Artists have always expressed themselves by making pictures. They tell stories, convey ideas, report history, share beliefs, and make abstract designs. What makes one artist better than the other is the way they put it all together, the use of colors, lines, balance, and the other uses of elements too. Artists also have to be good at visually telling their stories and those stories have to be interesting. Art Critics have been trained to see how design elements and principles interact with each other. They can analyze art by looking at these art elements and how they're arranged which also helps them interpret and judge the artwork.
Today we're going to be amateur art critics and practice....
As an art critic, ask yourself the following questions...
This movie clip will help us set the mood so we can make speculations about the painting, the color choices, and use of lines and shapes will ultimately help us to interpret Archibald Motley's painting "Nightlife". This clip was made during the same time period as the painting - 1940's. The film is in black and white because color movies were very expensive to make and didn't become popular until the 1960's. The clothing is also different too. Please notice the cultural and social differences between then and now. Start clip at 5:00. Enjoy.............
Nightlife Archibald Motley
Now
We are going to look at another movie clip and painting. This one was also made during the same time period but it is very different from "Nightlife". We will make comparisons between the two paintings and contrast their differences.
The Nighthawks by Edward Hooper
Now we are going to compare and contrast these two paintings.
Here is a new activity to try.... Look at the painting below...