Lesson 10

1.

a. Description: What elements of art are used? How are point, line, shape, space,
value, texture and color used? If recognizable imagery is depicted, what is the
imagery?
b. Analysis: How is the artwork structured? What elements are outstanding, and
which ones are subdued? When I squint my eyes and dismiss all the detail,
what kind of value pattern do I see? Where does my eye enter the picture
plane (or field), and what pathway does it follow from that point on? Does the
artist keep my eye captured within the picture plane? Is a closed value pattern,
i.e., Is all of the art contained within the frame of the picture plane? Or, is it an
open (or broken) value pattern, i.e., Do we sense that the artwork expands
beyond the boundaries of the canvas/field? How is the artwork balanced (or
unbalanced)?
c. Interpretation: What does the artwork mean, if anything? Is it simply a
pleasing assembly of colors, textures, values, shapes; or, is there meaning
implicit in the arrangement? Does the artwork touch me on an emotional
level? Why? Is the meaning derived explicitly (as in illustrative works, which
help tell a story), or is it couched more subtly in metaphors or other
symbology?
d. Judgment: Is this artwork worthy of further or repeated viewing/exploration?
Would I hang (or display) this piece in my home? If so, where would it be
displayed? Is the work of such quality and craftsmanship that it enlightens or
fulfills me in some way? If the work is meaningful, will it continue to be so
generations from now? If it is beautiful or otherwise aesthetically/formally
impactful, will it continue to be so generations from now?
2. Painters, sculptors and ceramists all convert information into visual and tactile artifacts. They
interpret emotions and sensory data into physical representations. In their way, these artists
also improvise: They deal with the reality which confronts them, in order to bring the work
of art into being.
3. Most artists who appropriate (or "sample" or "remix", as it is also called) do so because they are
interested in how existing images or sounds can be used to create new works that refer back to
the original work while producing a new cultural artifact.
4. Two types of forgeries exist, simple and simulated. A simple forgery is one in which no attempt
has been made to imitate a genuine signature. ... A simulated signature is one in which
the forger has attempted to copy a known signature. The known signature can be copied
freehand or it may be traced.