Advanced Placement Art History

1. Advanced Placement Art History Introduction: Why do we study the History of Art? • The Artistic Impulse • The Values of Art • Art and Illusion • Art and Identification • Architecture • Art Collecting • Archeology and Art History • The Methodologies of Art History • The Language of Art • Stylistic Terminology

2. What are the types of “Arts” ? • The Fine Arts include: Painting, Sculpture, Photography, Architecture, Printmaking, and Film, Video, and Electronic Media. • The Applied Arts include: The Design Fields of;   Industrial, Product, Package, Surface, and Graphic Design, Art Direction, Illustration, The Crafts, Architecture, Printmaking, Film, Video, and Electronic Media.

3. The Basics of Art The Three Basic Components of a work of Art • 1.  Subject: (The "what")A person, a place, a thing or an Idea.   • 2.  Composition or Form: (The "how")Arrangement of shapes and the other basic building blocks of the visual arts into a visually effective organization to express an idea.  In the Fine Art the term composition is usually used while in the Applied Arts the term design is used.  In the Applied Arts DESIGN also implies a well thought out and accurate idea or plan, committed to paper, that can be read and produced by a trained technician. (As in a blueprint by an architect for a contractor) • 3.  Content: (The "why")The emotional or intellectual message of an artwork.

4. Drawing, the First Written Language • 1. Evolved into pictographic languages. (Hieroglyphics, Chinese, etc.) • 2. Drawing can be specific (literal) or symbolic (abstract). • 3. Written language is inherently abstract (open to interpretation) and composed of symbols. 

5. Some things to remember… • 1. Reading Art means understanding a visual statement. • 2. Speaking Art means creating a visual statement. • 3. When Art seems strange or meaningless, it is only that this language is yet to be understood. • 4. You cannot take Art out of the context of its times.

6. What is Art? (the Visual Arts) The Basic Building Blocks of the Visual Arts • 1.  Line -  A distinct series of points, A path made by a pointed instrument, A line implies ACTION, suggests DIRECTION, requires CHOICE and THOUGHT.  We use lines to write both the VERBAL and VISUAL languages.  Artists use line to lead your eyes through a work of art. There are five basic kinds of lines: vertical, horizontal, diagonal, zigzag, and curved.  • 2.  Shape and Form -    SHAPE IS 2-D (has only length and width - a flat surface.  FORM IS 3-D (has length, width, and depth). The illusion or reality of three-dimensionality.  The basic shapes are the square (or rectangle), circle, and triangle.  The basic forms are the cube, sphere, and pyramid.Shapes and forms exist in space. Space is the element of an art that refers to the emptiness or area between, around, above, below, or within objects.  In both two and three dimensional art, the shapes or forms are called the positive space or the figure.  The empty spaces between the shapes or forms are called negative spaces or ground. • 3.  Value (Light and Dark) -   The element of art that describes the darkness or lightness of an object.  High-Light, shading and shadow.  High-Light is the area of an object closest to the light source   Shading is the use of light and dark values to create the illusion of form.  Shadow is the darkened shape cast behind  the object in the path of a light source. There are four main shading techniques: Hatching, Crosshatching, Blending and Stippling. 

7. The Basic Building Blocks of the Visual Arts… • 4.  Texture -  Is the way things feel or look as if they might feel, if touched.  The visual representation (visual texture - matte and shiny) or actual use of surface (tactile texture - rough and smooth).  IN CLASS:   Apply a drawn texture to the previous drawings of FORMS.  (Hair, brick, stucco, stone, cloth, etc.) • 5.  Color -  Is a function of light.  The electromagnetic energy radiating from the sun (white light).

8. Material - Medium - Technique - Craftsmanship • The means through which art works are created. • Material - The basic raw components "stuff" of art. (Wood, paint, clay, etc.) • Medium - A special use of material for an artistic purpose.  The basic mediums of the Visual Arts include: • 1.  Painting: Applying a plastic color medium to a flat surface. Surfaces traditionally include: wood, canvas, paper, and plaster.  Usually found in private homes, museums, galleries and usually displayed on or applied to walls.  Paints have three basic ingredients: Pigments ( finely ground colored powders), Binder (a binder is a material that holds together the grains of pigment, Solvent (a solvent is a liquid that controls the thickness or the thinness of the paint).

