29th Feb - 7th Mar (Week 4 - 5)
Sin Jun Ming 0364638
Design Principles / Design in Creative Media / Taylor's
University
Task 2 - Visual Analysis
INSTRUCTIONS
LECTURES
Topic 6 : Visual Analysis
Visual Analysis can include 3 phases: Observation ->
Analysis -> Interpretation
Phase 1 - Observation
- Closely looking at and identifying the visual elements of a
design, trying to describe them carefully and accurately in your own
words. Do not read beforehand about the design at all.
- The observation phase is about looking, thinking, and finding good
language to communicate what you notice.
Phase 2 - Analysis
- requires you to think about your observations and try to make
statements about the work based on the evidence of your observations.
- Think about how the specific visual elements that you’ve identified
combine to create design principles that complete that work of design/art,
and the effects on the viewer.
Phase 3 - Interpretation
- In this final phase, your observations, description, and analysis of
the work are fused with facts about the design work (and in some cases the
designer) and historical context that you find in trustworthy published
sources.
Task 2 - Visual Analysis
In Task 2, we need to assess, investigate, document and analyse the design
work selected in Task 1. Through this task, we will be able to understand
the design principles existing in the design work and the purpose,
effectiveness of this artwork in relation to the UNSDG goal 2 -
Hunger.
The Sower by Vincent Van Gogh
Phase 1 - Observation
The artwork is an oil paint on canvas. There are three prominent objects
in this artwork- a sower, a tree and the sun. The background is a colorful
paddy field under the dark yellow sky. Through the shadow of the sower, the
sower is facing the paddy field. The time period as depicted in this artwork
is around 5 to 6p.m. which is close to sunset. As for visual elements, the
main colours obeserved are dark yellow, brown, black, blue and green. The
tree in the foreground occupied a large space in this design, whereas trees
far away in the background look smaller.
(104 words)
Phase 2 - Analysis
Fig 1.1 Unity to pull the focal point to the sun
Fig 1.2 Alignment on the paddy field
The emphasis is on the sun which is bright and huge. The whole
design has achieved asymmetrical balance. With the tree bending
to the left, adding the presence of the sun and the sower, the left area of
this design looks heavier. Unity is also found here, the tree and the sower create unity towards the sun by limiting the space and hence the focal point is pulled to the sun. Contrast is found in the colours between the sky and the paddy field. Dark yellow colour is used on the sky to create tension and burning atmosphere to emphasize the problem facing in the 19th century - hunger. The colourful paddy field gives a sense of energy and hopefulness. As one pans across the paddy field, one can observe that the lines on the paddy field are pointing towards the sun, which create eye direction, hence alignment exists.
(148 words)
Phase 3 - Interpretation
This artwork was created by Vincent Van Gogh in Arles, France in 1889.
According to history, France was in revolution in the late 19th century,
this led to problem like huge gap between the rich and poor, this eventually
led to hunger problem in France. Therefore, this artwork perfectly depicted
the circumstances during that time. Van Gogh was an artist who inspired by
Japanese printmaking a lot and he was captivated by the vibrant and bold
colours used in Japanese prints, hence bright and bold yellow colour is used on the sun in this artwork to convey the message. Celestial bodies like the sun,
moon and stars were easily found in Van Gogh's painting, the sun in this
painting means the hope to grow the paddy field and bring the food to people
to eventually solve the hunger problem.
(137 words)
References:
FEEDBACK
Week 4
The phase 3 - Interpretation is about the meaning of the artwork and why the artist creates it. In this case, we should search online for information of the artwork we picked. So far, my progress is on track, finishing task 2 in Week 4 is good.
REFLECTION
This task is something new to me because we get the opportunity to observe an artwork not only just visually, but also deep into its background. I learnt about the artist - Vincent Van Gogh through this task and I realized that the environment plays a huge role in the art an artist creates. The overall experience is super fun, it was like reading a story and getting to know more about this particular design work.
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