IB Comparative Study 20% NAME: khalid mohamed Pd.

___
Directions: Develop your research question at the end of your junior year to have approved
before you leave for the summer.

Research Question Due: 5-11 -In Class. Have the following information saved on your own
computer, uploaded to a class computer, or saved on your phone. We will discuss one on one.

Checklist/Rubric: ___/15 Formative □

State your research question?

□ Name the 2 artists and at least 3 artworks you will use for the comparative study. Be able to
quickly pull these up to show me.

The Birth of Venus, Sandro Botticelli, 1486

The Starry Night, Vincent van Gogh, 1889

Guernica, Pablo Picasso, 1937

□ Specifically, why did you choose these artists and artworks to study?
I specifically selected these artists and artworks since each of the three pieces was created by
a different artist throughout a distinct time period. This artwork will benefit in my study of
several eras and the development of art at each one.

□ What is the thematic or conceptual framework used to draw the investigation together?
The structure that unites the investigation's artwork is cultural
since it offers many viewpoints for comprehending the
connections between them.
□ How will this study inform you and influence the artwork you intend to create?
Studying art will improve my knowledge of what I must
do, and that alone will enable me to produce my
artwork.

□ Identify how the works are from at least 2 different cultural origins.
______________________________________________________________________________
Summer assignment is to complete the Introduction/Investigate Planning section and
Research: Examine, Compare, and Contrast Section of the comparative study. Ensure
that you complete every component on each section of the rubric.

Email as a word doc in a horizontal format to bnc_art@hotmail.com DUE 8-7

Every time there is a due date, turn in this paper for me to check off. It is expected that before
completing the final draft, every section is adequately complete.
Due Dates for each section:
Introduction/Investigative Planning Due: AUGUST 1 ___/15 (formative)

Research: Examine, Compare, and Contrast Due: AUGUST 1 ___/60 (summative)

Preliminary Planning Due: AUGUST 1 ___/25 (formative)
Document feedback about planning and research for screens 1-15

Your Artwork Due: AUGUST 1 ___/100 (summative)

Making connections Due: AUGUST 1 ___/15 (summative)

Sources on each page Due: AUGUST 1 ___/10 (summative)

Completed 1st draft containing all of the above.

Presentation follows logical order. Due: AUGUST 1 ___/20 (formative)

Final Draft due Due: AUGUST 1 ___/20

(formative)
Separate Sources Page Submitted Due: AUGUST 1 ___/5
(formative)
Mr. Carson needs to complete predicted score in relation to IB testing rubric Also
interaction notes 1, 2, 3.

A comparative study is a research assignment that compares and contrasts at least 2 different
artists from at least 2 different cultures, with at least 3 different artworks, while showing
connections how this study has affected your work and process. The total length will amount to
10-15 screens (10-14 SL) (pages) of research and 3-5 (1 SL) screens of connections, and a 1 page
separate sources screen bibliography (although sources also need to be on individual pages).
Complete as a word document in a horizontal format, making sure to include your own photos
or scans of your own work, drawings, planning, experiments, and so forth when submitting the
first draft. The final draft will be converted to a PDF. 18 to 20 screens maximum.

Do NOT put text (except for citing artworks) in shapes, tables, or colored boxes until the Final Draft!
Introduction/ Investigation Planning (slide 1) (relates to slide 1 in example) ___/ 15
Students summarize the scope of the investigation from which the focus artworks, objects and
artifacts have been selected, and any thematic or conceptual framework used to draw the
investigation together.
Choose at least 2 different artists to compare and contrast from contrasting cultural contexts
(local, national, international), along with a minimum of 3-4 artworks to analyze. Make one of
the artwork choices a work you have viewed in person (gallery/museum) and possibly complete
a sketch of it. You must intend to create work with specific connections to the artists you are
researching.

Introduction/Investigative Planning (slide 1)

Checklist/Rubric: ___/15 Formative

□ Title: Comparative study and your name.

□ Name the 2 artists and at least 3 artworks you will use for the comparative study.
□ Specifically, why did you choose these artists and artworks to study?
□ What is the thematic or conceptual framework used to draw the investigation together?
□ How will this study inform you and influence the artwork you intend to create?
□ Identify how the works are from at least 2 different cultural origins.
□ Sources: where information was attained. Images cited with artist, title, media, date.