9. 2.  Sculpture: Art that is made to occupy space. Three dimensional objects made of relatively permanent materials.  Displayed both in and out of doors, usually viewed from 360°.  Sculpture that projects out from a wall or other surface viewed from less than 360° is called a relief sculpture or bas relief if the projection is slight (as in a coin).  General sculpting processes include: modeling (a soft pliable material is built up and shaped); carving (to cut, chip, or drill from a solid mass of material); casting (molten metal or an other substance is poured into a mold and allowed to harden); assembling also called constructing (a variety of different materials are gathered and joined together).

10. 3.  Architecture: • The design and planning of the structures where we live, work, play, and worship.

11. 4.  Printmaking: • A process in which an artist repeatedly transfers an original image from one prepared surface (the plate) to another (paper). The design and production of multiple images and/or type for artistic and commercial purposes.  In the fine arts, prints are made directly from the original image plate, sold in galleries, less expensive than paintings, made in limited editions usually of 500 or less if of high quality.  Commercial prints are not "prints" in the fine arts sense where images are produced directly from the original plate but rather reproductions of another image.  A print is an original work of art.  A reproduction is a copy of a work of art.

12. 5.  Photo / Still Imaging: • Creating images on light sensitive materials, usually film and photographic paper or through analog/digital means and usually with the assistance of a camera and chemical or digital processing.

13. 6.  Film - Motion Sound Media: • Images that incorporate motion and sound through the medium of either photographic film or electronic imaging.  Images consumed or viewed by an audience or public for the purpose of intellectual stimulation are considered Fine Arts. Images that are consumed by an audience for the purpose of entertainment or emotional stimulation are considered Applied Arts.

14. Elements of Art • Technique - A special or personal way of using a medium. (Landscape watercolor, B&W photo portraits, Raku pottery, Stone lithography, etc.) • Craftsmanship (Craft) - The knowledge of what can be done in a medium and the ability to do it.  Working with the hands to create a quality product.

15. Design and CompositionThe organizing principles or structure of art: • DESIGN : Arrangement of shapes and the other basic building blocks of the visual arts into a visually effective organization to express an idea.   A term used mainly in the Applied Arts.     In the Applied Arts DESIGN also implies a well thought out and accurate idea or plan, committed to paper, that can be read and produced by a trained technician. (As in a blueprint by an architect for a contractor) • COMPOSITION: Arrangement of shapes and the other basic building blocks of the visual arts into a visually effective organization to express an idea.  A term used mainly in the Fine Arts. • The elements of Design and Composition comprise the formal structure of a work of art.   As the rules of grammar provide a structure for other languages, Design and Composition provide the basic principles or guidelines for the visual arts. 

16. The organizing principles or structure of art… • UNITY -  Is the main principle and goal of design and composition.  The other principles that follow are means to this end.  A unified design is a visual economy where nothing more is needed and any less is not enough. • HARMONY - A factor of cohesion - relating various picture parts. Pulling together of opposing forces by giving them some common element, the repetition of the same device. Rhythm is also established when regulated visual units are repeated.  Whether created by  repetition (as in a pattern)or rhythm, harmony may create the feeling of boredom or monotony when its use is carried to extremes.  But, properly introduced, harmony is a necessary ingredient of unity.  • VARIETY - Variety is the counterweight of harmony, the other side of organization essential to unity. Variety is achieved by the use of contrast and elaboration.

17. The organizing principles or structure of art… • BALANCE - A visual sense of equilibrium in an image or object.  Satisfactory control of the visual weight of the basic building blocks in a work of art.  There is horizontal balance, vertical balance and radial balance, symmetrical (the least challenging and interesting type) balance, and asymmetrical (is a more complex distribution of the visual elements) balance. • PROPORTION - The relationship of parts to each other and to the whole.  The visual expression of size and scale.  The Golden Mean or Golden Section as used in the Greek Orders and by Renaissance Artists are classic examples of a "formal" rule of proportion.  • DOMINANCE -  Exhibiting differences that emphasize the degree of importance of its various parts.  Isolation, placement, direction, scale, character and and contrast are ways to achieve dominance.  • MOVEMENT - Guiding the viewer through the work of art in a planned sequence of either converging lines, overlap, size difference, or color change. • ECONOMY -  Paring things down to the essentials.  The best works of art contain no more - nor less that what is absolutely necessary to express meaning.  This is  visual efficiency.

