MODULE 3 - Subject and Content

• subject

• form

• content.

Aside from the aforementioned, to fully comprehend a work of art, an individual must look at its components:

subject ,

_____refers to the visual focus or the image that may be extracted from examining the artwork,

content

is the meaning that is communicated by the artist or the artwork.”

Subject

refers to the topic, focus, or image presented in an artwork.

Subject

It is the basic idea contained in the work of art.

• Representational (also called as objective or figurative)

• Non-representational (also called as non-objective or non-figurative)

Ocvirk et al (2013) identified two types of subject:

Representational (also called as objective or figurative)

Easily identified and recognized by the audience because they may have encountered/seen/experienced the image or event represented in the artwork.

Representational (also called as objective or figurative)

These are subjects or images that look as close as possible to their counterparts in the real world.

representational

Thus, artworks that portray/present people, objects, or events that exist or occur in the real world are called _____ art.

Non-representational (also called as non-objective or non-figurative)

These are subjects or images that do not refer to any object, person, place, or event in the physical world. They do not rely on imitation or representation.

non-representational art

“stripped down to visual elements such as shapes, lines, and colors that are employed to translate a particular feeling, emotion, and even concept.”

• Nature/Environment

• Still life

• (Greek and Roman) Mythology

• Religion

• History

Sources and Kinds of Subject:

Nature/Environment

An artist may draw inspiration from his/her interaction with the environment or the physical world.

• Vincent van Gogh

• Claude Monet

• Camille Pissarro

• Paul Cézanne

• JMW Turner

ARTIST THAT USED NATURE AND ENVIRONEMNT

Fernando Amorsolo and Fabian de la Rosa

are famous for their paintings depicting rural scenes, people in the fields, and the

Still life

Artists may draw inspiration from inanimate subjects such as food, flowers, plants, candles, glass, books, and so on.

still-life

painting is said to represent or depict inanimate objects for the sake of their qualities of form, color, texture, and composition

(Greek and Roman) Mythology

Some paintings, sculptures, and even literary works depict and/or visualize the heroic encounters, beauty, wit, vanity, and other qualities of the characters, heroes, gods, and goddesses from various mythologies.

Religion

everal visual arts and literary works depict different religious beliefs, specifically their God/superior being and other biblical figures.

History

Aside from the abovementioned, historical events also serve as sources of subject in art. ▪ With this, artists bring history into life. It is their way to record commemorate, and immortalize the events that happened in a particular nation or society.

a) the establishment of nations and state [discovery, conquests, and colonization]

b) the resulting ideologies that they breed [democracy, liberty, freedom, and rights]

c) known leaders and figures in the world’s/nations’ history

As discussed by Caslib Jr. et al (2018, p. 48), the things which are usually depicted in art are the following:

Content

refers to the themes and messages contained in a work of art.

Content

It could be a statement, expression, or mood developed by the artist which is then interpreted by the audience/observer

art’s subject and form.

It is said that content is interpreted by looking at the

familiarity with the subject, background knowledge, cultural background, feelings and ideas, experiences, and the like.

As mentioned in the previous modules, different observers have different interpretations and/or feelings toward an artwork. This is because they differ in:

-revisit or research about the artist’s life,

the time when the art was created,

and the culture associated with the artist and his/her work

As discussed by Ocvirk et al (2013, p. 12), to have a fuller interpretation of content, an individual may want to:

• factual meaning

• conventional meaning

• subjective meaning

Caslib Jr. et al (2018) identified three levels of meaning in art:

factual meaning

This refers to the literal meaning or the narrative content of an artwork which can be easily recognized and/or understood just by looking at the subject matter or elements presented in the work.

Conventional Meaning

As the name implies, this refers to the meaning which is embedded in a particular object/image/color (usually accepted/agreed upon by a certain culture or group of people).

Subjective Meaning

is refers to the meaning given by the audience/observer in relation to his/her personal views, feelings, and ideas.

(a) what he/she knows,

(b) what he/she learned,

(c) what he/she experienced,

(d) what values he/she stands for.

As Caslib Jr. et al (2018, p. 50) discussed, an individual’s perception and interpretation of an artwork will always be influenced by the following: