Visual Arts and Film Studies

Project description
Choose a work of art in from an area museum (this should not be the work you discussed for the first paper). Using the formal analysis skills developed in your first assignment as a point of departure, expand your analysis with outside research to include a discussion of the historical and/or cultural context of the work. In order to situate the work, you will need to provide supporting evidence from secondary sources as well as primary sources (other works of art, sketches, letters from the artist, contemporary periodicals, etc.) Your paper should make an argument about how visual forms identified through formal analysis are related to the historically-specific context of the artwork. Possible avenues of exploration might include: the making of the work, the reception of the work, its place within the artist’s oeuvre, its function, its meaning, its relationship to tradition, its relationship to previous or contemporary works, its significance for later generations, etc. Do not discuss the same painting that you chose for the first assignment; instead, you should use the skills that you learned from the first exercise and apply them to a fresh work of art.
Visit an institution that exhibits art (a museum or gallery) or consider a work of public art.
You might wish to visit: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Cloisters, The Brooklyn Museum, or The Frick Collection.
In a clear, logically argued essay, of 3 pages (double-spaced) in length, undertake a formal analysis of a single artwork (or various similar or serial works) and consider the ways in which the artwork(s) and surroundings function in tandem (if appropriate). Make sure to create a thesis and a title for your essay. You do not need to undertake outside research. Generally, attempt to support your assertions with visual evidence.
*Though content is privileged over form in grading the essay, both do count. Be sure to proofread and consider organization as well.*
Please include an image of the work you selected; this could be a photo taken by you (if you are able) or an image from the museum’s website. If neither is possible, note the accession number.
Below are some questions that you might wish to address in your analysis of an art work. Not all questions/terms will apply to all objects, and the objects themselves may suggest further questions not listed here. During the museum visit it behooves you to answer as many as possible when taking notes.
Do not just use the lists as templates.
After answering the questions try to develop an argument (What is the artist attempting to achieve? How do the forms suggest meaning?) based on your answers –you may not end up using all of the data you acquired when viewing the work.Be judicious about what you include.

I. Factual Information
Identification: title, date, artist (if known), medium, museum location, usually this information is provided by the museum label.
Subject Matter: Biblical, mythological, historical, genre, portrait, investigation of “pure” colors or forms, etc.

II. Formal Analysis: Sculpture
A. Material and Technical Means: Is the sculpture carved out of wood, stone, marble, cast in bronze, modeled in terracotta? Are there visible traces of the tools used in carving or modeling the object?
B. Scale: Is the object imposing in size, or small enough to fit into the palm of a hand? How do you relate to it now? How could it have been used?
C. Space: To what degree does the object occupy space? Is the work a relief that creates its own illusion of space within it? Is recession into depth or projection into the beholder’s space suggested? Is it meant to be seen from a particular viewpoint?
D. Color: Is color a part of the object (by means of paint, inlaid gems, beads, etc.)? Is the color of the material itself of significance?
E. Sculpture Type: Is it low relief, high relief, a freestanding figure, a group of figures, a mask, a combination?
F. Line: How is line used in the object? Are the dominant linear elements seen in the forms themselves, or are they incised onto the surface of the forms?
G. Light: What is the effect of light upon the work? Are the forms arranged so that a particular effect of light and shade will be attained?
H. Form: What kind of forms are basic to the object? Geometric?Organic?Irregular?
I. Overall Composition: How do the above elements, forms, interact to convey an overall meaning?
III. Formal Analysis: Drawing and Painting
A. Line: How does the system of lines and outlines relate to each other? To the whole image? What is their overall effect?
B. Surface Planes: What is the decorative quality of the two-dimensional organization? Symmetry or asymmetry of forms on the surface?
C. Space: How is the illusion of space created? Or is it denied? Consider perspective, overlapping, foreshortening, or their absence.
D. Color: Describe the organization and function of color in the work. Is it representational or expressive?
E. Light: Can you discern the source of light in the image? In what direction does light fall into the picture? What is the intensity of light and shade? Does light play a dramatic or expressive role as well as descriptive?
F. Paint Handling: Are brushstrokes visible and bold, or imperceptible with a smooth polished surface? Is the paint opaque or transparent? How does it contribute to the meaning of the work? Is paint applied thinly or thickly? (Thickly applied oil paint is often called impasto.) Are brushstrokes visible? Is the paint surface smooth or rough?
G. Figure/Ground relations: In the broadest sense, most pictures can be analyzed in terms of how they relate figure to ground. The figure is that which appears to stand out from the ground behind it. For example, a black circle drawn on a white sheet of paper can appear like a circle hovering in front of a white background. This relation can create a sense of depth and spatial recession in the picture. In looking at a work, consider whether the figure/ground relation is clear, whether it is ambiguous, or perhaps non-existent.
H. Picture Organization: This is traditionally known as composition. Consider the work in its totality. Do the formal elements (lines, colors, planes) form a visual whole? How would you describe this total effect? Is it symmetrical? Does one area of the picture seem to dominate the rest? Where? Does the picture appear structured or unstructured? Is the organization of the painting derived from the boundaries of the picture frame (a deductive structure)?
IV. Questions to consider relating to the institution in general(good to consider, probably not necessary to incorporate in most papers):
How do you know the object is a work of art? How did the object come to be displayed in the gallery? How does the museum affect the work’s meaning? How has the shift into the gallery impacted the function of the work? What type of information accompanies objects? Do all objects receive the same attention or treatment (i.e. Are some works more prominently displayed?)? How are objects organized? How do visitors learn about the works in the gallery space? How does signage function? How are texts deployed in the gallery? Are these just found on the walls? Are there brochures? Are visitors provided with maps? What type of information might be found on these? What is the role of the guards? Do they provide information as well as security? How is the museum’s collection organized? What types of services are available for visitors? Who does the museum seem to be targeting as an audience? Describe the architectural frame (consider color, for instance). How does the architecture impact the artwork? How are visitors affected by architecture? Are visitors shepherded in certain directions? How is the work lit? Where is it mounted/situated (on the wall, in a vitrine, on a plinth, directly on the floor)?

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