Research: Examine, Compare, and Contrast (relates to slides 2-14 student B, 2-11 Mansi)
___/ 60
Checklist/Rubric: Key questions and concepts to answer in your research.

□ Critique (analyze with elements and principles of design) the selected artworks, objects, and
artifacts.

□ Evaluation of the materials used and the conceptual significance. Why do you think certain
artistic decisions were made by these artists to use the chosen media and materials, technique,
subject matter, for the intended purpose of their work? How did these choices most effectively
communicate their message or intentions?

□ Interpret the function and purpose of the selected pieces (such as the meanings of motifs,
signs and symbols used in the work). Interpretation must be supported with both visual and
written forms of notation. Feel free to annotate the images (write on them with notes).

□ Use Annotated images. When annotating an artwork, a

simple line drawing can be used or paste a copy of the artwork
into the document with sufficient space to add call-outs to
particular features, enlargements of details or overlays of
compositional elements. Call-outs can be used to highlight the
use of art elements and design principles, identify any symbols,
illustrate compositional arrangements, or point out materials or
techniques, etc.

□ Investigate the different techniques used by the artists to make art. Compare how and why
these different techniques have evolved and the processes involved. What aspects of the
processes and techniques are conventional or innovative?

□ Analyze the cultural contexts of the selected pieces. What is the cultural significance of the
pieces against the cultural contexts in which they were created? Interpret the function and
purpose of the artwork within the cultural context in which they were created, along with the
evaluation of the material.

□ How do your cultural beliefs compare or contrast that of the artists, artwork meanings, time
period, or goals of the artwork you plan to create?

□ The study must identify and analyze the formal qualities (elements/principles) from at least
2 cultural origins.

□ Social/Historical Context (contextual)- How did social/historical events influence the art
movement, artist, culture and/or your own work? What was happening in the world at the time
of these events in relation to them? Did the artwork influence change, how?

□ Technological or geological (earth based) factors?

□ Art Movement- Did the goals of the art movement or other artists in the movement
influence them and if so how? Was this movement a reaction to another movement or style? If
so what was similar or different?

□ Various images shown and cited (including your own, drawings, plans, partial contact sheet).
Show studies (sketches based on their ideas) or some visual way of understanding their work in
a non-text based way. When referring to your own artwork make sure to acknowledge it with
the same rigorous attention to detail as with images from other sources. Artist, title, date,
media, and source of image.

□ Students present their comparisons of the different pieces, clearly identifying links between
them. Connections, similarities, and differences between all works are critically analyzed
showing a thorough understanding.

□ Use a range of different sources and a minimum of 4 (this does not include image sources)
listed on the pages as you use them.

□ Subject specific language is used accurately and appropriately.

Preliminary Planning (relates to slides 15-18) ___/ 25 Checklist/Rubric:

□ What are your goals or intentions for the project and how will you meet them? Explain how
any symbols, color choice, expressions, props, etc. are conveying your intention and purpose of
the work.

□ Is there an intended message and how will you depict this for the viewer to understand, are
there any connections to past artworks, artists, movements, ideas, (is this building off another
idea) and if so what are they?

□ What is your subject matter and how will it be portrayed, what techniques and media will
you use, angles, lighting, color palette, perspective, etc. and why?

□ Provide relevant examples and state how you will specifically apply the artist’s techniques,
media, subject matter, message, conceptual ideas, characteristics from the art movement, etc.
into your own work.

□ What is the cultural context of each of these artists and how does this relate to your own
cultural context?

□ Show planning for a work of art with sketches that are annotated.
□ Show experimentation in various media, practice, or that you are developing the idea.
□ Show photo references of things that relate to your topic and that of the artists.
□ Reflect on opportunities for further development of the work
□ Reflect upon how your work is progressing. Attribute the source of any external feedback,
such as peer or teacher review of the work and respond to the feedback received. The
reflections must consider how the intended meaning and purpose of the work in development
are communicated to an audience.

□ Cite sources and images shown.

Making connections ___/15

□ Analyze and reflect on the extent to which your own work and practices have been
influenced by the art and artist examined (think about formal qualities, function,
purpose, materials, and concepts). This is done in text based analysis and □ Image based
analysis (insert picture of your work, make comparisons)

□ The student effectively considers their own development, making informed and meaningful
connections to their own art-making practices. Connections are logical and coherent.

