Unit II: ART ANALYSIS

Semiotic and Iconic Plane

Intended Learning Outcomes

At the end of this unit, students must have:

• Define semiotic plane and its

elements in studying Art (CLO 2);
• Analyze an advertisement based on
Semiotic and Iconic planes (CLO 3);

Time Allocation: 3 hours

Source:https://www.google.com/search?q=semiotic+plane&sxsrf=ALeKk00lTfl1ZupTg_oGXETroHDsaOgpkg:159849081106
0&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjH4eCnmrrrAhUBL6YKHVxRAHkQ_AUoAXoECA0QAw&biw=1242&bih=597

PREPARATION:
First Activity: Look at the picture below and answer the questions that follow.

1. Does this painting have one color as opposed to many colors?

2. What feelings do the colors evoke in you?
3. What about shading? Are there darks and lights? Are there contrasts?
4. Are there visible brush strokes or are they hidden?
5. Are the brush strokes narrow or broad?
6. Does the painting convey a certain feel?
7. In what direction do the lines move?
8. Are the lines fine or thick?
9. Are the lines curved or in straight lines, such as railroad tracks that show perspective?
10. Are there any circles or other geometric figures?
11. Are the forms mostly natural or man-made?
12. Do any of the forms appear to be three-dimensional?
 13. Is there light or dark around the objects in the painting?
14. Does the space around objects appear shallow or deep?
15. Does space appear to be stable or unstable?

PRESENTATION:
The purpose of a visual analysis is to recognize and understand the visual choices the artist made in
creating the artwork. By observing and writing about separate parts of the art object, you will come to a better
understanding of the art object as a whole. A visual analysis addresses an artwork’s formal elements—visual
attributes such as color, line, texture, and size. A visual analysis may also include historical context or
interpretations of meaning.

One way to analyze a piece of art is through the use of semiotics.

Semiotics is the study of works of art signs and symbols, either individually or grouped in sign systems
that can give us more insight from the work source and meaning. All painters work in a pictorial language by
following a set of standards, basics and rules of picture-making. There is a big resemblance between pictorial
image making and the creation of written language, the study of this nature of what consists and the individual
components of pictorial and written language is known as Semiotics.

Semiotics can translate a picture from an image into words. Visual communication terms and theories
come from linguistics, the study of language, and from semiotics, the science of signs. Signs take the form of
words, images, sounds, odours, flavours, acts or objects, but such things have no natural meaning and
become signs only when we provide them with meaning

For supplemental discussion, please open these links.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sM2MOyonDsY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3XvJDxjIpU

PRACTICE:
Picture Analysis

Directions: Study the picture on the left and

do what is asked.

1. Say something about

a. The colors used;
b. The pattern and size of the
mountains; and
c. The texture of mountains
2. Relate the artist’s use of the various
visual elements to life in general.
https://www.google.com/search?q=atmospheric+perspective&sxsrf=ALeKk03mFMyKVdIgHOg5tFVs9dulhy0aTA:1598495255042&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=89eFVhWN51CFXM%252CZ6qwv3
o7PYORrM%252C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_-kQPXoccxbU-AaL0RKTV7xKixSDMNg&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiZ_-fuqrrrAhUkzIsBHcABBqwQ_h16BAgHEAo#imgrc=7uA6qaRoy0a6ZM
PERFORMANCE:
INDIVIDUAL LEARNING TASK
 Directions. Examine the picture very carefully and
answer the following questions.

1. Does this painting have one color as opposed to

many colors?
2. What feelings do the colors evoke in you?
3. What about shading? Are there darks and lights?
Are there contrasts?
4. Are there visible brush strokes or are they hidden?
5. Are the brush strokes narrow or broad?
6. Does the painting convey a certain feel?
7. In what direction do the lines move?
8. Are the lines fine or thick?
9. Are the lines curved or in straight lines, such as
railroad tracks that show perspective?
10. Are there any circles or other geometric
figures?
11. Are the forms mostly natural or man-made?
12. Do any of the forms appear to be three-
dimensional?
13. Is there light or dark around the objects in the
painting?
14. Does the space around objects appear shallow or
deep?
15. Does space appear to be stable or unstable?
16. What does the picture tell you with the man’s body
movement, the woman’s positioning in relation to
the man’s positioning and the emotions shown in
their faces?

II. Valuing (Essay)

1. What does this picture tell you about men’s

treatment to women?

Source: https://www.google.com/search?q=famous+philippine+painting&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwi5-
c7KsLrrAhUxzIsBHWJwDOAQ2-
cCegQIABAA&oq=famous+philippine+painting&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQAzICCAAyBggAEAgQHjoECCMQJzoECAAQQzoFCAAQsQM
6BwgAELE
DEEM6CAgAELEDEIMBOgoIABCxAxCDARBDOgQIABAYUO1AWPVhYIVjaABwAHgAgAGsAogBqBmSAQkxMS4xMS4zLjGYAQCgAQGqAQtn
d3Mtd2l6LWltZ8ABAQ&sclient=img&ei=FSBHX_maLbGYr7wP4uCxgA4&bih=553&biw=1242#imgrc=upuSAP7MvDVrYM

Works Cited:

https://study.com/academy/lesson/how-to-analyze-a-
painting-lesson-plan.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3XvJDxjIpU-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sM2MOyonDsY

https://twp.duke.edu/sites/twp.duke.edu/files/
file-attachments/visual-analysis.original.pdf