rumbleroar
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- 2014
The frames, to put simply, are a set of “lenses” you use to analyse an artwork from a different viewpoint. There are three categories the VA syllabus requires HSC (and prelim) students to know:
Practice
Conceptual
Frames - structural, cultural, subjective and postmodern
Practice framework
To put simply, the practice framework can be defined as “an artists approach or intention towards their art making”
The practice framework focuses on:
WHO the artist is - i.e. Salvador Dali was an artist working within the surrealist movement
WHAT the artist does - i.e. painting, ceramics, performance art, etc.
HOW the artist produce artworks - i.e. the processes an artist will go through in their selected medium to produce their art. A good example is Patricia Piccinini’s use of graphic design and assistance of builders to construct the Skywhale, as a commissioned work for Canberra’s centenary.
WHO does the artist do it for - i.e. what audiences is the artist targeting?
WHY does the artist do it - i.e. what is the intent behind the artist’s artwork? Are they looking to educate, or use art as a form of self-expression?
WHO they do it with - i.e. is the artist a facilitator of art (i.e. Jeff Koons, Damien Hirst and Ai Weiwei) or are they the conceptual and pratical artist of their work?
As you can see, a lot of different Who’s, Why’s and How’s are interrelated so if you’re ever stuck, just ask yourself:
I admit, practice framework has always been a bit difficult for me, but with enough practise (ha ha) it will come quite naturally.
Conceptual framework
The conceptual framework observes the relationship between the ARTWORK and the ARTIST, WORLD, AUDIENCE.
Artist - what is the role of the artist?
You want to ask yourself 4 main questions:
Artwork
A lot of conceptual framework questions look at the relationship between the artwork and another aspect of the conceptual framework. The artwork is often a representation of ideas that reflect upon: personal responses/experiences, cultural views, symbolic interpretations and critical reinterpretations of other ideas (post-modernism)
Also look at the medium of of artwork, and see if there is any significance of the medium (or media) the artist has used in an attempt to relay these ideas. For example, the use of relic Chinese vases, as a 3D sculpture, in Ai Weiwei’s ‘Coca Cola’ is a potent symbol of traditional and communist Chinese values. Weiwei chooses to vandalise these vases with the blatant brandishing of ‘Coca Cola’ using industrial paint. Coca Cola's logo is often associated with capitalist discourse, an economic and societal construct which is quite dissident from the archetypal Chinese dogma, and presents itself as a rebuttal against the corrupted nature of communist China Weiwei is so vehemently against.
Audience
Consider the audience as a body of critical consumers - i.e. what do audiences feel and experience when they are presented with the artist’s work? Disgust? Intellectual enlightenment?
The body of audiences encompass: art critics and historians, teachers, students, entrepreneurs, patrons and members of the public
Also note how audiences change over generations, providing different evaluations on each artwork. For example, in Andy Warhol’s time, their reactions to his work were completely different to how contemporary audiences perceived it. Modern responders often dub his work as ‘genius’, however, audiences of his time were mostly shocked and on the whole, not impressed with his works.
World
This aspect of the conceptual framework looks at the artwork being an embodiment of its world - i.e., the social/economic/political context the artwork was produced in. For example, a large majority of Renaissance artworks are a reflection of the aristocratic lifestyles of the rich and gives audiences insight into how the noble enjoyed (or maybe not enjoyed) a life of wealth and prosperity.
The Frames
Essentially, the frames is a generalised term to describe a different range of paradigms to view an artwork in, in order to build our understanding of the artwork.
Subjective frame
The subjective frame largely focuses on the psychological and personal experiences of the artist and audiences. Good examples of subjective artists include Mark Rothko and Salvador Dali, whose artworks are largely introspective the artist and audiences.
When discussing the subjective frame, focus on how audiences feel about the work (and the personal connections the work may trigger) and what the artist is trying to express or convey:
Cultural frame
The cultural frame focuses on art having a cultural and social meaning, and considers the artist’s social and cultural environment and how this affects their artworks. An example is Picasso’s Guernica, which was painted during the Spanish Civil War and is a poignant message against war and its atrocities.
When discussing artworks within the cultural frame:
Structural frame
The structural frame is looking at visual language, and how this visual language constructs meaning. Examples of artists who works can be considered “structural” include Mondrian.
Examples of visual language: tone, colour, shape, perspective, pictorial depth, texture, line, composition, subject, facial expression, visual allusions
When discussing the structural frame:
Postmodern frame
The postmodern frame looks at the artwork being a challenger, or critique, of existing ideas of the time. The artwork can be considered a reappropriation, recontextualisation, parody and/or satire of other works in order to challenge existing ideas.
When discussing the postmodern frame:
I hope this guide has shed some light on the frames
If you have any question, feel free to post below, as others may have similar questions. Happy art criticism!
Practice
Conceptual
Frames - structural, cultural, subjective and postmodern
Practice framework
To put simply, the practice framework can be defined as “an artists approach or intention towards their art making”
The practice framework focuses on:
WHO the artist is - i.e. Salvador Dali was an artist working within the surrealist movement
WHAT the artist does - i.e. painting, ceramics, performance art, etc.
HOW the artist produce artworks - i.e. the processes an artist will go through in their selected medium to produce their art. A good example is Patricia Piccinini’s use of graphic design and assistance of builders to construct the Skywhale, as a commissioned work for Canberra’s centenary.
WHO does the artist do it for - i.e. what audiences is the artist targeting?
WHY does the artist do it - i.e. what is the intent behind the artist’s artwork? Are they looking to educate, or use art as a form of self-expression?
WHO they do it with - i.e. is the artist a facilitator of art (i.e. Jeff Koons, Damien Hirst and Ai Weiwei) or are they the conceptual and pratical artist of their work?
