Looking at Other Artists booklet

8/14/2019 Looking at Other Artists booklet

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Open College of the Arts

Student SupportLookin

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otherartists


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This booklet is one of a series of guides for students studying with the OCA.

Others in the series are:

Study skills

Keeping sketchbooks and learning logs

Assessment and how to get qualified

You can either download a pdf copy from our website www.oca-uk.com or ring theoffice on 0800 731 2116 for a paper copy.

Cover illustration Caroline Firenza. Other images courtesy Bridgeman Art Library


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One of the most important aspects of developing as an artist or

photographer is to look at other artists work. This guide will help you

make the best of every image you look at, train your visual awareness

and develop your visual skills.

Look at everything you canLook at all sorts of work: amateur artists work, contemporary professional work,

old masters, visit museums and galleries to see the latest exhibitions and existing

collections. Get art books out of the library and buy art books if you can. Use the

internet as much as possible. The internet has become a wonderful forum for

photography and art. Even if you live in an area that makes it difficult to get to

exhibitions, or if you are disabled or confined in some way, the internet opens a

world of opportunity to discover artwork. For instance the major public galleries not

only publish samples of exhibitions on the web, but often have the whole

exhibition on the web available as well as in the gallery.

It is impossible to overemphasise how critical it is to look at other artists work. All

art is created in a context. Artists through the centuries have been influenced by

others, some very strongly. Whole movements in art have been instigated by single

works of art, or the work of just

one person, driving forward with

a new technique or approach to

their work. Looking closely at

paintings, sculptures orphotographs can reveal

information about techniques that

you would never get by looking at

a poor scale reproduction of the

work. At exhibitions you can

always tell who the practising

artists are. They are the ones right

up at the canvas, closely

scrutinising every brush stroke or

mark made, to see what they can

learn.

Looking at other artists

Detail from the Mona Lisa

Leonardo da Vinci


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Dont think that basing your work on other artists work or consciously using ideas

from others is cheating. All art, in a sense, is about other art. When we find a

subject to depict, we see it, at least in part, through the eyes of artists we are

familiar with. That is why it is so important for you to have a good, broad

knowledge of art and artists and to develop an informed opinion on them, and the

ways in which they can influence your work.

Time taken to browse exhibitions, books and internet galleries is not time

wasted. It will feed your imagination and develop your technique.

In the bath

Edgar Degas


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Try to see as many exhibitions as possible. It doesnt matter if the work isnt of the

highest order. There is much to learn even from not-so-good art. In many images

even if the whole picture isnt completely successful, a part of it may be interesting.

In others the idea behind the art may be a revelation even when it hasnt been

successfully carried out. You may see images where artists have been struggling

with the same problems that you are experiencing and through their failure see

possible solutions. In an exhibition by local artists or photographers you may see

local subjects to paint or photograph whose possibilities hadnt occurred to you

before.

When you visit a gallery or museum, decide whether to look at everything, tiring

yourself and as a consequence taking nothing in, or whether to be selective. If you

are going to a large exhibition, it is often better to quickly walk round the whole

exhibition and then go back to focus on just the few that really drew your

attention. See if there is a guide book, postcards or if you can take photographs.

Visiting exhibitions

Argentine

Anthony Caro


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Be prepared to be surprisedYou may go to look at paintings but find the sculpture or the garden every bit as

rewarding. Dont in any case ignore the building in which the paintings are being

shown. Ask yourself how well the works of art relate to their environment.

Dont forget to take a sketchbook and notebook with you whenever you make a

visit. It is also a good idea to take a friend who may be able to give a valuable

second view on what you see, and discuss the exhibits with you.

A page or two of notes about each visit will be a valuable addition to your learning

log.

The main elementsRemember, when you look at art to consider all the main elements that make up a

work of art: shape, form, space, value (light and dark), texture, colour and line.

Consider the composition. Is it harmonious and unified? What are the proportionslike (the different elements of the composition in relation to each other)? How

much variety and emphasis is there? Is there a comfortable balance in the work? Is

there rhythm and movement?

InsomniaJeff Walter


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Make judgements First describe the art work,work; this will make you focus on it. You can do this in

your head or make notes on paper.

Then analyse it, using the tips above.

Once you have analysed the elements, try to second guess what the artist

intended. What do you think the artist was trying to convey? This is the most

challenging part of looking at art, and is called interpretation.

Finally, draw your conclusions. This is much more to do with your personal

response to the work. How does it make you feel? What reaction do you have to

the elements and composition? Does the work feed your imagination? Does it

intrigue you or does it leave you cold?

Annotating images

Composition with Mona Lisa

Kazimir Severinovich Malevich


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A very useful activity

after a visit to a museum

or gallery is to annotate

postcards or your own

sketches of images that

interested you. This

simply means adding

explanatory notes to the

pictures.

Put notes around the

edges of the pictures

rather than obscure them

with writing. One way of

annotating a postcard is

to stick it in the top half

of an A4 sheet and draw

a line across the page

about two thirds of the

way down. Above this

line and around the

postcard there is space to

make comments about

the card. You may wish

to comment on the

accuracy of the reproduction, the way something has been depicted, the use of a

particular colour, or the way the painting has been composed for example.

Comments can be made in the form of sketches as well as words.

Below the line jot down anything about the painting that cant be worked out from

looking at it but needs further research things like its date, whether it was

commissioned, whether there are other similar examples by the same artist, where

they are, and so on.

Annotated postcards and drawings of images can be included in your learning log.

If you keep your learning log online you can copy and paste images into

your blog, but make sure you acknowledge the sources for copyrightreasons.


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A seated male nude twisting around

Michelangelo


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OCA's website www.oca-uk.com is your first stop for information about

courses, plus access to help, support, advice and tips from tutors and

other learners.

Register on the website, upload a picture if you like, and get chatting to

other students via the forum.

Find out about exhibitions and books recommended by fellow students,discuss the state of contemporary art or the music industry, share tips on

techniques and processes, and share your thoughts on studying from

home.


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Open College of the Arts

Michael Young Arts Centre

Redbrook Business Park

Wilthorpe Road

Barnsley S75 1JN

[email protected]

0800 731 2116www.oca-uk.com

Documents

Looking at Other Artists booklet