For your assignments, your instructor will likely give you a list of topics to choose from. Research is easiest when you're interested in your topic and so try to choose a topic or artwork that you connect with!
If you need help with inspiration, you can look to:
You can search the library catalogue for an artist's name, themes within art, and you can also physically browse the N (Art), TR (Photography), and TT (Fashion) sections of the library!
Professional magazines and websites have information on current and emerging artists, trends, and news. They are created by and for professionals and showcase leading professional work. Some examples:
Art21 (repository of video and written interviews with contemporary artists)
Your next step is to figure out a research strategy. How are you going to research your topic? What keywords will you use to find information?
You can use the artist's name and name of any artworks as keywords. Strategies like mind mapping, free writing, or one of the following research prompts can help you generate more keywords:
Next, you'll need to decide where to start your research. At this point, many people worry that they don't know exactly what they want to say in their paper yet. You won't know what you're going to say until you start doing research because research is a back and forth process.
Specialized encyclopedias can help create a strong foundation for your research because they provide short overviews of a topic created by experts. This type of background information can help you understand your topic and give you a better idea of what you're going to say in your assignment.
The library subscribes to specialized art encyclopedias such as Grove Art Online and the Encyclopedia of Aesthetics.
If you're not coming up with any results, try searching more broadly using a term you gathered using your research prompts. For example, there's no Grove Art Online entry on the artist Kent Monkman but there is an entry on Camp, an aesthetic used within his artwork.
Gale Virtual Reference Library also has a number of encyclopedias on potentially related topics (Encyclopedia of Religion, Encyclopedia of World Cultures, and the Encyclopedia of Anthropology), the Canadian Encyclopedia, and Smarthistory.
This video explains how research is a back and forth process.
The below video demonstrates how to develop a research topic using some of the research prompts and searching library resources.