Writing a Compare/Contrast Art History Essay

Writing a Compare/Contrast Art History Essay
Important Points of an Art History Image

Identity
· Who is the artist or is the artist unknown?
· What period or style is it?
· What is the name of the artwork?
· To what culture does it belong?
· Of what material/medium is it made?
· What is its subject matter?

Style
· How big is it? Does its medium affect the quality?
· What are its formal elements (line, color, composition, etc.)?
· Is it abstract, naturalistic, idealistic, realistic, or a combination?
· How is the subject being depicted?
· What is the origin of the style? - Is it a combination of cultural styles?

Function/Symbolism(Often relates to cultural context)
· What was it used for? Why was it made?
· It is sacred or secular?
· Does it communicate a message? Is it asking for something?
· Does it contain symbolism? What does it mean?

Cultural Context
· What was happening historically, politically, socially, religiously, intellectually, and/or economically at the time it was made?
· What were qualities of life at the time and place the piece was made that may have affected its function and style?
· Do historical events or overall aesthetic tastes relate to the image/story depicted?

Compare and Contrast/Be Concise and to the Point
· Explore the differences and similarities of the two works being compared using the four topic areas discussed above.
· Begin your essay with an opening paragraph stating the main point of the comparison? (Remember to add the basics such as identification.) Asking, "Why did the instructor choose these two particular works?" will lead you to thesis.
· Each paragraph should discuss what is the same and what is different about the works in regards to each topic listed above. (e.g. one paragraph will discuss what is similar and different regarding style.)
· Start with main concepts and then move to relevant details. (Remember to state the obvious.)
· Use complete sentences. Each paragraph should focus on one main concept/topic .
· Conclude with a paragraph which sums up your main ideas.

Accounting -- chapter 5 -- terms

Inventory -- all the goods that the company owns and expects to sell in the normal course of operations
periodic inventory system -- a system in which the business does not keep a continuous record of inventory on hand. At the end of the period, it makes the physical count of on hand inventory and uses this information to prepare the financial statements
perpetual inventory system -- the accounting inventory system in which the business keeps a running record of inventory and cost of goods sold
invoice -- a seller's request for cash from the purchaser
sales revenue -- the amount that a merchandiser earns from selling its inventory. Also called sales
cost of goods sold -- the cost of the inventory that the business is sold to customers. Also called cost of sales
sales returns and allowances -- decrease in the seller's receivables from a customer's return of merchandise or from granting the customer an allowance from the amount owed to the seller. A Contra account to sales revenue
sales discount -- reduction in the amount receivable from a customer, offered by the seller as an incentive for the customer to pay promptly. A Contra account to sales revenue
net sales revenue -- sales revenue less sales discounts and sales returns and allowances
Gross profit -- excess of net sales revenue over cost of goods sold. Also called gross margin
operating expenses -- expenses, other than cost of goods sold, that are incurred in the entity's major line of business. Examples include rent, depreciation, salaries, wages, utilities, and supplies expense
operating income -- Gross profit minus operating expenses plus any other operating revenues. Also called income from operations
other revenue -- revenue that is outside the main operations of the business, such as a gain on the sale of plant assets
other expense -- expense that is outside the main operations of a business, such as a loss on the sale of plant assets
multistep income statement -- format that contains subtotals to highlight significant relationships. In addition to net income, it reports gross profit in operating income
single step income statement -- format that groups all revenues together and then lists and deducts all expenses together without drawing any subtotals
gross profit percentage -- Gross profit divided by net sales revenue. A measure of profitability. Also called gross margin percentage
inventory turnover -- ratio of cost of goods sold to average inventory. Measures the number of times a company sells its average level of inventory during a year

THE CORE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS: Accounting information is conveyed through a standardized set of reports. The four fundamental financial statements are the income statement, statement of retained earnings, balance sheet, and statement of cash flows.

INCOME STATEMENT: A summary of an entity's results of operation for a specified period of time is revealed in the income statement, as it provides information about revenues generated and expenses incurred. The differences between the revenues and expenses is identified as the net income or net loss.

THE STATEMENT OF RETAINED EARNINGS: The retained earnings at the beginning of a period, plus income (or minus loss), minus dividends, results in ending retained earnings (which would also appear on a balance sheet prepared at the end of the period). The statement of retained earnings succinctly reports this information. However, many companies will presented an expanded statement of stockholders' equity that portrays not only changes in retained earnings during a period, but also changes in other equity accounts such as capital stock.

