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Formal Analysis Paper Example 3. VISIT OUR GALLERIES SEE UPCOMING EXHIBITS. Contact. School of Art and Design. Windgate Center of Art + Design, Room 202. 2801 S University Avenue. Little Rock, AR 72204. 501-916-3182. 501-683-7022 (fax)
- Art as Physical Object
- Art as Visual Experience
- Art as Cultural Artifact
- Thinking Critically
Oil and pigments on canvas, carved marble, woven fibers, a concrete dome—most works of art and architecture are physical things. As such, a fundamental determinant of the way they look is the material of which they are made. In architecture, the word used for this is simply materials. In art, the term medium (plural: media) is also used. Materials ...
Most art is visually compelling. While materials and technique determine the range of what is possible, the final appearance of a work is the product of numerous additional choices made by the artist. An artist painting a portrait of a woman in oil on canvas must decide on the size and shape of the canvas, the scale of the woman and where to place ...
While understanding the physical properties and visual experience of art is important, today most art historical research focuses on the significance of works as cultural artifacts. This category of analysis is characterized by a variety of approaches, but all share the basic objective of examining art in relation to its historical context. Most of...
This raises a final point about analyzing the meaning of art and architecture as cultural artifacts. While art historians rely on facts as much as possible and seek to interpret works in ways that are historically plausible, we recognize that subjectivity is inescapable. As discussed in “What is art history?,” we interpret the past in ways that mak...
Important fundamentals. “ Introduction: Learning to look and think critically,” a chapter in Reframing Art History (our free art history textbook) Introduction: Close looking and approaches to art (our free art history textbook)—especially useful for materials related to formal (visual) analysis.
- A conservative discipline? “Art history is relevant” is not how the discipline of art history is typically framed in popular discourse. Most people picture art historians as wealthy, white, intellectually conservative, and disconnected from the rest of the world.
- Scholarship vs. survey. Many—perhaps even most—people working in the field today would probably say something similar about their own work. And yet, when we walk into the classroom to teach an introductory art history survey course, even the most radical among us may feel that we have little choice but to fall back on what has been handed down to us through textbooks, departmental requirements, and our own foundational art historical education: the traditional Western canon.
- The “global” in scholarly discourse. How must the discipline of art history change, what are the assumptions it must relinquish, and what ideas must it embrace in order to effect a true dislocation of “center-periphery” models of cultural intellectual exchange?
- The “global” problem in the classroom. Most of the globe remains at the periphery of undergraduate art history education, as recent studies have shown. This overwhelmingly Western bias does not end solely with departmental requirements; it also exists at the basic level of the introductory art history survey curriculum.
ART HISTORY: GUIDE TO ESSAY WRITING . The aim of formal essay writing is to engage your critical reading and writing skills to craft an articulate and polished essay. It provides an opportunity to consider a topic in depth, combining the synthesis of source materials with your own conclusions based on those materials.
Most visual analysis essays in art history will not require secondary sources to write the paper. Rely instead on your close observation of the image or object to inform your analysis and use your knowledge from class to support your argument.
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Why is the method important for understanding art in its historical context?
How can art be analyzed in a historical context?
How do you write a visual analysis essay in art history?
Should art history be considered a 'global'?
Does art history have a Western bias?
Is art history relevant?
This exercise requires you to focus on the creation (and presentation) of a sample art history exam essay in which you are required to compare and contrast two pieces of art with a good attempt at critical thinking and analysis.
