FORMAL ANALYSIS ASSIGNMENT
What is formal analysis? Formal analysis is visual analysis. A formal analysis statement takes
stock of the visual properties of a work of art, or what the eye sees. The word “formal” is not
the opposite of the word “informal;” rather, it comes from the word “form,” which is another
word for shape – one of the most important visual traits.
What is a formal analysis not? First, a formal analysis does not make use of research. You will
not need to find outside materials to help you present the historical or cultural relevance of the
work of art. Second, this type of analysis does not take into account viewer response.
Judgments such as “it makes me feel…,” or “I like/dislike the object because…,” although an
important component of the total experience of art, are not appropriate for this particular
assignment. Last, a formal analysis is not an interpretive essay. It is not the place to read
iconography for deeper meaning or to explore what the artist was intending or meaning when he
or she created the piece.
Instructions:
1) Choose an artwork to write about. The easiest artworks to discuss in a formal analysis
statement are not necessarily the ones that you like best, but the ones that make clear use of the
kinds of topics listed below.
2) Make observations about the piece you want to analyze and choose three topics from the list
below. For example, you might choose 1) color, 2) line, and 3) shape. Or, you may choose three
aspects of one topic such as texture: 1) smooth texture, 2) bumpy texture, and 3) scratchy
texture. You may also choose to write about two aspects of one topic—for example, color: 1)
warm colors, 2) cool colors, and a third completely separate topic such as 3) iconography. In all
cases you will have three topics, each of which will form one paragraph. Your final essay will
consist of these three body paragraphs, plus an introductory paragraph and a concluding
paragraph.
Topics list:
• Color (red, blue, green, etc.; primary/secondary/ tertiary colors; neutral colors; earth tones;
dark colors; light colors; bright colors; dull colors, etc.)
• Shape (square, circle, rectangle, organic or natural-looking shapes, angular shapes, etc.)
• Volume (sphere, ovoid, pyramid, cylinder, etc.)
• Composition (how forms and shapes are laid out and relate to each other)
• Materials used (paint, paper, canvas, stone, papier mache, wood, ink, etc.)
• Iconography, or what is portrayed (sailboats, trees, people, abstract shapes, etc.)
• Depth, if any, and method of creating depth (overlapping shapes, orthogonals pointing back
into space, brighter colors in the foreground and paler colors in the distance, etc.)
• Light source (sun, lamp, candle, fireplace, no light source, etc.)
• Light direction (from left, right, top, bottom, or from outside the work of art)
• Texture (actual or the illusion of texture; rough smooth, silky, soft, bumpy, grainy, sinewy, etc.)
• Lines (implied, contour, curving, angular, thick, thin, flowing, jagged, disconnected, wavy,
dotted, etc.)
• Gestalt effects (how our brain connects areas to create overall shapes or lines)
• Repetition (motifs, forms, shapes, or iconographical elements, that appear three or more times)
• Medium (painting, sculpture, drawing, weaving, photography, mixed-media, etc.)
• Overall shape and size of the entire piece
3) Use five-paragraph essay format to write your statement. The first paragraph will be an
introduction with a thesis statement positioned as the last sentence of the paragraph. (See
examples.) The second through fourth paragraphs should begin with a transition sentence and
should discuss, in the order mentioned in your thesis, the three topics you indicate. The fifth
paragraph will be the conclusion. Underline the thesis statement and the three transition
sentences before submitting your statement.
4) If written correctly, the thesis and transitions, if strung together separately, will read as a
grammatically correct paragraph of its own. If incorrect, it will sound like a jumble.
Sample correct thesis (the last sentence of the first paragraph):
This essay discusses iconography, shapes, and light source in Amy Donnelly’s painting Five
Stories Up (2012).
**NOTE: It is correct form to underline or italicize titles of artworks at all points—never put them
in quote marks—and to list the date, in parentheses, the first time that you mention a title.
5) If you use any information from the walltext or gallery book about the artist or the work of art
in the introduction to your essay (nowhere else is appropriate), be sure to credit the source in
parentheses. For example: (artist’s statement, gallery book) or (walltext). Remember that
outside information should not be a part of the thesis statement or body of your essay. You are
only to discuss what you see.
Example #1: discusses three separate formal elements—1. iconography, 2. depth, 3. texture
Iconography, Depth, and Texture in Tommye McClure Scanlin’s
Landscape Interrupted (2005)
By Julianne McGrath
Tommye McClure Scanlin’s textile-art piece is currently on display at the Fulton Cotton Mill Art
Gallery in Atlanta, Georgia. The artwork is modest in size—approximately eight inches by ten inches, yet it
makes use of several important design elements.
This formal analysis statement will discuss Scanlin’s use
of iconography, depth, and texture.
Iconography is a noticeable aspect of the piece. The artwork portrays a landscape divided by a
highway that narrows as it proceeds into the distance. A grassy, rising hillside hugs the right side of the
road and is peppered with berries and shrubbery. The hillside gently ascends towards a thick line of trees.
The artist positions a small, square, building towards the back of the landscape. A retaining wall follows the
left edge of the highway. Last, there is a blue sky filled with billowing white clouds.
Depth is also a major design element in Scanlin’s piece. Object size is used to create the illusion of
depth. For instance the trees that are closer to the viewer are larger than those that appear to be further
away. Likewise, the road and the retaining wall decrease in size as they travel into the distance. Finally,
the clouds in the foreground are much larger than those in the background, which resemble the tiniest
specks of white.
The last formal element for discussion in relation to Scanlin’s textile piece is texture.
Scanlin
invites the viewed to actually touch the piece, thus we can get a sense of the work’s actual (as opposed to
the illusion of) texture. The rising hillside and road feel fuzzy due to the artist’s use of a wide, yarn-like
thread. The clouds feel soft because they are made from actual cotton balls. The least-textured area is the
blue of the sky, which is made from a smooth, silky-feeling thread.
To conclude, Landscape Interrupted contains the formal design elements of iconography, depth,
and texture. The piece portrays a simple outdoor scene. Depth is created using objects size. The piece’s
texture is varied due to the materials used. All of these elements are readily observed by the viewer.
Example #2: three aspects of a single formal element—texture: 1. smooth, 2. bumpy, 3. scratchy
Texture in Huang Fu’s Photograph of the Desert (2004)
By Daniel Timmons
Huang Fu’s Photograph of the Desert (2001), currently on exhibit at Big Time Ivy League
University’s Student Center Art Gallery, portrays layers of sand dunes, rocks, and bushes, in a dry, arid,
desert. The photograph utilizes many different formal elements. Perhaps the element that is most visible
to the viewer is texture. This photograph captures the illusion of three kinds of texture: smooth, bumpy,
and scratchy.
Smooth texture is perhaps most prominent type of texture in the piece. The sand dunes in the
background appear very smooth. They look like they would feel like velvet if you were to run your hand
across them. There is also smooth texture in the photograph’s mid-ground. The highlighted areas of the
sand dunes in this area could be described as sleek.
Bumpy texture is the second kind of texture portrayed in the photograph. The sand dunes in the
foreground appear bumpy wherever ripples of sand exist. The effect is like many small waves in a choppy
sea. A rocky outcropping on the left side of the photograph also appears bumpy. These rocks jut out
irregularly, and create a knobby, raised pattern.
The last major texture in the photograph is scratchy. The scratchy texture is mainly found in the
mid-ground, on the bushes. The bushes appear to be very dry. If you were to feel them in real life, the
effect would be similar to the way running your hand over a bale of hay would feel.
It is evident that texture is one of the major formal elements found in Huang Fu’s Photograph of
the Desert. Smooth, bumpy, and scratchy texture are all portrayed in the piece. It is fortunate that Fu, a
Chinese peasant, found intrigue in this scene, and photographed it so that the entire campus community
could enjoy it.
#3: ADVANCED format—three formal elements that contribute to a fourth formal element, the
lack of depth: 1. color as it contributes to lack of depth, 2. shapes as they contribute to lack of
depth, and 3. how eliminating the light source contributes to a lack of depth
Lack of Depth in Arshile Gorky’s Painting Garden in Sochi (1945)
By Virginia Caldwell
Arshile Gorky’s vivid painting Garden in Sochi (1945) portrays a non-realistic image of a garden.
Its manner of representation invites the viewer to question his or her ideas of how the world can be
depicted. The painting utilizes many formal elements, including texture, a variety of lines, and patterns.
Perhaps the most evident formal element, however, is the painting’s overall flatness. This essay will discuss
how the painting presents a clear lack of depth through the artist’s use of color, shapes, and through
eliminating the light source.
Gorky’s use of color has clearly contributed to his painting’s lack of depth.
background looks like a giant sheet of construction paper that a child would use.
The bold yellow
There are no other
background colors to demarcate the ground from the sky. It is reminiscent of Matisse’s painting Harmony in
Red (1908 – 1909), where a single, flat, color (red) eliminates a sense of depth.
Another indicator to the viewer that depth and perspective is lacking is in the shapes used to
represent objects portrayed. Not at all realistic, the shapes used look like paper cut-outs pasted to a yellow
sheet of paper. These shapes, brightly colored in bold hues of black, pink, and blue, are arranged next to
one another so that there is no overlapping. Also, they are all roughly the same size which again makes it
difficult for the viewer to get any sense of depth.
Perhaps the most obvious method that Gorky uses to create a distinct flatness in Garden in Sochi is
not using a light source. As a result, the colors show no gradation of hue. They are all equally vivid and
bright. There are no shadows or modelling at all to indicate three dimensionality.
It is apparent that Gorky’s concern in Garden in Sochi was more concerned with
representing a garden in a unique way – through the use of bold, unnatural colors, flat shapes,
and lack of a light source -- than with any semblance of a realistic depiction with depth and
perspective. This aim has definitely been achieved in this painting. It represents a refreshing
look at a popular subject.
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