MID-TERM
Proposal due: March 14
Mid-term due: March 21

GRADE BREAKDOWN:
Mid-term Proposal = 5 pts
Mid-term Photoshop Montage= 20 pts

Photoshop Mid-term:
Use Photoshop to create a historical collage of an event, person, place, or thing that occurred before 1900.

COLLAGE:
A form of art in which various materials (ie., photographs, pieces of paper, typographic elements,and other visual elements) are arranged and presented in a single graphic composition.

Choose a historical event or thing or person that predates 1900. History is full of fascinating stories, events, and people, so choose something that you find interesting.

Some topics to consider:
Invention of moveable type; history of astronomy; Renaissance maps; Hammurabi's Law Code; pre-19th century artists, architects, scientists, philosophers; architecture such as the Pantheon, the Taj Mahal, Persopolis...
OR
Choose a historical figure. You could choose an artist, a writer, a philosopher, a president, a poet, an explorer, a scientist, a revolutionary, an interesting historical figure of your choice.

There are numerous online historical photography archives at art institutes, museums and libraries. Here are a couple:
Smithsonian Institute (http://www.aaa.si.edu/, http://www.si.edu/) New York Public Library web site. Use google to search for more.

Remember Photoshop is a tool, it is your idea and the materials you read and acquire during the research stage that will guide you. As you research your collage idea think about how to integrate all of your source images into one coherent layout incorporating a color scheme and typographic elements.

Use various resources (internet, library...) to research and gather assets (typographic elements, images, scanned graphics, newspaper clipping, illustrated graphics...) for the collage. Be resourceful! Also, remember to use only excellent quality images that convey your intended message as developed in your proposal.

If you use internet graphics only you may not have high enough resolution for a nice print of the work.

PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS (500 words):
one paragraph about your topic.

one paragraph about why it is important.

one paragraph explaining the "message" of your collage. What do you want people to understand when they look at it? Will your collage inform, invite action, build consensus, provide an alternative view point, be entertaining or poignant...?

ONE paragraph describing assets (photographs, newspaper/magazine clipping, scanned texture or small object, hand art work, hand lettering scanned...) that you are considering using in your collage.

Site at least 3 written sources you use to research your collage topic; urls, books (including title, author), magazines, journals, newspapers... Wikipedia may have some good information but do not copy and paste from the wiki website and use as your own words. This constitutes plagerism and will result in a grade of 'F'.

Site THE graphic sources you used to research your collage topic; urls, books (including title, author), magazines, journals, newspapers...

Include the proposal as text in your email. In the subject field of the email put your last name and first initial with the number of the homework.

Example: McIntosh J-MID-TERM PROPOSAL
Please use this format for each assignment that you email me throughout the semester.

MID-TERM REQUIREMENTS:
1. Use at least 6 different sources in your collage, one of which must be typography. You will be graded on the concept of your collage, how well you worked from your proposed topic in realizing the collage, materials/resources used in researching and realizing teh collage, attention to detail, quality of graphics, and your compositing skills. Work no larger than 8.5 x 11 inches in format (vertical or horizontal.)

2. The images you use will reflect your topic. Possibilities include (but not limited to) scanned images from books, internet graphics, oiginal typography created in Photoshop...Your choice of excellent quality image sources and how you integrate the images in to the overall collage is important.

3. You ust include the sources of all images/graphics used. If you do not give citations your work will be considered plagerized and you will receive agrade of 'F'. Upon submission of your collage include the sources of all images/graphics used.

4. In creating a collage with multiple images, the collage composition is very important. Read Principles of Composition handout.

5. Use the knowledge you have acquired from the previous 6 weeks to guide your collage creation. It is important to demonstrate in your mid-term: clean compositing (very important); color correction/enhancement, cropping/resizing; layers/layer blending; layout techniques such as proportion, contrast, color scheme; and a noticeable effort to develop the intended message and mood.

*If I do not see very good proficiency in compositing - you may be asked to redo the assignment. Compositing is the single most important skill needed to master Photoshop. Your mid-term should demonstrate excellent compositing skills.

6.
Send your homework (jpeg format) as an attachment via email.

It may also help researching artists who have worked doing mixed media collages. Often we can borrow ideas from other artists to help us realize our own. Go to your local book store or library and browse through the art section. The below examples may help too.

Romare Beardon		Ellen Land-Weber
Dada - art or not?		Picasso