1. Content
This presentation aims to introduce to you
what we will be learning in class all
quarter. We will be discussing artworks,
why they are made, what they mean and
what makes them good (or valuable or
pretty or important).

2. In order to discuss an artwork intelligently,
we need specific vocabulary. Today’s
presentation will introduce the basics,
throughout the quarter we will spend
more time on the specifics.

3. Follow along
The first worksheet (content) is a
companion to this presentation. I
recommend filling it out during or after
you watch this presentation.
The content worksheet will be a quick
reference you can use all quarter—ask
questions right away if you can’t finish
the worksheet.

4. Content
The meaning of a work of art
-what it is about

5. What is this
artwork about?
(not just what
does it show, but
why was it
created? How
does it make you
feel? What does
it mean?)

6. Content =
Subject + Form + Medium
+ Composition + Formal Elements
+ Context + Style
+ Intent

8. All these things can affect
the meaning of this
artwork:
A man standing on rocks
Stormy water, mist
Only a few colors
(Is it cold?)
Oil painting
19th century
(Romanticism)
Dark rocks & light sky
You are seeing it in art class
Rectangle (How big is it?)
The man is in the center
How he is dressed

9. Subject
What is shown in a work of art
-what it is of

11. A man standing
on a rock
looking out over
water

12. A man
standing
on a rock
looking
out over
water

13. The same subject doesn’t
necessarily mean the same
content.

14. Subject can be abstract or imaginary, it can be a landscape or
scene, there can be more than one subject in an artwork.

15. What is the subject?

16. A subject can even be just color or lines

17. Subject
Iconography: study of subjects

18. Knowledge of iconography would help you
recognize the man in these paintings.

19. Some subjects have special meaning. If you
are familiar with iconography of Christian
saints, you might recognize St. Francis by his
brown robes, halo, and animals.

20. Formal Elements
Things that make up the artwork
-line -color / light
-texture -space / shape -motion

21. Formal Elements
Things that make up the artwork
-line -color / light
-texture -space / shape -motion

22. Formal Elements
Can be arranged to create a
subject or composition

23. Formal Elements
We will study these more during
week 2, 3 and 4.

24. Composition
How the Formal Elements (stuff)
in an artwork are arranged

25. Composition
-Balance -Repetition
-Scale -Emphasis -Unity

26. Composition
(Emphasis)
Composition can organize an artwork and
make it more attractive or more interesting

27. Composition
(Scale)
We will study more about
composition during week 4 and 5.

28. Media (medium)
The materials that were used to
make the artwork

29. Clay
Cement
Pencil
Paper
Paint, etc

30. We will begin studying
different media in the middle
of the quarter.

31. Form
**What the artwork looks like**

32. The form of most paintings is a
flat rectangle, but it doesn’t have
to be.

33. The form of a sculpture can be
even more varied.

34. Form can be very simple and describe the
shape or the general type of artwork: a
lady, a rectangle, a swirl of leaves, a
landscape or a portrait.

35. Style = surrealism
Style =
fauvism
Form = Landscape

36. Style
Characteristics of a work or group
of works

37. Style
An individual artist or a group of
artist can have a unique style.
We will study art movements and
styles in art history towards the
end of the quarter.

38. Style = Surrealism Style = surrealism
Style =
fauvism
Salvador Dali’s “The
Persistence of Memory”
Form = Landscape Style: Impressionism
Claude Monet
Style = Japanese Ink Painting

39. Context
Where (and when) the artwork is
displayed
(also: title, price, lighting, etc)

40. a glass piece in a garden has very different
content than a glass piece in a gallery
Dale Chihuly

41. Dale Chihuly
Union Station
Tacoma, WA

42. Slides in a
national art
museum
Carsten Höller at
Tate Modern

43. We often see artwork in the context of a gallery or museum.
This quarter we will visit artworks in the Larson Gallery
(as well as other locations on campus).

44. Intent
What the artist wants the artwork
to be

45. Title = Pompeii

46. Title = Pompeii

47. Now, what is the content of this piece?

48. Content:
Subject
Form
Medium
Composition
Formal Elements
Context
Style
Intent
“Wanderer above the Sea of Fog”
by Caspar David Friedrich

49. Content
Would it be changed by:
-crayon instead of oil paint?
-the man in the corner instead
of the center?
-seeing it 30’ tall in a park?
-knowing it was painted by
Leonardo Da Vinci?