18. The Fine Arts • The Fine Arts include: Painting, Sculpture, Photography, Architecture, Printmaking, and Film, Video, and Electronic Media. The Characteristics of the FINE ARTS (The purpose of the Fine Arts is to be SEEN - not ignored) • 1.  An EXPERIMENT, (Research and Development)2. SELF-EXPRESSION3.  Is a QUESTION4.  Makes you THINK5.  Tries to be NEW

19. The Fine Arts… • The best works of Fine Art are those that INFLUENCE the work of other fine and applied artists and therefore the society as a whole.  The ultimate achievement or goal of a fine artists is to influence the future.  Fine Arts is not a job in the traditional sense.  Fine artists are more like independent entrepreneurs who work for themselves producing a product.  Fine arts objects are usually found in MUSEUMS (the place where; 1.significant, 2.unusual and 3.first items are found) ,where they are mainly viewed, and in Galleries and AUCTION HOUSES (like, Christie's and Sotheby's) ,where they are exhibited for sale.

20. The Fine Arts… • 1.  Painting -  Applying a plastic color medium to a flat surface.  Surfaces traditionally include wood, canvas, paper, and plaster.   Usually found in museums, galleries and private homes displayed on walls.

21. The Fine Arts… • 2.  Sculpture -  Three dimensional objects made of relatively permanent materials.  Displayed both in and out of doors, usually viewed from 360°.  Italian Sculpture from different historical periods, Chicago Public Art, Cincinnati Public Art, and the Site Sculpture of Christo & Jean-Claude.  For an example of "relief" sculpture view this Roman Relief Sculpture from the Getty Web Site, as well as these Andy Goldsworthy Art and Ecology Site Sculptures.

22. The Fine Arts… • 3.  Architecture -  Dwellings or structures of a symbolic nature sometimes found at worlds fairs, The Olympics, many large monuments, and some individual homes.  See these examples of Symbolic Structures: The Statue of Liberty (also below), The St. Louis Gateway Arch, The Eiffel Tower, Paris,  The Great Pyramids, The Seattle Washington, Space Needle, and for your interest look at this site for the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.  See some of Frank Lloyd Wright's fine and applied arts architecture. 

23. The Fine Arts… • 4.  Printmaking -  The design and production of prints by an artist.  Sold in galleries, less expensive than paintings, made in limited editions usually of 500 or less if of high quality.  In the fine arts, prints are made directly from the original image plate.PacePrints is a contemporary Fine Arts Print Gallery. 

24. Style • VOCABULARY WORDS: Before we being the study of Style we need to familiarize ourselves with a few words commonly used in discussions about art. • OBJECTIVE: Dealing with facts or conditions as perceived without distortion by personal feeling, prejudices, or interpretations. • SUBJECTIVE: A personal point of view; biased.

25. ARCHETYPE  Pronunciation: 'är-ki-"tIpFunction: nounEtymology: Latin archetypum, from Greek archetypon, from neuter of archetyposarchetypal, from archein + typos typeDate: 15451 : the original pattern or model of which all things of the same type are representations or copies : PROTOTYPE; also : a perfect example2: IDEA 1a3: an inherited idea or mode of thought in the psychology of C. G. Jung that is derived from the experience of the race and is present in the unconscious of the individual

26. ALLEGORY •                                                                                                   Function: noun,  Inflected Form(s): pluralal·le·go·riesEtymology: Middle English allegorie, from Latin allegoria, from Greek allēgoria, from allēgorein to speak figuratively, from allos other + -ēgorein to speak publicly, from agora assembly — more at else, agora • 1: the expression by means of symbolic fictional figures and actions of truths or generalizations about human existence; also : an instance (as in a story or painting) of such expression  2: a symbolic representation : emblem 2

27. TABLEAU Function: nounInflected Form(s): pluraltab·leauxalsotableausEtymology:  French, from Middle French tablel, diminutive of table, from Old  French    Date: 1660   1: a graphic description or representation : picture <winsome tableaux of old-fashioned literary days — J. D. Hart>         2: a striking or artistic grouping : arrangement, scene   3: [short for tableau vivant (from French, literally, living picture)] : a depiction of a scene usually presented on a stage by silent and motionless costumed participants

28. STYLE: • STYLE: A grouping or classification of art works based on common traits or qualities that makes further study or analysis possible.  • The art of a particular historical period, nation, region, or artistic group • Technical or artistic approach • Family resemblance • Term of approval • Studying the general can help you understand the specific. •     We will simplify the study of style by categorizing all works of art, usual grouped into hundreds of specific styles, into a very general grouping of four styles:

29. STYLE… • 1.  REALISM - (A picture of what we SEE.)   Objective accuracy.  Demonstrates the artists interest in careful observation of the external world.  An accurate recording of what one sees.  Realism is the least intellectually challenging of the four styles and the most popular by the society at-large.  Because of a lack of education and training in drawing and the visual arts a majority of people perceive the style of realism to be the most challenging, attributing the skill to "talent" and "inspiration".  The Style of Realism was developed in the Renaissance. See these examples of realism.  And these other photography examples (not all of which are examples of REALISM - be selective.) from the ICP (International Center of Photography), George Eastman House, and Various Styles and mediums from the National Portrait Gallery .

