One of the things I am learning in the Lisa Call
"Working in a Series" workshop is how to look at art critically. This is something I always thought I "sort of " knew, but never had any concrete way of doing, other than staring at a piece, thinking about "What does it mean?" and "How did s/he DO that?" Lisa has provided a couple different ways of evaluating or critiquing. One is a standard four part format that I've seen a few other places as well: "Description, Analysis, Interpretation, Judgement." This method produces the type of critique you would read in a review of a show or exhibit.
The other method Lisa offered was a much more detailed set of questions to guide thinking about the design elements that are used in the work of art. I decided to try out her questions and evaluate one of my favorite works of art, Yellow, Red, Blue, painted in 1925 by Wassily Kandinsky.
Here is my analysis, with thanks to Lisa for permission to reprint her questions.
Write answers to the following questions about the elements that make up the design:
§ What is
the color and value usage? There is a wide range of values from almost-white and very
light yellow in the background and the left figure, to the dark red, blue and
purple masses of the right side.
§ What
impact do the colors have on you? They seem to represent an opposition of a dark, sinister
element with a bright happy one. Although I don’t know what they are or if they
are anything objective, but I sense opposition between them.
§ How are
they using the space? The two major figures occupy most of the picture plane,
both of them seem to float in mid-air.
§ Flat
picture plane or 3D? At first it seems mostly flat, but especially in the dark
element there are checkerboards and fields of color that are shown in
perspective, as if they are floating off into the distance.
§ How are
they achieving the 3D illusion? Perspective (vanishing point) and smaller size.
§ How
does the use of space make you feel? The dark element seems to be menacing or crowding the light
one, while the light one firmly stands its ground.
§ What is
the figure? There are a number of
figures, the mass of dark elements collected together, but with small peeks
thru them to the yellow background, then the yellow figure which is more
ambiguous. Parts of it are really yellow
background, but the whole collection of “things” plus the yellow background
seem to be figures on the blue ground.
§ What is
the ground? The ground is a blurry
fog of pastel colors, violet, yellow, blue/green.
§ What is
the ratio between them? The figures take up at least 75% of the picture plane, with the dark one pushing close to the
border, crowding the image, and adding to the aggressive feel it has.
§ What
story does that relationship tell? The figures are the point of the
story, the artist wants them to be the only thing you observe, there is
“nothing” in the background to distract you.
§ What quality
do you notice about the lines? Lines are an important element in this work, and there are
a number of different types of lines, thick, thin, straight, geometric arcs,
different colors, some vary in width, many are grouped in parallel groups, some
equal size, some not, etc. One of the most
noticeable lines is a freeform squiggle that is the foremost element in the
dark shape.
§ What
story do the lines tell? What is interesting is that the
light figure is mostly amorphous color, with few lightly drawn more geometric
lines and shapes, while the dark figure has colored shapes without any lines
bordering them. I think this is a message
Kandinsky was trying to convey, I’m not sure exactly what it is, but I have
always interpreted this painting as a representation of Good vs Evil. I’m not sure if he had something more
specific given the political climate at the time, and knowing the fact that he
had been forced to flee his native Russia and then later to also leave France
(?) for Germany I think he may have been representing the chaos of totalitarian
governments in the dark figure with lack of borders and haphazard organization
while the light figure represents the good in human nature, free, open, light
thin, controlled shapes.
I like
to imagine that each of the different pieces of the composition represent
different elements of the artists’ life or maybe different aspects of good and
evil I know the labored over each element
and how to portray it in the picture. Maybe they
represent truth, beauty, goodness vs. greed, hatred etc….
§ What
shapes are they are using? Kandinsky uses lines for lines’ sake, mostly
they are “just” lines, but there are also lines that make up squares, circles,
and other geometrically created shapes as well as dark heavy lines being shapes
themselves.
§ How are
the shapes related? The lines from each figure are
intertwined, overlapping and layered.
But there is only one single point where the end of one thin line on the
light side touches one of the dark figures.
This becomes a focal point of the painting.
§ What
response do these shapes evoke? They evoke a sense of tension as the
dark figure seems to be menacing the light one and encroaching on its space. I have a sense of fear for the light shape,
and it’s abstract form for me seems to resemble the side view of a human head,
with the red circle the eye and the blue arc shape the nose, so I feel like the
light shape has its back turned to the dark one. Does it know he’s coming or is
he oblivious to the threat?
§ What
texture does the artwork have? none that I can tell, though the background appears to have
a misty translucent quality.
Next consider the overall design of the composition.
§ How
have they used repetition? Lines are repeated in groups, the concept of line groups
are repeated. Other repeated elements
include the Circles with glowing halos, the translucent squares with outlines,
the translucent shapes with no borders, and the checkerboards. The types of elements are completely confined
to one side or the other, except that a thin “mast” carrying three light yellow
lines seems to be a flag standard trying to march toward the other side.
§ How
have they used variety? Each group of shapes has its own
character, no two are exactly alike.
They seem to indicate that there are unlimited possibilities to be
considered on each side.
§ Is it a
big variation or small? The shapes are mostly
in proportion to each other within the picture plane, other than the big black
squiggle that seems to dominate the space.
§ What is
the rhythm? The grouped lines
create rhythm within each group itself, but not really any in the picture as a
whole.
§ Is the
design balanced? yes, somewhat.
§ Is it
symmetrical, asymmetrical or off balance? It’s symmetrical
in the sense that the plane is divided into two halves, but there is no actual symmetry
of repeated elements on each side. It is
off-balance due to the heaviness of the dark figure and the way it encroaches
on the light one.
§ What is
the focal point of the artwork? Hard to say.
at first it’s the bright yellow shape, but many of the other shapes vie
for attention. I think the thin line
touching the gray shape is a focal point when you begin to look closer.
§ How
does the artist achieve that emphasis? The yellow space is one of the few pure colored areas,
versus the ones that have a misty or cloudy quality. It is surrounded by a brownish shadow to call
further attention to it.
§ Is the
message of the artwork clear without a lot of distracting elements? Have
they added only what is needed? At first it seems like a lot of
distracting shapes, but I think they are all necessary to convey the message
the painter had in mind, the careful graphic balance of them makes them all
necessary to the balanced appearance of the whole.
§ What
story are they telling? See discussion under lines.
§ Is the
artwork successful? Yes, extremely. it
draws the viewer in, wanting to know more, understand more, see more.
