In Unit 1 of my art history class I have learned many things about art, such as what it is and how it is viewed through formal analysis and critical pedagogy. Art is an expression that comes in all different shapes and sizes, such as musical arts, performing arts, and etc. Art can also be found in fields like Science, Math, and English. Art is a creative platform for people to express their feelings and emotions in a piece of work. Art is a way for me to express myself and interact with other artists about how they feel about a certain piece. Some people are inspired by certain art pieces while people like myself look at art as a way to escape boredom.
Formal Analysis is a way to specifically describe a piece of art work. It is a representation of how a piece of art is viewed. The viewer evaluates the piece of art through a series of questions such as how the piece came to be, who or what it portrays, when the piece was created, and etc. There are multiple characteristics used when the viewer uses formal analysis to describe and explain a piece of art. Characteristics such as contrast, size/scale, line, color, position, composition, material, illusionism, mimesis, modelling, chiaro/scuro, and depth. The main reason formal analysis is used when evaluating and describing a piece of art is to show the central focus, what is most important about a piece of work, and for the artist to express the painting, drawing or etc. by showing the viewer instead of telling the viewer what goes on in the piece of work. When we say formal analysis it basically means evaluating what the artist left us to view and how this work came to be, historically and physically throughout time. With formal analysis we can conclude what the artist has done based on their piece of work and how that brush stroke or whatever it may be represents what we see and not what we know.
Paulo Freire was a Brazilian educator and philosopher that used the term “banking model” to describe and critique the traditional educational system. According to Freire, it is a method of educating where an educator teaches a student and the student must retain that knowledge, for example, the students are empty containers that need to be filled with the knowledge from the educators. This method allows educators to be empowered because they are the ones who can differentiate right from wrong and their teachings are passed down to the students. Meanwhile, the students are the ones that are dis-empowered, due to the lack of freedom of expression and creativity towards these teachings, and being forced to only accept the information given to them by the educator. This comes out of the students expense since they are not able to express themselves through questioning and creativity, while they are only being filled with information from the educator temporarily and will soon forget the teachings once the course is complete.
What I have learned from Unit 1 so far is the basics of art, how it was created and noticed as art. I have learned many ways to evaluate art by including various components to view it from different perspectives. When artists create a piece of artwork it is for the viewer to determine and discover what the story of that piece of art is and the meaning behind it. Through Unit 1 I have learned to look at art differently than how I used to, by using formal analysis it has taught me to look at the pieces of art with a different perspective.
Category: 930 Class-Unit 1 Summary
Unit 1 Summary
Throughout unit one of art, we talked about the introduction and the basics of art. We started off with the banking model. The idea that education is an act of depositing, in which the students are the depositories and the teacher is the depositor is very much a true concept today. The teacher lectures and makes deposits and the students’ extent of learning is receiving and memorizing in order to get a decent grade. Therefore, thinking and creativity declines, and we simply become depositories for information without analyzing and discussing the data we are given. This is “banking” design of education, where all the students extend only as far as receiving, filing, and storing the deposits. This topic was significant to me because I aligned with what Paolo Friere discussed in “The Banking Model” because I experienced it first hand in high school and thought it was a horrible method of learning. I enjoyed the realization that this is a universal issue and not something that I alone disagree with.
Another topic I learned and internalized in class was the concept of formal analysis. I believe this is an integral part of understanding art. By using formal analysis, you are describing what is depicted in art not by simply looking at a structure or painting, but by interpreting and evaluating it. You would not understand the true meaning of what the artist is representing in his artwork if not for formal analysis. This idea is important to me because now I see art differently, and it makes me appreciate and understand it more.
In class, we used this to analyze paintings like the “Venus of Urbino” and the “Olympia.” We started off by looking at line, color, and focus. The lines on the woman’s body in “Venus of Urbino” are soft with dark outlines. The main color theme is red and brown. The background consists of vertical lines, which give the illusion of distance, making you notice the nude woman in the foreground of the painting. Before learning about analysis, I would have never looked at any of these components of the painting. I would have looked for a few seconds and moved on. However, all these components are the artist’s choice. Everything is intentional, and no detail is insignificant or not worth mentioning. In one of the readings we were given, the author used formal analysis for an ad for Dior handbags. The ad shows a well-dressed, pretty, and young woman holding the handbag. The background shows many large buildings in an upper-class neighborhood. The fact that they used a famous, gorgeous young woman in an area that looks quite rich makes the bag quite appealing. After seeing that not only art pieces can be analyzed, but everything around us can, I changed the way I look at the art in my environment.
