Visual Analysis Worksheet

	HWMS Visual Arts Visual Analysis Worksheet

Visual
Analysis

Natural World | Art World
Inner World | Social World

Learning to make
Objective, Subjective, and Aesthetic
descriptions and judgments about visual art

The worksheet below is authored by the HWMS Art Department.

A downloadable PDF file of this worksheet is available on the Visual Arts 7 Course Materials page of hw.com

ARTiculation is an excellent site about the Art Critiquing Process which we use in conjunction with this worksheet.

To find other online resources for this activity, scroll below the worksheet to the links on the green, yellow, and blue backgrounds.

ARTiculation
Learning to
Look at Art

Ruthann Meyer,
Brigatine USD, NJ

The Art
Analytical Process

1. Description

2. Analysis

3. Interpretation

4. Judgment

5. Credit Line

The Visual
Analysis Worksheet

This worksheet exercises your ability to make a thoughtful visual analysis of an art image.

You will be asked to cite the Elements of Visual Language and the Principles of Composition & Design to make both objective and subjective statements.

You may refer to our classroom vocabulary posters and handouts, but please be authentic when responding to the questions below.

Scroll below white pages for format instructions

Visual Analysis Worksheet

Natural World | Art World
Inner World | Social World

Cubby Letter-Number :

Name & Graduating Year:

Instructor:

Course:

Artwork's title:

Artworks' date:

Artist's name:

Image URL:

Copy and Paste your chosen image onto the "X" above.

Natural World

Describe the Image:
Like a reporter or a scientist,
use ordinary language to describe what you see.

A. Describe the objective, "natural facts" about how the image you selected was made (media and technique) and what it appears to be about.

start reply here

B. Is the Style of the artwork realistic, naturalistic, and/or referential? OR is it geometric, idealized, and/or self-referential ? (hint: is it about itself or something else?)

start reply here

Art World

"Scanning" the Image:

Focus, Eye Movement,
Composition, Rule of Thirds

Consider how your eyes explore a path through the picture.

A. What is the focus, or center of interest of this picture? (hint: Where do your eyes go first?)

start reply here

B. Where your do your eyes go next, and how do they scan (explore) a path through the picture?

start reply here

C. Is the composition centric, formal, and/or symmetrical? OR is it dynamic, informal, and/or asymmetrical?

start reply here

D. Is the top third of the picture interesting to look at or is it unimportant to the rest of the picture? Why?

start reply here

Art World

"Scanning" the Image: Part 2

Focus, Eye Movement,
Composition, Rule of Thirds

Consider how your eyes explore a path through the picture.

A. Is the Subject (or focus) slightly off-center? Does the horizon demonstrate the Rule of Thirds? How?

start reply here

B. Does the picture use overlapping shapes or perspective to establish distance? Which shapes overlap? Which show perspective?

start reply here

C. Is the top third of the picture interesting or is it empty? Why?

start reply here

D. What is/are the light source(s) for the picture? Where does the light come from?

start reply here

Art World

The Visual Elements:

Dot, Line, Shape, Color,
Value, Form, Space, Texture

Be objective and descriptive.
Look at the details of the image.

(hint: see a single tree inside the forest:
examine it's leaves and branches)

A . What two Visual Elements are the most important to the success of this artwork?

start reply here

B. How do they help us "read" the image?

start reply here

Art World

The Principles of Composition and Design

Emphasis, Unity, Balance,
Movement, Rhythm, Contrast, and Pattern

Consider how the whole is greater than
the sum of its parts.

(hint: see the forest instead of the trees)

A. What two Principles of Composition are most important to the success of this artwork?

start reply here

B. How do these two Principles organize our experience of the whole image?

start reply here

Inner World

Perception Is Purposeful.
The mind is artistic, and so are we.

Calmly focus on the image. Extend your perceptions.
Go "inside" the image. Have confidence in your
imagination and your first impressions.

A. What is the weather like inside this image? Is it cool or hot? Is it moist or dry? Is the wind blowing? How does it feel against your skin?

start reply here

B. What kind of sounds do you hear inside the picture?

start reply here

C. What can you smell and taste inside the picture?

start reply here

Social World

Visual Art is a form of communication.
Interacting with art is interacting with the artist.

Be interpretive - consider the subjective experience
of interacting with the artwork.

A. Why did you pick this picture to analyze?

start reply here

B. How do you feel when you look at this image? Why?

start reply here

C. What is the artist sharing with you?

start reply here

D. Why did the artist make this image? (What was their intention?)

start reply here

E. Were they successful? Why?

start reply here

Format
Instructions

To Begin:

At the Tech Center, open [this] page at hw.com

THE PATH IS: hw.com > academics > departments > msvisual arts > Curriculum >
Visual Arts 7 > Visual Analysis Worksheet

STEPS 1- 6

Then follow these steps:

Step 1: With your web browser's window open to this [web] page, Open a New document in MS Word. Size both windows so that you may refer to both documents at the same time.

Step 2: Highlight this online worksheet, Copy it, and Paste it into your new MS Word document.

