art100 fall2016 class5.1_formal_analysisstepbystep
TRANSCRIPT
ART 100Fall 2016
Class 5.1FORMAL ANALYSIS
Formal AnalysisYou are going to examine this object closely in terms of:
• line• color• shape• pattern• light• texture• size• orientation
KEEP IN MINDNot all of these will apply equally to every work of art. Based upon the actual work you are analyzing, you will choose a few of these to focus your energies on.
LINE and COLOR Are considered the two
most basic elements of two-dimensional art
SHAPEorganic (or biomorphic) vs. geometric
Vasily Kandinsky, Composition VIII, 1923Oil on canvas, (55 1/8 x 79 1/8 in), Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York
Sonia DelaunayRhyme1938oil on canvas
Frank STELLA, Jasper’s Dilemma, 1962-3, oil on canvas
Arshile Gorky, Garden in Sochi, 1943
Joan Miro, Flight of the Dragonfly in Front of the Sun, 1968
Edgar DegasFour Jockeysc. 1889oil on board18 1/8 x 14 5/8 inches
Tina ModottiWorkers’ Demonstration, Mexico City 1926Platinum print
Robert Smithson, Spiral Jetty, 1970, mud, salt, rocks, water, 15 x 1500 ft, Rozel Point, UT
PATTERN
Bridget RileyFall1963polyvinyl acetate painton hardboard55 x 55 inches
Bridget Riley, Hesitate1964Oil on canvas 1067 x 1124 mm
Tomma AbtsFenke, 2014Acrylic and oil on canvas18 7/8 x 15 inches
Henri MatisseLa GerbeCut paper1953
Diego RIVERA The Flower Seller1941Oil on masonite48 x 48 inches
Loïs Mailou JonesOde to Kinshasa1972Mixed media 48 x 36 inches
Thomas RUFFInterieur 13B1980Chromogenic print10 7/8 x 8 inches
LIGHTis light evenly distributed across the picture plane or concentrated in one place for dramatic effect?where is the light source and how does it create emphasis?
CaravaggioConversion on the Road to Damascus1601 Oil on canvas 91 in × 69 inches Santa Maria del Popolo, Rome
Georges de la TourThe Penitent Magdalenc. 1645oil on canvas61.4 x 48 inches
Mary CassattYoung Thomas and His Mother1893 Pastel on cardboard24 x 20 inchesPennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts
Weegee (Arthur Fellig), Two Offenders in the Paddywagon, c. 1942
Raymond PETTIBONNo Title (And now the…), 1987Ink on paper22 1/2 x 13 inches
TEXTURE/MATERIALS• texture can be a quality of a two-dimensional
surface—it is most noticeable at the extremes of roughness and smoothness
• it can also be a more literal—a choice of unusual materials that seem to carry a symbolic charge
TEXTURE
Jean DubuffetGrand Master of the Outsider1947
Paul KleeHighway and Byways1929oil on canvas32 5/8 x 26 3/8 inches
Cy TwomblyLeda and the Swan1962oil, pencil and crayon on canvas6' 3" x 6' 6 3/4"
Cy Twombly, Untitled, 1971, Oil and crayon on canvas, 118 x 188¼"
John MCCRACKEN, Green Slab in Two Parts, 1966
Mickalene ThomasA-E-I-O-U and Sometimes Y2009Plastic rhinestones, acrylic, and enamel on panel 24 x 20 in
Cady NOLAND, Frame Device, 1989, Pipes, stantions, and twelve walkers132 × 132 × 54 in, installed at the Hammer Museum
Nayland Blake, Feeder 2, 1998, steel and gingerbread, 7 x 10 x 7 feet
Liu Wei, Density 1, 2013, books, mild steel and wood, dimensions variable
SIZE
Richard Serra, installation at the Museum of Modern Art, New York
Donald RODNEY, In the House of My Father, 1996-7
ORIENTATION
Carl Andre, Breda, 1986, blue Belgian granite
Robert RAUSCHENBERG, Monogram, 1955
Xu BINGA Book from the Sky1987-1991
E.V. Day, Bride Fight, 2006