Formal analysis and the “banking model” are two things we learned this semester that I really internalized. The “banking model” is very relevant to my life because it is something that I went through, so it’s a concept I am able to connect to. Formal analysis has given me a newfound appreciation of art and has shown me that all different components of art are connected and come together to portray the artist’s message.
What I Have Learned Thus Far…
Unit One of Art 1010 consisted of learning about the famous philosopher, Paulo Freire, and his book Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Specifically focusing on the concept of the baking model, which is a metaphorical take on our education system. In this unit, we also familiarized ourselves with the concept of formal analysis. We learned to look beyond the artwork and try to understand what the artist wanted to convey visually by analyzing certain characteristics of the piece and decisions made by the artist.
Both of these concepts go hand in hand when learning about art history or art in general. The banking model stresses that students should be able to have the freedom to think creatively, and in an art class, it’s essential for a student to use all of their creative energy to better understand a piece of artwork. Freire explains the issue regarding our current education system by saying that teachers act as narrators and deposit information into students, while students act as depositories, memorizing the information that is given to them. Through this teaching method there is very little room for any student to think outside of the box and if they do their thoughts and ideas are considered wrong. Freire goes on to explain that, “knowledge is a gift bestowed by those who consider themselves knowledgeable upon those whom they consider to know nothing” (Freire 72). In a classroom, there should be mutual respect between a teacher and the student in the sense of the knowledge they both bring about the subject. I think what is special in an art classroom specifically is that students’ have complete freedom when creating their own interpretations, and it won’t be considered “wrong.”
Following the banking model, we moved into the territory of formal analysis. During this topic, we learned to look beyond the artwork and a simple description and focus on what the artist wanted to convey visually by analyzing specific characteristics. Elements such as scale, color, line, light, composition, and texture help the viewer’s eye move through the artwork giving them an engaging visual experience. In Titian, Venus of Urbino 1538, one of the paintings we analyzed during class, we talked about how the lines move our eyes from one end of the painting to the other. We start on the nude body of the woman, which is meant to be the center of attention and make our way to the floor or the middle-ground. The diagonal lines of the floor lead us to the background or the window. Another important element in the painting is its colors and the way the artist uses them to portray what is most significant in the painting. The value of the colors in the foreground are brighter than the rest of the painting to show that the woman lying on the bed is the main subject. The texture in the painting helps give a visual sense of how an object depicted would feel in real life and in the case of the Titian, Venus of Urbino 1538 the artist uses the texture of the green velvet fabric to separate the foreground from the background. By using formal analysis, we have the opportunity to look closely at the artwork and try to understand the meaning behind it.
Unit One Summary
When coming into Art 1010 I didn’t know what to expect exactly. It’s officially been a month now, and just recently we finished unit one of the course. Unit one basically served to me as the introduction potion of what the course entailed for the remainder of the semester.
The first item we learned about was the banking model. The banking model is a theory about hie a classroom should be conducted created by Paulo fiere. In his theory he states that in a classroom the flow of information only goes in one direction. that direction being from the teacher to the students. The teacher stand and the front of the classroom allegedly with all the wisdom and power , while all students quietly listen and accept everything as truth. I believe that Although the banking model is generally what is standard in most forms education across the world, it doesn’t allow room for other occurrences that happen while learning takes place. Often times a teacher can be wrong when teaching a subject. Just because they are the ones operating the class, doesn’t mean they have learned everything there is to know about the subject. Secondly, I strongly believe that informations shouldn’t and doesn’t flow one way in a classroom while learning is taking place. I feel, when a teacher stops to receive feedback from the students, they can properly analyze the amount of learning that has taken place and what to teach next. However if Information is only going one way, the teacher is left blind to the actual effectiveness of his or her lesson.
The second thing we learned about in unit one was Formal Analysis. When initially hearing of the concept , I believed formal Analysis to be an impossible skill to grasp. However, After learning more about what it entails I found doing formal analysis much more achievable. You see formal analysis is about describing a piece of art work to the best of your ability. it requires your observational skills to be the best that they can possibly be. When you look at a piece of work you observe the color, lines, shadows… etc, to understand the composition of the work. The most interesting part of formal analysis though is when you uses the details drawn for the composite of the work to guess the message of the creator. Each piece of art work has a message, or even a purpose. The process of formal analysis helps us decipher what that message is and therefore gives us a greater appreciation for the work.
