MINT MUSEUM VISUAL ANALYSIS WORKSHEET

Guidelines:

1. Bring a noteboo/journal. You will need it to write about the artwork that you observe and analyze.

2.  Bring a pencil only.  Pen inks can leave accidental marks that can damage art (just look at how many times an ink pen has marked up your purse or a pocket) and a docent may come and scold you.

3.  Don't drink, snack or have candy/gum. 

4. Travel light through a museum (notebook, pencil, and smarphone only).  You cannot bring purses, backpacks, etc.

5. Though artwork is beautiful and you might be amazed that something is really a painting, NEVER reach out to touch artwork. 

6. No flash photography is sometimes allowed but if it is it's only of their permanent collection and for personal use (not published or internet use).

7.  Don't rush, take your time in the museum.  We have up to 4 hours if we need it.

What is visual analysis?

Visual analysis is a method of understanding art that focuses on an artwork’s visual elements such as color, line, texture, scale, etc. In its strictest definition, it is a description and explanation of visual structure for its own sake.

Yet the purpose of visual analysis can also recognize the choices that an artist made in creating the artwork, as Visual analysis is often used as a starting point for art historical writing.

Visual analysis is not just for art. It is also a critical part of visual literacy, a skill that helps people read and as citizens of the 21st century, we are constantly confronted with visual media. Practicing visual analysis sharpens critical judgment skills and helps people seek out answers for themselves instead of passively receiving information. This is especially important when exposing hidden ideologies that may motivatc seemingly neutral images.

How does visual analysis work?

Visual analysis can include three phases, but a given assignment might only ask for observation or could require all three in a formal interpretation paper. Make sure you know what you need to do!

Phase One: Observation

Observation means closely looking at and identifying the visual attributes of an artwork, trying to describe them carefully and accurately in your own words. Do not read about the artwork at all. The observation phase is about looking, thinking, and finding good language to communicate what you notice. Trust your

eyes and follow your curiosity!

Phase Two: Analysis

Analysis requires you to think about your observations and try to make statements about the work based on the evidence of your observations (akin to using close reading to formulate an argument about a text). Think about how the specific visual elements that you’ve identified combine together to create a

whole, and what effect that whole has on the viewer. How your eye is led through the work and why? What choices did the artist make in creating this work, and what effect they on the viewer? 

There is still no reading in this phase, save for basic information such as the title and date of the artwork on the museum wall by the painting.  A visual analysis paper is not a research paper.

VISUAL OBSERVATION AND ANALYSIS ACTIVITY

PART ONE: Explore one of the museum galleries and select an artwork (no more than 30 minutes)

Alone/with a partner (no more than 2 people), select an work of art that that appeals to you emotionally or piques your curiosity. Perhaps you simply feel drawn to it, but you don't intellectually understand why.

NOTE:  ONCE YOU HAVE CHOSEN AN ARTWORK, TAKE A SELFIE OF YOURSELF IN FRONT OF IT (IF ALLOWED), TAKE A PHOTO OF THE PAINTING ONLY, AND TAKE A PHOTO OF THE MUSEUM CARD ON THE WALL NEXT TO THE ARTWORK.  This info card includes artist's name, title of the work, date created, etc.

PART TWO: Look at your artwork independenty (separate from your partner).

Look carefully and silently at your chosen artwork for 15-20 minutes. Each student should take separate notes to capture their initial thoughts and observations. Try to observe the artwork from far away and up close.

As you look, consider each of the following questions and quickly freewrite a response to each question.  Let the writing go where it wants, free associate and do not edit.  Write as quickly as you can and write as much as you possibly can.

•What drew you to this work in particular?

•What do you notice first?

•How do you think it was made? (think materials used:  type of canvas, type of paint, tools used, etc.).

•What feeling, mood, or thought does this work evoke for you?

Discuss your thoughts with your partner. What are your first impressions? 

PART THREE: Visual observation and description (ideally at least 30 minutes, up to 60 minutes)

Visual artists use formal elements such as style, color, line, texture, space, composition, and scale to create and convey meaning. Looking at your artwork, how would you describe the following visual elements? Remember to note where in the work you see these specifically!

STYLE: Do things appear in this painting as we see them in real life, or are they stylized (surrealist works for instance are dreamlike and not realistic)? Where in the work do you see this?

Observation (description only):

Analysis (thoughts about the effect on the viewer):

COLOR: Are colors warm or cold, bright or muted? Are there many colors or just a few? How do you react to them emotionally?  What meaning might they convey?

Observation:

Analysis:

LINE: What words capture the quality of line in this work? Are there different kinds?

Observation:

Analysis:

TEXTURE: Is there literal texture in your artwork (object, sculpture), or depicted texture (drawing, painting)? Where do you see this?

Observation (What does it look like?):

Analysis (Why do you think the artist chose to depict it like this?):

SPACE: Are objects cramped, or cut off, or do they have a lot of room to breathe? Is the work flat, or does it give an illusion of depth?

Observation:

Analysis:

COMPOSITION: How are the visual elements of the work arranged? Do they seem balanced? Is there one focus in particular, or does your eye move around the painting in a particular way?

One way to help ascertain this is to imagine a vertical line dividing the left and right halves of the painting, as well as one dividing the top half from the bottom. What similarities and differences do you notice comparing the two sides?

Observation:

Analysis:

SCALE: Is the work life-size, smaller, larger? How does this impact the viewer’s relationship to the artwork?

Observation:

Analysis:

PART FOUR: Begin visual analysis (20 minutes)

Now that you have looked closely at your artwork and described its visual characteristics—

FIRST: Go back and fill in your analysis for each observation. What effect does the visual elements that you have described

Discuss your thoughts with your partner/group/class.

NEXT: Consider how the visual elements that you’ve observed work together, and what effect this combined total has on the viewer.

Here it might help to think about how your eye moves around the work and why. Another helpful way to think about this is to consider the artist’s decision-making as well for these visual elements. Why would the artist decide to portray it like this? You will want to pull on you observations for style, color, line, texture, space, composition, and scale here. Use them as evidence to draw conclusions about the artwork. HOW MIGHT THESE CHOICES BE RELATED TO THE TITLE OF THE PIECE IN SOME WAY?  HOW MIGHT THESE CHOICES BE REALTED TO INDIVIDUAL IDENTITY AND/OR SOCIAL IDENTITY?  

Don’t worry about having the right answer. You will not be able to answer all of your questions definitively from merely observing the artwork, but you will be able to make some claims and understand how the painting operates formally given the visual evidence that you’ve compiled.

Discuss your thoughts with your partner.

YOU WILL USE YOUR IDEAS THAT YOU DEVELOPED TODAY WHEN YOU COMPLETE THE VISUAL ANALYSIS INVENTION WORK FOR HOMEWORK (DUE 2/24), AND YOU WILL DEVELOP  YOUR ARGUMENT (OVERALL CLAIM AND SUBCLAIMS) THAT ARE ALSO DUE ON 2/24.  ANSWER ALL OF THE QUESTIONS FROM THE STRATEGIES FOR UNDERSTANDING VISUALS BEFORE DEVELOPING YOUR OVERALL CLAIM AND SUBCLAIMS.

PART FIVE: Determine some visual analysis arguments about your artwork (as homework or in following class)

What can you say about how this work operates/communicates about individual and/or social identity based on what your observations and thoughts?

Overall claim:

Supporting observation 1 (subclaim #1):

Supporting observation 2 (subclaim #2):

Supporting observation 3 (subclaim #3):

Supporting observation 4 (subclaim #4):

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