Write a 1-2 page double-spaced paper answering the question: how does this image make meaning exclusively through its formal elements?

Read these helpful sources:
Art History vocabulary list
“Looking at Art” Handout by D. Caplow
Smarthistory’s How to do visual (formal) analysis video (Links to an external site.)
An example visual analysis (Links to an external site.)
See also your Week 2 Lecture
2. ) Chose either:
Barbara Earl Thomas, Electric Crow – Flint Black Wings, Laser cut steel screen for light switching station, Walden Triangle. 33′ x 12′ at it’s highest arch point. (Links to an external site.)
Or
Jacob Lawrence, The migration gained in momentum, 1940-41, Casein tempera on hardboard, 18 x 12″. (Links to an external site.)
3): Study your image carefully.
Pay attention to your first impressions: Which visual elements jump out at you initially? What do you notice with further observation?
4.): Write a 1-2 page double-spaced paper answering the question: how does this image make meaning exclusively through its formal elements?
Specific questions to consider as you study your image:
How would you describe the overall form/composition?
How does style play a role? Is the object abstract, stylized, naturalistic?
How does your eye travel around the form or through the pictorial space?
What is the scale of the piece? What effect would that have on a viewer seeing it in person?
Which formal elements are most important to the objects’ construction?
Remember, this paper is based solely on your interpretation of the visual elements. Do not discuss the object’s history, maker, culture, etc. No outside research is required.
This paper requires a thesis statement.
5.) Study the rubric carefully and refer back to it during the drafting & editing process
View Rubric
Visual Analysis Paper Rubric
Criteria Ratings Pts
Employs and explains three formal analysis traits
view longer description

Electric Crow

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