Is shape a prominent aspect of the work?

Assignment: Visual Analysis Infographic Due: Wednesday, September 14, 2022 by 11:59pm CST 100 points

A visual analysis is a close inspection of the artist’s use of art elements and design principles. A visual analysis moves beyond pure description. It is intended to enhance your observational and analytical skills, asking you to think critically about the choices that an artist makes. You will explain how an artist uses line, color, texture, space, emphasis, balance, proportion, and so forth, to create a unique composition. You will want to provide a detailed description of the formal (meaning “related to the form”) characteristics of the artistic composition. Remember you’re not just describing what you see, you’re describing what these elements do in the work.

Some things to consider in your analysis:

• Line: Are there any prominent lines in the work? Do you see psychological or implied lines? If so, do they serve any compositional purpose? Is line used to create a contour of an object or exist in its own right? Are the lines mostly horizontal, vertical, or diagonal? What do they suggest?

• Shape: What shapes do you see? Are they geometric? organic? biomorphic? Are there well-defined figure and ground shapes? Is shape a prominent aspect of the work?

• Mass: Does this work have real or implied mass? Where do you see this in the work? What indicates mass?

• Light: How is light used in the work? is there real or implied light? What are the values like? Do the values span white to black? Is the image relatively light or dark?

• Color: What types of colors are used? Are they warm or cool, bright or dull? Are they natural or arbitrary? Are the colors organized to lead your eye in a particular direction? Is color used to create space? What is the overall effect of color?

• Space: Is implied space created? If so, which pictorial devices are used to render the illusion of three dimensions on the two-dimensional plane. Does the artist use linear perspective, atmospheric perspective, vertical placement, overlapping, etc.? Are line and color used to create the illusion of mass or volume?

• Texture: Is there actual texture (impasto) or implied texture? Can you see the artist’s brushstrokes? Or, is the artist’s hand totally concealed? What is the overall effect of texture?

• Time and motion: Is there an implied time of day/year/era in history? Do you see implied movement or real movement? What is the effect of these elements to how we see the work?

• Design: How are the formal elements organized? What is the focal point of this composition? Describe how the artist creates emphasis in this work and

why your eye moves to this area of interest. Is the work symmetrical or asymmetrical?