Getting started-CS

When starting the Comparative study the first step is to select your required works.

You must have:

At least 3 artworks
Of which at least (2) are from different artists.
The artists should be from different cultural context (local, national, international, history vs. contemporary, art periods, art movements, etc.) The more different the better context you will get.

Some Tips:

Research artworks that are interesting to you. For HL you will eventually connect your work to these works (Criteria F.)
You might start by choosing one favorite art piece and then looking for pieces that have natural connections to that piece, either because of genre, content, meaning, style, etc. There should be a clear comparison, to help you with D. (the comparison on the works).
When researching start with looking for strong sources and evidence of criteria B. Function and Purpose. If you select works and realize later (for example, you completed the formal analysis first and then realize that you can't actually research the piece and there are no strong sources) this is going to make this assessment a lot more difficult.
"One dead, One new, One foreign" has been suggested for selecting a variety of works.
But also be careful to only use works that are overused (Van Gogh, Picasso, Monet for example are very famous and well-loved and therefore overused)
This is a cool instagram that puts 3 related works together from different contexts into posts. Just understand if you choose a series of works from this instagram they might not all have a lot of information available. So rather I would suggest using it as a jumping off point/inspiration. https://www.instagram.com/kylestaver/?hl=en
This is another helpful teacher website that does a good job of breaking down criteria and what scores high vs. low https://ibdpvawithmissa.com/?page_id=2

Link to Instagram

Outlining

Once a decision is made about the 3 artworks you will study you should outline using the provided template. It is important to research, record, and save sources, and summarize on this document so that you have a good start on the CS.

[Template] CS research outline.docx

Cs Template

[Template] CS--ppt-template

Format/Presentation (Criteria E. )

These Presentations have templates you can use (copy and paste) for layout of your screens

This slideshow acts as a template (also provided in Google Classroom),

Introduction (connection between the 3 works and why you chose them)
Cultural context for artwork 1 (introduce the artist briefly, and what about the time/culture influenced the work
Formal analysis artwork 1 (visual analysis)
Function/Purpose for artwork 1(meaning/interpretation of symbols and themes- sometimes can be combined with cultural context)
Repeat Cultural context, formal analysis, and function/purpose for 2 and 3.
Comparison of cultural context all 3 works
Comparison of function/purpose all 3 works (can be combined with cultural context)
Comparison of formal analysis all 3 works
HL only- connections between your own artwork and at least 1 of the other artworks

These 2 slideshows are helpful for layout and design of the CS, it also has template slides you can copy and paste into your CS.

Help with Crteria E PP and CS.pptx

CS Suggested Layout .pptx

Some common issues with the CS:

Using incorrect language or inappropriate visual elements in your study. (editing or getting a friend to check is good practice)
Ignoring the visual elements entirely!
Only including biographical information about your artists. (rule of thumb; if the examiner can find it on the wiki page, they don’t need it written for them!)
Only using wikipedia.
Ignoring any relevant or well studied aspect of the artwork.
Including irrelevant information.
Making brief, general or bullet point lists, or one word statements about the works.
(HL) only making technical connections to artists work and your own. (Conceptual required)
(HL) not including any images of your own work.

Do’s and Don’ts in the CS

Introduction

You will need to complete an introduction to the presentation, that should be a minimum of 1 slide that introduces your thesis statement (What are you going to compare? Why did you choose these works?) and also cite the works in their first appearance.

Some students choose to additionally do an intro slide for each work/artist that gives some context (but don't be repetitive about what you will already mention in the following slides.

Citations

It is important to have clear citations in-text and for each image. Use MLA format. Although, not explicitly listed in the rubric, you will be marked down points for not citing. For the first appearance of the artworks make sure you give a full citation (see Mona Lisa below). For each appearance after you can designate it as figure 1, 2, etc. For images that are not artworks (like an image of the artist) you can just copy the link the image came from.

Reliable Sources:

How to Get Scholarly Articles for free:

Terminology:

Contemporary Websites:

Museums with Large Collections:

Other Helpful Tools for Searching Art:

Essays/Books:

Helpful IB Websites/CS Info:

https://sites.google.com/view/nistibart/comparative-study/d-connections?authuser=0

https://branksome-asia.libguides.com/c.php?g=819151&p=5846079

https://ibdpvawithmissa.com/?page_id=2

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