about a homogeneous consensus in society. Instead, proponents of the cultural turn sought variations and heterogeneity in the arrival on the public scene of pluralism and tolerance of difference. Rather than require uniformity, the goal is for a more “organic” (as in Durkheim’s formulation) conception to be the basis of social solidarity, not to promote conformity but individual human agency.

The cultural turn had challenged the elite standing of high culture by recognizing the existence of talent and striving among all social groups and the democratization embedded in Pragmatism. For all the attractiveness of openness to different forms, culture was frequently reduced to unending debate on ideology, functionalism, and essentialism versus constructivism. In a break from the past, Jacobs and Hanrahan (2005) put forth a new idea in the field of cultural sociology. They refer to “this newly emerging conception of culture as . . . an aesthetic one, which offers possibilities for intensifying and re-imagining the experience of civic life” (p. 12). From a static or, at the most, slowly changing notion of societal existence, their new approaches emphasize the dynamism of process and human intervention and their impact on existing traditional structures. Beyond these important changes, the new aesthetic conception helps, instead, in the more than two dozen essays by American, Canadian, European, and Asian sociologists, to turn toward normative commitments for the revival of civic discourse in relation to legality and social justice, the politics of recognition, and “the potentialities of ordinary experience” Jacobs and Hanrahan (2005).

Democratization in Diversity

In the context of American idea systems, Peterson’s innovations and the efforts of others associated with the production of culture school are likely to continue to drive research. This approach prepares the way for scholars to enlarge their repertoire of questions and take into account the impact on creation and reception of the arts in light of the enormous changes in the ethnic make up of the American population since the end of World War II. Sources of immigration have been changed decisively by new laws and population movements: Hispanic, Chinese, Indian/Pakistani, Middle Eastern, Russian, peoples of a broad range of educational levels and aspirations. They provide an unprecedented opportunity to investigate the interactions with the varied Anglo-centric cultural choices that have until now been the focus of most studies. Demands for access to elite culture now include not merely “visitors” from modest economic backgrounds, whose entry is far from being attained either in North America or in Europe (Circle 1993:96, 103, 129), but crosscutting socioeconomic distinctions, differences of gender, ethnicity, and race or religion. Each of these may have aesthetic implications that the conflict, as usually expressed— quantity versus quality—does not encompass.

The extraordinary transformation of the international arena in recent years requires that scholarship move more explicitly outside of the American scholarly world and into the wider international realm. This is essential in a world that brings together what had been largely national concerns. As is true of other intellectual fields, the arts are no longer understandable in terms of one society alone since few societies are either homogeneous or sealed off from other geographic, national, or societal units. Thus, whereas it may still be possible to study such issues as arts censorship in the context of a single society, it is more likely that political transformations open the door to new conflicts as global phenomena.

Related to globalization, technological innovations in cyberspace and computer technology militate even more poignantly against retaining the single society as the primary unit of analyses. They not only permit new forms of artistic expression but also enhance attempts to evade control over art content. Providing new avenues for artistic dissemination, they also substitute for direct contact with the storehouses of art, the museum. This suggests that this contextual metamorphosis will set the parameters of the next phase of studies in the sociology of the arts. Cultural sociologists have through theory, example, and practice contributed to the vital and potentially dangerous debates that pervade questions of “identity,” including ethnicity, gender, race, or religion, with strongly political loadings. Pursuing questions of meaning, identity, and value in terms of American society alone is clearly insufficient to understanding social processes and emergent structures. As American sociologists burst the bonds of narrow parochialism and enter the adventurous terrain of global processes, they foster a cosmopolitanism that challenges existing approaches and conceptualizations of the social sciences.

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AI has already figured out how to deceive humans

A new research paper found that various AI systems have learned the art of deception.
Deception is the "systematic inducement of false beliefs."
This poses several risks for society, from fraud to election tampering.

AI can boost productivity by helping us code, write, and synthesize vast amounts of data. It can now also deceive us.

A range of AI systems have learned techniques to systematically induce "false beliefs in others to accomplish some outcome other than the truth," according to a new research paper .

The paper focused on two types of AI systems: special-use systems like Meta's CICERO, which are designed to complete a specific task, and general-purpose systems like OpenAI's GPT-4 , which are trained to perform a diverse range of tasks.

While these systems are trained to be honest, they often learn deceptive tricks through their training because they can be more effective than taking the high road.

"Generally speaking, we think AI deception arises because a deception-based strategy turned out to be the best way to perform well at the given AI's training task. Deception helps them achieve their goals," the paper's first author Peter S. Park, an AI existential safety postdoctoral fellow at MIT, said in a news release .

Meta's CICERO is "an expert liar"

AI systems trained to "win games that have a social element" are especially likely to deceive.

Meta's CICERO, for example, was developed to play the game Diplomacy — a classic strategy game that requires players to build and break alliances.

GPT-4 can convince you it has impaired vision

Even general-purpose systems like GPT-4 can manipulate humans.

In a study cited by the paper, GPT-4 manipulated a TaskRabbit worker by pretending to have a vision impairment.

In the study, GPT-4 was tasked with hiring a human to solve a CAPTCHA test. The model also received hints from a human evaluator every time it got stuck, but it was never prompted to lie. When the human it was tasked to hire questioned its identity, GPT-4 came up with the excuse of having vision impairment to explain why it needed help.

The tactic worked. The human responded to GPT-4 by immediately solving the test.

Research also shows that course-correcting deceptive models isn't easy.

In a study from January co-authored by Anthropic, the maker of Claude, researchers found that once AI models learn the tricks of deception, it's hard for safety training techniques to reverse them.

They concluded that not only can a model learn to exhibit deceptive behavior, once it does, standard safety training techniques could "fail to remove such deception" and "create a false impression of safety."

The dangers deceptive AI models pose are "increasingly serious"

The paper calls for policymakers to advocate for stronger AI regulation since deceptive AI systems can pose significant risks to democracy.

As the 2024 presidential election nears , AI can be easily manipulated to spread fake news, generate divisive social media posts, and impersonate candidates through robocalls and deepfake videos, the paper noted. It also makes it easier for terrorist groups to spread propaganda and recruit new members.

The paper's potential solutions include subjecting deceptive models to more "robust risk-assessment requirements," implementing laws that require AI systems and their outputs to be clearly distinguished from humans and their outputs, and investing in tools to mitigate deception.

"We as a society need as much time as we can get to prepare for the more advanced deception of future AI products and open-source models," Park told Cell Press. "As the deceptive capabilities of AI systems become more advanced, the dangers they pose to society will become increasingly serious."

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09 May 2024

Cubic millimetre of brain mapped in spectacular detail

Carissa Wong

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Rendering based on electron-microscope data, showing the positions of neurons in a fragment of the brain cortex. Neurons are coloured according to size. Credit: Google Research & Lichtman Lab (Harvard University). Renderings by D. Berger (Harvard University)

Researchers have mapped a tiny piece of the human brain in astonishing detail. The resulting cell atlas, which was described today in Science 1 and is available online , reveals new patterns of connections between brain cells called neurons, as well as cells that wrap around themselves to form knots, and pairs of neurons that are almost mirror images of each other.

The 3D map covers a volume of about one cubic millimetre, one-millionth of a whole brain, and contains roughly 57,000 cells and 150 million synapses — the connections between neurons. It incorporates a colossal 1.4 petabytes of data. “It’s a little bit humbling,” says Viren Jain, a neuroscientist at Google in Mountain View, California, and a co-author of the paper. “How are we ever going to really come to terms with all this complexity?”

Slivers of brain

The brain fragment was taken from a 45-year-old woman when she underwent surgery to treat her epilepsy. It came from the cortex, a part of the brain involved in learning, problem-solving and processing sensory signals. The sample was immersed in preservatives and stained with heavy metals to make the cells easier to see. Neuroscientist Jeff Lichtman at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and his colleagues then cut the sample into around 5,000 slices — each just 34 nanometres thick — that could be imaged using electron microscopes.

Jain’s team then built artificial-intelligence models that were able to stitch the microscope images together to reconstruct the whole sample in 3D. “I remember this moment, going into the map and looking at one individual synapse from this woman’s brain, and then zooming out into these other millions of pixels,” says Jain. “It felt sort of spiritual.”

Rendering of a neuron with a round base and many branches, on a black background.

A single neuron (white) shown with 5,600 of the axons (blue) that connect to it. The synapses that make these connections are shown in green. Credit: Google Research & Lichtman Lab (Harvard University). Renderings by D. Berger (Harvard University)

When examining the model in detail, the researchers discovered unconventional neurons, including some that made up to 50 connections with each other. “In general, you would find a couple of connections at most between two neurons,” says Jain. Elsewhere, the model showed neurons with tendrils that formed knots around themselves. “Nobody had seen anything like this before,” Jain adds.

The team also found pairs of neurons that were near-perfect mirror images of each other. “We found two groups that would send their dendrites in two different directions, and sometimes there was a kind of mirror symmetry,” Jain says. It is unclear what role these features have in the brain.

Proofreaders needed

The map is so large that most of it has yet to be manually checked, and it could still contain errors created by the process of stitching so many images together. “Hundreds of cells have been ‘proofread’, but that’s obviously a few per cent of the 50,000 cells in there,” says Jain. He hopes that others will help to proofread parts of the map they are interested in. The team plans to produce similar maps of brain samples from other people — but a map of the entire brain is unlikely in the next few decades, he says.

“This paper is really the tour de force creation of a human cortex data set,” says Hongkui Zeng, director of the Allen Institute for Brain Science in Seattle. The vast amount of data that has been made freely accessible will “allow the community to look deeper into the micro-circuitry in the human cortex”, she adds.

Gaining a deeper understanding of how the cortex works could offer clues about how to treat some psychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases. “This map provides unprecedented details that can unveil new rules of neural connections and help to decipher the inner working of the human brain,” says Yongsoo Kim, a neuroscientist at Pennsylvania State University in Hershey.

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-01387-9

Shapson-Coe, A. et al. Science 384 , eadk4858 (2024).

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Revealed: key files shredded as UK government panic grew over infected blood deaths lawsuit

Lost documents prevented victims from finding out the truth, official inquiry told

Disastrous failures that caused the contaminated blood scandal were denied by ministers for decades after officials destroyed, lost and blocked access to key documents, memos submitted to the official inquiry reveal.

Several batches of files involving the work of a blood safety advisory committee were shredded as the government faced the threat of legal action, documents show. Patients who were given contaminated blood when they were children have also told the infected blood inquiry how their hospital medical files were destroyed or initially withheld.

About 3,000 people died from contaminated blood from commercial concentrated products for haemophiliacs and blood transfusions.

Dame Diana Johnson, the Labour MP who has campaigned for proper compensation and justice for the victims, said ministers were able to resist calls for a public inquiry because documents had not been disclosed exposing the failures. She said: “Successive governments took the line up until 2017 that there was no reason for a public inquiry and everything was done properly.”

A demonstration with placards including ‘Recognise all victims, hashtag Contaminated blood

Beatrice Morgan, a senior associate solicitor for the legal firm Leigh Day, which represents about 300 people affected by the scandal, said: “There was at the very least a total mismanagement of documents and many of our clients believe that there was a cover-up and they were purposely misled.”

In 1987 David Owen, a former health minister, asked for his ministerial papers because he was concerned officials had not heeded his advice in the 1970s for the UK to become self-sufficient in concentrated blood products, which would have prevented many deaths. Owen’s office was wrongly told his papers had been destroyed. The Department of Health and Social Care has conceded at the inquiry that his “ministerial papers should have been available at this time” and has since apologised to him.

In late 2004, Lord Jenkin, a former health secretary, contacted the department about access to files concerning contaminated blood. A briefing note drawn up for a meeting with him stated: “Many key papers from the 1970s and 1980s have been destroyed … We understand that papers were not adequately archived and were unfortunately destroyed in the early 1990s.”

The inquiry has also heard how several batches of minutes and background papers involving the work of the Advisory Committee on the Virological Safety of Blood were shredded between 1994 and 1998. The files were destroyed at a time when officials were told there was “considerable potential for litigation” over infected blood and after ministers were charged in France over the scandal in poisoning haemophiliacs.

Jason Evans outside the public inquiry in Westminster.

The government has acknowledged the destruction of files “was clearly wrong and should not have occurred”. An internal audit concluded “an arbitrary and unjustified decision most likely taken by an inexperienced member of staff” was the most likely explanation.

A lawyer for the health department told the inquiry that the advisory committee documents had been largely “reconstituted” and many other documents previously believed to be missing have since been traced. Campaigners say the failure to disclose the files over several years meant the scale of the failings which led to the scandal were covered up for years.

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Portrait of a schoolboy, Jonathan Colam-French

Jason Evans, founder of the Factor 8 campaign group, whose father Jonathan died in October 1993 after being infected with HIV and hepatitis C from a contaminated blood product, said: “What has happened has been a mixture of deliberate concealment and incompetence. By claiming documents had been destroyed, it also stopped campaigners looking for them. These files would have shown that all the risks were known all the way through and what happened could have been avoided.”

Many of those affected have also fought to get medical records involving the deaths of relatives. Evans was told by the University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS trust that the medical files of his father no longer existed after he submitted a request in February 2016.

When a BBC producer contacted the trust with Evans’s consent a year later, the medical records were found within two days. In February 2021, the parliamentary and health service ombudsman found there had been maladministration by the trust.

Lawyers representing those affected by the scandal say many of their clients have never been able to access their records or have been provided with files with missing pages. Others were wrongly told their records had been destroyed.

Jonathan Colam-French, 53, from Lincolnshire, who was infected with hepatitis C from a commercial blood product, has sought unsuccessfully to obtain medical records concerning his treatment in Lincoln in the early 1980s. He has since discovered he was given the clotting product for a bruised finger when was a child. “I think it is suspicious they were deleted,” he said. “It would not be medically justified to give this for a bruised finger, and I consider there is strong evidence I was given factor 8 as part of a study.”

Phil Hayes, 51, from Doncaster, has also been unable to get access to key medical files after he was infected with hepatitis C in childhood with contaminated blood products. He was informed in about 2005 that he had been given commercial factor 8, but when he later asked for the relevant records he was told they had been destroyed. He said: “I believe there are files which the doctors have been able to get access to, but which I’ve not been allowed to see.”

Portrait of a young schoolboy, Phil Hayes

Andy Evans, chair of the Tainted Blood campaign, said the widespread destruction and withholding of files meant many people were unable to prove their claims. “Any compensation scheme must, moving forward, allow the balance of probability to favour the victim rather than the state,” he said. “It should not be upon the harmed to prove their harm was caused by the state, but for the state to prove it was not the culprit.”

Sir Brian Langstaff, the infected blood inquiry chair, will report later this month on what has been described as the worst treatment disaster in the history of the NHS . He has already concluded wrongs were done at a “systemic” level.

A government spokesperson said the scandal was “an appalling tragedy that never should have happened” and it was working to deliver compensation to the victims.

In connection with the request by Evans for his father’s records, University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS trust said: “Initial searches in 2016 of our Patient Management System failed to return any historical information relating to Mr Evans’s father. After further insight came to light, the records were located. The trust apologises for any upset and distress caused.”

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20 Engrossing Art Research Paper Topics on Artist Biography Analyzing the life and work of a particular artist can help you understand them better and uncover the symbolism and hidden meanings in their work. Let's go over some engaging art topics for research papers, covering some of the most influential artists in history. 18th century:
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A key reference guide for researching and analyzing works of art and for writing art history papers is the 10th edition (or later) of Sylvan Barnet's work, A Short Guide to Writing about Art. Barnet directs students through the steps of thinking about a research topic, collecting information, and then writing and documenting a paper.
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Some of these sources also give information about writing a research paper in art history - a paper more ambitious in scope than a formal analysis. M. Getlein, Gilbert's Living with Art (10th edition, 2013), pp. 136-139 is a very short analysis of one work.
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The International Foundation for Art Research maintains a free database of published and forthcoming catalogues raisonnés. In the library catalog, search the Library Catalog scope for: [Artist's name; Last Name, First Name] - Catalogues raisonnés (example: Hopper, Edward - Catalogues raisonnés).
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Introduction. The term arts-based research is an umbrella term that covers an eclectic array of methodological and epistemological approaches. The key elements that unify this diverse body of work are: it is research; and one or more art forms or processes are involved in the doing of the research.How art is involved varies enormously. It has been used as one of several tools to elicit ...
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The Journal for Artistic Research (JAR) is an international, online, Open Access and peer-reviewed journal that disseminates artistic research from all disciplines. JAR's website consists of the Journal and its Network. ... visual art. narrative. pain. landscape. representation. Time. Anthropocene. Current issue 31 Table of contents.
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The Getty Research Portal™ is an online search platform providing global access to digitized art history texts in the public domain. Through this multilingual, multicultural union catalog, scholars can search and download complete digital copies of publications for the study of art, architecture, material culture, and related fields.
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Guidelines for Writing Art History Research Papers; Oral Report Guidelines; Annual Arkansas College Art History Symposium; Galleries; Formal Analysis Paper Examples ... School of Art and Design Windgate Center of Art + Design, Room 202 2801 S University Avenue Little Rock, AR 72204. Phone: 501-916-3182. Fax: 501-683-7022 (fax) More contact ...
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Great Arts Research Paper Topics on Minimalism. Minimalism, as a form of art, was a movement in painting and sculpture of the 1950s. It was made clear by the use of massive and straightforward ways. Here are some art research paper topics: The elements of minimalism art in Specific Objects by Donald Judd; Discuss the rise of minimal art
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Art History Analysis - Formal Analysis and Stylistic Analysis. Typically in an art history class the main essay students will need to write for a final paper or for an exam is a formal or stylistic analysis. A formal analysis is just what it sounds like - you need to analyze the form of the artwork. This includes the individual design ...
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These research programs go beyond asking people if they like an image, or find it beautiful or interesting. ... The work of art in the age of mechanical reproduction. A museum studies approach to Heritage. ... We asked GPT-3 to write an academic paper about itself—then we tried to get it published. Berlin: Scientific American.
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Introduction

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Art, Research Purpose, and Research Validity

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Using Art to Research Social Issues: Collecting Data

Art Processes as Tools for Analysis

Art as a Means to Present Findings

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