Posted: September 13th, 2017

History of Art 240; Modern Art

Formal analysis examines the individual elements that make up a work. These include the work’s color, texture, shape, size, the materials from which it is constructed, and the way that these elements are composed. What is the effect of these formal elements? Do they create unity or disunity? Harmony or cacophony? How do they address the viewer and what kind of viewer do they pre-suppose and/or construct? How does the arrangement of elements and the process by which the work was made respond to social trends? Do they put in tension a relation between traditional and modern politics? Does this have implications for the idea of the artist? How does the way that the image looks underscore themes of contingency, disenchantment, or political engagement? For further recommendations on formal analysis, you might consult the “visual description” pages of Marjorie Munsterberg’s websites: www.writingaboutart.org.

Give your paper an original title that provides your reader with an immediate idea of the argument to expect in the pages that follow. If you do use outside sources, including the course readings, be sure to cite them using the Chicago Manual of Style guidelines, which can be found online: http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/home.html