Museum Observation - Visual elements – colors, value, texture, movement

Museum Observation

Museum Visit Observation

1. PLEASE USE THE PICTURE I PROVIDED (artist: Hervé Télémaque)

1. Formal properties 

• Visual elements – colors, value, texture, movement, contrast, light, geometric or organic shapes, lines, time, motion, rhythm
• Composition – balance, focal point, movement, direction, repetition, proportion, balance, symmetry
• Space – how is the illusion of space created or not created
• Style – realistic, abstract/representational, figurative, expressive, conceptual
• What mood or feeling does the artwork convey to you? Why?
• If you could, how would you enter, travel through and exit the artwork?

2. Subject matter 

• What is the first thing that comes to mind when you look at the artwork?
• Based on your observations what is the artwork about?
• What clues do you see that support your observation?
• If you could step into the artwork, what would you hear, feel, do, say?
• What is the concept, idea or narrative the artist is trying to convey?
• Is there a hidden message?

3. Historical Context 

• Who made it and why?
• Did it have a function?
• Would contemporary audience interpret or understand the work differently compared to the audiences who saw it when it was created?
• Does the work reflect what is/was happening in society historically or politically?

4.  Additional Questions/Observations: Once you have answered all the above questions, make a list of your own questions (between three to four questions and answer them) and read any wall text or brochure information available about the work. 

 

At Home: If you found the subject matter, style, material or specific cultural background interesting, please research more about what grabbed your attention.

• Do you have a new understanding of the artwork based on your research?
• Does the background information change any of your opinion or interpretations that you made at the museum?
• Does it help answer any questions you might have had at the museum?
• Would different audiences interpret the work differently?
• Would contemporary audience interpret or understand the work differently compared to the audiences who saw it when it was created?
• Please form a conclusion based on your own observations and the researched information about the artwork and/or artist.