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Methods in Reading Art CN 5082: Formentera, Alondra L

There are 7 methods for reading art: formalism and style, iconography, contextual approaches, biography and autobiography, semiotics, psychoanalysis, and aesthetics with psychoanalysis. Formalism focuses on form over context while iconography examines subject matter. Contextual approaches analyze philosophical movements. Biography and autobiography consider the artist's life. Semiotics studies cultural meanings in signs. Psychoanalysis observes unconscious imagery. Aesthetics and psychoanalysis consider psychological factors in what is considered beautiful.

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Alondra L. Formentera
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3K views30 pages

Methods in Reading Art CN 5082: Formentera, Alondra L

There are 7 methods for reading art: formalism and style, iconography, contextual approaches, biography and autobiography, semiotics, psychoanalysis, and aesthetics with psychoanalysis. Formalism focuses on form over context while iconography examines subject matter. Contextual approaches analyze philosophical movements. Biography and autobiography consider the artist's life. Semiotics studies cultural meanings in signs. Psychoanalysis observes unconscious imagery. Aesthetics and psychoanalysis consider psychological factors in what is considered beautiful.

Uploaded by

Alondra L. Formentera
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Methods in reading art

Formentera, alondra l. cn
5082
what is method?

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According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, Method is;
a procedure or process for attaining an object: such as.
▸ a(1) : a systematic procedure, technique, or mode of
inquiry employed by or proper to a particular discipline or
art.
▸ (2) : a systematic plan followed in presenting material for
instruction the lecture method.

3
7 approaches (Method) of
reading art

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▸ It is the importance of formal qualities
(art elements,materials, and design
principles) as the basis of art.
▸ Roger Fry master this approach and
according to him, the form is the
content per se (derived from the latin
word by itself) and does not take
history and context into account.

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iconography

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Focus on the subject matter primarily over form. It will
answer the questions like:
▸ Who is the person the artist painted and what does it
represent?
▸ Why did the artist choose this image and what for?

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▸ For example: Mona Lisa by Leonardo
da Vinci (1797)
▸ Who is the person the artist painted and
what does it represent?
Lisa del Giocondo an Italian noblewoman
and member of the Gherardini family of
Florence and Tuscany. Her name was given
to the Mona Lisa, her portrait
commissioned by her husband and painted
by Leonardo da Vinci during the Italian
Renaissance. Little is known about Lisa's
life. 
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▸ For example: Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci
(1797)

▸ Why did the artist choose this image and what for?
Da Vinci exploited an optical illusion to create
a unique smile through perspective and his use of
shadow work. Da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa in such
a way that the eyes of the Mona Lisa fall directly in the
center of vision of the viewer, while the lips fall just
under the periphery of one's vision.

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Contextual approaches

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▸ It is mainly school thought and
philosophical movements which takes
place in a certain parameter like
Marxism, Orientalism, Colonialism,
Racial Iconography, Feminism and
Gender.
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▸ For example Marxism is an
art about economics and on
the other hand, Feminism Gustave Courbet, The Stone Breakers, 1849
(Marxism)
is bent toward social
context where gender
becomes a strong factor in
forces behind an artistic
creation.
J. Howard Miller “We can do it” 1943
(Feminism)

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Biography and autobiography

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▸ Consider as the life and context of the
artist.
▸ This approach is based on assumption
that the artist’s life, choices, beliefs, and
personality are directly connected to the
works that he or she creates.
▸ For example: An artist can paint an art
that represents his life for example
theism because his happiness is in
spiritual things

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semiotics

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From the greek word sema means sign and it
is composed of a set of signs that may have
cultural and contextual meanings beyond itself

For example:
Paul Klee’s Cat and Bird (1928)
The cat appears to be “all head,” and the bird,
on cat's forehead, is symbolic of what
the cat is thinking. Flying in the cat's mind,
the bird is a “secret” made visible to others.

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Psychoanalysis

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▸ It is concerned about the unconcious mind
in relation of artist, viewer, and cultural
context involved in it.
▸ both clinical and as applied to other fields,
deals with the observation and analysis of
imagery: in dreams, symptom
formation, symbolism, and fantasy.

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▸ The lovers II by Rene Magritte
(1928)
Depicting two individuals locked in
an embrace. The figures are kissing
one another through veils. They are
situated in a room with the back wall,
side wall and ceiling showing. The
back wall is blue-grey with a lighter
shade on the bottom half and a darker
shade on the top half. 

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▸ The lovers II by Rene
Magritte (1928)
The psychological impact
however is far greater with
all of these elements. This
painting show how love is
blind.

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Aesthethics and psychoanalysis

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▸ Individual notion is considered acceptable,
beautiful, or attractive in works of art in part of
psychological factors.
▸ Example of this is the color psychology wherein
color has a relationship on conveying feelings in
art.
▸ We will still use the painting of Rene Magritte’s
The Lovers II as an example

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▸ The color blue is associated with calm or water
which is associated with life. The color red is
associated with anger, lust and love while white
is associated with purity which also happens to
be the least shown. Black is commonly
associated with death which the man may be
representative of. The woman is dressed in red
which may mean love or passion. The veils are of
a whitish or grayish color and depending upon
how you see it could mean purity or could mean
the purity is fading or tainted.

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To summarize:

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There are 7 approches (method) in reading an art:
▸ Formalism and Style
▸ Iconography
▸ Contextual Approaches
▸ Biography and Autobiography
▸ Semiotics
▸ Psychoanalysis
▸ Aesthetics and Psychoanalysis

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▸ Roger Fry master the approach of Formalism and Style wherein
he stated that history and context is not into account when it
comes to formalism and style.
▸ Iconography consist of questions like who is the person the artist
painted and why did the artist choose it and what for?
▸ Contextual Approach means different philosophical movements
like Marxism, Feminism, Orientalism, Colonialism, Racial
Iconography and Gender.
▸ Biography and Autobiography refers to the artist life, belief and
choices
▸ Semiotics is art signs that represents the art.
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▸ Psychoanalysis is the feelings the viewer seen at
art.
▸ Aesthetic and Psychoanalysis refers to the
elements of art that has a psychological meaning
like the color psychology in which color has a
relationship with psychology (feelings) on what
the artist and viewers seen in the masterpiece.

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“
Quotations are commonly printed as a means of
inspiration and to invoke philosophical thoughts from
the reader.

28
References:

▸ Pawilen (2019) Art Appreciation


▸ Images: Google Images
▸ https://www.renemagritte.org/the-lovers-2.jsp
▸ https://blogs.commons.georgetown.edu/cctp-802-sprin
g2018/2018/02/20/paul-klee-and-visual-semiotic
/
▸ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WeCanDoIt!

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Thank you and god bless

Psalms 126:5
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