Extended Essay
Visual Arts and EE
An extended essay in visual arts provides you with an opportunity to undertake research in an area of the visual arts of particular interest to you.
The outcome of the research should be a coherent and structured piece of writing (with appropriate illustrations) that effectively addresses a particular issue or research question, appropriate to the visual arts (broadly defined also to include architecture, design and contemporary forms of visual culture).
The research may be generated or inspired by your direct experience of artwork, craftwork or design, or interest in the work of a particular artist, style or period. This might be related to your own culture or another culture. Personal contact with artists, curators and so on is strongly encouraged, as is the use of local and/or primary sources.
The strongest EEs often show careful choice of socially and culturally interesting subjects, which often had a special meaning for the candidate either in relation to your own cultural identity, a future university program, or for a current artistic reason, e.g. your personal studio pursuits.
Whatever you choose your question needs to be narrowed down and strictly focused in order for the rest of the criteria - investigation, analysis, evaluation, a valid argument, and purposeful understanding of the question, to be treated effectively. Without a strong focused research question it is difficult to collect data and evaluate sources for comparison.
Absolute reliance on textbooks and the Internet is discouraged and no extended essay in visual arts should be based exclusively on such sources. Textbooks should be consulted only insofar as they may stimulate original ideas, provide models of disciplined, structured and informed approaches, and encourage direct and personal involvement with the essay topic.
Choice of topic
Topics that are entirely dependent on summarizing general secondary sources (such as universal art history textbooks, and encyclopedias), and topics that are likely to lead to an essay that is essentially narrative or descriptive in nature, should be avoided. Biographical studies of artists must address a relevant issue or research question and arrive at a particular, and preferably personal, conclusion. Choosing a topic that covers many aspects of art history and/or a long period of time is also unlikely to result in a successful essay. Restricting the scope of the essay will help to ensure a clear focus and will provide opportunities for demonstrating detailed understanding and critical analysis.
The following examples of titles for visual arts extended essays are intended as guidance only. The pairings illustrate that focused topics (indicated by the first title) should be encouraged rather than broad topics (indicated by the second title).
“How did Wassily Kandinsky use colour?” is better than “The Bauhaus”
“In what way did African art influence on the work of Henry Moore” is better than “20th-century British sculpture”
“What is the artistic significance of recent poles raised by the First Nations of Haida-Gwai?” is better than “The art of Native North American people”
It may help if you define the topic chosen for study in the form of a more specific research question, followed by a statement of intent that indicates which broad process is going to be used in answering the question. In this way, the approach to the topic chosen may be even further clarified. Some examples of this could include the following.
Topic Cultural influences on Pablo Picasso’s work
Research question Picasso: individual genius or cultural thief?
Approach An investigation of the extent to which selected images in Picasso’s work may have been appropriated from other cultural sources.
Topic The influence of Renaissance architecture in Montreal
Research question Cathédrale Marie-Reine-du-Monde, Montreal: a replica of St Peter’s, Rome?
Approach An original investigation into the stylistic similarities in the architecture of these two buildings.
Topic The impact of immigration on an artist’s work
Research question What is the impact of transcultural experience on the art of Gu Xiong?
Approach An investigation into the effects of migration on a selected artist’s work.
Treatment of the topic
It is essential that the topic chosen be clearly and directly related to visual arts. If the connection is only incidental, you risk introducing material that is of only marginal relevance, and will confuse the inquiry and weaken the argument. You should formulate a research question of personal interest and draw on a variety of sources to support your arguments, such as textual analysis, study of original artworks or designed artifacts, and interviews with practitioners or authorities on the subject. Research questions that do not allow a systematic investigation that demonstrates critical artistic analysis and detailed understanding are unlikely to be suitable. In some instances, it may become clear at an early stage in the research that too few sources are available to permit such an investigation. In such cases, a change of focus should be made.
The inclusion and discussion of appropriate visual reference material is of particular importance in visual arts extended essays. Such material must, however, be directly supportive of, and relevant to, the analysis/argument. It should be neatly presented, properly acknowledged, and should appear in the body of the essay, as close as possible to the first reference.
In order to promote personal involvement in the extended essay, the use of local and/or primary sources should be encouraged wherever possible. However, it is appreciated that, in certain situations, you may not necessarily have access to primary sources. In such situations, reproductions, videos, films or photographs/Internet images of a high quality are considered acceptable sources. An argument should be well substantiated, with comments and conclusions supported by evidence that is relevant and well-founded, not based simply on your preconceptions.
Examples of good EE titles
- What part did national motifs play in the creative work of Russian avant-garde artists of the Knave of Diamonds society?
- Should the old neon signs of Warsaw be moved to a new Museum of Modern Art?
- In what ways did men’s and women’s fashion convey the ideals of National Socialism?
- How does the work of Yinka Shonibare illustrate the changing role of African art in a global society?
- Le Corbusier: Chapel at Ronchamp. How does Le Corbusier use both cubist and organic architecture to create aesthetic and functional harmony?
- What were the origins of the Romanesque in Arles?
- Are there influences of pop art in the decorations on Pakistani trucks?
The following examples are more appropriate for the Comparative Study rather than an EE topic
- The Orient in the works of three orientalist artists and their diverging perspectives – Jean-Auguste Dominique Ingres, Jean-Leon Gerome, Osman Hamdi Bey.
- A comparison of the marriage of high art and fashion in the designs of Sonia Delaunay and Yves St-Laurent.
Examples of weak EE Titles
- The Variation within perception amongst human beings.
- Architecture: Art with a purpose.
- Salvador Dali. (in fact any purely biographical study of a very famous artist - what more can you say that has been written already in countless books)
- Postmodernism.
- Islamic architecture.
Writing the EE
You are expected to evaluate critically the resources consulted during the process of writing the essay by asking yourself the following questions.
- Which sources are vital to the support of my ideas, opinions and assertions?
- Which sources do not contribute to the analysis?
Many different approaches to the research question can be appropriate, for instance:
- use of primary sources (artwork and artists) and secondary sources (material about the visual arts) in order to establish and appraise varying interpretations
- analysing sources (primary and secondary) in order to explore and explain particular aspects of the visual arts
- using primary source material for an analysis, with emphasis on a particular aspect of visual arts
- collecting and analysing reproductions of artwork, possibly leading to a comparison of similar or different images.
You should also demonstrate awareness of other issues surrounding the art studied.
- Do I show an awareness of the value and limitations of the art I am studying through analysing its origin and purpose?
- Do I show a consistently good artistic understanding in setting the research question into context and addressing it fully and effectively?
Relevant outcomes of this analysis should be integrated into the your argument.
- The argument should also be well substantiated:
- With what evidence do I support my comments and conclusions?
- Is this evidence relevant and well founded, and not based simply on my preconceptions?
Extended Essay Titles
Can Luc Tuymans be classified as a political painter?
How does the work of Ketna Patel illustrate the growing impact of media culture on Asian cultures? (2014)
How far Andy Warhol's interest in morbidity explored in his "Death and Disaster' series? (2014)
How the cultural aspects of Jesse Trevino's life impacted his artwork (Part1, Part2) (2008)
The influence on the Casa Batllo (1904-6) by the architect Antoni Gaudi (Part1, Part2, Part3, Part4) (2011)
Is the distortion of Francis Bacon and Jenny Saville's artwork gender related? (Part1, Part2, Part3) (2011)
To what extent has Damien Hirst explored the themes of Life and Death in his work? (2013)
To what extent has the design of Federation Square been a success?
When does photojournalism transcend into art? (Part1, Part2, Part3) (2011)