30. STYLE… • 2.  FORMALISM - (A picture of what we THINK.)   An IDEA.  Reflects a concern for absolute, ideal or essential shapes & forms that lie beyond the surface appearance of things.  Often a simplicity of forms that echoes the formulas in mathematics and logic.  This style seems to reflect our desire for an intellectually perfect order not found simply in the appearance of things (Rules). Formalism is actually the most intellectually challenging of the four styles.  Formalism is, and has always been, the main style of all advanced cultures and civilizations.  For the classic example of Formalism visit this site about Piet Mondrian , and this one for some more of his images, the Greek Orders.  The Golden Section as used in the Greek Orders and by Renaissance Artists are classic examples of a "formal" rule of proportion.  The Architecture ofI.M. Pei.  The site sculpture Spiral Jetty, by Robert Smithson.  Although not fine arts, flags are applied arts, graphic examples of formalism.  Try these different web sites for a wide variety of information about flags.   American Flag and Gift (A variety of flags for sale), Superflag, the worlds largest American Flag, and The American Legion Flag Site.  Also, if you can handle it the Flag Burning Page

31. STYLE… • 3.  EXPRESSIONISM -  ( A picture of what we FEEL.)   Art reflecting an emotional interpretation of reality.  The communication of pity, despair, anxiety or rage.  Strong feeling takes precedence over everything else.  A record of feelings.   Often exaggerated size, color and linear movement (distortion).   The medium (paint etc.) seems to have been applied with greater emotional ferocity, speed, and little concern for accurate color, proportion or likeness  to the subject.  (See the work of the Post-Impressionist, Vincent VanGogh, the expressionist, Edvard Munch) - ROMANTICISM - A form of expressionism. (Appears to be realism.) A "romantic" view of a subject is a distorted and exaggerated view of reality; an overtly "sentimental" view of the world or a glorification of the exception of a time, a place, a person, a thing or situation as reality.  This would include images, as well as other depictions in art of all media, that show things, not as they are, but how we wish they were, or naively perceive them to be.    See  Maxfield Parrish (and this other sites #1, #2), Norman Rockwell ,  J.C. Leyendecker and these "Pre-Raphaelite" painters: Dante Gabriel Rosetti, Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Frederick Lord Leighton, Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, also the classical Romantics; J.M.W. Turner, John Constable (and these other sites; #1, #2) and  Napoleon's favorite artist, Jacque-Louis David.

32. STYLE… • 4.  SURREALISM -  (literally, other than - real, the prefix "sur" means "other than") (A picture of what we DREAM.)   A record of our imaginative capacities - DREAMS.  Creating unreal images, trying to make you believe they really exist.  Usually symbolic, universal/public or private symbols.  Fantasy in the - isn't real, can't happen sense.  Surreal images juxtapose seemingly unrelated things, situations, places or people in a believable presentation. (See the work,Radioactive cats,by Sandy Skoglund.  Also her Maybe Babies.  For other surrealists see: Salvador Dali , M.C. Escher.  Also visit Jerry Uelsmann's official site at uelsmann.net.

33. A Vocabulary List of Important Styles • Classical:  The art of ancient Greece and Rome, noted for its rationality, simplicity, balance, proportion, intellectuality and controlled emotions.

34. A Vocabulary List of Important Styles… • Byzantine:  The art of the Eastern Empire after the fall of Rome, noted for its formality and rich use of colors. • Romanesque: The art, especially architecture, of Western Europe from 1050 to 1200.  Buildings feature round arches and solid, heavy construction in imitation of Roman styles. • Gothic: The art of late Medieval Europe, the architecture features pointed arches and light, graceful  construction; the painting strived for realism and detail.

