Subject & Research Guides: Art, Art History & Architectural Studies: Using the Library

Guides to Research and Writing About Art

Short Guide to Writing about Art by Sylvan Barnet
Call Number: N7476 .B37 2008
ISBN: 9780205949526
Publication Date: 2014-01-17
Visual Literacy by Amy Tucker
Call Number: N7476 .T83 2002
ISBN: 0072302224
Publication Date: 2001-12-10
Writing about Art by Henry M. Sayre
Call Number: N7476 .S29 2002
ISBN: 0130416142
Publication Date: 2001-11-15
Writing about Art by Marjorie Munsterberg
Call Number: N7467 .M867 2009
ISBN: 1441486240
Publication Date: 2009-03-11

Library Labs & Services

The library has many resources and services available. Here is a quick guide to what is on each floor.

Computer Labs are available to students when not in use for a class or other event. View each lab's schedule on the monitor placed outside each room or on the website. Need specific software? Look here to find out where it is available.
- Lower Level: PC Classroom, Advanced Technology Lab (ATL), Visualization Wall
- Main Level: Davis Classroom
Shain Library is home to many services to help you succeed at Conn. Here is a directory to the services available throughout the library.
- Lower Level: IT Service Desk, Digital Scholarship & Curriculum Center (DSCC)
- Main Level: Circulation Desk, Reference Desk, Interlibrary Loan Services, Research Consultations
- Second Level: Academic Resource Center, Accessibility Services, Linda Lear Center for Special Collections and Archives

The Research and Writing Process

If you have not yet chosen a topic, consult your course guidelines for help in selecting an appropriate subject of inquiry. You may choose or be required to focus on one artist, a work of art, an art movement, or consider a larger theme that encompasses multiple artists, works, or styles. Here are some tips to help you get started:

First, make sure you understand your assignment. How much information will you need? How long do you have to complete the assignment? Are there specific requirements for number or type of sources?
Since you'll be spending some time with your topic try to pick a subject that you find interesting. Begin by thinking about subjects that have been covered in class, maybe something that has been in the news or an area of personal interest.
Once you've come up with some tentative topics browse Oxford Art Online to gather background information. This will also help you determine if your topic is too narrow (no or little information available) or too broad (information overload!).

When you have chosen a topic, begin gathering relevant resources from the library's collections of books and journals. Start with WorldCat or the Library Catalog for books. Use arts databases for online access to journal articles, as well as digital collections for images. Ask a librarian if you need any help.

Identify key concepts
Start by identifying some key concepts related to your topic.
Determine keywords
Using the concepts you identified, make lists of words, people, or phrases that describe the concepts.
Search using the keywords
Use the keywords you created to search. Databases are not smart - they look for exact word matches. The more words you use to describe your concept, the more results you will get.
Use quotation marks for phrase searching
Using quotation marks around two or more words limits your search results to those including that exact phrase ("street art"). This becomes especially important when searching for information on artists whose first and last names are common. If no quotation marks are used around the artist's name (e.g. David Smith), all results including David and Smith anywhere in the text will obscure the resources you need.
Use truncation
Truncating allows you to tell the database to search for all words that begin with the same root. It's a great way to search for the both singular and plural forms of a word at once. The truncation symbol is usually an asterisk (moder* will search for modern, modernity, modernist, and modernism).
Limit search results
Use the database limiters often found on the right or left hand side of of a database or catalog results page to narrow your results by date, publication, subject heading, etc.
Be flexible and creative
Modify your search and try as many combinations of words as you need to find the best information.
Keep track of good resources
Use a citation manager, such as RefWorks or Zotero, to track resources you are interested in.

Consult the guidelines provided by your professor, as format requirements vary for each course assignment. All research papers should include:

Introduction to your argument(s)
Body of several or many paragraphs to develop your thesis statement
Conclusion
Bibliography of consulted resources
You will likely need to include an appendix of images discussed in your paper, including citations for each

Writing for art and art history is usually formal in style and analytical in content. Following the guidelines provided by your professor, you will likely need to devote a significant proportion of your paper to visually analyzing one or more works of art. The guides to writing about art in the left-hand column of this page will help you hone your visual analysis and writing skills.

The editing process can turn a mediocre paper into an engaging and professional one.

Read through it several times on your own, both silently and aloud. Reading aloud will make any awkward constructions or run-on sentences very apparent.
Have a friend read your paper to catch the mistakes you missed.
You can also take your paper to the Roth Writing Center where a writing center fellow will help you edit your paper for free!

New York Times

Methodologies & Historiography

What is art history? How do scholars conduct research and write about art history today? How did they do so in the past? These are the types of questions answered in the following texts on art historical methodologies and historiographies. Essentially, these texts present the history of art history and the methods of writing used in the past and in the present day. Will you write your paper with an eye toward the social history of art; will you adhere to iconographic analysis a la Erwin Panofsky; or, will you use a combination of methods? The choice is yours, unless specified by your professor.