Demonstration of Proficiency

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the course competencies through the following assessment scoring guide criteria:

• Competency 1: Describe the historical development of the humanities from the prehistoric era to the present. 
  • Describe how the visual arts developed in the 17th through 20th centuries.
• Competency 2: Examine the forms of expression that instantiate the arts and humanities. 
  • Explain the aesthetic principles expressed in the visual arts.
• Competency 3: Integrate the humanities with everyday life. 
  • Illustrate the use of visual arts in commercial design.
  • Assess how visual images in advertising influence our buying habits.
• Competency 4: Communicate effectively in forms appropriate to the humanities. 
  • Write coherently to support a central idea in appropriate format with correct grammar, usage, and mechanics.

Instructions

For this assessment, complete the following:

• Write a 4–6-page essay explaining the aesthetic principles expressed in visual arts and describe how they changed from the Baroque period through the early twentieth century. 
  • Which basic features were preserved through the centuries, and which changed dramatically?
  • How do you think artists choose which styles to employ in their own work?
• Consider how these styles are exemplified in commercial design during our own time. Collect eight or ten visual images from web sites and advertisements and explain how they incorporate traditional elements of visual design. 
  • Are our decisions to purchase items of clothing, jewelry, automobiles, appliances, and services influenced significantly by the visual forms in which they are presented?

Although your paper should offer a general thesis about the use of visual arts, much of the support you offer in its defense will involve details chosen from the specific examples you select. As you write, look for ways to tie everything together with your own view of the role that the visual arts continue to play in our everyday lives.

Additional Requirements

• Written communication: Should be free of errors that detract from the overall message.
• APA formatting: Your paper should be formatted according to current APA style and formatting.
• Length: 4–6 typed and double-spaced pages.
• Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.