Looking at the work of other Artists or Photographers

Tuesday, 21 June 2011

Looking at the work of other Artists or Photographers

As part of both the AS & A Level courses you are expected to be looking at the work of other artists or photographers.  This can help to influence your own work and an understanding of why an artist creates a particular piece of work may help you to create your own.  In order to demonstrate to the examiner that you are engaging in the work of other artists you will need to produce evidence of this.  The easiest way to do this is to choose a painting or photograph which relates to your own work by a relatively well known artist and

using the prompts/questions below make an analytical response to your chosen artwork.  It is important that you realise that this cannot be superficial, you need to show a depth of understanding.  Print off one colour and one black/white copy of the image (min A5) on the b/w copy, draw lines to indicate the main compositional structure of the painting, photograph, image etc.

Original colour copy

B/W image with composition lines

Your Response
 What is your first reaction to the work?  Why does it make you feel/think like that?
What does it remind you of and why?
What can you connect the work to?
(e.g. Things seen on the silver screen, tv, youtube; places you have been to or things that have happened to you)


Content
What is the work?  How big is it?
What is it about?
Who is the artist?
When was it made?
Do you know of anything that would have influenced the work? 
(e.g. social/historical facts/influence of other artists.)
Does it contain any symbols you recognise?
Does its title influence how you see the work?


What can you see?
Colours-warm/cool?  Bright/muted? Predominant colour?
Tone-describe areas of light and shade/ areas of strong contrast.
Marks-what kind of marks does the artist use?
How has the artist created texture?
Are there any large shapes or forms?
Are there any imaginary lines joining different areas or creating the structural composition of the work?