I’m working on a writing question and need an explanation to help me learn.
Choose an artist or artwork produced in the last thirty years to analyze or critique.
Directions: Follow the outline below and discuss the issues listed in the order listed.
We have come full-circle with the topic of aesthetics that was the introduction to this class. I hope that aesthetics have been on your mind all term, and have structured this course to have you exercise and build your analytical skills so that you can interpret any work of art you encounter. This is the skill I most hope you have acquired throughout this term.
In at least 1000 words :
I. Aesthetics
1. Identify your own aesthetic or belief about what art should be.
2. Identify the aesthetic of the artist you have chosen to write about.
3. Discuss any agreement/disagreement between the two.
II. Describe and discuss the appearance of the work.
1. Describe the visual elements and import of the work(s):
- Subject Matter = What is depicted? What does that express to you?
- Color: Different colors can express different things to different people.
- Describe your interpretation of the color in the work you choose.
- Scale = How large/small? What does that express to you?
- Texture, i.e., brushstrokes, smooth surface? What does that express to you?
III. Interpret or explain the meaning or content of the work based upon your analysis.
1. What is the overall message you get from the work?
2. Is it substantive, does it relate to our time, place, world, etc?
IV. What type of art work do you predict will be next?*
*Instructor’s Tip:
Remember to apply the first strategy of interpretation you learned in the first unit, first section of the art historical survey (Found in Andrea’s Overview of Prehistoric Art: materialistic culture usually = realism, i.e. cave paintings
more spirituality in a culture usually = more abstract visual articulation, i.e. Stonehenge).
Apply that strategy to make your prediction about what type of art you see happening next.
