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Click on one of the above to go to the required block of course material.
Welcome to this web site. My name is Michael Allen and I'm an associate lecturer in Region 13 of the Open University. My intention here is to help Open University students studying A216.
As A216 is essay based it is of course important to write clearly. The reading material includes a wide variety of opinions on art. It will become progressively important to show both or all sides of the argument in your essays, and important to substantiate points that you raise. It is important to consider this variety of opinions (i.e. art histories) in the context of the period in which they are expressed - they probably say more about that period of time than that which they are referring to.
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On this website I will try to keep you up to date with new developments relating to course material such as new exhibitions or new appointments in positions of influence in the art world. I am including information connected to issues covered by A216 course material. Some of this information comes from newspapers and periodicals. I suggest that students also look out for such information while studying the course. |
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FORMAL ANALYSIS
Modern art historians found a way of way of analyzing figurative art in a narrative context, characteristic of classical art. This is called a formal analysis. Formal elements consist of composition, scale, pose, gesture and facial expression, viewpoint (near or far, low or high, right or left), light and colour. The formal treatment of a given work of art determines the degree to which it is coherent, powerful, believable in terms of the narrative it is related to.
The variety of formal treatments given to a given story (e.g. the Crucifixion painted by so many painters) has been due to individual style which has been largely influenced by conventions that have prevailed in different places and at different historical periods.
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(This is not an official OU web site.) The official site is http://open.ac.uk. Students in my group with questions concerning the course can contact my OU e-mail address. Comments specifically concerning this web site can be made in the feedback form. See also http://micahel.synthasite.com/