BALANCE SHEET: The balance sheet focuses on the accounting equation by revealing the economic resources owned by an entity and the claims against those resources (liabilities and owners' equity). The balance sheet is prepared as of a specific date, whereas the income statement and statement of retained earnings cover a period of time.

STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS: This final statement is a bit more complex, detailing an enterprises cash flows, broken down according to operating, investing, and financing sources. Its coverage is best deferred until you have had a chance to progress further in your study of accounting.

ILLUSTRATIVE STATEMENTS: The following portrays sample final statements for Quartz Corporation. Please take time to review these statements, noting carefully how the net income on the income statement flows through to the statement of retained earnings, and how the ending retained earnings flows through to the balance sheet.

Accounting -- chapter 4 -- terms

accounting cycle -- process by which companies produce their financial statements for a specific period

During the period

1. start with the account balances at the beginning of the period
2. analyze and journalize transactions as they occur
3. post journal entries to the accounts

End of the period

1. compute the unadjusted balance in each account at the end of the period
2. enter the trial balance on the worksheet, and complete the worksheet
3. using the adjusted trial balance or the full worksheet as a guide,
   a. Prepare the financial statements
   b. Journalize and post the adjusting entries
   c. Journalize and post the closing entries
4. prepare the Post closing trial balance. This trial balance become step one for the next period.

Work sheet -- a columnar document designed to help move data from the trial balance to the financial statements

step by step process

1. enter the account titles and their unadjusted ending balances in the trial balance columns of the worksheet, and total the amounts. Total debit equal total credits.
2. Enter the adjustments in the adjustment column, and total the amounts. Total debit equal total credits.
3. Compute each accounts adjusted balance by combining the trial balance and the adjustment figures. Enter the adjusted amounts in the adjusted trial balance columns. Then compute the total for each column. Total debit equal total credits.
4. Extend the asset, liability, an owner's equity amounts from the adjusted trial balance to the balance sheet columns.
5. Extend the revenue and expense accounts to the income statement columns.
6. Total the statement columns. Here, total debit will not equal total credits.
7. Compute net income or net loss as total revenues minus total expenses on the income statement. Enter net income or net loss as a balancing amount on the income statement and on the balance sheet. Then compute the final column totals. Now all pairs of debit and credit columns should be equal.

Closing the accounts -- step in the accounting cycle at the end of the period. Closing the accounts consists of journalizing and posting the closing entries to set the balances of the revenue, expense, and withdrawal accounts to zero for the next period.
Temporary accounts -- the revenue and expense accounts that relate to a particular accounting. And our closed at the end of the period. For a proprietorship, the owner withdrawal account is also temporary
permanent accounts -- accounts that are not closed at the end of the period -- the asset, liability, and capital accounts
closing entries -- entries that transfer the revenue, expense, and owner withdrawal balances to the capital account
income summary -- a temporary holding tank account into which revenues and expenses are transferred prior to their final transfer to the capital account

closing steps

1. dead each revenue account for the amount of its credit balance. Credit income summary for the total of the revenues. This closing entry transfers total revenues to the credit side of income summary
2. credit each expense account for the amount of its debit balance. Dead income summary for the total of the expenses. This closing entry transfers total expenses to the debit side of income summary
3. the income summary account now holds the net income or net loss of the period, but only for moment. To close net income, we debit income summary for the amount of its credit balance, and credit the capital account. This closing entry transfers net income to the owner's capital account
4. credit the rift drawls account for the amount of its debit balance. Dead at the owners credit account. This entry transfers the owners withdrawals to the debit side of the capital account

Postclosing trial balance -- list of the accounts and their balances at the end of the period after journalizing and posting the closing entries. This last step of the accounting cycle insurers of the ledger is in balance to start the next accounting period.
Reversing entries -- special journal entries that ease the burden of accounting for transactions in the next period
liquidity -- measure of how quickly an item can be converted to cash
current asset -- an asset that is expected to be converted to cash, sold, or consumed during the next 12 months, or within the business as normal operating cycle if the cycle is longer than a year
operating cycle -- time span during which caches paid for goods and services, which are then sold to customers from whom the business collects cash
long-term asset -- an asset other than a current asset
plant or fixed asset -- another name for property, plant, and equipment
current liability -- a debt due to be paid with cash or with goods and services within one year or within the entries operating cycle is the cycle is longer than a year
long-term liability -- a liability other than a current liability
current ratio -- current assets divided by current liabilities. Measures the company's ability to pay current liabilities from current assets
debt ratio -- ratio of total liabilities to total assets. Tells a proportion of the Company's assets that it has financed with debt

