Tolstoy Ploughing Artwork Discussion - Identify the artwork and artist

Ashford University Leo Tolstoy Ploughing Artwork Discussion

First: Choose one piece (painting, photo, sculpture) from any chapter in your book.  Identify the artwork and artist as your title.  Read up on the piece, but do not write this as a research essay. In other words, this is a piece of CREATIVE WRITING, so don't be giving me a bunch of facts, but be sure that your essay reflects life at the time of the artwork. If you're writing about a piece from 1820, you should not mention automobiles or air conditioning, of course. Make sure you keep your thoughts true reflections of the historical moment.  (Include the citation for your outside source at the end of your essay. Any format is fine.)

Second: Put yourself in the position of some figure or thing within the work—some kind of bystander or participant. Make sure you stay "in character" throughout the entire essay. Describe the piece from within, giving a catalog of detail as someone would know it from inside the piece.  Tell “your” story, talk about the piece as if it is happening to you right now.  Don't say "if I were here, I would," just BE in the work and tell me what it feels like to be living in that artwork. You may want to write it as if you were writing in your diary at the end of the day, or as if you were explaining to someone else what is happening in real time, or as if you were a much older person looking back on the moment.  Choose the framework that feels right for you--and write the entire essay in the first person.

Be sure to address the importance of the moment of the artwork. What are you thinking about?  What is happening around you? Why are things the way they are at that moment? What bigger issues does it raise?  You may want to address issues of class, gender, race, sexuality, religion, etc.