□ The work analyses and reflects upon the outcomes of the investigation consistently and
appropriately. Connections are made throughout the research and pages.

□ What are the cultural similarities and differences in the creation or meaning of your work in
comparison to those in your study? It might help to also think about social, historical, and time
period based events.

Your Artwork ___/100

□ There is a natural integration of your own ideas culminating in a work(s) of art that draws on
elements, ideas, or concepts seen in the works studied.

□ Your own ideas are clearly developed and resolved within the context of the study, and
synthesized with the findings of the comparative study. Meaningful and informed connections
are made to your own art making practice.
Student properly uses the elements and principles of design, a strong composition, message/
meaning is clear, technique and media choice

Presentation ___/3

□ Slides follow a logical approach

Sources ___/10
□ Students cite diverse sources throughout the study. Use MLA or APA format.
□ Students turn in a separate bibliography page saved as their “name, comparative sources”.
Comparative Study Research Examples:
Jean-Michel Basquiat
(HaitianAmerican 1960–1988) Irony
of Negro Policeman (1981) acrylic
and crayon on canvas, 183 × 122 cm.
Keith Haring (American, 1958–1990)
Untitled (mural in the cafeteria of the
Museum of Contemporary Art in
Antwerp, Belgium, 1987), mural.
Banksy (British, unknown) Untitled
(Keith Haring tribute, The Grange,
Bermondsey, London). Street graffiti,
Crime to Commodity
spray enamel via stenciling.
Sandro Botticelli (Italian, Early
Renaissance: c. 1445–1510),
Nascita di Venere (Birth of Venus,
1486), tempera on canvas, 172.5 ×
278.9 cm
Alexandre Cabanel (French, 1823–
1889), Naissance de Venus (Birth of
Venus, 1963), oil on canvas, 130 ×
225 cm
The student was interested in graffiti/street art and was
posing questions through their own work about the
definition of art versus vandalism.
To broaden the field of the student’s investigation, the
teacher directed the student to the work of Jean-Michel
Basquiat and Keith Haring, both of whom were in the
graffiti scene before transitioning to the status of
respected visual artists.
The student explores the cultural context of the world in
which each of the artists worked/work and the
significance of the political commentary in the work.
Édouard Manet (French, 1832–1883) Olympia (1863), oil
on canvas, 130.5 × 190 cm
ORLAN (Mireille Suzanne Francette
Porte, French, born 1947), The Reincarnation of Sainte
Orlan (1990), series of plastic surgeries on the artist’s body.
The student was particularly pleased to find a Bansky
image that paid homage to Keith Haring.
Visions of Venus
This comparative study emerged
from the student’s own artmaking
practice, which focused on
representations of the human form
and changing notions of beauty.
The comparative study provides a
survey of key works representing
the female form in Western art.
In analysing, interpreting,
evaluating and comparing the
works, the student adopted a
feminist critical methodology,
which identified how feminist
theory informed the interpretation
of imagery in the works and the
evaluation of the significance of the
works within the context in which
they were created and to the broader
canon of Western art.
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn
(Dutch, 1606– 1669), Self-Portrait
with Two Circles (c. 1665– 1669),
oil on canvas, 114.3 × 94 cm.
Vincent van Gogh (Dutch, 1853–
1890), SelfPortrait with Bandaged
Ear, Easel and Japanese Print
(1889), oil on canvas, 60 × 49 cm.
Ideas:
James Jean, Hindu Art, and Polke
Kehinde Wiley, Jacques-Louis David, Flemish Style
Frida Kahlo de Rivera (Mexican, 1907–1954), Selfportrait
with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird (1940), oil on
canvas, 61.25 × 47 cm.
Brett Whiteley (Australian, 1939–1992), Art, Life and the
Other Thing (1978) (Triptych), oil, glass eye, hair, pen and
ink on cardboard, plaster, photography, oil, dried PVA,
cigarette butts, hypodermic syringe on board, 90.4 × 77.2
cm, 230 × 122 cm, 31.1 × 31.1 cm.
Self Portraits
The artworks explored in this study were originally
investigated when the student was working on a series of
her own self-portraits.
As her own portraits were being completed rapidly, as a
series over a specified period of time, she was particularly
interested in artists whose bodies of work included
numerous self-portraits.
Her comparative study considers the changing conventions
of portraiture within the context of the time and place in
which the works were created.
Her analysis and interpretation considered the ways in
which meaning was conveyed through the use of formal
and symbolic codes, and in the case of the Whiteley,
written codes aslo.
The number of works examined compelled the student to
rely on the thoughtful and considered
use of annotated images and other visual
organizers to convey her understandings in a
succinct manner.
CITING SOURCES:

