VISUAL ANALYSIS ASSIGNMENT 4-6 pages Draft due: M June 13 Final draft due: W June 15

In order to be as specific and detailed as possible, for this assignment well restrict our analysis to still images. To get the wheels turning, here are some categories and types of images that you might analyze Fine Art Photo, drawing, painting, sculpture Popular and Commercial Art Illustration, poster, advertisement (print, digital/internet), instructions, logo, label, fine art reproduction, comic, book cover, magazine cover, celebrity profile image, fashion photography, sign symbols (ie: , , and ), etc.

Youll want to describe the image using the descriptive skills you developed in the package assignment. What can you tell us about the aesthetic elements of the image? E.G. How big is it? What does it look like? Whats the mood, color palette, texture, media, etc? Youll want to give us some background for the image. What information would be helpful to your readers that is not apparent in your image? This may be information about the magazine, book, content of the book, date, artist, etc. This might also include background information about the medium of the image. E.g. for painting, what else is being painted in the time period. For an older piece, you might look at how popular or controversial the image is. Whats your personal reaction to the image? What does it make you think of? What do you notice immediately? What isnt immediately apparent that you noticed later, upon closer inspection? What is your sense of the image? Did it cause an emotional reaction? Did it teach you something new, or catch your attention? How long did your attention span last? How long would it have lasted without an assignment to write about it? What connections can be made between the aesthetic properties of the image and its context or source?

To get started, youll want to look at the image without distractions. [But then again, depending on your image (e.g. an advertisement), you might want to look at it with and without distractions to note how your perception of the image changes] Write down the main characteristics of the image: what materials its made from (its medium); its size or scale; its subject matter or the absence of readable subject matter; its title or the absence of a title (the title may be a part of the image, it may be on a little card next to the image, it may be a caption, etc); its color palette; its texture; what senses the image addresses

Then youll want to write down what you know about the context of the image. The context includes the artist, organization, location of publication or showing as well as where it was made, when it was made, when its being shown, other images in the same context as well as a larger context of images (what are you used to seeingthis is one larger context of images). Does your image call to mind other images? Does it appropriate from its immediate context, other contexts, or another image in particular? After you write down what you know and what information you can gather from the image and its context, youll want expand that knowledge with research. Investigate the artist, the context, etc. Youll want to be creating and noting connections between this researched context, your knowledge of context, and the characteristics of the image. Youll use your notes to write a polished visual analysis in paragraph form. Be sure to include the name of the artist/company/organization (if any), title (if any), date, and context (where you found the image) at the beginning of your analysis. Typically a visual analysis is written in the third person and you would use the viewer in place of I. Since our class will be looking at such a wide variety of images, Ill leave the choice between first and third person to your discretion. Those working with advertisements or product labels may want to consider using the consumer instead of the viewer.