analysis art work

Assignment Instructions

Goals and Objectives:

To examine the grammar or "the language of art and architecture," and how these visual elements and principles communicate ideas and emotions through the visual information contained within images, based on the works of art presented in Chapter 2.

Reading:

Carefully read Chapter 2, paying close attention to the works of art used as examples of the concepts covered in the chapter.

Assignment Instructions:

Note: This assignment requires a list format. Review the example in your Course Outline as a clear illustration of the formatting and depth of content required.

Choose two of the following concepts covered in this chapter to use as your titles for each of the two analyses required for this chapter. Each analysis must address a specific, different concept and students must demonstrate understanding of how their selected works of art clearly illustrate the chosen specific concepts, repeated before each of the analysis as required:

• The Language of Art and Architecture, the ideas being conveyed to viewers, can be deciphered by the use of the formal elements and design principles.

• The basic vocabulary of visual art representations, including both two- and three-dimensional pieces, are the art elements and design principles.

• We can learn about the language of art and architecture by defining their visual elements and the design principles of their arrangement in composition.

You must repeat the topic or specific concept assigned at the beginning of each of your analyses.

Use the grading rubric provided for this assignment as your guidelines and review the Exemplary Student Examples (if applicable) in order to develop an in-depth response and to earn the most points possible for your efforts.

The titles of all works of art of must be in italics or quotation marks. Give the title of the artwork and either the artist's name or the name of the culture in which the art was produced if there is no artist name. Information about each image in our textbook can be found in the credit lines next to the images in the textbook.

Using your own words, choose two different works of art from Chapter 2 and explain how and where each of the five art elements (Line, Color, Shape, Texture, and Space) and the six principles of design (Balance (symmetrical, asymmetrical), Proportion, Emphasis, Time, Motion, Rhythm, and Scale).

Then explain how each of these 12 terms is used by the artists to convey meaning to viewers, how they function within each artwork. Make sure you use the same list formatting illustrated in the Exemplary Student Examples in order to earn full credit.

Important Notice: You must explain how at least one of the art terms, which you explained in your Chapter 2 assignment, functions within and is used by the artist/s to help convey meaning to the viewer in each future analysis, in order to earn full credit.

Note: Students must underline the specific term/s used in each analysis, in all future analyses.

A "Personal Responses" paragraph should follow each analysis, where you express your personal reactions to, perceptions of, and insights into each selected work of art. Answer the questions, for example:

• How does the work make you feel?

• What are you reminded of?

• What do you think were the intentions of the artist/s?

• What value is the work to viewers?

Additional Instructor Notes:

Communication often means the use of oral and written language. However, people also use other languages to communicate their ideas. These include the languages of numbers and music, as well as the language of Art! Like dance or music, the language of art is composed of elements arranged into a structure so it can make sense to observers. In this chapter, we will examine those elements and the principles by which they are composed, structured, or organized into works of art.

GRADING CRITERIA/RUBRIC FOR WRITTEN CHAPTER ASSIGNMENT:

22.5 points - Student's response illustrates in his/her own words in-depth comprehension and synthesis of the each of the 12 specific assigned terms for the chapter assignment.

10 points - Student's assignment is word-processed or legibly hand-written using his/her own words, correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation, with all titles placed in italics or quotation marks.

10 points - Student explained where and how each of the 12 assigned terms are used to convey meaning to viewers.

10 points - Student described specific details, both obvious and subtle, from within each work to support his/her explanations/analyses.

12.5 points - Student expressed, in one separate paragraph labeled Personal Comments, his/her in-depth personal responses, perceptions, insights, or reactions to the ideas embodied in each works.

TOTAL: 65 points

Assignments with excessive spelling, grammar, or punctuation errors will receive zero points and will not be handed back for revision. Students earn zero points for copying or rearranging (plagiarizing) the textbook or any authors' words (phrases, adjectives, etc.) and, at the instructor's discretion, an "F" for the course.

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Example

Chapter 2 Example: The Language of Art

You may not use this artwork for any of your analysis or anywhere in the course assignments.