Unit 1 Summary
From Unit 1, I have learned a lot about how art is analyzed and gained the knowledge to ask my own questions when I see a piece of artwork that will help me get a better idea of what the artist was trying to convey. I used to think that art was all abstract, imaginative and ambiguous since only the artist knows the real meaning behind their artwork. However, after learning about formal analysis, I have a newfound respect and perspective on art history and its meaning. I realized that formal analysis is similar to the scientific method, where you pose questions about the artwork in reference to many of the components found. Formal analysis is essentially using your own intuition to answer questions based on visual and physical aspects of an artwork. You also use inferences and contextual evidence (if desired) to come to a conclusion about what message the artist was trying to convey, who was the intended audience, what is the main focus and why, etc. There is also contextual analysis, which is using outside resources to gain a more comprehensive and accurate analysis of the era the art was created, exactly what technique was used or was most likely used, and the economic, social, or personal influences were captured in the essence of the artwork.
In addition, I learned that artwork is a composition of many different factors, including but not limited to, color, line, shape, contrast saturation, dimension, vibrancy, fade, value (lightness vs. darkness of a color), technique, material used, design, and the interaction between the image and text. What I failed to realize that Anne D’Alleva brings up in Look, Formal Analysisis that everyday on a much smaller scale we are using formal analysis in our daily lives with something so persistent and common in our society: advertisements. We try to pick apart what they are trying to sell us, and in doing so we pick up the message trying to be conveyed by the image. Sometimes the image is so powerful that it resonates with us or stays in the back of our head until we see the product in real life and think back to the ad we saw about it, and either we give in to consumerism or we decide against it. Commercials are also something we use formal analysis to decipher sometimes, and it is such a booming business. Think about those rare commercials we watch during the Super Bowl, where large corporations pay a large sum of money for a few seconds of your attention. This proves how powerful visual images can be; they are enough affect human thoughts and behavior.
Unit 1 Summary
Unit 1 was an introduction to the main concepts and components of art which involve methods of learning, ways to characterize and analyze art, and our takes on those works of art. We began the semester by discussing what art meant to us, and how it is part of our lives. I believe art is used to define the creative world around us. For something to be considered “art”, it doesn’t have to be in a museum, nor does it have to be a painting. To me, art can be anything from a film, to a photograph, to graffiti on the walls of New York. If people are able to attach meaning and relate to a creative piece, then it is considered art. Art is also a large part of my life because I love to do photography. I began photography when I was 16 and used a small point and shoot camera. It wasn’t until I began getting more interested in photography that I bought myself an actual DSLR, and began to teach myself how to use it and how to edit. Though I am a little busier now with school, work, and other activities, I still try to go shooting with friends at least twice a week.
We also studied Paulo Friere’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed. In this, Friere discusses how the “banking model” is a form of teaching in which the teacher or educator is only there to feed knowledge to the students, and the students are only there to receive knowledge. It is a one way relationship that empowers the teacher, disempowers the student, and prevents critical and creative thinking. Friere argues that there needs to a balance between the teacher teaching the students, and the students interacting with the teacher. Friere’s “banking model” was also applied to our personal lives with teachers that we’ve had in the past, and how their use of the banking model ended up causing harm to our learning.
Additionally, we discussed formal analysis and how it is used to identify and examine works of art. Through formal analysis, the observer tries to understand the underlying meaning that the artist may have intended for the work of art to have. Some components include color, size and scale, lines, and symbolism. When looking at color, you must pay attention to the types of color schemes and the range used. You must identify whether they are light or dark colors, and whether the colors contrast with one other. When looking at size and scale, you must observe where any subjects or objects in the work are positioned. You also need to note the size of the objects. For example, noting whether the main subject is the largest thing in the work, or if there are things larger than the subject. Lines are a way of identifying the techniques an artist used in a painting. Some parts of a painting may have been painted using stronger strokes or different types of strokes than other parts of a painting. Symbolism is a strong component of formal analysis because it moves away from the physical aspects, and allows the observer to understand what the artist intended on saying, without actually saying it. By inserting specific colors, shapes, or objects, the artist can convey a certain emotion, reaction, or thought without having to write or say anything.
