SUBJECT

AND
CONTENT
 DEFINITIONS
• SUBJECT
– refers to the visual focus or the image that may be
extracted from examining the artwork.

• CONTENT
– is the meaning that is communicated by the artist or
the artwork.
 TYPES OF SUBJECT
• Representational Art
• Non-Representational Art
• Abstract Art
• Representational Art
– These type of art have subjects that refer to objects or events
occurring in the real world.
– Any work of art that you can “tell us what it is”

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 EXAMPLES
• PORTRAITURE
• Still Life
• Landscape
• Anything recognizable can be considered a
Representational piece of Art.
• Non-Representational Art
– This does not make a reference to the world, whether it is a
person, place, thing, or even a particular event.
– It is stripped down to visual elements such as shapes, lines,
and colors which translates a particular feeling, emotion, and
concept.

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 Non-Representational
• A work of art that does not
represent any recognizable
subject matter.

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 Non-objective
• A piece of art that does not
mean to portray any
recognizable object.

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 Abstract Art
• Taking
recognizable
subject matter
and
ABSTRACTING it
to the point of it
being no longer
recognizable

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 Piet Mondrian

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 Knowing the difference
• Just remember, if you can tell
what it is, the artwork is
Representational.

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 If it doesn’t look like anything…
• It’s Non-Representational,
also referred to as Non-
Objective.
• If you do a drawing and don’t
mean it to look like a certain
object, it’s Non-
Representational.

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 If it started out as something…
• … but ended up looking way
different, it’s ABSTRACT Art.
• When you take an actual
object and abstract it so it’s
not recognizable, you create
Abstract Art.

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CONTENT
• FACTUAL MEANING
• CONVENTIONAL MEANING
• SUBJECTIVE MEANING
• Factual meaning
– This pertains to the most rudimentary level of meaning for
it may be extracted from the identifiable or recognizable
forms in the artwork and understanding how these elements
relate to one another.
• Conventional meaning
– Pertains to the acknowledged interpretation of the artwork
using motifs, signs, symbols and other cyphers as bases of its
meaning.
• Subjective meaning
– A variety meaning may arise when a particular work of art is read.
– Perception and meaning are always informed by a manifold of
contexts.
“CREATION OF ADAM” by Michelangelo