Tag: formal analysis

Brooklyn Museum Assignment Part 1 and 2

 

 

 

 

For the first part of the Assignment, I decided to enter the Ancient Korean Exhibit. I fell in love with these art pieces. This was my 3rd time into the museum. Everytime I go to the museum I check on this section because everything seems so expensive. From what I noticed about each art piece, one thing that all stood out about all of them were there sizes. They were all small and in my mind this means something of a decoration or tool. A figure such as the mini Buddha was considered to be both a religious piece. you can tell it was a religious piece by the position it was in. It was in a position of meditating and you can also make it out as religious because the hands are clasp together in a way that shows prayer. Like a divine being. it also looks decorative because it was made of gold, either owned by a wealthy family or an Emperor. The snail art piece looks to be a kettle. This kettle was a special kettle because of the designs it held that had drawings and other symbols. The museum didn’t provide any information on the kettle, but like the Egyptian makeup tool we discussed in class, this was probably just an everyday item that is considered a work of Art in today’s world. One thing I can say about it is that it seems to be representing someone because of the braided hair roped down it’s back. Finally my favorite piece of all, the Dragon holding what I think is a bucket. This Dragon was most likely a decorative piece because it doesn’t have any sign showing that it would mean anything more than just a Dragon holding a vase. It was most likely owned by someone wealthy because it’s made up of gold. In my opinion and best guess, I would say that the winding of the Dragon serves a purpose of showing immense strength by holding up the vase. Korean history is very rich. One important thing I must point out is the feeling I felt in this exhibit. These different pieces all brings out a tranquil mood because everything looks peaceful and clean. It just doesn’t show a history of battles. It shows a history of peace and tranquility.

This art piece was at the entrance of all the exhibits. I don’t know what exhibit it belongs to. But one thing to point out is the obvious symbolism of what innocence is. This picture uses a clear sky to symbolize freedom and uses the white clothing to symbolize innocence. One look at this image and it creates a warm and nice feeling to accommodate the innocence and beauty of the women in the picture. The 3 women all look away to make you feel and ask what are they looking at in the distance. The way the lighting is in the picture create the women to look like angelic figures.

Formal Analysis

Formal Analysis is when you describe a piece of art using features such as color, line, scale, contrast, position, material, illusion, space and mass. Formal Analysis is also trying to understand what the artist is trying to convey in his creation. Color is used in formal analysis to describe or portray a certain type of mood in art. Artist use warm colors, such as red and orange, to portray a positive/happy mood and cold colors, such as blue and grey, to portray a negative/sad mood. Other components such as position, scale, space and mass are used to portray an illusion of depth in a work of art and are also used to make artworks look naturalistic and mimesis. These components of an artwork can also create a form of texture such as using lines to portray that something is rigid or smooth.

Another type of analysis that intertwines with Formal Analysis is Contextual Analysis. Contextual Analysis is when you use external resources to try and understand what a certain piece of art is about. Resources such as articles, other works of art, journals, artist writings can be used to gain information as to when an artwork was made and what the artist wanted to portray to the viewer based on the era they lived in. A component of Formal Analysis that may be helpful in Contextual Analysis is the material used for the artwork. By paying attention to the material of a piece of art the viewer can find out the time period in which that material/ type of art was the most popular and if the artwork was made within that era.

What is Formal Analysis?

Formal Analysis is a form of critiquing an art piece from any era. In other words, this is when someone who writes a description and a study on a piece of art of any form and pinpoints the various areas of attention that the artist (deceased or alive) intended and unintentionally implemented into the piece. The text provides more concrete evidence than most descriptions because it dives deep into the smaller elements of the art. This includes components like line, shape and form, space, color and texture. Through each component, every little bit of the art is broken down and further examined for their purpose in the literal and implicit meanings.

As mentioned, Formal Analysis is composed of various components that build up to a completed conclusion of a piece of art. Of these components, the subsections build each part of the core subject and makes the picture easier to consume by section. Each section compiles different approaches and further breaks down why it was made this way. Works of art are often unique and some artists have a continuity of details they exploit to make each work different yet theirs when it is observed down to the roots. Details like this can be explored much deeper when looking specifically for a class of structures like the way some lines are drawn or painted and the posture of the drawn figure. Hence, it can be said that Formal Analysis strives in the need to observe a work of art down to its core for the most meaning full explanation.

Formal Analysis

As a modern society everyone is exposed to images and pictures in whatever modern device they are using. However people cannot really take in an image and break it down in order to fully understand all its elements that is made out of. In art history the method to analyze an image is called Formal Analysis. Formal Analysis is used to describe a work of art and more than analyzing what the image means, the concept focuses on what elements were used in order to make the work of art. Some of these elements are, composition, tone, colors, lines, depth, lighting, scale, modeling, material, texture and historical context. This elements are helpful when looking at art because it helps the view  understand why the artist used them in the first place.

 

 

Blog post #4 Formal analysis

 

Formal analysis is the examination of a piece of artwork by describing three different aspects from it.  These aspects are the artwork’s formal properties, subject matter and historical context.  When examining formal properties, the examiner must look at the medium used to compose the art itself, the colors used, the dimensions, the canvas, and all other properties that relate to the art’s aesthetics.  Subject matter of an artwork is sometimes obvious, as with “The Creation of Adam” by Michelangelo.  With artwork that is less direct and more interpretative, this is where the examiner’s knowledge of art will shine.  Historical context will also help an examiner further understand the subject matter.  Historical context can play into artists’ influences, intentions and state of mind.