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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.

Unit 1 Summary

From the moment I stepped into the classroom, I thought that Art1010 would just be about simple old paintings. However, during the first week or so, we started to talk about what art really means to us. Art can mean a handful of things to us and is completely subjective to the human eye. Each individual interprets and comprehends things differently. Even though art is subjective, some of the components are incorporated into each masterpiece. Some of these components are uniqueness, imagination, expressiveness, affluential, and complex. These all create the foundation for beautiful artwork. With every piece of art, that artist always includes something that makes it their own. Where no one can make the piece like them.

Other concepts in which I have learned are the Banking Model of Paulo Freire and the use of formal analysis. The banking model is a concept of education where the students only know how to retrieve, file, and store away certain information given to them. Students only know how to memorize the information given to them, but don’t actually take the time to understand the material that is distributed. In the article, when Freire says “banking,” he means to take and put away, just like you would do at a bank with your own money. This concept is still practiced in modern day education and is believed to be the worst way to teach. When teaching something, everyone’s voice should be heard on the topic being discussed. Also, the teachers should make sure that the students actually understand what’s being taught and not just memorizing the material for the sake of it.

The other concept that I have learned in Unit 1 is the use of formal analysis. I believe that this is the most important component of any artwork because by using formal analysis, we can pick apart the artwork piece by piece and truly understand its origin. Formal analysis is the meaning and evaluation of art. It focuses on the central idea and how the story is being told. For example, when looking at a piece of art, to use formal analysis you would look at the contrast of light, the scale of the painting, the color, line, depth, and historical context. By picking the artwork apart, it is much easier to get an understanding of what the artist was thinking about at the time of creation. It’s an inside look of his/her intentions. Historical context is one of the most important components of formal analysis. In my opinion, without historical context, we would be perplexed by what the artist is trying to portray. Artwork created now has a completely different agenda than what art back then portrayed. A portrait in the 1800’s would look substantially different than a portrait in 2018. It’s a must to know what’s going on at the time the art was created to truly understand its production process.

From Unit 1, I have gained a greater understanding of the foundations of artwork, what art can mean to different people, and why the education system should be changed. These are some things that I thought I would never know until I entered the classroom. From the understanding of formal analysis, I look at art much differently and in a more superficial way. Now that I know all the key factors that go into creating these masterpieces, I feel more cultured and like I have an upper hand on the rest of the world. 

Unit 1 Summary

A lot was learned from Unit 1; but the one that stood out the most was the Banking Model. It simply can be described as “depositing” knowledge into the student so they could understand the subject matter. Throughout a persons life, as a kid they underwent such a process in order to grasp subjects and topics. The process is centered around an authoritative figure giving out information for the students to study and prepare when they are going to be tested on what they remember. It hinders the individual who seeks alternative methods of solving problems, but helps the students who follow the rules strictly and remembers very well.

Another thing that I learned in this Unit that always fascinated was how people could examine a painting and can analyze multiple aspects that contribute to it just by using Formal Analysis. Spacing within a painting can give depth and a sense of where the figures. Also the coloring of certain figures taking a specific action. Usually insidious figures are painted with much darker colors, and innocent figures painted with bright colors. These are just a few examples of many other methods of analyzing paintings, to better grasp the general idea and the message it conveys.

Unit 1 Summary

Unit one was interesting because the basics were not as boring as I thought it would be. Formal Analysis took me by surprise because I learned a bit of art history in high school and it took me to a whole new perspective on how to critique a piece of art. It was intriguing to break down a painting to small pieces of information. Although I followed through an art class for four years of highschool, the teacher did not cover the roots of art pieces and where some of the original concepts began. Critical Pedagogy is a striking topic because I did not really think about why it mattered to me until I saw how relevant to real life situations. We are all engineered to follow a hierarchy of position through grade school and it got me thinking more about how I took in information from various peers and other influencers.

The class itself holds my attention because I felt that having learned how to make art, it wouldn’t hurt to learn where art came from thoroughly. Although some bits of the lessons were less interesting than other bits, I felt like I could become more jargon for my own good and inspire others to not overlook a decent class that looked boring on paper.

