The artwork chosen is Medusa by Audrey Flack

What is formal analysis? Formal analysis is visual analysis.  A formal analysis statement takes stock of the visual properties of a work of art, or what the eye sees.  The word “formal” is not the opposite of the word “informal;” rather, it comes from the word “form,” which is another word for shape – one of the most important visual traits.

What is a formal analysis not?  First, a formal analysis does not make use of research.  You will not need to find outside materials to help you present the historical or cultural relevance of the work of art.  Second, this type of analysis does not take into account viewer response.  Judgments such as “it makes me feel…,” or “I like/dislike the object because…,” although an important component of the total experience of art, are not appropriate for this particular assignment.  Last, a formal analysis is not an interpretive essay.  It is not the place to read iconography for deeper meaning or to explore what the artist was intending or meaning when he or she created the piece. 

Instructions:

1) Choose an artwork to write about.  The easiest artworks to discuss in a formal analysis statement are not necessarily the ones that you like best, but the ones that make clear use of the kinds of topics listed below.

2) Make observations about the piece you want to analyze and choose three topics from the list below.  For example, you might choose 1) color, 2) line, and 3) shape. Or, you may choose three aspects of one topic such as texture:  1) smooth texture, 2) bumpy texture, and 3) scratchy texture.  You may also choose to write about two aspects of one topic—for example, color:  1) warm colors, 2) cool colors, and a third completely separate topic such as 3) iconography.  In all cases you will have three topics, each of which will form one paragraph.  Your final essay will consist of these three body paragraphs, plus an introductory paragraph and a concluding paragraph.

Topics list:

· Color (red, blue, green, etc.; primary/secondary/ tertiary colors; neutral colors; earth tones;        dark colors; light colors;  bright colors; dull colors, etc.)

· Shape (square, circle, rectangle, organic or natural-looking shapes, angular shapes, etc.)

· Volume (sphere, ovoid, pyramid, cylinder, etc.)

· Composition (how forms and shapes are laid out and relate to each other)

· Materials used (paint, paper, canvas, stone, papiermache, wood, ink, etc.)

· Iconography, or what is portrayed (sailboats, trees, people, abstract shapes, etc.)

· Depth, if any, and method of creating depth (overlapping shapes, orthogonals pointing back          into space, brighter colors in the foreground and paler colors in the distance, etc.)

· Light source (sun, lamp, candle, fireplace, no light source, etc.)

· Light direction (from left, right, top, bottom, or from outside the work of art)

· Texture (actual or the illusion of texture; rough smooth, silky, soft, bumpy, grainy, sinewy, etc.)

· Lines (implied, contour, curving, angular, thick, thin, flowing, jagged, disconnected, wavy,            dotted, etc.)

· Gestalt effects (how our brain connects areas to create overall shapes or lines)

· Repetition (motifs, forms, shapes, or iconographical elements, that appear three or more times)

· Medium (painting, sculpture, drawing, weaving, photography, mixed-media, etc.)

· Overall shape and size of the entire piece

3) Use five-paragraph essay format to write your statement.  The first paragraph will be an introduction with a thesis statement positioned as the last sentence of the paragraph. (See examples.) The second through fourth paragraphs should begin with a transition sentence and should discuss, in the order mentioned in your thesis, the three topics you indicate. The fifth paragraph will be the conclusion.  Underline the thesis statement and the three transition sentences before submitting your statement. 

4) If written correctly, the thesis and transitions, if strung together separately, will read as a grammatically correct paragraph of its own.  If incorrect, it will sound like a jumble.

Sample correct thesis (the last sentence of the first paragraph):

This essay discusses iconography, shapes, and light source in Amy Donnelly’s painting Five Stories Up (2012).  

**NOTE: It is correct form tounderlineor italicizetitles of artworks at all points—never put them in quote marks—and to list the date, in parentheses, the first time that you mention a title. 

5) If you use any information from the walltext or gallery book about the artist or the work of artin the introduction to your essay (nowhere else is appropriate), be sure to credit the source in parentheses. For example: (artist’s statement, gallery book) or (walltext).  Remember that outside information should not be a part of the thesis statement or body of your  essay.   You are only to discuss what you see.