arts 1301 formal analysis assignment

Formal Analysis Assignment

This assignment requires you to apply what you have learned from Chapters 1 and 2 to the real world. To appreciate art, you have to see it around you!

You will demonstrate your mastery of course content by finding works of different media and displaying the requested formal element or principle of design. You will also explain how the object exhibits the medium, formal element, and principle of design, pointing to specific locations within the example to describe the medium, formal element, or principle of design. Choose your examples carefully, as your grade depends on the quality of your selection and justification.

You may not use more than 1 image from the textbook or the slides on Blackboard.

ASSIGNMENT RUBRIC

Each example you select and describe will be graded as follows:

Unsatisfactory:

No Image - 0 points

Missing all or most identifying information. - 0-1 point

Provides little or no description of how the medium, formal element, and principle of composition are used; descriptions incorrect. - 1-2 points

Points to no specific locations within the example as evidence. - .5 point

At least 100 words - .5 point

Total 3-4 points

Satisfactory:

Image not correctly scaled - .5 point

Provides most identifying information, some missing. - 1.5 points

Provides some description of how the medium, formal element, and principle of composition are used, much missing or incorrect. - 3 points

Points to few specific locations within the example as evidence. - 1.5 points

At least 100 words - .5 point

Total 7 points

Good:

Has image - 1 point

Provides title, source, medium, formal element, principle of composition. - 2 points

Describes mostly correctly how the medium, formal element, and principle of composition are used - 4 points

Points to some specific locations within the example as evidence. - 2 points

At least 100 words - .5 point

Total 9 points

Excellent:

Has image - 1 point

Provides title, source, medium, formal element, principle of composition. - 2 points

Correctly describes how the medium, formal element, and principle of composition are used - 5 point

Points to several specific locations within the example as evidence. - 2 points

At least 100 words - .5 point

Total 10 points

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Use Museum collections you find on the internet, or things in your environment, to find 10 works of art that meet the following criteria.

Suggestions for museum collections:

· National Gallery of Art (Washington, DC)

· National Gallery of Art London

· Metropolitan Museum of Art

· Dallas Museum of Art

· Kimbell Art Museum

· Museum of Modern Art (MOMA)

· Chicago Institute of Art

· Museo del Prado

· Louvre

2. Each object must have at least one characteristic from each of the categories: media, formal elements, principles of composition. For example, you can select an oil painting that uses linear perspective and symmetrical balance.

Rules: You may not use a MEDIUM or FORMAL ELEMENT or PRINCIPLE more than once. Your goal is to demonstrate that you understand the array of media, formal elements, and principles of composition.

Do NOT repeat information.

Do NOT use more than one of each per question.

Media, Formal Elements, and Principles of Composition choices

Media	Formal Elements	Principles of Composition
• dry medium drawing • wet medium drawing • relief print • intaglio print • oil or acrylic painting • fresco • watercolor painting • fabric (textiles) • freestanding sculpture • relief sculpture • installation or site-specific sculpture • additive process sculpture • photography • mixed media assemblage	• implied line • communicative line • directional line • contour line • cross-hatching • shading/modeling • complementary colors • analogous colors • monochromatic colors • tactile texture • visual texture • natural pattern • geometric pattern • mass • volume • linear perspective • atmospheric perspective • space/depth • motion • time	• symmetrical balance • asymmetrical balance • radial balance • regular rhythm • alternating rhythm • proportion • scale • hierarchical scale • broad emphasis • focus • subordination • unity • variety

3. Save an image of the object, record its title and source (website URL or location in your environment if you took the picture).

4. Paste your examples into the spaces provided below. Resize the image if necessary. – NOTE: If your images are too large, the document will NOT upload to Blackboard. Resize the image so that it is no more than 2 1/2 inches wide!

5. Provide the title and image source. Identify the medium, formal element, and principle of composition used.

6. Compose your explanation using professional writing style and describing how the medium, formal element, and principle of composition are used. Point to specific places in the example where the medium, formal element, and principle of composition are visible and explain what you see. This is the evidence for your description.

7. Proofread for errors and to insure completion.

8. Submit by the deadline.

Object IMAGE	Answer
	Title of object: Mariano Fortuny, Idyll, 1868. Source: Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, Spain Medium: Watercolor, Gouache / tempera on paper Formal Element: volume Principle of Composition: proportion Explanation (minimum 100 words): This watercolor offers a profile view of a child playing an instrument while sitting on a stone architectural fragment. The goat below him, his nudity, and his messy hair suggests that we see a mythological creature, a young faun. In this case, the rich colors and careful modeling of the forms cause the watercolor to look similar to an oil on canvas painting. Gathered into the center, the faun, the stone fragment, and the goat appear solid and clearly show that they take up volume within the rural space. The plants growing around them, created with thin lines, appear less solid and, while taking up space, have an open volume. The proportions of the objects seem natural. The smaller size of the human figure compared to the stone and the goat allow us to see him as a child rather than as a too-small adult.
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