Chapter 3 – Work of Art: Its Subject, Form, and Content

I. Subject

The choices for subjects in the visual arts are endless. An artist can choose from
the list of persons, objects, themes and even ideas, etc. When you are confronted with
an art piece, the image that you can easily identify is the subject of the art. There are
two types of subjects of art, namely, representational, and non-representational.
Representational subjects are those that appear to be very much like how people see
them in the reality. In effect, they are easily and clearly identified by the viewers and
audience of the art. However, artists have the freedom to portray these subjects in their
own terms. Most of the time, they employ abstraction, the process of simplification or
alteration or rearrangement. Abstracted subjects tend to look less like the object on
which they are based, but still discernible. However, some artists may implement
extreme forms of abstraction i.e. the subject is not anymore, a representation of a
physically identifiable subject. In this regard, the artists rely on the different applications
of the elements and principles of art rather than relying on representing the actual
physical image of the subject. In some references, they are called objective and non-
objective images.

In some forms of art, like music, subjects can be representational and non-
representational. There are musicians who choose to produce music without lyrics. In
the absence of lyrics, identifying the subject will be more difficult than those with lyrics.
Sometimes, there may be musical material that still is identifiable when the sounds
produced mimic sounds such as those used in meditation. Some meditation music uses
the sounds of nature like flowing river, birds chirping or leaves dancing in the air. In
course of listening to these types of music, the subject tends to be more abstract and
that feelings or ideas are more emphasized.

As a viewer, you should not only go as far as identifying the subject of the art but
also, you need to examine how the artist represented the subject as well as evaluating
the rigor of expression made to the subject.

Sources and Kinds of Subjects

Just like you and everybody else, artists are also humans who go through the
struggle of knowing what to create as an art. Planning what type of subject they would
choose to recreate or represent is an immensely critical process of the creative pursuit.
Identifying subjects may sound as simple as choosing from a list of possible subjects
but this process entails complex and critical value judgments for artists to transcend the
expression or message they wish to share. In some cases, they may require deep
connections with these subjects to inspire and motivate them. For starters, there may be
a list of sources to choose from. You may read through the following.

a. Nature

The nature and the environment have been one of the sources of artistic
inspirations. You can derive inspiration from the shapes and forms that the environment
can offer such as the trees, land, desert, animals, etc.9

b. People and World Events

People is one of the most common subjects of art. This can be found in individual
and family portraits. Some artist employs abstraction where human figures or faces are
unclear or distorted. Using people as subjects can also convey emotions much clearer
than other subjects.

World events have been subjects of art as well. Such as when you read the
newspapers, and flip through the editorial page. Editorial cartooning is an art that may
express satirical versions of world events.

c. Myths and Legends

Myths and legends have been one of the sources of art among artists. They used
myths and legends as way of visualizing the story found within them. Most common arts
related to myths and legends are popularized during the Greek Civilization.

d. Spiritual and Religious Beliefs

Like myths and legends, art has been an outlet for religion and faith to come to
life. For some, this is part of their culture such as in Buddhist and Islamic nations.

e. