Responses...

To go back to the idea of art illiciting a response in the viewer - as a teacher, this is something that I really try to highlight. If anyone out there is studying art history in school - here's a tip: think about your response to the piece. I find that it's much easier to write about something if I have a real reaction to it. It doesn't matter if it's love or hate, but as long as I'm not completely apathetic towards a piece, I can write about it. Learning how to analyse and dissect your responses to a piece of artwork will not only make your essay-writing more compelling and engaging, but it will make the learning much easier for you. It goes without saying that the more you're interested in something, the easier you'll find it to study.

I found that the best essays I've ever written are the ones that were slightely controversial, or those that had a topic that I was really personally invested in. But it's important in an exam situation to be able to write as if every topic is of interest - or to at least justfiy your opinions if you think it's not.

Art history is such a vast subject area, that it's impossible to love everything. The important thing however, is to be able to explain WHY you like/dislike a particular piece. In an art exam, it's perfectly acceptable to say that you don't like something, so long as you can explain why. For example, is it do with the colours used? The composition? The subject matter? Try to pin-point what about the piece turns you off, and you'll find it easier to discuss. If you just have a vague disinterest and don't try to delve into the reasons for this, then whatever you write will be equally bland and listless.

Fountain, Signed R. Mutt. By Marcel Duchamp. 1917