(Highlight from lower HW Coat - Of -Arms to upper HW Coat - Of - Arms)

AS YOU COPY THE WORKSHEET ABOVE,

HIGHLIGHT ONLY THE TEXT
ON THE WHITE BACKGROUND,
FROM ONE HW COAT-OF-ARMS

TO THE OTHER

DO NOT
HIGHLIGHT AREAS WITH COLORED BACKGROUNDS

Step 3: Save your document with this file name formula:

Your letter-number_your 3 initials_VSLANL_v1

Example: K9_PUP_VSLANL_v1

Step 4: Save to :

My Documents > Visual Arts Projects >
Class section folder

(example folder name : 1200_1K1)

Step 5: Browse some of the Art History on the WWW resource sites (see below) in order to find an image to paste into your MS WORD worksheet.

Step 6: Complete your personalized MS WORD worksheet.

RESOURCES ON THE WWW

Art History
Resources on the WWW:

Olga's Gallery | Online Museum

A user-friendly site by Olga and Helen Mataev. Features large, scrollable thumbnails with an extensive collection of Eurocentric art.

Web Museum, Paris: Artist index

Fine Art digital archive: Artists, Artworks, Art Historical text and images.

Mark Harden's Artchive

This venerable archive is a well-designed resource of significant images, and its "Theory and Criticism" links are appropriate to this worksheet.

Masters of Photography

This is sub-category of the Archive site is an excellent collection of images by critically recognized photographers.

MIMUEX Art History Resource Site

An easy to navigate tour of two millennium of Western art.

artnet | gallery artists

A web guide for the contemporary art market with an abundance of images
and recognizable "name" artists.

abstract-art.com

An impassioned presentation of abstract art, its critical-historical roots, and its contemporary practitioners. The sub-topic "Grandfathers and Influences" is particularly instructive and well designed.

Web Gallery of Art

Created by Emil Kren and Daniel Marx, this site is a scholarly and well-organized archive of European paintings and sculpture from the years 1150 to 1800. The authors treat this as a site about Renaissance art, its sources, and evolution. Also
includes a selection of 14th-18th century period music
from The Classical (Music) Archives.

Art On The Web

An expansive selection of over 1,200 pertinent sites from
Prof. Jeffery Howeof the Boston College Fine Arts Department.

C. W.'s Art History Resources on the Web

The definitive Art History subject directory by Prof. Chris Whitcombe of
Sweet Briar College, Virginia. Online since October 24, 1995.
Comprehensive, multicultural, and well organized.

The Mother of All Art History Links Pages

This link directs you Mother's list of Image Collections and Online Art.
This site is available courtesy of the School of Art and Design at the
University of Michigan.

Art Analysis
Resources on the WWW:

The Artists' ToolKit

Sound, animation, and a keen sense of design make this site engaging, entertaining, and self-explanitory. It is an excellent way to introduce the Visual Elements and Principles to primary and middle school students, with a graduated choice of "watch, find, and create" activities and interactive exercises.

Designed for the Minneapolis-based ArtsConnectEd web site by an impressive team of technicians, artists, and art educators, this collaboration by the Walker Art Center, The Mpls. Institute of Fine Arts, and Educational Web Adventures aptly demonstrates the effectiveness of multimedia instruction.

ARTiculation : Learning to Look at Art

Designed by Ruthann Meyer of the Brigatine School District, NJ, this site exemplifies good design, elegant presentation, and an experienced teacher's practical presentation of classroom activities with PDF files available for downloading. Ruthanne's succinct description of the five steps of the art critiquing process is particularly valuable.

The Alphabet of Art

This compact site presents concise and insightful observations about the "Attributes" of the Visual Elements. Based on the work of Robert J. McKnight, sculptor, designer, and art theoretician.

Online Visual Literacy Project:
B. Stonehill, Pomona College,CA

Text, pictures, and animations describing the Elements of the visual language.

Basic Strategies In Reading Photographs

A collaboration between Nuvo.com, the San Diego Museum of Photographic Art, and photographer Jack Leigh.

Art, Design, and Visual Thinking:
C. Jirousek, Cornell U. NY.

An interactive textbook, also with text and pictures describing the Elements and Principles. Thorough treatment includes Non-European Modes of Visual Thinking, Fine Arts, Dress, Decorative Arts.

The Analysis of Visual Images

Created by Ross Woodrow of the University of Newcastle as an on line course resource which is generously shared with the world-wide public, this site presents a wide range of contemporary, thought-provoking contexts which inform post-modern thinking and critical analysis.

Because it is designed for college art and art history students, it is very well researched and presented, with an "art-insider's" sense of purpose and a scholar's understanding of social relevance.

Harber's Reviews

Artchive | Theory and Criticism

art and culture | Criticism and Theory

Three sources for examples of the critical analysis of art and visual images.

Art Dictionary
Resources on the WWW:

ArtCyclopedia

Fine Art Search Engine : search by Artist's Name, Artwork's Title, or
by Museum. Includes text with bios, extra info. A very practical,
user-friendly site.

ArtLex: An art lexicon dictionary

An innovative, award-winning digital dictionary which uses links to supplement it's text and illustrations. Authored by Michael DeLahunt , art instructor for Paradise Valley USD, Arizona.

Updated: February 19, 2005