Productive Criticism - "Writing about art"

GETTING STARTED: 

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF

1. Content or subject matter
- What is happening in the work?
- Can you identify a specific place depicted in the work? A location? Familiar Objects?
- If there are people depicted, can you identify them? (name, social role)
- Are there any objects or characteristics that give you insights?
- Is there a title, does the title give you any clues?
- What sources (religious, literary, mythical) might the work have been derived from?

2. Medium/material
- What are the specific materials or non- material (media) used in the artwork?
- How does its medium determine or contribute to the work?

3. Composition
- What shape and size is the work?
- How do elements of the work relate to each other? Links?
- How do you as a spectator relate to those relations?
- Does it seem calm, dynamic, aggressive?
- How is color used in the work?

4. Setting and context
- For what purpose was the work originally created?
- Has or does the overall condition of the work change?
- What is the works relation to time?

5. Artist and Time
- What in the life of the artist may contribute to your understanding of the piece?
- How is the work different from previous or later works by the same artist?
- What might the work tell you about the culture in which it was created?

 (Source; SPARK CHARTS, Art History, Writer; Beth Hinderliter)