As you can see, a lot of different Who’s, Why’s and How’s are interrelated so if you’re ever stuck, just ask yourself:
- What is the artist intent behind the work? (i.e. who do they do it for, why are they doing it)
- How has the artist managed to convey this intent? (i.e. how did they do it)
I admit, practice framework has always been a bit difficult for me, but with enough practise (ha ha) it will come quite naturally.
Conceptual framework
The conceptual framework observes the relationship between the ARTWORK and the ARTIST, WORLD, AUDIENCE.
Artist - what is the role of the artist?
You want to ask yourself 4 main questions:
- Who is the artist? (include relevant biographical information, i.e. if you were talking about Ai Weiwei, you would look at his Chinese background as a major aspect of his artwork)
- What does the artist do? (i.e. what does the artist do with their work, and what do they perceive the role of an artist is)
- How does the artist produce artworks? (refer to the practice framework questions when analysis how they produce their work)
- Why do they do what they do? (i.e. look at personal beliefs, etc.)
Artwork
A lot of conceptual framework questions look at the relationship between the artwork and another aspect of the conceptual framework. The artwork is often a representation of ideas that reflect upon: personal responses/experiences, cultural views, symbolic interpretations and critical reinterpretations of other ideas (post-modernism)
Also look at the medium of of artwork, and see if there is any significance of the medium (or media) the artist has used in an attempt to relay these ideas. For example, the use of relic Chinese vases, as a 3D sculpture, in Ai Weiwei’s ‘Coca Cola’ is a potent symbol of traditional and communist Chinese values. Weiwei chooses to vandalise these vases with the blatant brandishing of ‘Coca Cola’ using industrial paint. Coca Cola's logo is often associated with capitalist discourse, an economic and societal construct which is quite dissident from the archetypal Chinese dogma, and presents itself as a rebuttal against the corrupted nature of communist China Weiwei is so vehemently against.
Audience
Consider the audience as a body of critical consumers - i.e. what do audiences feel and experience when they are presented with the artist’s work? Disgust? Intellectual enlightenment?
The body of audiences encompass: art critics and historians, teachers, students, entrepreneurs, patrons and members of the public
Also note how audiences change over generations, providing different evaluations on each artwork. For example, in Andy Warhol’s time, their reactions to his work were completely different to how contemporary audiences perceived it. Modern responders often dub his work as ‘genius’, however, audiences of his time were mostly shocked and on the whole, not impressed with his works.
World
This aspect of the conceptual framework looks at the artwork being an embodiment of its world - i.e., the social/economic/political context the artwork was produced in. For example, a large majority of Renaissance artworks are a reflection of the aristocratic lifestyles of the rich and gives audiences insight into how the noble enjoyed (or maybe not enjoyed) a life of wealth and prosperity.
The Frames
Essentially, the frames is a generalised term to describe a different range of paradigms to view an artwork in, in order to build our understanding of the artwork.
Subjective frame
The subjective frame largely focuses on the psychological and personal experiences of the artist and audiences. Good examples of subjective artists include Mark Rothko and Salvador Dali, whose artworks are largely introspective the artist and audiences.
When discussing the subjective frame, focus on how audiences feel about the work (and the personal connections the work may trigger) and what the artist is trying to express or convey:
- How has the artist explored emotion in the work?
- What feelings do audiences experience when viewing this work?
- What personal reminders or experiences does this work trigger?
Cultural frame
The cultural frame focuses on art having a cultural and social meaning, and considers the artist’s social and cultural environment and how this affects their artworks. An example is Picasso’s Guernica, which was painted during the Spanish Civil War and is a poignant message against war and its atrocities.
When discussing artworks within the cultural frame:
- Analyse when, where and why (artist intention) the artwork was made
- What does the artwork reveal about the culture, society and place?
- What traditions, styles and art movements may have shaped its production?
- Does the artwork relate to race, place, religion, gender, time, politics or a particular event? If so, how are these relationships visually expressed?
- Examine the context of the artwork and how these preoccupations are expressed
- Potentially look at how the artwork could be archetypical of a particular cultural group (i.e. signs, symbols, allusions, intertextuality)
- How do the style, media and ideas of the work represent its content? Or how has the style, media and ideas of the artwork been influenced by its context?
Structural frame
The structural frame is looking at visual language, and how this visual language constructs meaning. Examples of artists who works can be considered “structural” include Mondrian.
Examples of visual language: tone, colour, shape, perspective, pictorial depth, texture, line, composition, subject, facial expression, visual allusions
When discussing the structural frame:
- How has the artist used and arranged various elements and principles of design and composition to create meaning?
- Give a detailed description of the artwork
- Try to describe and interpret how the artist has used visual elements (i.e. colour, symbols, shape, tone, size and composition) to create meaning
- Discuss about the medium used and anything special about the techniques the artist has used (i.e. examine types of brush strokes, artmaking practices that are particularly distinctive, etc.)
- Examine the form, media and techniques in the artwork and how these elements are arranged, and the effect of this purposeful composition
Postmodern frame
The postmodern frame looks at the artwork being a challenger, or critique, of existing ideas of the time. The artwork can be considered a reappropriation, recontextualisation, parody and/or satire of other works in order to challenge existing ideas.
When discussing the postmodern frame:
- Discuss the traditional ideas that have been challenged and how these preconceptions are challenged (i.e. the techniques the artist has employed to critique the status quo, etc. – appropriation, allusion, satire, parody, etc.)
- What are the artist intentions for the audience?
- What parts of popular culture have been borrowed to create this work?
- Is the artist mocking or commenting on art, its audiences and/or society?
- What are the contextual differences between the borrowed images and the new artworks, and what do these differences aim to achieve?
I hope this guide has shed some light on the frames
If you have any question, feel free to post below, as others may have similar questions. Happy art criticism!