35. A Vocabulary List of Important Styles… • Renaissance: The cultural milieu of Western Europe from the 14th through 17th centuries.  Artists pursued the late Gothic interests in realism and mastered such problems such as depth, perspective, and realistic lighting effects. • Baroque: The highly complex art of Europe from about 1600 to 1750, noted for the intricacy and lushness of its creations. Rococo art carries this luxuriousness to an even greater degree.  • Genre Painting: Art depicting everyday scenes. • Neo-classical: Art concerned with formality in the imitation of the classical arts • Impressionism: Art of the late 19th century concerned with accurately representing the impression of light on subjects. • Post-Impressionism: Artists, notably Cézanne, who sought a return to the organization of pictorial form, used decoration to unify the design, and exaggerated natural appearances for emotional effects.

36. A Vocabulary List of Important Styles… • Expressionism: Art concerned with transferring the artist's emotions to the creation, often depicted by a distortion in form or color.  The Fauves were French Expressionists who used vivid colors and strived for a lack of spontaneity. • Cubism: Art style invented by Picasso and Braque which presents multiple viewpoints in a single design. • Dadaism: Anti-artistic movement which championed absurdity against conventions in all aspects of culture.  It arose in protest to the madness of World War I. • Art Nouveau: art which emphasized organic forms, often to an erotic effect.

37. A Vocabulary List of Important Styles… • Pop Art: Fine arts which depend upon commercial art and popular culture for inspiration. •  Folk Art: Art created by untrained artists, or in imitation of this naive style by trained artists.

38. The Functions of Art • ICON: An object of uncritical devotion: IDOL.   Emblem.  Symbol.  Below are examples of religious icons.  Examples of social icons would be the depictions of modern popular culture idols by the pop artist Andy Warhol.

39. The Functions of Art • CONSERVATIVE: (Copied from the Merriam-Webster On Line Dictionary) Pronunciation: k&n-'s&r-v&-tivFunction: adjective1: PRESERVATIVE 2 a : of or relating to a philosophy of conservatism b capitalized : of or constituting a political party professing the principles of conservatism : as (1) : of or constituting a party of the United Kingdom advocating support of established institutions (2) : PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE 3 a : tending or disposed to maintain existing views, conditions, or institutions : TRADITIONAL b : marked by moderation or caution <a conservative estimate> c : marked by or relating to traditional norms of taste, elegance, style, or manners <a conservative suit>

40. The Functions of Art • LIBERAL -(copied from the Merriam-Webster On Line Dictionary)                   "Main Entry: 1lib·er·alPronunciation: 'li-b(&-)r&lFunction: adjectiveEtymology: Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin liberalissuitable for a freeman, generous, from liberfree; perhaps akin to Old English lEodanto grow, Greek eleutherosfreeDate: 14th century1 a : of, relating to, or based on the liberal arts <liberal education> b archaic : of or befitting a man of free birth • 2 a : marked by generosity : OPENHANDED <a liberal giver> b : given or provided in a generous and openhanded way <a liberal meal> c : AMPLE, FULL • 3obsolete: lacking moral restraint : LICENTIOUS • 4: not literal or strict : LOOSE <a liberal translation> • 5: BROAD-MINDED; especially : not bound by authoritarianism, orthodoxy, or traditional forms • 6 a : of, favoring, or based upon the principles of liberalism b capitalized : of or constituting a political party advocating or associated with the principles of political liberalism; especially : of or constituting a political party in the United Kingdom associated with ideals of individual especially economic freedom, greater individual participation in government, and constitutional, political, and administrative reforms designed to secure these objectives

41. The Functions of Art     The arts and artists are vital to the functioning of any society but especially to advanced and affluent cultures as we live in today.  We all make, use, buy, sell, trade, give, receive, exchange works of art as an everyday function of our normal lives. • ART SATISFIES OUR; • PERSONAL need for expression.  • SOCIAL need for communication celebration and display. • PHYSICAL need for useful objects and structures. • 1.  THE PERSONAL FUNCTIONS OF ART - There are many ways (topics and reasons) in which we and other artists express ourselves.  • Psychological Expression - When words are not good enough.  An expression of our inner psychological state of being.  • Love, Sex, Marriage and Procreation - Our feelings and thoughts about our interpersonal and personal relationships.  An expression of how we feel about each other and how we see each other. 

