Context

This essay was written in Spring 2013 for Art History 212: Revolt, Reform, and Critique. The class heavily emphasized our ability to draw theses comparing various themes, artists, and works of art. The culmination of this exercise was our individual eBooks, which required that we interview a contemporary artist from North Carolina and connect his or her work to other pieces studied in class using course themes. My paper connected Elon professor Samantha DiRosa's multimedia installations to Robert Mapplethorpe's photography in regard to both artists' disruption of binary social constructs. I have included this piece because it exemplifies how I utilize Professional Writing and Rhetoric to showcase my other career interests, specifically in the non-profit sector.

Rhetorical Decisions

Though my class - a survey course on 17th century art onward - covered a range of artists, I chose a controversial artist to pair with a contemporary local artist because I wanted to push a thesis laden with social justice themes. In fact, Robert Mapplethorpe being such an explosive force for homosexual identities in the 1960s and 1970s, I had plenty of support for a thesis concerning marriage equality. However, this would not have made for a particularly innovative paper - much has been written regarding Mapplethorpe through a LGBT lens and it is widely acknowledged that "when society sets a standard, by default there will be an opposing 'other' which creates the binary relationship." The challenge was coaxing a more sophisticated thesis between Mapplethorpe's and Samantha Rosa's work. Using the metaphor of the human body, I drew an echo of the artists' philosophies by asserting that the binary construct of the "medicated and lived body" are limitations in social thought which marginalize the "other" and mutilate our collective humanity.

My rhetorical decisions were tailored to the particular demands of a published eBook. By making my essay publically available, I took risks on behalf of myself and my artist, whose career could potentially be impacted by my information. Therefore, I was careful not to manipulate her work; in writing most analytical essays, I would be apt to defend a more creative thesis, given that the nature of most prompts allows for an inventive style. In this case, however, I constructed a thesis that could be affirmed by the artist, lest an eBook reader have a mistaken impression of her art. DiRosa would agree that "much like the work of Robert Mapplethorpe, [she] uses her art convey her worldviews which contradict the norm, particularly in regard to society’s persistence in harming the human body and the individual." Yet this thesis is not self-evident; I worked within the complexity of the exercise to coax out a thesis that was both defendable and organic.

I successfully employ the rhetorical triangle's insight into the purpose and audience of this piece. The relationship between the class goals and the eBook format demanded a careful study of the rhetorical principle of decorum. Audience, purpose, and kairos (timing) are wed to the idea of decorum in that all three must be in conversation with each other in order to produce a document that is well-adjusted to the needs of its readers. I took pains to abide by my professor's specific requirements (as are outlined in the abstract), respected the integrity of DiRosa's theories, formed a comprehensive and engaging thesis, and utilized the language of current discourses in sex and gender studies. In this way, my project thrives within its constraints.

Evaluation

My completed research and analysis displays my ability to draw a compelling and penetrating argument from seemingly dissimilar subject matters. Demonstrated also is my confidence in writing within unfamiliar genres; previous to this assignment I had little experience with Art History formatting or even Chicago style. The limitations imposed by my professor further complicated the stylistic task. This experience of writing within foreign conventions left me with new skills to add to my rhetorical toolbox. I am now more comfortable with Chicago style and I feel confident that I can adapt quickly to new genres and formats. This will be helpful when I move from an academic to professional setting, where practices are acquired experientially rather than taught. The trick of professional writing and rhetoric lies in the ability to apply minute academic theory to a universe of professional contexts. Picking up knowledge of different forms becomes easier with exposure to a variety of writing styles.

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