Accounting -- chapter 3 -- terms

accural accounting -- accounting that records the impact of a business event as it occurs, regardless of whether the transaction affected cash
Cash- basis accounting -- accounting that records transactions only when cash is received or paid
revenue principle -- the bases for recording revenues; tells accountants when to record revenue in the amount of revenue to record
matching principle -- guide to accounting for expenses. Identify all expenses occurred during the period, measure the expenses, and match them against revenues earned during the same time period
Time-period concept -- ensures that information is reported at regular intervals
adjusting entry -- entry made at the end of the period to assign revenues to the period in which they are earned in expenses to the period in which they are incurred. Adjusting entries help measure the period's income and bring the related asset and liability accounts to correct balances for the financial statements
prepaid expense -- advance payments of expenses. Examples include prepaid rent, prepaid insurance, and supplies
Plant assets -- long-lived tangible assets such as land, buildings, and equipment -- use in the operation of business
depreciation -- the allocation of a plant assets cost to expense over its useful life
accumulated depreciation -- the cumulative sum of all depreciation expense recorded for an asset
Contra account -- an account always has a companion account and use normal balance is opposite that of the companion account
book value (of a plant asset) -- the assets cost minus accumulated depreciation
accrued expense -- an expense that the business has incurred but not yet paid
accrued revenue -- a revenue that has been earned but not yet collected in cash
unearned revenue -- a liability created when a business collects cash from customers in advance of doing work. Also called deferred revenue

Art Appreciation - Critique Process

1. Identify the artists decisions and choices
2. Ask questions. Be curious.
3. Describe the object.
4. Question your assumptions.
5. Avoid emotional response.
6. Don't oversimplify or misrepresent the art object.
7. Tolerate uncertainty.

Art Appreciation - Week 1 - Notes

Symbols -- things that represent something else
fine Art -- generally meaning paintings, sculptures, and architecture that are prized for their purely aesthetic qualities
applied art -- art forms that have primarily decorative rather than expressive or emotional purpose

The functions of art
entertainment
political and social commentary
therapy
artifact

Types of criticism
formal criticism -- analysis applying no external conditions or information.
Contextual criticism -- seeks meeting by examining related information outside the art work
structuralism -- derives by technology from structural with Dicks, which sees a text as a system of signs whose meaning is derived from the pattern of their interactions rather than from any external reference.
Deconstruction -- the process of deconstruction implies droning out all the threads of a work to identify its multitude of possible meanings

Making judgments
artisanship -- judging a works artisanship means judging how it is crafted or made
communication -- what is the artist trying to say? Does he or she succeed? Was the art work worth the effort?

Art Appreciation - Week 1 - Notes

Basic terminology

Two-dimensional art -- paintings, drawings, prints, and photographs and other flat forms of art work
composition -- the use of the elements and principles the artwork is composed of. This can include line, form, color, repetition, and balance.
Elements -- the primary element of composition is line. Form as a compositional element is the shape of an object.
hues -- is used to describe the basic colors of the spectrum
value -- the apparent whiteness or grayness of a color
palette -- how many different hues and values the artist has used and the way the artist has used those hues and values

Principles
repetition -- the way in which the elements of the picture are repeated or alternated
balance -- the way in which the picture stands on its axis
symmetry -- when shapes and colors that are identical appear on either side of the axis
physical balance -- the balancing of unlike objects
regular repetition -- the elements are the same size or importance
irregular repetition -- fiscal balance is created with different size and or importance elements

Sculpture
sculpture is a medium of three dimensions
Mass -- an element of composition includes size, shape, and volume
full round -- freestanding and fully three-dimensional, meant to be viewed from any angle
relief -- sculpture projects from a background and cannot be seen from all sides
linear -- maintains a two dimensional quality, such as tubular items like wire or tubing
texture -- surface treatments

Architecture
architecture is often described as the art of sheltering
architecture contains many systems of structure
vaults -- arches joined end to end
domes -- concentric arches
groin vault -- vaults cross at right angles
ribbed vault -- the retreating masonry that indicate a diagonal juncture of arches in the tunnel vault
bearing wall -- the wall supports itself
monolithic -- wall material is continuous not joined or pieced together
the skeleton frame -- structure uses a framework to support the building, walls are attached to the frame, forming an exterior skin
balloon construction -- when the skeleton framing makes use of wood
steel cage construction -- when metal forms the frame as in most skyscrapers

Music
Genres
Symphony -- large musical composition for orchestra
Mass -- choral setting of the Roman Catholic service
concerto -- a composition for solo instrument with accompaniment
Opera -- a large-scale choral work

