Formal Analysis

Formal Analysis

            The artwork is a result of the creativity of the artist about an idea or an item and intends to portray a particular message to the viewer. The analysis of a piece of work requires a thorough examination of the artwork as well as the incorporation of the formal details of the art. In the essay presented, the focus of discussion lies in a single western sculpture located at the Detroit Institute of Arts. The museum has a collection of artworks in the form of sculptures, paintings, and architecture. The discussion dwells on a sculpture labeled as the Minster Jug created in c. 1845 by Charles Meigh & Co. The sculpture falls under the Ceramic classification and located in the Department of European Sculpture and Dec Arts. The sculpture is outstanding among others and captures the attention of the eye due to its color selection and design.

            The sculpture is free-standing as evident from the round bottom section. It stands freely without any support and appears to be on a flat surface. Jugs usually have varied uses of holding fluids and would be appropriate to have it with a flat bottom for stability. The sculpture is a high relief since the carving is much further from the background where the figures appear to be more on top of the background rather than part of it. As observed from the selected sculpture, it has conspicuous features and above the level of the background. It is easy to visualize the full sculpture from far and has a distinction from the background. It does not embed with the background, hence making it easy to identify all its descriptive elements. As observed, the minister jug stands out from the background by its design and colors. The viewer can identify the sense of space, linear perspective, and aerial perspective, as well as foreshortening. The sculpture is three-dimensional due to the ability to visualize the space, linear, and the breath elements.

Placement

            The sculpture appears that it was meant to be placed on a pedestal and preferably a table or in a cupboard. The use of the sculpture makes it suitable to be placed on a pedestal other than on the ground. The position of placement should be moderately high to allow easy reach by the user, but at the same time not easily accessible to children who might destroy it. In the museum, the sculpture is placed on a pedestal and at a relative height for easy viewership. The position of placement should align with the elevation of the eye so that the viewer can have a clear focus on all its features. The position of the sculpture affects the notion of the viewer in certain aspects. Sculpture placed on a pedestal sends a clear message that the viewer should not tamper with it. It can be brittle, or liable to get damaged hence necessary to secure it from close handling. Also, the viewer may think that the sculpture is made of a high-value material, hence restricted for close mishandling. Placing an object on a pedestal and choosing an appropriate height develops particular perceptions of concern on the work.

Proportion and Scale

            The presentation of a piece of art requires a consideration of the size and the proportion as either life-size, over life-size, or under life-size. The different aspects define an artwork as either assuming the original size of the object, smaller, or bigger than the actual size. For the sculpture selected, the size is under life-size since a normal jug is bigger in size in comparison to the art. However, the difference in size is small and helps to fit the sculptor within the presets of the artist. The size of the parts of the sculpture is comparable to a normal jug, but more concern lies in the proportionality on the entire artwork. The handle, the hollow part, and the base are proportional to the whole size of the sculpture and contribute to its stability as it rests on a flat surface.

Viewpoint

            The sculpture is free-standing as earlier mentioned and hence have multiple vantage points. The viewer can position themselves from any side and still identify all the minute details of the sculpture since it is three-dimensional in geometrical perspectives. Whichever the vantage point selected by the viewer, it is easy to have an overall view of the sculpture. For the sculptor selected, different vantage points may not result in significant variations on the viewership since the sculpture has a uniform body and base. The only section to be affected is the mouth and the handle that have a unique design. Hence, a viewer may not have a full view of all the features of the mouth and the handle section depending on the vintage point selected.

Composition

            The freestanding sculpture has a composition that distinguishes it from the other artworks in its vicinity. It is monochrome in appearance having a single color code for uniformity. However, the depicted color appears to be as a result of a combination of different colors mixed to produce the final shade. The sculpture is ceramic in classification but is a stoneware and smear glazed to produce the elegant appearance. The piece of art is easy to recognize the color code since the artist ensures that it is uniform throughout the visible sections. Being stoneware makes it susceptible to wearing upon exposure to adverse weather conditions, hence necessary to coat it with a thin smear of glaze. The coating does not erode the originality of the stone ware characteristics but makes it more elegant and conspicuous to the eye. Thus, painting is unnecessary on the stone ware since the smear glazed coating serves the purpose. The different materials used in making a final artwork affect the response to light. For the sculptor, the use of a thin coating of the smear glaze makes it more reflective to light. Thus, it maintains moderate temperatures to the material making up the sculptor. In essence, stoneware tends to absorb much heat and light hence necessary to have an external covering to counter the effects. Stoneware is made from natural materials whose response to light differs from one material to another. The sculpture selected response by reflecting, but others may absorb or pass the light through.

Texture

            Texture describes the surface quality of the artwork. It is perceived from the visual and the physical properties of the object in focus. The use of texture alongside other elements of the design of an object helps to convey different messages and emotions. The feeling upon touching makes the viewer identify the texture of artwork with ease. For the sculptor presented, the texture is rough as evident from the external design. The artist intended to decorate the sculpture with uniform and unique projections and to curve on the outer surface. The bottom section has a rough texture drawn from the small ridges on the round base. The middle section of the sculpture has images of human beings in full appearance of two-dimensional geometry. The upper section near the mouth of the jug has decorations in the form of flowers that make the texture rough. The same scenario is evident on the handle which has projections and ridges to provide a firm grip to the user. The design of the external surface of the sculpture makes it make it have a rough texture that enhances the appearance.  The rough texture affects the play of light by producing hues and tones that give space its identity. The reflection of light from various parts of the sculpture develops the hues and tones that make the object conspicuous. A rough surface allows light to interact with it in different ways thereby enhancing the visual element to the viewer. Some sections are curved, others protruding, and others inverted that make light reflection produce a good visual ability.

Conclusion

            The formal analysis of the selected sculpture develops a different perspective about the understanding of pieces of artwork. From the sculpture analyzed, the aspects of composition and viewpoint elicit the original thoughts about the artwork. The description of the materials making up the sculpture and the blending of the color codes make it easy to identify with the artwork. The analysis of the viewpoint of the sculpture helps to understand why some objects are conspicuous from any angle, and others are not. Formal analysis of the sculptor helps to learn more about a piece of art through critical thinking.

 Charles Meigh & Co, Minster Jug: A Formal Analysis

Sherry Roberts is the author of this paper. A senior editor at MeldaResearch.Com in research paper services if you need a similar paper you can place your order for professional research proposal writing services.