Art has the potential to influence all aspects of society. Whether used to drive social change, support a political movement or encourage religious tolerance, art can communicate beyond language and time, connecting disparate cultures through our shared humanity. Art strengthens the will, pulls on people’s heartstrings and inspires them to act. This is why it has been so successful in the past in rallying movements and creating positive change in human lives.
Art can inspire creativity and innovation that can impact diverse industries by encouraging lateral thinking, risk-taking and experimentation. Art can also challenge perceptions and assumptions, inspiring critical thinking and open-mindedness to new ideas.
It can be a record of the world as we see it – a view of reality that is different from that provided by science, which is a primarily physical perspective. It can reflect the world of a culture and of spiritual experience, and it can also attempt to grasp the world beyond physical reality, by exploring themes and subjects such as emotions, love, hate, fear, anger, sadness, hope and despair.
What is the overall mood portrayed in this artwork (i.e. calm; serene; serious; joyful; melancholic; tense; foreboding; turbulent)? How has the artist conveyed this emotion using light, colour or shape?
Is this work a representation of an event or scene from the artist’s own experiences? How does it relate to other artworks by the artist or by other artists working in a similar style/movement?
How do we know that the artist intended the viewer to interpret the work in this way? What clues are given by the title of the piece, the materials used and how the composition is laid out?
What are the key elements that make this work so visually interesting? Is the composition dominated by one or two elements, or does it incorporate many different parts and shapes that interact with each other in an unusual way? Is it a flat composition with simple geometric shapes; an organic, flowing, overlapping or dispersed arrangement of parts; a more complex or elaborate design; or perhaps a collage made up of various images and elements of other works?
Can you see connections with your own projects, and what can this work teach you about incorporating these techniques into your own practice?
Is the artwork designed to be viewed from one angle or position, or does it employ dynamic viewpoints and serial vision? (Read more about Gordon Cullen’s concept of serial vision here.) Does the scale and format of this artwork reflect its subject or the environment in which it is situated?
Does the artist use space to create depth in this artwork? How is this achieved (i.e. use of foreground, middle-ground and background; layering; overlapping or clustered objects; a sense of distance through the use of shadows; linear perspective (learn more about one point perspective here); tonal modelling; spatial distortions and optical illusions)?
For thousands of years, art has been used to tell stories of cultures, histories, beliefs and emotions. This is a tradition that continues in all forms of visual art, from street art to museum installations. The most memorable works of art have the power to capture our attention and move us emotionally, allowing us to connect with the story it is telling.