unit 1: formal analysis how-to guide

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How to do a formal analysis… Unit 1 Project

Intermediate EFL Students

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CHASSÉRIAU, Théodore [French Romantic Painter, 1819-‐1856] Orientalist Interior: Nude in a Harem 1850-‐52 Oil on panel, 46 x 38 cm Private collection Retrieved from: http://lyghtmylife.tumblr.com/post/41645285433/chasseriau-‐theodore-‐french-‐romantic-‐painter

Here is a famous painting. Let’s break it down.

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Step 1: What are the formal elements of the image?

• Line • Color • Shape • Texture • Mass • Volume • Composition

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Line & Shapes: The lines of the painting are made with shadows. The lines are soft and round. The lines are feminine and beautiful. The shapes are like the lines: flowing, soft, and round. There are very few sharp angles.

Texture & Color: The colors are deep hues of orange, yellow, and reds. The colors are exotic. The color contrasts with the dark shadows. The texture is rich, smooth, and flowing like the fabric of the dresses.

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Composition: The woman’s white body is the center of the composition. The yellow dress, and the dark skin of the servant, makes the white woman’s skin more bright and clear. She looks like a Greek statue of a Goddess. All shapes in the painting draw attention to her statue-like pose.

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Analysis of Formal Elements Summary:

Her white body looks like an innocent white goddess contrasting with the dark shadows. In the dark shadows, a man lurks in the corner. He is curled up and jagged compared to the soft, flowing lines of the women in their dresses. The color is rich, dark and exotic giving a sense of mystery. It looks like a fantasy. Her beauty is bathed in light while the darkness obscures all the other faces. Her soft femininity looks too pure to be among the dark shadows, rich textures, and exotic colors.

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Step 2

Do the same with principles of design: • What principles of design apply to this painting? • What is your analysis of how the principles of

design impact the painting?

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Content analysis is Critical thinking: • What is the story? • Why do you think the author created the

artwork? • Where are you located in the artwork?

Step 3

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• What is the story? Here are examples of questions.

Who are the people in the artwork? What are they doing?

Who is the center of the artowork? Who is the story about?

Where are they? How do you think that they got there?

When is the story taking place? What year? What country?

Does the story reflect real life? Why or why not?

Internet search:

• The painting • The painter • History of the

location.

What is the title of the painting? What does the title tell us about the story?

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• Why do you think the author created the image?

Who is the painter? Where is he from? Was he from the Orient?

What is the style of the painting? Is the painting realism, Abstract, etc.?

What is the title of the painting? What does the title tell us about the painter?

Are there other paintings like this one? Why did those painters author those artworks?

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• Where are you located in the story?

How does artwork impact you? How do you impact the artwork? How does the artwork make you feel? What is the mood of the artwork?

Does the artwork reflect your own story or dreams? What does the artwork make you think about?

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Step 4 Now, create a summary of your content analysis ~ just like on page 6 ~ answering these questions: • What is the story? • Why do you think the author created the artwork? • Where are you located in the artwork?

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DO HUHSUH

UNTITLED, 1996

MODES OF TRANSPORT1770-1910, 1993

DRIP DROP PLOP

SPEAK OF ME AS I AM(CHANDELIER MORI ), 2003

MINE / YOURS 1995

GREY AREA (BROWN VERSION), 1993

Guerilla Girls

MICHAEL RAY CHARLES

FRED WILSON

AUNT JEMIMA

TOBY JUGS

ANCIENTANTHRPOMORPHIC VESSELS

TITUSKAPHAR

ANSLEMKIEFER

OIL AND WATER

OIL SPILLS

TAR & FEATHER

WINNIELUI CHANDELIER

venetian chandelier

STUARTHEYGARTH CHANDELIERS

ANTONI TAPIES

YOUNG KKK MEMBER

DALECHIHULY

VALERIEHAGERTY SPEAKS ABOUT "FALLENBIERSTADT"

SYSTEMS

EXHIBITION

GAZE

MEMORIALIZATION

NEFERTITI BUST

DUCHAMPREADYMADES

STEVEWINMAN

JOSEPH CORNELL

VANITAS

DAY OF THE DEAD SHRINE

SOUVENIRS & KNICKNACKS

ASSEMBLAGE

COLLECTING

SYMBOLIC ORMETAPHORIC

OBJECTS

FOUND OBJECTS

POWER &REPRESENTATION

OBJECTS

ART WITHOUTMAKING PIECES BY

HAND

NON-TRADITIONALMUSEUM WORKS

RITUAL OBJECTS

ANTIQUES

MEMENTOS

COMMERCIALCOLLECTIONS

CANDY JERNIGAN

SPECIMENS & DATA

WORTH / VALUE

PERSONAL /SENTIMENTAL

RARE / SCARCE

"PRICELESS"

ONE OF A KIND

COLLECTIBLE

INNOVATIVE

JUNK

TREASURE

KITSCH

ARTIFACTS

HISTORICAL VALUE

SCIENTIFIC VALUE

INCLUSION

EXCLUSION

STANDARDS &PROCEDURES

EMPATHETIC

GENDER

OPPRESSIVE

RACE

IDEOLOGY

SEXUALIZED

STATUS

Created using Inspiration® 9 by Inspiration Software®, Inc.

unit 1: formal analysis how-to guide

Documents

dark shadows

orientalist interior

private collection

fr composition

dark skin

flowing lines

texture color

fr line shapes