Summary of Unit One
Unit 1 of Art 1010 this semester has been enlightening for me. I learned about 2 interesting concepts/topics, which include the concepts of critical pedagogy & formal analysis. Firstly, critical pedagogy has to do with Paulo Freire’s book known as “Pedagogy of the Oppressed.” In this book, Freire came up with the concept known as The Banking Model. The “Banking Model” touches upon the relationship of students and teachers, specifically how students learn and teachers teach in a classroom. The role of students in a classroom is to remember the information their teacher gives them. The students just take in the information that’s given to them and memorize it for the exam. The “Banking Model” is prevalent and it stops students from developing certain skills that make them critical thinkers. It doesn’t give students a chance to say their opinion or to bring out their creativity, but to just absorb the information the teacher teaches in a classroom. This leads to the disempowerment of students and empowerment of teachers at the expense of students.
Secondly, formal analysis is describing visually and emphasizing the formal elements of an art piece. Formal analysis affects what the art piece represents. The ‘how’ and ‘why’ when it comes to art include interpretations on visual evidence which come from formal analysis. Formal analysis is a RE/presentation when it comes to analyzing the formal elements of the art piece. The properties of formal analysis include line composition, texture, color, size/scale, modeling (chiaro/scuro- illusionism), material, contrast, position, mimesis, etc. All of these elements bring out the meaning and evaluation of the art work. All components are the artist’s choices, everything is intentional & no detail is insignificant. The question that formal analysis answers is “What do you see in this piece of art?“ In class, we formally analyzed the art piece of Titan, Venus of Urbino (1538). Some observations we included were the lines (soft lines on woman’s body), dark outlines, and color (red/ brown).
Formal analysis helped teach me that art pieces have deeper meanings and every little detail in the piece counts. Now, when I will go to a museum, I will have a different outlook than I did and I will be able to approach the art pieces I see in a proper manner. I’ll take all the concepts of formal analysis and it will help me figure out the meaning of the artwork displayed in front of me. Every little detail in an art piece has a reason as to why it’s there and I will make sure to take that into consideration.
In addition, learning about the banking model mattered to me because I was able to relate to it because that’s what I went through in high school. I don’t feel like my high school experience led me to become a critical thinker. Instead, college is what helped, through the amazing professors I had and have. I am more encouraged in college to voice my opinion because of the discussions in class. In high school, most topics were censored because I went to Jewish school and some teachers were closed-minded. In Brooklyn College, thus far, I never experienced the banking model. My college experience has helped me become the critical thinker I am today and helps me be more creative in the way I think because of the open-mindedness.
I enjoyed learning these concepts in unit one and I can’t wait to see what equally better or better concepts unit 2 has in store!
Unit 1 Summary
ART 1010
Ilya Panov
Unit 1 showed me that art is in everyday life and not just limited to a beautiful renaissance paintings. Art is an expression of an idea or a belief which can be expressed as sculptures, clothing, music, current events,textiles, and so much more. Unit 1 also introduced us to formal analysis. Understanding color, the lines the artist uses, size/scale, medium/material all play a factor in the artist creation. In the Venus or Urbino 1538, the artist Titian use darker color around the main figure in the front drawing your eyes to the model. As well, Titian use lots of horizontal lines to once again draw the viewers eyes to the main focus of the image.
Unit 1 introduced us to ancient art and how to interpret it. Previously taking intro to Renaissance art, I did not think anything was created that was worthy but unit 1 has expanded my horizon of art dating back to the paleolithic age. Discovering Venus of Willendorf, the fertility figure, allowed me to see that art goes back to the old stone age but still there traditions of the fertility figures are introduced into the Neolithic era. As well, I learned that this figures were relatively small, since humans were most nomads and constantly moved this limited to how much they can carry.
Also, The Standard of Ur is another example of tradition of hierarchy dating back to 2600 BC. The Standard of Ur is a direct reflection of their current hierarchy. Broken down into three section, one can clearly see the King and nobles at the top section, the middle class in the second section, and at the bottom consists of the lower class. The Standard of Ur also taught me that everything the artist puts into the image has a meaning. The size of the king is increased by a substantial amount on the top class comparing him to the other nobles or any other figure. Likewise, on the bottom section you can clearly come to the conclusion that this are lower class people since they are carrying supplies with the donkeys.
Unit 1 has changed my perception of art. Giving me the ability to understand art on a deeper level. Unit 1 allowed me to understand the reason for which an artist may have developed a smaller statue or why an artist may have used a certain material even though they may not be reliably available in the area. Why an artist decided to draw some figures large then others or why the artist added animals. Unit 1 ultimately helped me better understand the art and why the artist created a certain way.
