WHY?
- to learn more; to gain better, deeper understanding of the work,
- to help form an opinion based on knowledge and understanding,
- to form an objective
HOW?
A four-stage process, or 'method':
1. Simply describe whet you see (visual inventory, list); don't try to put meaning.
2. Describe how it makes you feel; your initial, first reaction (it can change).
3. Describe what you think the artist/designer meant you to think or feel/ how we're supposed to react; what's the intention.
4. Look for the context of the work - this may lead to further research into the work of the artist/designer (context, background, who's behind it, ethical policy, audience, views, who's the artist).
Process of looking and seeing can be sometimes much easier, if we undertake a visual analysis of painting, poster, sculpture, graphic, drawing etc. It is definitely helpful, along with a bit of research, when we're not sure what the artwork is all about. It helps to put some attention into details and to start guessing and describing what we see without any extra knowledge about particular piece.
It's possibly worthy to mention, that I have done it before (over seven years ago) with a lot of different artworks, mainly paintings (as being pure visuals, they're possibly best choice for this exercise). That was when I have finished my education in Poland with final exams called 'Matura'. I was actually the only person in the entire school choosing history of art as additional subject for the exams set. I got very good results then and it always makes me smile to think of it. I was writing it in the library that only I could access that morning, three hours long with three examiners and a bodyguard outside the door. Quite a funny view for myself I have to say. It felt great... recognizing numerous paintings in National Gallery in London, that I have visited a few times. It's an amazing feeling to see its physical original form, its real scale, to be able to smell the paint in a way. It was very exciting to see Van Gogh's 'Sunflowers', one of my favaourite painters. I was also a bit surprising as I imagined it to be a bit bigger. I guess that's confusion to its copies and reprints. I had one in my bedroom too... It reminds me of the exhibition I have seen last month in the Minories Gallery, Colchester. The artwork presented was often bought very cheaply in the superstore or reproduced. The original, remarkable masterpieces loose their values and possibly become trashy in that case. However I think no reproduction can really give similar impression to the original work, that holds its history and value in the museum or someone's house of wealth.
Going back to the visual analysis... I am going to put an example of one we have done during the seminar with our tutor Sean O'Dell, to remember its principles.
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| William Holman Hunt The Hireling Shepherd (1851) Oil on canvas |
1.
young man and woman sitting on the field (grass and flowers) in the shade of trees, by a river or lake (girl has no shoes on),
a shepherd neglecting his flock in favour of an attractive country girl; he's showing her a moth (placing his arm around her shoulder),
one sheep wanders over a ditch into a wheat field,
one lamb sits on woman's lap, covered with her red dress, surrounded by apples,
countryside, possibly midday or morning, summer
2.
it's intriguing, a bit weird and uncomfortable, not very romantic,
contrast of sheep and its purity with sexually positioned subjects, suggestively,
quite ambiguous response of the country girl; her body language is rather negative towards the shepherd, but facial impression seems a bit opposite; not sure,
it looks like a snapshot, it's dynamic,
shepherd is definitely completely ignoring his flock, his duties (they were hired temporarily; young, careless lad; where he laid his hat that's where his home was),
it reminds Adam and Eve Bible scene
3.
artist tried to send a moral message to his audience,
watch your sheep, look after your duties; one of them is crossing the boundary; men is also pushing the boundaries (similarly to his sheep),
apple=sin, lamb=innocence (possibly also signifies girl's virginity), symbolic,
guy=predator, wolf-like, it looks like he's haunting on her, invades her personal space, he's got obvious intentions,
whole situation seems uncomfortable, destroying natural harmony of the scene,
hypocrisy, lack of moral values; complicacy or possibly scepticism (interpretation of girl's reaction)
4.
Hunt used a local country girl Emma Watkins as a model,
showing problem of prostitution at the time,
Avant-garde group wanting to change society,
crossing boundaries on daily basis,
critique of Victorian Church and churchmen, bishops of England no looking after their 'flock',
critique of the middle class,
artist gives clues but he leaves some thing uncertain, so the viewer can read it independently,
intellectual, analytical art
moral message, emotional response,
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