1. Principles and Elements Putting Knowledge to Practice

2. Writing a Critique Using professional language to describe what you see in an artwork is very important The Principles and Elements of Design will not only make you sound professional, but also demonstrate your knowledge of the artwork As a bonus, you’ll sound super smart and people will be blown away by your ability to dissect art!

3. Take a look What elements of design can you see?

5. Need some help? line shape colour texture value form

6. Where are the elements?

7. Take a look What principles of design can you see?

9. Let me help you out: balance movement pattern emphasis contrast

10. Where are the principles?

11. Formal Critique Answer the questions in paragraph form

12. Initial Reaction What is your first impression of this work? What does this work bring to mind? What does this movement suggest to you? What emotions does this work evoke? What puzzles you? What questions do you have? What connections can you make between this work and your own experience or other art forms?

13. Analysis What elements, principles, and/or conventions of the art form are used in this work? How are the elements and/or principles organized, combined, or arranged in this work by the artist?

14. Interpretation What do you think is the theme or subject of the work What is the artist trying to communicate, and why? Why do you think the visual artist created this work? What message or meaning do you think the work conveys? What do you feel is the artist’s view of the world? How does this view match or contrast with your own view of the world?

15. Cultural Context What social, political, and historical events may have influenced the artist in this work? What cultural movements, events, or traditions or other works in the arts may have influenced the artist? What events in the artist’s life may have affected the creation of the work?

16. Aesthetic Judgment How effectively does the artist select and combine elements to achieve an intended effect in this work? (i.e., What works?) What doesn’t work, and why? Has your point of view shifted from your initial reaction? If so, how has it changed? Why? In what ways does the artist evoke joy, sadness, or other emotions in this work?

17. Remember Only answer 2 questions from each section! When you’re writing a formal art critique, keep in mind that you should talk about as many of the elements and principles as possible Discuss how they work with each other Talk about how they are used in the artwork Be sure to answer all of the questions you choose in paragraph format and NOT question by question. Here are some great examples:

18. Formal Critique Answer the questions in paragraph form

20. Student Example Initial Reaction My first impression of the picture was how blurry it seemed to me, yet I had a clear visual of the girl in my mind. As your eyes scroll down the picture, it gets even more vague, which makes the viewer really curious as of what is happened there, therefore it evokes confusion. We can infer that she is from Far East Asia because of the way she looks. Since it is an oil painting there is a big chance that the painting is Chinese because that is the style of most of the Chinese artists. What is she looking at ? What is at the bottom of the picture ? Analysis

21. Student Example Interpretation The theme of the painting is the curiosity in her eyes, it is almost as if the artist painting this to make the people not only look at it, but also to take some time and give it some deep thinking to kind of figure out what it is about. It gets more distorted as we scroll our eyes down the painting. My opinion of how the artist views the world as considering how people should think about things more deeply and realize what is around them, IE : Find pieces to the puzzle of their lives. Cultural Context

22. Student Example My point of view has barely changed since I first saw the painting because when I first saw it, I simply saw an almost clear image of a girl but with a blurry dress and what is around that is even more vague… and now when I look at it again i still cannot figure out what is occurring down there, yet the girl's face still seems clear in my mind. The different colours that are mixed on the lefthand side of the dress do not fit in since they ruin the white hue of the dress itself. As mentioned earlier, the artist evokes a confusing emotion since she is making the people curious of what is actually happening in the painting under the run-on lines. Aesthetic Judgment

23. Rubric