Art 1010 Unit 1 Summary
In Unit 1, we were first exposed to Freire’s “banking model”. The banking model is a concept of education and the systematic oppression that the education system delivered onto students for many years. Freire describes this concept as a teacher teaching students a certain way, the right way, on how to think and answer certain problems. Students are essentially empty brains retaining all information that teachers teach. Freire poses solutions to this problem by suggesting a problem posing concept where there would be enhanced dialogue between the student and teacher. This way, students would work together with their teacher to come up with solutions rather than acting as robots and regurgitating answers provided. This method allows students to think freely and independently on whatever it may be. Pedagogy and power has taught me to think freely as our society is in need of character and individuality. I plan on using this lesson to encourage my children in the future to think for themselves as our education system is not changing any time soon.
In succession to pedagogy and power, we were introduced to Formal Analysis. Formal Analysis is visually analyzing a piece of work and trying to identify the subject matter that the artist is trying to convey. Many people, including myself, are accustomed to scanning pictures and moving on. D’Alleva describes this as the habit of “lazy looking”. In today’s society, we are exposed to technology and media at almost every moment of our lives. Our attention spans are becoming shorter, therefore, we can’t help but “lazy look”. In formal analysis, I learned how to analyze a work of art and dissect the meaning and subject matter to fully understand why an artist drew or made a specific piece of art. I learned to use key components such as color and scale in Titian’s Venus of Urbino to see the intentional use of warm colors of red and brown to maybe indicate the style and culture of the Renaissance period. I learned to use space and mass in Goya’s The Third of May 1808 to see how Goya uses mimesis and intentionally creates illusory characteristics that seem very realistic to the audience. Formal analysis can also be used on The Standard of Ur to see how the sizing of kings were larger to emphasize class divisions.
Throughout Unit 1, I learned about thinking freely through pedagogy and power and how to use formal analysis while looking at art. These were very important topics that will impact me in the near future.
Blog Post #5: Unit Summary
Unit one explored the ancient world by using art to understand the importance and significance of a civilization. Before entering the Paleolithic and Neolithic eras, we first scrutinized art and its meaning. Art is many things, but it can be defined as a form of human expression that often is a visual cue and aesthetically composed to create an emotional, social, political, and religious statement. As we discovered in the early classes, to understand an artwork we must understand formal analysis. Formal analysis is best described as using the elements of art to read and understand the story or meaning an artist places onto a canvas. This technique uses, line, color, shape, value (chiaroscuro), texture and space and form, to create empirical questions that help to understand the artwork’s statement.
In the Paleolithic (Old Stone Age) era we spoke mainly about the cave paintings and the Venus of Willendorf (fertility figure). The cave paintings mainly introduced us to not only the first artwork discovered but the idea of sympathetic magic. This can, in fact, be thought of as a religious ritual, which is one of the main themes of this unit. The figurine also is a form of art used to appeal to the fertility deities. This theme is extended into the Neolithic era. In the Neolithic age, society becomes highly stratified into what is commonly known as an agrarian society. The placement of government and administration creates divisions that we commonly know as social classes. This is especially seen in The Standard of Ur, which divides social class into three sections. The 3 sections are placed much like a hierarchy, the king and the priest on top, middle class (rams rather than donkeys) in the middle and slaves/labors on the bottom. The King is the largest figure in work, which is a commonly used technique to symbolism power or importance.
In the Cylinder Seal of Adda (Sumerian society), the continuity of religion is seen because the figures in the cylinder are often seen on deities. The main reason they are seen as deities is due to the crown and difference in size between them and a small man in the middle of the work. In this specific artwork, the deity of water is visible because water is increasingly important for agrarian societies (irrigation=increased agriculture). Another religiously affiliated art pieces are the miniature statues of people praying. They were used as stand-ins, with supplicating hands and large eyes.
There are many more artworks we spoke of but most were commonly associated with war, power, and religion, which easily is related to politics. The use of art created visual cues to express the history of Mesopotamia, Sumeria, Babylonia, and Neo-Sumeria in the primary perceptive of the people. The common technique used during this time were large proportions to emphasis power (which in itself has a political agenda that during this time is often intertwined with religion), special symbols (crowns, clothing, powerful animals) to symbolize social status and importance and many other techniques. In shorter words art using formal analysis and contextual analysis are primary sources of history, that give us a clarified understanding of eras.
