Homework Art Class Cite Today

In upper-level art classes, you might be asked to cite your previous homework.

A common mistake in art homework is "borrowing" an image from Google without credit. In the art world, this is a serious offense (plagiarism). You must cite your inspiration.

When should you cite?

How to write an art citation (MLA Format recommended): homework art class cite

For an image found online:

Artist Last Name, First Name. Title of Artwork. Year, Museum or Source, URL.

Example:

Van Gogh, Vincent. The Starry Night. 1889, Museum of Modern Art, New York. www.moma.org/collection/works/79802.

For a photo you took yourself (you still cite it):

Photo by Author. 2024.

How to present your citation: Write it neatly on the back of your artwork or on a sticky note attached to the page. Never write it directly across the front of your drawing.

Prompt: Solve five algebraic equations. Then, represent each solution as a geometric abstract painting.

Student’s Cite entry:

Teacher’s response: A+ for concept, execution, and citation.

In most academic subjects, the rules of citation are as rigid as a steel beam. A quote from a textbook requires a page number; a statistic demands a date. But in the art class, homework takes on a different texture. Here, the “source” might be a shaft of afternoon light through a window, a fragment of a Renaissance fresco, or the rough brushwork of a digital painting tutorial. How, then, do we teach—and require—proper citation for an art homework assignment without crushing the very creativity we seek to nurture?