Visual Analysis Infographic

Read the instructions on the attached document. Also, attached will be the images for the infographic part.

Assignment: Visual Analysis Infographic
Due: Wednesday, September 14, 2022 by 11:59pm CST
100 points

A visual analysis is a close inspection of the artist’s use of art elements and design
principles. A visual analysis moves beyond pure description. It is intended to enhance
your observational and analytical skills, asking you to think critically about the choices
that an artist makes. You will explain how an artist uses line, color, texture, space,
emphasis, balance, proportion, and so forth, to create a unique composition. You will
want to provide a detailed description of the formal (meaning “related to the form”)
characteristics of the artistic composition. Remember you’re not just describing what you
see, you’re describing what these elements do in the work.

Some things to consider in your analysis:

• Line: Are there any prominent lines in the work? Do you see psychological or
implied lines? If so, do they serve any compositional purpose? Is line used to
create a contour of an object or exist in its own right? Are the lines mostly
horizontal, vertical, or diagonal? What do they suggest?

• Shape: What shapes do you see? Are they geometric? organic? biomorphic?
Are there well-defined figure and ground shapes? Is shape a prominent aspect
of the work?

• Mass: Does this work have real or implied mass? Where do you see this in the
work? What indicates mass?

• Light: How is light used in the work? is there real or implied light? What are
the values like? Do the values span white to black? Is the image relatively light
or dark?

• Color: What types of colors are used? Are they warm or cool, bright or dull?
Are they natural or arbitrary? Are the colors organized to lead your eye in a
particular direction? Is color used to create space? What is the overall effect
of color?

• Space: Is implied space created? If so, which pictorial devices are used to
render the illusion of three dimensions on the two-dimensional plane. Does
the artist use linear perspective, atmospheric perspective, vertical placement,
overlapping, etc.? Are line and color used to create the illusion of mass or
volume?

• Texture: Is there actual texture (impasto) or implied texture? Can you see the
artist’s brushstrokes? Or, is the artist’s hand totally concealed? What is the
overall effect of texture?

• Time and motion: Is there an implied time of day/year/era in history? Do you
see implied movement or real movement? What is the effect of these
elements to how we see the work?

• Design: How are the formal elements organized? What is the focal point of
this composition? Describe how the artist creates emphasis in this work and

why your eye moves to this area of interest. Is the work symmetrical or
asymmetrical?

Do not try to explain the subject, interpret the meaning, or judge the quality of the work.
Instead, think about what you see. As you write your analysis, remember that the goal is
to sharpen your visual literacy skills. You want to focus on the formal elements and
design principles the artist used to create the composition (not on the meaning of the
work).

The Infographic:
Choose one of the 4 images provided in the Infographic Images folder, under the Visual Formal
Analysis folder.

Design an infographic that highlights 4-6 main visual characteristics of your chosen artwork.
Focus on the ones that are most prominent in the work.

Your infographic should include the image with artist’s name and information.

All information should be concise, grammatically correct, and easy to read.

The information should be organized well. Think of this assignment as designing an
informational poster for a conference. Your poster should be well designed and informative.

Making the Infographic
I recommend using a free, online image editing program such as Canva, Pixlr, Venngage, or
Prezi. All have offered template options in the past (though these change frequently). I
encourage you to put your own stamp on your infographic to make it fully your own (instead of
relying 100% on the template). Please see options listed in Infographic Options, under the
Visual Formal Analysis folder.

Your infographic must be uploaded as a PDF.

USE OF PLAGIARISM DETECTION SOFTWARE STATEMENT: The University of Alabama is
committed to helping students to uphold the ethical standards of academic integrity in all areas
of study. Students agree that their enrollment in this course allows the instructor the right to
use electronic devices to help prevent plagiarism. All course materials are subject to submission
to Turnitin.com for the purpose of detecting textual similarities. Turnitin.com will be used as a
source document to help you avoid plagiarism in written documents. If you need help using
Turnitin, contact CCS Tech Support via the link on our course homepage. Do not wait until the

last minute to submit your assignment, as technical difficulties with submissions in the final
hours are not an excuse for missed deadlines.