As a minimum, students are expected to include: name of author, date of publication, title of
source, and page numbers as applicable. Failure to acknowledge a source will be investigated by
the IB as a potential breach of regulations that may result in a penalty imposed by the IB final
award committee.

For example:

Benjamin, R (1997) Orientalism: Delacroix to Klee (The Art Gallery of New South Wales) pp
22–23

Where an electronic source is cited, the date of access must be included, along with the full
address of the materials.

For example:

Damien Hirst, http://www.damienhirst.com/ (22 January 2014)

Visual arts students should be considering artworks as primary sources. As a minimum, the
name of the artist, the title of the work, the date of completion, the media, the size of the
work, and the current location or owner of the work must be included. Where students need
to demonstrate that they have looked at artists from a range of cultural backgrounds, the
nationality and dates of birth and death can also be useful.

For example:

Jean-Léon Gérôme (French, 1824–1904)

Le Bain (The Bath) (c.1880–85)
Oil on canvas 73.6 x 59.6 cm
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Mildred Anna Williams Collection
External assessment criteria—SL and HL
A. Identification and analysis of formal qualities To what extent does the work
demonstrate:

• informed identification and analysis of the formal qualities of the selected

artworks, objects and artifacts?

5–6 The work provides a consistent, insightful and informed identification and
analysis of the formal qualities of the selected pieces.

B. Analysis and understanding of function and purpose To what extent does the
work demonstrate:

• informed analysis and understanding of the function and purpose of the

selected artworks, objects and artifacts within the cultural context in which
they were created? Candidates who do not examine and compare at least three
artworks by at least two different artists from at least two contrasting cultural
contexts will not be awarded a mark higher than 2 in this criterion.

5–6 The work provides a consistent, insightful and informed analysis and
demonstrates thorough understanding of the function and purpose of the
selected pieces from at least two contrasting cultural contexts.

C. Analysis and evaluation of cultural significance To what extent does the work
demonstrate:
• informed analysis and evaluation of the cultural significance of the selected
artworks, objects and artifacts within the specific context in which they were
created (such as the cultural, sociopolitical and historical significance of the
works, with respect to the original audience and purpose, as well as to a
contemporary audience)? Candidates who do not examine and compare at
least three artworks by at least two different artists from at least two
contrasting cultural contexts will not be awarded a mark higher than 2 in this
criterion.

5–6 The work provides a consistently insightful and informed analysis and
thorough evaluation of the material, conceptual and cultural significance of the
selected pieces from at least two contrasting cultural contexts.

D. Making comparisons and connections To what extent does the work

demonstrate:

• effective critical analysis and discussion of the connections, similarities and

differences between the selected artworks, objects and artifacts?

Candidates who do not examine and compare at least three artworks by at

least two different artists will not be awarded a mark higher than 3 in this
criterion.

5–6 The work critically analyses and discusses the connections, similarities
and differences between the selected pieces. These connections are logical and
coherent, showing a thorough understanding of how the pieces compare and
contrast.

E. Presentation and subject-specific language To what extent does the work:

• ensure that information is conveyed clearly and coherently in a visually

appropriate and legible manner, supported by the consistent use of
appropriate subject-specific language?

5–6 The work clearly and coherently conveys information which results in a
visually creative and legible study that enhances the impact of the work and
the reader’s understanding. Subject-specific language is used accurately and
appropriately throughout.

At HL only

F. Making connections to own art-making practice To what extent does the

work:

• analyse and evaluate the outcomes of the comparative study investigation

and on how this has influenced the student’s own development as an artist,
identifying connections between one or more of the selected works and the
student’s own art-making processes and practices?

10–12 The work provides a consistent and insightful evaluation on the

outcomes of the investigation. The student effectively analyses and evaluates
the extent to which their own art-making and pieces have been influenced by
artworks, objects and artifacts examined in the comparative study, making
informed and meaningful connections throughout.