Tag: Blog Post 5: Unit 1 Summary

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

We have come to the end of Unit 1, time really does fly. In unit one we learned about critical pedagogy and formal analysis. To recap Pedagogy of the Oppressed was a book written by Paulo Freire in which he discusses the flaws in the education system and proposes the use of critical pedagogy. One of the flaws Paulo Freire explained was the Banking Model. In which students were viewed as empty containers that were filled by teachers who had all the power and left little to no critical thinking, thus encouraging critical pedagogy. This unit also discussed formal analysis. Which is a method used to interpret art by questioning and closely examining the physical piece of art through the different components of formal analysis. The different components are color, line, scale, space, and mass. The overall use of these elements is called composition. Although these are two separate topics in a sense they relate to each other. Both critical pedagogy and formal analysis encourage you to thoroughly examine thing and to think critically. I can see how formal analysis has helped me. Before when looking at an image, questions would pop into my mind however now I think more of it and I pay closer attention to details.

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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.

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!