Intro to Art- Visual Analysis Paper PDF

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Student Intro to Art March 2018 19 :Visual Analysis Paper Walking around the Tampa Museum of Art, your vision is overflowed with so many different types of artwork, from paintings to sculptures, from classic to contemporary, almost anything you can imagine. Because of this, it can be rather difficult to focus in on one particular piece of work, something needs to really stand out to you. For me, nothing quite did, until I saw the museum's newest collection, Inspired by Nature: Vases, Birds, & Flowers. I was instantly drawn to Willie Coles’ Sunflower. The piece just really resonated with me, and I felt I connected . with it the most out of any of the other pieces I viewed Coles’ Sunflower is a 80 inch in height by 78 inch scorched canvas and lacquer on padded wood. He constructed this work in 2004. The work appears almost as a four piece set, it consists of four equally square pieces that each contain a quarter of the sunflower in the inner corners, making up the entire flower when pieced together. But, this sunflower isn’t any typical sunflower. It is a kaleidoscope sunflower, constructed of different leaf patterns facing different directions, which creates the illusion of a kaleidoscope sunflower when viewed all together. The primary colors that make up the piece are a dark, mustard yellow, various shades of brown, and a few lighter shades of yellow. It is very natural looking and has a strong nature aesthetic to it, especially with it having a wood canvas. The background is natural, cream colored, with a lightish yellow border around the edges. The piece is also quite big, over 6 feet tall and over 6 . feet wide, so it sticks out quite a bit because of its large size A formal element of art that is prominently shown in this artwork is the line structure of it. The lines of the sunflower petals are created in a repetitive pattern, every two lines of the

petals are the same, and they overlap each other, without the lines crossing too much and creating a confusing mess of the lines going every which way and distracting from the main focus, which is the sunflower itself. Because the lines are clean, concise, and clear, it does not take away from the focus of the overall subject, but rather enhances it by creating a clear flow and bringing the image together as a whole. If the lines were designed in more of grid pattern, where the vertical and horizontal cross each other to make other shapes, it would distract viewers from the main focal point of the painting because other, smaller images would be created within. While this piece is still very busy, it is busy in a way that leads a viewer’s eye to the same point, which is the center of the sunflower, which is also the busiest part of the painting. Here, the lines . intercross each other to replicate the same exact thing on each corner of the four pieces The center of the painting brings up another formal element this artwork shows off, the motion of the subject. The way the petals are placed overlapping each other, facing different directions, creates an illusion that the sunflower itself is moving in circular motion, twisting in and out from the center of the flower and painting. Again, this element emphasises the center of flower as the main focal point, every line, design, and detail stems from the center, so no matter where your eyes wander, they come back to the center. The circular motion in which the flower seems to be moving all revolves around the center of the flower, so the eye looks at the center .first A third element shown in Coles’ Sunflower is color, more specifically, the color scheme of the work. This particular work is composed of warm colors, like yellow and brown, and creates a very natural aesthetic because of these colors. It reminds you of a sunny fall day, much like Jane Hammond’s Fallen, shown in chapter five of the text book. The warm colors evoke feelings of colder weather, but also a sense of coziness and happiness. Yellow especially gives

off a feeling of happiness to most people, because it is such a bright, inviting color. The color scheme used in a painting is very important for the artist to consider, because it is one of the biggest factors that determine the overall aesthetic the artwork gives off to viewers. If Coles had chosen to paint this flower in a cooler color, like a green or blue, the entire interpretation of the piece can be changed. Although a simple element, color is still essential in the creation of any . artwork’s aesthetic and interpretation The most evident principle of design in this artwork would probably be the balance of it. Sunflower is symmetrically balanced, meaning if a line was drawn down the exact center, each side would appear as a mirrored reflection of the other side. Coles emphasis this symmetrical balance by actually having the work in four separate pieces that, when put together, make up the complete subject. It is clear that each quarter is mirror of one another because of again, the focal .point of the work This focal point that has been mentioned in regards to so many aspects of this painting, is itself a principle of design. This point is the one area of the work the artist wants to emphasis to draw the viewer’s attention to. Coles does a very good job of clearly emphasising what the focal point of his work is, and this is due to all of the other principles and elements of the artwork that were mentioned previously. The main thing that draws emphasis to the focal point is the balance of the work, because it is balanced around the focal point, which makes it the most prominent . and noticeable area of the piece A third noticeable principle of design seen in Coles’ Sunflower, is similar to the element of lines. This principle is the pattern, repetition, and rhythm of the piece. The repetition of the patterns of the petals, and then leaf like shapes that make up the center of the flower, implies

