Comparative Study

Examine and compare at least three artworks at least two of which need to be by different artists. The works selected for comparison and analysis should come from differing cultural contexts. The comparative study should include the following Articulate your understanding through both visual and written forms.
While the comparative study may include text-based analysis, it may also include
diagrammatic and graphic elements such as annotated sketches and diagrams, annotations on copies of artworks as well as other visual organizing techniques (such as flowcharts, relative importance graphs, concept webs and Mind Maps®).
An introduction to the study should summarize the scope of the investigation from which the focus artworks, objects and artifacts have been selected.
Students should aim for a balance of visual and written content, and use an appropriate means of acknowledging sources. Students must ensure that their work makes effective use of subject-specific language where appropriate. For each artwork: Focus their analysis and interpretation of works through consideration of:
What role does the artist play
The role of the artwork
Who is/was the audience for the work
The cultural context.
THE STRUCTURE SHOULD BE FOLLOWING: Introduction
Students summarize the scope of the investigation from which the focus artworks, objects and artifacts have been selected, and any thematic or conceptual framework used to draw the investigation together.
The artworks, objects or artifacts and their contexts
Students summarize their research from a range of different sources and present their inquiry into the identification and interpretation of selected artworks, objects and artifacts. They also explain how they have applied a range and combination of critical theories and methodologies to the works. Areas of investigation might include:
analysis of the cultural contexts of the selected pieces
identification of the formal qualities of the selected pieces (elements such as shape/form, space, tone, colour, line, texture and principles such as balance, rhythm, proportion, emphasis, pattern, variety)
interpretation of the function and purpose of the selected pieces (such as the meanings of motifs, signs and symbols used in the work)
evaluation of the material, conceptual and cultural significance of the pieces and the cultural contexts in which they were created.

Making connections
Students present their comparisons of the different pieces, clearly identifying links between them. These comparisons might include:
comparing the cultural contexts of the selected pieces
comparing the formal qualities of the selected pieces
comparing the function and purpose of the selected pieces
comparing the material, conceptual and cultural significance of the pieces.

Connecting to own art-making practice (HL only)
Students reflect on their research outcomes and the extent to which their own art-making practices and pieces have subsequently been influenced by artworks, objects, artifacts and their creators examined in the comparative study. These influences and personal connections, which should be evidenced in both visual and written forms, might include:
cultural context
formal qualities
function and purpose
Materials, conceptual and cultural significance.

When referring to their own artwork and practices, HL students must be sure to identify and acknowledge their own artworks with the same rigorous attention to detail as with images from other sources.

Sources
Students include a list of sources used during the study.

Academic honesty
Every image used within the comparative study must be appropriately referenced to acknowledge the title, artist, date (where this information is known) and the source, following the protocol of the referencing style chosen by the school. When HL students include any images of their own original work, these must also be identified and acknowledged in the same way.