Year 11 Visual Arts Preliminary Course, Emmaus Catholic College, Jane Gascoigne, 2008
THE FRAMES
THE FRAMES provide us with different ways of understanding the visual arts.
USING THE FRAMES
The meaning of the work is understood in relation to the sensory, felt or perceived experiences of the artist and the audience (the viewer)
WRITING ABOUT ARTWORKS FROM THE SUBJECTIVE FRAME
1. Write about the emotion that the artwork communicates to you
2. Think about the connection between your life, feelings and experiences and those you can see in the artwork
3. Think about the ways the artist has shared their feelings or experiences with you
4. Look at the artwork and list the ways you and your life and ideas could be connected with the ideas and experiences of the artist who created the work.
The subjective frame reminds us that art is something emotional. Artists bring to artworks their ideas and feelings about themselves and their worlds.
The subjective frame recognises the importance of intuition and the subconscious in art. It is also about the sensory, imaginative and felt aspects of art.
The subjective frame is about connecting art to life, experiences, ideas and feelings. Art becomes a powerful form of communication between artist and the audience. Art is used to represent the artist and to speak their ideas.
WRITING ABOUT ARTWORKS FROM THE STRUCTURAL FRAME
1. Explain how the artist uses and arranges the various elements and principles of design and composition
2. Give a detailed description of the artwork
3. Try to describe and interpret how the artist has used elements such as colour, symbols, shape, tone, size and composition
4. Write about the media used and anything special about the techniques the artist has used.
The structural frame relates to the visual structures in an artwork and how their use affects you as the audience. You look for the link between structural decisions and the effect they have.
The structural frame invites you to look at form, media and techniques in an artwork and at how the elements in the artwork are arranged.
The meaning of the work is understood in relation to the social perspective of the community or individual out of which it grows.
With the cultural frame you explain the context of the work
WRITING ABOUT ARTWORKS FROM THE CULTURAL FRAME
- Explain the way that the artwork fits into an art style, when it was made, the place it was made and the culture it represents (its context)
- How might the work be typical of a cultural group?
- Look for signs, symbols, codes and icons used in the work that might help to show its cultural context
- Look for clues that explain the cultural frame in which the work was made
The cultural frame considers an artist’s social and cultural environment and the way it affects their artworks.
An artist’s environment includes the people who influence the artist and the places and times in which artworks are made.
The cultural frame often questions power and the identity of groups and individuals. It also acknowledges that the Western concept of ‘art for art’s sake’ is not entirely valid in many non-Western cultures.
The cultural frame can be seen through the subject matter, the style of the work, the media used and/or the ideas behind the work.
WRITING ABOUT ARTWORKS FROM THE POSTMODERN FRAME
- Look for parts of the artwork that may have been appropriated from other artworks or popular culture
- Does the artist quote other works or practices?
- Has the work or object been placed in a new context or location?
- Is the artist making a joke or comment on art, the audience or society?
- Is parody, irony or pastiche used to do this?
The postmodern frame questions the agencies of the artworld (artist, artwork, audience, world) by looking at assumptions and beliefs about artworks and the artist’s role, the audience and the world.
The frame examines the ways that artists challenge the conventions of art, use non-conventional media, ideas or practices, question long-held beliefs about artworks and artists and rely on an educated audience.
The use of borrowed (appropriated) images, pastiche, parody and irony are all familiar practices in postmodern artmaking.
USING THE FRAMES TO DESCRIBE AN ARTWORK
Page 5 of 5