monotony, but at the same time, it is not boring to look at, because there are several different patterns being repeated. This establishes the rhythm of the flower’s patterns, with two rows of . petals being the same, then the next two being a different pattern I would describe this work as both abstract and slightly naturalistic. It is naturalistic because it is somewhat what a sunflower actually looks like, with the actual colors and shape of the flower and its pedals. So in this sense, it is a realistic depiction of the subject. However, this work is also very abstract, as it depicts the artist’s version of the subject and shows this vision using different shapes, forms, and patterns to create a different effect than the realistic version of the subject would have. Coles does this by making the flower appear to be a kaleidoscope, rather . than a typical sunflower without any patterns or movement on the leaves The media of this work is a scorched canvas and lacquer on padded wood, making it more of a craft. The actual sunflower is on a fabric canvas that is on top of the wood. The wood and fabric canvas makes for a more natural feel and contributes to the overall nature feeling the sunflower gives off. I wouldn’t necessarily consider this piece fine art, because it has more of homemade feel to me, whereas I think of fine art as very clean, smooth, and pristine. Not that this work is messy or poorly done, but the canvas isn’t perfectly smooth and even, and that . makes the work feel a little more raw The subject matter of the work and the formal elements of it previously discussed work together to create a specific meaning of this work. I interpreted work to symbolize how beautiful and intricate the simple things in life, like a sunflower really can be. The different patterns and busy design of and within the sunflower are a contrast of the sunflower itself, as it is typically seen as a simple subject. But all of the detail Coles put into this flower shows that no matter how

simple something may appear to the eye, it is always more complex than it seems. I saw it as an analogy almost of the long, intricate process a sunflower goes through to become a sunflower, . and most of us just take the flower for face value and see it as a simple object of nature Because of these intricate details in the work, it appears to be a calculated work. It seems to me that Coles had to put in a lot of planning and thought as to how to construct the artwork, which again to me, symbolizes how complex a simple object really can be. I’m not sure if this was Coles’ intended meaning, as there are many different ways to interpret the work, but this is how I reacted and felt towards it. I saw it as a symbol of hidden complexity, and I feel that doing a formal analysis of the piece helped further my reasoning for my reaction, because I discovered just how much really went into this work and how many different components there are to it. It is . not as simple as one may think Writing a formal analysis of a piece of artwork is a little difficult, because each person interprets the piece differently from one another, so that can make it difficult to decide what the artist’s true reasoning was behind the piece. But, this is not just a bad thing. The fact that everyone interprets the piece differently means there are endless possibilities to write about and analyze, and there really is no concrete right or wrong answer. It is how you interpret the work in your own way and how well you can explain the interpretation to someone to get them to see the work through your eyes. This approach can limit your creative imagination of the artwork, because you need to have concrete ideas to elaborate on. So while you have a lot of free range to write about all different aspects, you still have to present information and solid ideas or examples . to back up what you analyze I think writing this formal analysis has changed the way I will view art from now on. I

now have more appreciation for artwork and all of the little things that go into making it that I never thought about before. I pick up on little details I overlooked previously and now think deeper into the meaning behind the artwork instead of taking it for face value. Learning what actually goes into making a piece of art and all of the little details and meaning behind it makes you create a deeper connection with the painting and have a better appreciation and .understanding of it Word Count: 1843 words...