Tag: Unit 1: Art History Summary

Summary of Unit 1

Throughout Unit 1 we spoke about Formal Analysis.  We discussed the physical look of a piece of art and searched for the clues of a deeper understanding.  Formal Analysis is actually taking a piece and looking at the physical color, line, shape, material, etc.  We took the knowledge about the formal analysis and was able to decipher a whole new meaning to the piece.

We also discussed that because of formal analysis two painters might draw the same muse but the outcome of the two pieces of art would be completely different.  Each artist places items and lines into their works of art for a specific reason.

In the “Standard of Ur” there is a specific reason for each scratch.  Nothing is just a coincidence, everything is shown because the artist wants it to be.  The king is larger on purpose, and the outfits are different on purpose.  We see this and see the deeper meaning because of formal analysis.

Many works of art cause change and enlightenment in the world.  Some are obvious within the art and some you need to have an understanding about art and the reasons behind it.

Blog post: Unit Summary

   Upon entering this class I had no formal knowledge on art and how to define its hidden meanings. However, throughout Unit 1 we went over the topics of Formal analysis and critical pedagogy. This allowed me to understand how to look and define a painting/artwork not only on what I see but on how to look and interpret the artists techniques. After we analyzed the paintings of the 2 women. I bagan to see past the large picture and started to examine the different elements of the works. Whether it be their similarities or differences.

   Formal Analysis can be defined simple as exploring the visual effects the work has on the viewer and what the artist wanted to accomplish visually. This method focuses primarily on questioning the visual and physical aspect of the artwork. Focusing on lines,shapes,color schemes,texture, form,etc. It’s questioning the work and looking for the answer in the work itself.  In examine both paintings of women we learned on how the artists used different types of shading and colors to emphasize or deemphasize certain points in the paintings.

   In one of our readings the Pedagogy of the Oppressed we were introduced into the idea of the banking model of education . To Friere the banking model is a representation of the detached education system. He believed that the banking model of education simply states that a teacher has all the knowledge and therefore the teacher must “deposit” the knowledge they have into the students, who then memorize the information instead of fully understanding the information given. This sort of detached learning entails that education will not allow students to express their own interest or creativity.  

   Since learning these 2 topics my understanding for art has further expanded. I am now aware on how to appreciate art and how to interpret what the artist may have been trying to tell the viewer.

Blog Post #5: Unit 1 Summary

So we survived the first unit of Art History. It was fun, from the groups placed together on day one and writing about how this blog works to looking at pieces of art and describing them in depth and I just wanted to talk about what has impacted me the most from Art History 1010.

First off, The Banking Method of Education explained by Paulo Freire could be compared to drinking water from a fountain. How this method works is by the person who is teaching talks about the information needed for the student’s curriculum. The student just sits there and takes in all of the knowledge that the teacher is giving. I’ve excelled in school with this learning method because my memory is pretty good. However, it hasn’t been productive in real life for me due to the world not being a place were just memorizing facts can help advance you in life but taking action does. For example if a teacher knows facts about their subject it is helpful but how you portray and present the facts towards the students is what will decide how good of a teacher you are.

A piece of art may not be clear due to it’s inability to have a clear story written on the art but knowing where it came from and what is happening at that time may shine a new perspective onto that piece of art. When we look into things like the Standard of Ur or the Steele of Hammurabi the context of that painting may not be fully clear but knowing that the Standard of Ur was created in the times of the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt (it’s golden age) you can tell it was not depicting itself but of earlier Sumerian times when there was war in Egypt and knowing that it was made in Egypt’s golden age tell us it was made with it’s finest lapis lazuli.

The main point that I’ve learnt from Art History is how to look at art in a newer light, with more insight and I’m excited for my visit to the Brooklyn Museum to look at all of it’s art with all of the new skills I learnt.

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 1: Art History Summary

 

Throughout this past month in Art History, the class focus has been strictly direct to the topics of Formal Analysis and Critical Pedagogy. This two concepts are necessary if we want to understand what we see when we look at art and the way we are able to analyze, critique, judge and interpret a work of art. Formal Analysis is describing a work of art and looking for every detail in a work of art; this is to help us analyze the choices an artist has made to create art. When looking at a work of art we must focus our attention every element that is made out of. These elements consist of color, line, scale, composition, space, texture, material and historical context. The last characteristic has more to do with Contextual Analysis which is the outside research about a work of art and although the concept is important we mainly focused on Formal Analysis. This technique helps us, the viewer, to come up with a decent interpretation about a work of art and why it was made the way it was by the artist.

In class we also discussed Critical Pedagogy which is a concept created by Paolo Friere, a Brazilian educational theorist. Friere criticized the education system and the way students and teacher interacted. Friere was against the Banking Model which mainly represents the way that students learn; students brains are empty containers that are filled by the wise and knowledgeable teacher. In this kind of classroom the teacher is in charge and the student is to only sit in class not having opinions about that they are being taught. This prevent the students form making critical thinking about literature. In order to end that system, Friere came up with Critical Pedagogy which is the idea that students and teachers are equal when it comes to learning. The interaction of both teacher to student and student to teacher makes the classroom more balanced. In this way of teaching where the students have an opinion, the goal is to make the students do critical thinking about what they are being taught. In the greater good, critical pedagogy is to help students be more human and not machines when it comes to learning.

In class both of this concepts came together when we would have an opinion about a work of art that the professor put before our eyes. For example we were asked to pay attention to the elements the artist chose in The Standard of Ur. During this activity we discussed how the work of art was hallow, made out of different materials from around the world, and mainly had registers that created a story. In my cases I was able to think critically because my opinions about the work of art were backed up by physical evidence that I gathered using Formal Analysis. From now on I am more aware about what to look for when looking at art. Furthermore I am more conscious about formal analysis when I look at advertisements on the subway.