Author: David Yuen

Unit summary

 

In this unit, we learned about how Pablo Freire views the banking model and how to do formal analysis of an art piece. This unit has taught me that the way we are taught is seen as correct by Freire so he would be happy that it is this way, but I disagree with this banking model as it excludes certain types of people and formal analysis is something that can be done to find meaning in an art piece even if it isn’t immediately noticeable.

    Freire says that the banking model is where an audience sits front of an individual and learns from the said individual. The single teacher is water pitcher of knowledge pouring water into the students like little cups. This only works in theory because people are not cups to pour water in. The only action for the students is to be passively accepting the knowledge and the teacher actively gives it, giving him the dominant role. It limits the chance to engage with and understand the knowledge. I honestly have forgotten many things that my past classes have taught me because they were only telling me to remember, so I did. The reason why we remember other basic skills like language and manners is that we engage with it in our daily lives

    Formal analysis has you looking at specific traits. These traits are color, line, space, mass, and scale. You can even look at something that looks like trash by using formal analysis, make a case for it being art because all art is subject. An example we can look at is a crumpled up piece of paper on the floor. What is the color of the crumpled paper? Was it colored before it was crumpled up? How complex was the coloring? Was it just a white unaltered paper before the crumple? All of this can possible mean something. Lines might be a bit more difficult to see in the crumpled paper, but it’s possible. How was it crumpled? Was it compressed as hard as possible being more ball like, making lines harder to see? Was it it lightly compresses giving it more define jagged lines that stick out? Was it folded part way but crumpled at the end making it less ball like but more square like? Does the silhouette look like something specific? This can be infused with meaning.

    Space indicate whether the image conveys a sense of 3D space. It is already 3D so I can’t apply it because it is already 3D. Unless it is an actual sketching that looks hyper realistic. Mass is the space created by the art piece. I can apply this nor easily. Mass can be conveyed to the crumpled paper based on its environment. Is it surrounded by a lot of smaller items like paper clips and pins? Is it surrounded by crowds of people, giving the paper a sense of insignificance? Scale is the presentation of size portrayed in the work or in relation to the viewer. Is the crumpled piece of paper comically huge, towering over people? Or is it comically small dwarfing insects? This huge size can reference the power of trash and the destruction it causes and the small size can be the opposite. All of this is mere deep speculation of a crumpled paper. Some may ask, why did you waste all that time? I would say, “it is for the sake of art, because everything is potentially art”.

 

Comment on Javier Vazquez Morales blog post

Like in my post, Morales post explains formal analysis and its components which are the color, line, space, and etc. We also agreed on the the function of formal analysis which is to try to understand the artists intentions and what they want to convey in their piece. What he did differently compared to me was including an explanation of contextual analysis too. Morales explains that contextual analysis is to use external resources to understand the art piece. And he explain that using them formal and contextual analysis together can help when you are confused or want a deeper look at it historically.

Blog Post 4: Formal analysis

Formal analysis is basically to look at a work of art and trying to understand what the artist wishes to convey visually. And even after analyzing it, it will most likely not what the artist wants to convey because the viewer would interpret it based on who they are. As a person living in a certain place and time with their own experiences. Formal analysis looks at certain basic traits in an artwork. They are color, line, space, mass and scale.

To analyze color, you first look at the particular colors of the piece. You also look at the characteristics of each color used, like the saturation or the shade. Maybe the specific colors are referring to a event, action, or concept. Some examples are if a piece is predominantly white, it can stand for purity, or it could also mean the blinding light of a rising sun. When looking at lines, we are looking for how a the lines are formed. Are they emphasizing light and dark, is the line contour strong and continuous, fuzzy and soft. Are they broken up into many pieces to give you a lack of shape? How complex or simple is the silhouette?

Space indicates whether an image conveys a sense of three dimensional space. Is the artwork create a sense of depth it’s landscape or setting, like you can walk inside of it? Or is it lacking in depth, like a brick wall? Mass is the space created by the artwork. Meaning the artwork conveys a sense of weight or volume. For example, the work may be showing an extreme close up of an eye, making it seem like an giant is looking right through. Scale is also important. You consider the presentation of size portrayed in the work or in relation to the viewer. Does the size mean anything. Some examples are large statues representation their importance, or a large paintings to make it feel like you are in the work. The term composition is how an artist puts all of these elements together in their piece.

You may never understand what the artist wants to convey fully, and you may have the completely wrong idea even after formal analysis. But it help you understand that an art piece is deeper than it really looks and it is beyond just a thing someone made. And one of arts main purpose is for you to interpret and ponder what the art is really trying to get at.