Art Appreciation 101

Looking at art is a good way to pass the time. Knowing which questions to ask lends to a more interesting experience when you look at art.

There are a few approaches. All of them end with analysis but it really isn't that heady...and it is art, so think of your own and add it to the list if you want. This is just a starting point and without crib notes, you can make it the experience you want. A more academic approach or a more free spirited one; what's important is that you enter the mind of the artist or you experience the piece a bit more fully.

So the analysis begins. Choose a piece of art.  (Right.)

"Heart Unbroken," 2007, By Sherri Baierl, Mixed Media on Hardboard, owned by a Green Bay couple.

Formal Analysis--Ask: which elements and principles of design did the artist use? Which were not used? How were they used? (Elements are: line, shape/form, color, value, texture, space--and all the types of each, these are the foundational pieces you build art with. The principles are: unity, pattern, movement, rhythm, emphasis, contrast--and how each is used, these are the ideas that pull art together and make it interesting.) After identifying each used, ask: what is added? (Interest, focal points...etc.) What could have been added? What would happen with or without any of those things or why are they a good/bad choice?

Content Analysis--This is the most straight-forward concept for representational art, and conversely the most confusing for non-representational. Ask: what's in the art? What's on the art? What's the art on? Look at the materials, the use of materials the media and the logic for using the medium(s).

Aesthetic Analysis--These are questions you may have but really have no answer. Things such as do you like it? Disagreement or uncertainty are great aesthetic discussion starters. Assumptions, larger philosophical concepts or theories...in short, the nature of beauty and taste.


Historical Analysis-- Ask: what was going on in the world, in the country, in the life of the artist? Who the artists friends were/are, who the influences are, what relationships looked like? (Always keeping in mind the title and ideas relevant to the imagery.) The relevant question, since this is a more personal piece is: what was going on in the life of the artist? And what was going on in her life? Or other things like: under what circumstances this was made? Was it a commission?

I'll let you decide the answers.


There is a lot to think and talk about if you want to do the thinking or talking. Just always ask: why? And just with that you have a great start.