In this class we make a distinction between form and content (or what in visual culture we often call "subject matter") and begin the process of exploring the language of form.
2. What will happen
in this movie?
How do you know?
http://prezi.com/sa
zemrmsx16b/wh
at-is-a-genre/
3. Advertisers work hard to create visual
messages that can be decoded in a
rapid glance.
“This is a
romantic
comedy
with two
young
stars.”
4. Edgar DEGAS
Edmondo & Thérèse Morbilli
circa 1867
Oil on canvas
45 7/8 x 34 ¾ inches
What is going to happen
to these two people?
What is their relationship like?
We aren’t sure. We’re not sure
at first, and even after long
observation, we may not be able
to answer these questions definitively.
5. Art is much slower and typically cannot be
understood at a glance. Learning to “read” the
formal vocabulary of art will go a long way
toward helping you understand it better.
6. To help us, we can make a distinction
between subject matter and form.
Arnold Genthe, Portrait of Helen
Cooke in a Field of Poppies, 1907
13. What is Formal Analysis?
• Breaking a work down into
component parts for purposes of
systematic observation and
understanding.
• When the parts are put back
together, you do so with a richer
understanding of each part and
how they fit together.
14. TO BEGIN a formal analysis
IDENTIFY the materials and medium.
What is the work physically made of: oil on
canvas, charcoal on paper? Be sure you know.
15. MATERIALS
• EXAMPLE: art made of paper will have a
different resonance than art made of steel
• Materials can have a strong expressive
content.
• Even similar materials can be handled quite
differently, resulting in different nuances of
meaning.
18. What is the MEDIUM of the work?
1. What is the medium of the work? Is it 2-
dimensional?
drawing—charcoal on paper
painting—pigment on a prepared surface
print—lithograph, silkscreen, etching
photograph
19. Rackstraw Downes, Under the Off-Ramp from the George Washington Bridge,
2009. Graphite on light blue paper with blue threads, 17 x 36 3/4 in.
30. What is the MEDIUM of the work?
Is it three-dimensional=existing in space?
– Sculpture
• Relief (bas-relief or low-relief)
• Sculpture in the round
• Installation
– Architecture and landscape architecture
• (4th Dimension—time)
– Film
– Video
31. Brief Nod to Subject Matter
DESCRIBE the subject.
What subject is depicted? (Major features only, at
this point it does not need to be too detailed.)
Include the genre if applicable and if you know it.
history painting
portraiture
landscape
still life
are some examples of artistic genres.
32. COMPOSITION
composition: how the various elements of the
work are arranged in relationship to each other
things to look for:
spatial relationships:
– foreground
– middle ground
– background
where is the viewer positioned?
how are the objects or elements ordered?
33. LINE
The literal lines that the artist uses to create
shape, suggest depth, etc. These lines can have
a variety of characteristics, for example; line can
be fine and delicate, or bold and chunky, it can
be fluid or halting, precise or sketchy.
37. COLOR
1. Ask yourself, how important is color in this
work?
2. In some works, color is quite significant; in
others, far less so.
38. Otto Dix
Portrait of the Journalist Sylvia van
Harden
1926
Color is one strong element that
contributes to the sense of disharmony,
confusion and conflict in this picture.
It is not the only element Dix uses to
create that sensation, but it is a
significant one.
39. Otto Dix
Small Self-Portrait
1913
By contrast, color has a less
significant role in this earlier
painting by the same artist.
It is not that color is absent—of
course it isn’t—and it’s not that
color isn’t skillfully handled—
actually, the color here is quite
subtle and fascinating. And perhaps
it is symbolically significant as well:
those burning cheeks in tandem
with all those frosty blues and silvers
seem to indicate a passionate
personality in a cool, even cold
environment.
40. Quick Historical Interlude: LINE and COLOR
• Long history of talking about these two
properties
• Disegno versus colore (in Italy)
• Dessin vs. couleur (in France)
Are considered the two most basic elements of two-
dimensional art
41. LINE • Line/design can mean
several things:
• (It’s clearer if we use a
more direct translation:
design)
• Design could mean:
– A drawing
– A plan to make something
45. So color was thought to be secondary.
Except that some artists defied this rule.
They said, actually paint is what paintings are
made of, and paint is pigment (a color)
suspended in a medium (some sort of binder).
46. Jan van der Straet (Dutch, 1523 – 1604) The Painter's Studio
50. Color was thought to be secondary;
line primary.
But artists hate rules. As soon as you give them
one they will try to break it.
This academic rule “design has priority; it is the
first thing, and the most important thing” was
closely associated with the city of Florence.
So the artists of Venice tried to disprove it.
71. Cy Twombly
Leda and the Swan
1962
oil, pencil and
crayon on canvas
6' 3" x 6' 6 3/4"
72. Texture can be also achieved through literal means, as in Yayoi Kusama’s Narcissus Garden, 2013
73. Try this at home!
• Following are some examples you can use to review.
• Here are the guidelines:
• medium/materials (what is it made of?)
• subject matter/genre (keep very brief for now)
• composition
• line
• color
• shape
• texture
• size
• orientation
REMEMBER, not all of these categories will be applicable to
every work of art. Choose the categories that are most
relevant to the work you are considering.
75. Some artists have characteristic subject matter,
which you can use to help identify them, along
with their style.
76.
77.
78.
79.
80.
81.
82.
83.
84.
85.
86.
87.
88.
89. IN MATTERS OF STYLE…
…nuance is key. You are training your eyes to
detect subtle differences, rather than blatant
ones.
The more fine-grained the differences you can
observe, the better you will have understood
the artist’s style.
“God is in the details.”
Notas del editor
Genre is a structure of expectations that guides the viewer through the work.
In contrast, artists do not usually assume that they reach their viewers in a competitive situation where there is only a moment to grab and hold visual attention.
Typically the expectation is that artists can present more ambiguous visual information, and part of the fun is in discussing and debating how we put that information together.
1000s of example of movie posters
May or may not have seen 1000s of examples of
Familiarity
Also, medium is different and less familiar
Also, requirement of immediate intelligibility isn’t present
Set of techniques
Developed mostly in the writing
Jean August Dominique Ingres
Robert Rauschenberg, Monogram, 1955
The Desperate Man
Date 1844-1845
Medium oil on canvas
Dimensions 45 × 55 cm (17.7 × 21.7 in)