42. The Functions of Art… • 3.    Death and Morbidity - Death fascinates and frightens us.  An expression of mortality or illness • (V- 32) Morbid - 1. characteristic of disease, affected with or induced by disease <a morbid condition>2 : abnormally susceptible to or characterized by gloomy or unwholesome feelings3 : GRISLY, GRUESOME <morbid details> <morbid curiosity>-mor·bid·lyadverb- mor·bid·nessnoun • 4.    Spiritual - Spiritual as opposed to religious art.   Religion gives us answers while the Spiritual promotes questions.  Any search for values through the use of visual form.  Tries to reveal what is sacred or holy in every day life.  • 5.    Aesthetic Expression - Beautiful, pleasing, or appropriate.  Refers to nothing beyond itself. • (V- 33) Aesthetic - A branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste and with the creation and appreciation of beauty.

43. The Functions of Art… • 2.  THE SOCIAL FUNCTIONS OF ART -  • ART PERFORMS A SOCIAL FUNCTION WHEN: • It influences the collective behavior of human beings. • It is made to be seen or used in public situations. • It describes collective aspects of life as opposed to personal kinds of experience. • An interesting fact: Did you know that Hitler applied to the Academy of Art in Vienna, Austria but was rejected? How different the world may have been, had he been a better artist.

44. The Functions of Art… • Political and Ideological Expression -An expression of social and political views.  Art that guides and instructs or improves our collective existence.  Biased? Propaganda? Revolutionary? Humanitarian?  Images created to express or promote the ideas, values, agenda or cause of a group or individual.World War II Posters, Posters and prints by James Montgomery Flagg.  Also check out these sites for information about specific political parties.  Political Resources on the Net, is a collection of links to almost every party in the US.  Politics 1, gives an overview of politics in the U.S..  The Democratic National Committee or DNC.  The Republican National Committee of the GOP.   The League of Women Voters is the most objective resource for information on issue and candidates. • Social Description - Focus attention on the quality of daily life.   Images of a social concern.  News images - photojournalism. The Photographs of Lewis Hine (from the National Archives, child labor photos), Progressive, educator and photographer.  The construction of the Empire State Building (from the New York Public Library.  And more selections of child labor photos from the National Child Labor Committee at the National Archives. (Images from the F.S.A - Farm Security Administration.) Jacob Riis ,How the Other Half Lives.   Visit this site: Ben Shahn at Harvard to learn more about the famous social realist painter and photographer. • Satire - The purpose of satire is to ridicule people and institutions so that they will change. • Graphic Communications - The marketing of goods, services, and ideas inexpensively, clearly, and unmistakably.

45. The Functions of Art… • 3.  THE PHYSICAL FUNCTIONS OF ART - Objects made to be tools or containers. • Architecture - Individual dwellings • Large Scale Design - The Community / Community Planning of groups of structures as in residential, industrial (manufacturing) and commercial (sales), plazas, malls, civic centers, and the highways and utilities that connect them. Check this link out to the Planning Department at the University of Cincinnati.  Visit the web site of the Dyett & Bhatia Urban and Regional Planners.  Visit the web site of The Martin Architectural Group • The Crafts - The creation of hand crafted, one-of-a-kind objects, for the purpose of decoration.  This would include decorative paintings, sculptures as well as utilitarian objects displayed not so much for their function but for their perceived beauty. • Industrial Design - Mass produced objects, usually mechanical, where appearance is an advantage in the market place or to it's function.

46. Formal Criticism • DESCRIBE - To represent by words, to give a complete account.  The description is neutral, objective, complete and precise, and not a value judgment or your personal opinion. (Use terms like; foreground, middleground, background, upper and lower, symmetrical, high-contrast, etc., mention color, size, medium, style, date, if known,) • ANALYZE - Break down into it's component parts.   Separate the parts so as to reveal their relation to the whole and to one another.   Describe the qualities and subject matter.  Look for significant parts.  Create a list of the most obviously important parts - parts that seem unusual, that stand out by size, placement, color, shape or other significant feature. Not a value judgment or your personal opinion. • INTERPRET - To explain or tell the meaning, translate.   This is the most important part of the process.  Not a value judgment.   The more background, knowledge, and familiarity you have on the subject the better your interpretation will be.  Experience is of value when the goal is understanding. Remember that all of the best art is metaphor so use your knowledge of history, religion, politics and the life and history of the artist to make decisions about meanings of the significant parts.  • EVALUATE - (Judge) Final opinion or decision toward deciding the degree of it's artistic merit, ranking, or value.  Usually a comparison.   Is a value judgment - an opinion.  Judgments are not always necessary to criticism.  If you ever do make a judgment remember that an educated person will always back up his opinions with facts and expert opinion.