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.

Unit 1 Summary

In our unit one for Art History, we learned what is art, what it means, Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy and Power, banking model, and formal analysis. In the beginning, as our first assignment, we were to write what art means to us, an and most of us wrote how it is a form of expression to oneself, it can be music, it can be choreography, and how it can be literally anything.

As I read The fundamentals of interpretation: formal and contextual analysis, I learned how art is also used as a form of advertisements and how it can have a powerful impact. For example in the reading, they mentioned the Dior ad, it was a simple photo of a lady sitting with the Dior bag, with the Central Park as a backdrop, and within this photo, there is no headline promoting sales and discounts. This photo is powerful in a way because it captures the thrive of New York City, with a gorgeous and stylish lady who is Gwyneth Paltrow, this ad is literally screaming “Dior’s not outdated, its retro cool”.

When we learned about formal analysis, I realize it’s more than that criticizing an artist work, it’s about understanding what the artist is trying to convey visually. There are many kinds of formal analysis such as analyzing the colors, the lines, the space and mass, scale of the work, and the dimensions. It had made me realize there is a deeper meaning to the art, and appreciate the techniques that the artist puts into their work.

Paulo Freire’s banking concept of education is basically that the teachers “teach” and the students are “taught”. The problem with this model is that the teachers have the authority over what is being taught to the students, and the students have freedom in their own thoughts and opinions. We are to aimlessly learn and memorize on what the teachers are teaching and retain this information without an objective. Freire objects this kind of concept and instead believes that students should work together with their teachers to come up with solutions, to have dialogues to interact with each other, thus allowing the students to be able to think more freely and come up with their own ideas and opinions.  

To sum up, what I learned so far in unit one, it is how to have a better mindset, to have a deeper judgment/critic on things and to appreciate on how much effort people put into their art. It’s almost like the popular saying, “don’t judge a book by its cover”, get a better perspective on things. I thoroughly enjoy what we have learned so far in unit one, and cannot wait to see what unit two can teach me.

Unit 1- summary

To me the most important topics we learned about in unit 1 are the banking model and formal analysis. 

The banking model is a way Paulo Freire described and critiqued the education system. This model shows a student as an empty container being filled with knowledge by their educator. Freire argued  that teachers don’t communicate with the students, they make “deposits” and the students are expected to receive, memorize, and repeat the information. This empowers the teachers because they have the power to instill anything they’d like into the students, but this is at the students expense because they don’t develop a creative process. I learned from this that I am very lucky that in Brooklyn College teachers don’t teach that way and they care about my opinion. 

 

Formal analysis is a way of looking at the painting and all of its details and fully understanding it. Formal Analysis is the idea of analyzing a single work of art, especially a painting, in terms of specific visual components. The components of a formal analysis are composition, color, line, shape, contrast, texture, and technique. All of these elements help us understand what the artist is trying to convey in his or her work. Formal Analysis is using your senses, like sight and touch, its all about what you see in the details of the painting.  The goal of a formal analysis is to use all of the formal elements of a painting or sculpture to fully grasp the meaning of the work. Whenever I went to a museum and looked at a painting or sculpture, I never really put that much thought into it. Because of this class, I now know how to look at art and use all of the elements of formal analysis to interpret the underlying meaning of the artwork.

unit one summary

In Unit 1, I learned about Freire’s “banking model”. The banking model is an idea of how education and the oppression that the education system/teachers pushes on the new students soaking up what is told. It a concept were I can see it being applied in modern education system and is a useful term to have if I every need to cite about a school related subject. I think that the system now reflects how our education system doesn’t work  with a newer generation of people.

Formal analysis is  analyzing a art piece and trying to identify the subject matter that the artist is trying to convey under the given context. Examining the details to bringing out a better sense of depth through the hues, line work, composition, strokes to make the art work. We analysis theses subtle difference to express the art works

I can’t help that I feel like I am restating what already been said in my other slides so try to rewrite this differently is a challenge. recap is this useful sort of I think I can use it for another school project or as a basis for a claim in the future.