Melody and form
Melody -- succession of sounds with rhythmic and tonal organization
themes -- musical ideas
motives or motifs -- brief melodic or rhythmic ideas
form -- gives musical compositions shape and organization
closed form -- directs our attention back to the composition by restating at the end of a thematic section the element that formed the beginning
open form -- uses repetition of thematic material as a departure point for further development

Theater
theater -- on interpretive discipline -- a performing art
plot -- the structure of the play, determines how a play works and how it views from one moment to another, structures conflicts, and how the play comes to an end
character -- the motivating psychological makeup of the people in the play
protagonist -- the main character
visual elements -- include scenery, costumes, lighting, an actor movements

Literature
genres
fiction -- work created from the author's imagination
poetry -- a type of work designed to convey a vivid and imaginative sense of experience
married of -- tells the story
dramatic -- utilizes dramatic form or technique
lyric -- consists of brief, subjective treatments employing strong imagination, Melody, and feeling to create a single, unified, an intense impression of the personal emotion of the poet
biography -- a written account of a person's life
essay -- a sure literary composition on a single subject

Fiction writing -- authors usually employing one of four points of view;
1 -- first-person
2 -- epistolary (the use of letters written by the characters)
3 -- third person
4 -- stream of consciousness (where in a flow of thoughts and feelings come from a specific characters psyche)

Film
narrator film -- tells a story
documentary film -- an attempt to record actuality, using either a social logical or journalistic approach
absolute film -- exists for its own sake, for its record of movement or form

Dance
ballet -- classical or formal dance, rich in tradition, rests heavily on the set of prescribed movements and actions
modern dance -- label given to a broad variety of highly individualized dance works limited to the 20th and 21st centuries, essentially American
folk dance -- comprises a body of group dances performed to traditional music

Accounting -- Chapter 2 -- terms

Recording Business Transactions

Account -- the detailed record of the changes in a particular asset, liability, or owners equity during a specific timeframe. The basic summary device of accounting
Journal -- a chronological accounting record of an entity's transactions
ledger -- the record holding all the accounts
trial balance -- a list of all the accounts with their balances
debit -- the left side of an account
credit -- the right side of an account
posting -- copying amounts from the journal to the ledger
normal balance -- the balance that appears on the side of an account, debit or credit, where we record increases
chart of accounts -- list of all the accounts and their account numbers in the ledger

Accounting -- chapter 1 -- terms

Accounting -- the information system that measures business activities, processes that information into reports, and communicates the results to decision makers
financial statements -- documents that report on a business in monetary amounts, providing information to help people make informed business decisions
financial accounting -- a branch of accounting that focuses on information for people outside the firm
Management accounting -- the branch of accounting that focuses on information for internal decision-makers of a business
Certified Management Accountant (CMA) -- a licensed accountant who works for a single company
audit -- an examination of the Company's financial situation
corperation -- a business owned by stockholders; it begins when the state approves its articles of incorporation. A corporation is a legal entity, an "artificial person," in the eyes of the law
stockholder -- a person who owns stock in a corporation. Also called a shareholder.
Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) -- accounting guidelines, formulated by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, that govern how accountants measure, process, and communicate financial information.
Entity -- an organization or a section of an organization that, for accounting purposes, stands apart from other organizations and individuals as a separate economic unit
accounting equation -- the basic tool of accounting, measuring the resources of the business and the claims to those resources: assets = liabilities + owners equity
asset -- and economic resource that is expected to be of benefit in future
liability -- and economic obligation payable to an individual or organization outside business
owners equity -- the claim of a business owner to the assets of the business. Also called capital
account receivable -- a promise to receive cash for customers to whom the business has sold goods were for whom the business has performed services
note receivable -- a written promise for future collection of cash
account payable -- a liability backed by the general reputation in credit standing of the debtor
note payable -- a written promise of future payment
revenue -- amounts earned by delivering goods or services to customers. Revenues increased owners equity
owner withdrawals -- amounts removed from the business by an owner
expense -- decrease in owners equity that occurs from using assets or increasing liabilities in the course of delivering goods or services to customers
transaction -- an event that affects the financial position of a particular entity and can be recorded reliably
balance sheet -- an entity's assets, liabilities, and owners equity as of a specific date. Also called the statement of financial position

Net income -- excess of total revenues over total expenses. Also called net earnings or net profit
net loss -- excess of total expenses and total revenues
income statement -- summary of an entity's revenues, expenses, and net income or net loss for a specific period. Also called the statement of earnings or the statement of operations
statement of owners equity -- summary of the changes in the entities in owners equity during a specific period
statement of Cash flows -- reports cash receipts and cash payments during a specific time frame