CONCEPT: The LANGUAGE of ART and ARCHITECTURE, the ideas being conveyed to viewers, can be deciphered by the use of the FORMAL ART ELEMENST and DESIGN PRINCIPLES.

That Profile by Martin Puryear 1997-1999. Fig. 219, page 36

Lines - There are many different types of lines throughout this work of art. The contour lines give the main object height and definition while the cross-contour lines create the volume of the 3 dimensional object. The sculpture contains vertical, horizontal and curved lines. The background of the picture contains both biomorphic and organic lines giving shape to the hills, homes and plants in the background.

Color - While the main focus of this work of art, the sculpture, is constructed of stainless steel and bronze its outdoor setting allows nature to dictate the hue, value and saturation of the color based on the time of day and weather conditions. The intensity of the color would also be controlled by the surroundings of the sculpture. The background would see a change in the color scale based on the changing of the seasons. The color of this piece would change, depending on the light and time of day.

Texture - The tactile texture of the sculpture is smooth while the visual texture contains aspects of both smooth and rough surfaces. The smooth surfaces include the sculpture and the concrete base that it is sitting on. The rough surfaces would be the wall in the background, the plant life and the homes. The sculpture also allows the viewer to apply invented textures as well.

Shape - There are many regular, irregular and organic shapes contained in this artwork. The sculpture itself contains both regular and irregular shapes in the circles, squares, and oddly shaped combination of the rounded and squared sides of the framing. The plants and homes in the background along with the hills allow for organic shapes.

Space - This three-dimensional sculpture occupied REAL SPACE and large enough to encompass and involve the surrounding landscape. The photographic image of this piece has a background containing atmospheric perspective, as the sky appears fuzzy and further away. Space surrounds this 'walk round' piece so the actual experience of the space changes as you walk around and through it.

Balance - The balance of this artwork would be asymmetrical. While the main focus, the sculpture, is placed in the center of the photograph, its overall organic, thumb-like shape would not be evenly split if divided by a central line.

Proportion - In the photograph, the largest in proportion is the sculpture with the homes and hills in the background being a lot smaller and taking up far less visual space. Within the sculpture itself, the thin lines of steel are small in proportion to the overall size of the piece. In reality the homes in the background and very possibly the hills would be much larger than that of the sculpture. Proportionately, the bottom of this sculpture is smaller than the top.

Emphasis - The emphasis in the photograph of this piece is the sculpture because it is occupying more visual space and the background of the image is distorted to bring the focus back to the sculpture. The unusual shape and reflective nature of stainless steel and bronze materials used to make the sculpture allows it to become the focus, with the ability to reflect all the colors from the light and surrounding area.

Time - It takes some time to take in this large-scale, larger than life three-dimensional piece. The use of stainless steel makes this piece more contemporary, as opposed to the bronze used in more historical sculptures.

Motion - There is an implied movement and time based on the angle of the sun in this image. As the sun continues to rise it will change the view of the image and colors and shadows that surround the image and sculpture. More importantly, the use of repeated LINES and circular SHAPES, in addition to the repeated use of the steel material with its smooth TEXTURE, creates the illusion of rising up out of the ground.

Rhythm - The horizontal rings and vertical lines of the sculpture as well as the brick create a regular rhythm while all the other elements in the background create an irregular rhythm with all the homes being located to the left of the image and nothing but hills and plants being located to the right.

Scale - The scale of the sculpture in this image is large scale as it appears to be much larger than the homes in the background. The dimensions are 540 "X 360" X 136" making it large scale compared to human beings. While the sculpture would be large in human scale in contrast the images in the background would be much larger than the sculpture with the exception of the plant life.

Personal Response:

I chose this work of art because it allows the viewer to see the sculpture in any way that they want to see it. With the changing of the lighting, colors of the plant life and rest of the nature around it the sculpture can take on many different forms. This work of art plays to the child that still lives in all of us. With a little creativity and imagination you can be on a sailboat in the sea or anything else that your heart so desires. I feel that this work of art gives the viewer full control to see what they want to see without having someone dictate to them what they need to see and what is beautiful.