1. A Short Guide to Formal Analysis ^ 3-D

2. Form Content Auguste Rodin, Burghers of Calais, 1889, Victoria Tower Gardens, London.

3. Form Content Form is the totality of the physical and visual aspects of a work of art.

4. Form Content Content is the meaning of a work of art.

5. What is Formal Analysis? Formal Analysis = Description + Analysis A description relates what you see.

6. What is Formal Analysis? Formal Analysis = Description + Analysis An analysis gives meaning or insight to that description.

7. Relief Sculpture vs. Sculpture in the Round

8. Representational vs. Non-Representational BaccioBandinelli, Laocoon and his Sons, 1520-1525. Donald Judd, Untitled, 1967

9. Composition Line Shape Light Mass Color Space Texture Elements of Design

10. Balance Unity/Variety Scale/Proportion Repetition/Rhythm Emphasis/Subordination Principles of Design

11. Space Remember: the viewer and the sculpture inhabit the same 3-D Space

12. Space

13. Space

14. Space

15. Space

16. Space

17. Space

18. Useful Questions What is the setting of the work? Urban? Natural? Gallery? Is the sculpture a relief or in the round? Can you walk around it? How large is the statue in relation to you? Do you have to look up? How close can you stand to the work and still survey it in its entirety? Can you see it in its entirety? How much space is there between the shapes? Can you walk among the shapes? Is the composition held together by a podium, plinth, or foundation?

19. Shape

20. Shape

21. Shape Jacques Lipchitz, Figure, 1958-1961

22. Shape

23. Shape Voids Jose Rivera, Construction, 1958.

24. Useful Questions What types of shapes do you see? Organic? Geometric? Both? How do those shapes interact? Do they present a unified whole? How do these shapes interact with space? How do these shapes change as you move around the sculpture? Does the sculpture create shapes from its space? How do those shapes change as you move?

25. Composition Shape Space = +

26. Open(atechtonic) Closed (techtonic) Mark di Suvero, Aurora, 1993 Governor, Late Period, Egypt, c. 664-525 BCE

27. Open(atechtonic) Closed (techtonic)

28. Balance Unity Variety

29. Light

30. Natural Light Jonathan Borofsky. Dancers. 2003. Sculpture Park of the Denver Performing Arts Complex. Lawrence Argent, I See What you Mean, 2005, Colorado Convention Center, Denver.

31. Artificial Light Sandy Skoglund, Fox Games, 1990.

32. Artificial Light Sandy Skoglund, Fox Games, 1990.

33. Surface and Light Constantin Brancusi, The Sleeping Muse, 1909-1911, copper/brass. Constantin Brancusi, The Sleeping Muse, 1909-1911, marble.

34. Useful Questions How is the sculpture lit? Sunlight? Gallery lights? Directly? Indirectly? How many light sources are there? Are there areas of high contrast? Dark shadows? Does the light change as you move around the sculpture? Does the surface/material reflect or absorb light?

35. Light

36. Line

37. Line as Form Dale Chihuly, Fountain, 2004, Atlanta Botanical Garden.

38. Material and Line Wooden Bowl

39. Decoration and Line Bruce Gray, Wall Sculpture #32 (Samurai Spaceship), 2004

40. Useful Questions Is line a strong element of this sculpture? Are there any forms that can be interpreted as lines? What are those lines like? Are there any lines caused by the material or manufacturing process? How do they interact with other elements and with the form as a whole? Are there lines implied by the sculpture’s detail? What are the qualities of these lines? Is the sculpture adorned with any graphic elements, such as paint?

41. Line

42. Mass

43. Mass Alberto Giacometti, Man Pointing, 1901-1906 BCE Governor, Late Period, Egypt, c. 664-525 BCE

44. Useful Questions Does the sculpture take up a lot of space? Are the forms mostly open or closed? Are there a lot of voids? Is the statue made of a material you know to be heavy? Do qualities such as color or line contribute to the sculpture’s ‘visual weight’?

45. Mass

46. Color

47. Materiality and Color TilmanRiemenschneider, Madonna and Child, 1460-1531, carved linden wood. Luisa Roldan, Virgin and Child, late 17th century

48. Useful Questions What colors do you see? Do they fit a color scheme? Are they light? Dark? Intense? Dull? What is the source of the sculpture’s color? Its material? Painting or Adornment? How does lighting contribute to the sculpture’s color or how that color is perceived? What mood does the color evoke? Does it evoke a mood?

49. Color

50. Texture

51. Material and Texture Mel Kendrick, Untitled, 1982, oil on wood 22" x 27" x 26" Mel Kendrick, Bronze/ Poplar Burnout, 1984, unique bronze, 16.5" x 7" x 5.5"

52. Material and Texture NkisiNkondi Statue, Congo, 20th Century Alberto Giacometti, Man Pointing, 1901-1906 BCE

53. Useful Questions What are the different textures you see? Rough? Smooth? Soft? Hard? Fragile? Strong? Are the textures the result of the nature of the materials used? Does the material mimic the texture of another material or surface? What is the overall impact of the textures you see?

54. Texture

55. Final Observations