Visit the virtual gallery of the Google Arts and Culture website, linked here: https://artsandculture.google.com/explore Spend some time exploring the website and getting a sense of the vast amount of artwork reproduced on this website. Select one artwork included in the Google Arts and Culture website as the topic of your paper, and download a copy or screenshot your chosen work of art to include on the cover page of your paper.
Write a paper that addresses the 3 requirements below. Further description of these requirements given on the following pages:
DESCRIPTION: Describe the appearance of your chosen artwork. What is the subject matter, medium, and overall compositional design?
ANALYSIS: In your opinion, what is artist’s overall goal in creating this artwork? To support your interpretation, identify and describe how the artist(s) uses one Element of Art and one Principle of Design.
EXPERIENCE: What might the difference be between viewing this work of art in person compared to viewing it online as a reproduction? What, if any, is the connection between this work of art and museum which houses it in their collection?
Include the artist’s name, the artwork’s title, date, and dimensions, as well as the work’s medium and materials (e.g., oil painting, mixed media, color photograph, etching, etc.). Place that information in the beginning of your paper.
Define the subject matter of the work; i.e., describe what you see and what is happening in the work. Does the work represent a scene, event, figure/s, landscape, group of figures, or all of the above? How do they relate to each other?
Describe the composition (visual organization) of the work. What are the basic components/images/figures of the composition? How are they arranged, and how do they relate to each other spatially within the work? Is there a central figure or element (i.e., is the composition centralized)? How do you know that this element is the composition’s center (is it in the center/foreground or is it the largest in scale)? Or is the composition rather chaotic, decentralized, complex, dispersed, disorganized, etc.? What is the visual and emotional effect of such a composition? Create a clear, logical order to your description.
Discuss what you believe to be the artist’s goal in this artwork. Then, identify at least one element of art and one principle of design that are used by the artist and play an important role your chosen artwork. (See Ch’s 3-7 in Sayre for a list of elements and principles, or See the list included within the Writing Assignment tab on Bb.) Explain how these fundamentals are employed by the artist and how their use supports your interpretation of the artist’s goal. Be as detailed and specific as possible, and follow the model suggested below.
Interpretation
Artist’s Goal: Why was this artwork created? What is the larger meaning or message intended by the artist? The title of the work and the website description may give you a clue as to what the intended message is but use your own analytical skills and observations to come up with a possible meaning or interpretation of the artwork. How do the visual features of the work you’ve described create that meaning? How important is the work’s title to your understanding of the meaning? What kinds of symbolic meanings can you read into the work, using your basic own layperson’s knowledge of symbolism?
Note: It’s OK to express your personal thoughts and opinion. No outside research required! Don’t be concerned whether the meaning you’ve come up with is “right” or “wrong,” just make sure you can support your statements with visual proof—i.e., with details you’ve observed in the artwork.
If you include an interpretation given on the website, it needs to be cited in your paper to avoid plagiarism. To cite this website, simply include a passage that says, “According to the Google Arts and Culture website, ….” No other sources should be used for reference.
Elements of Art (Choose One):
Choose one visual element that plays an essential role in the work and analyze its characteristics and function, following a “roadmap” of questions such as the questions suggested below.
Color: What colors, color schemes, or kinds of value, hue, and shades of color are used in the work? Are they primary, secondary, local, symbolical, complementary, etc., and how do they relate to each other? Do gradations in value (additions of black and white to a hue) play an important role? Are the colors intense and saturated, or are they dull and muted? What is the role of such color choices and relations? How do the technical aspects of color convey or emphasize specific messages, ideas, or feelings?
Line: Does line play a role in the work? If so, how does line function in it? What kinds of line do you see? Does the character of the lines change in different parts of the work, and why? Are the lines actual dark outlines, or is line merely suggested by the boundaries between one form and another? Are the lines merely outlines filled in by colors, or do the lines actually suggest three-dimensionality in some way? Do you see hatching or cross hatching? What is the role of that technique in the work? How do the technical features of line convey specific messages, ideas, or feelings?
Light: What role does light play in your experience of the painting? Does the artist model forms with light and shade? Do you see chiaroscuro or tenebrism in the work? Are there any identifiable sources of light or a direction from which light enters the scene? What parts of the image does light accentuate or deemphasize (leave in shadows)? Are there forms which reflect light onto other forms (e.g., light reflected into a shadow area from a neighboring form?) Are there any cast shadows present and what is their role? How do these technical features convey specific messages, ideas, or feelings?
Texture/Movement: Is there actual or visual (implied) texture in the work? How would you describe the actual surface of the work or the visual surface of the form/s represented—rough, textured, smooth, slimy, soft, feathered, etc.? How visible are the brushstrokes (if the work is painted) or the marks made by the tools of the artist? E.g., is there a buildup of paint (impasto) or does the work appear to have been thinly painted? Are the marks of the chisel visible in the sculpture or is the surface polished? Is there any movement in the work—actual or suggested? How do these technical features convey specific messages, ideas, or feelings?
Shape/Mass/Space: Do you see any shapes in the work, and how are they arranged? What is their relationship to the picture plane and the background of the work? Do you see volume, and does mass/form play a role in the work? How is weight and two- or three-dimensionality represented or suggested? How are the figures/elements distributed in space? Is the space in the work deep or shallow? How is projection, depth, and recession in space expressed? Do you see linear or atmospheric perspective and, if so, how do they work (think of color, lines, vanishing point, scale, etc.)? How do these technical features convey specific messages, ideas, or feelings?
Principles of Design (Choose One):
Choose one principle of design that plays an essential role in the work and examine its function. How does this principle contribute to the overall visual effect of the work? Think of questions such as: are there any other ways in which balance (symmetrical, asymmetrical, and radial balance); emphasis and focal point; scale and proportion; pattern, repetition, and rhythm; or unity and variety are suggested, challenged, or expressed in the work (choose one principle)? What kinds of balance, emphasis, pattern, proportions, etc. do you see in the work (choose one principle)? Which elements are (de)emphasized, (dis)proportionate, repeated, balanced/out of balance, etc. in the work, and why (choose one principle)? How is that important? Is the work symmetrical, asymmetrical, balanced, etc.? What type of balance or symmetry does it employ? Does the work convey harmony or disorder? How do the figures/elements relate to the whole, the site, or other elements in terms of scale, proportion, emphasis, unity, etc.? Does the spectator have to look up or down at the work? Is/are the work/parts of the work small or large in scale and what effect does that produce? How does the principle of design you have chosen convey specific messages, ideas, or feelings?
EXPERIENCE
On the page that highlights your chosen work of art within the Google Arts and Culture website, note the current museum or gallery location of your artwork. Include this information in your paper, and also address the following questions:
Location: What is the connection, if any, between your chosen artwork and the museum or gallery that houses it in their collection?
In-person: Imagine being about to stand in front of this artwork in person. What, if any, might be the difference between viewing this specific work of art in person compared to viewing it as a reproduction on this website? Be as specific and detailed as possible.
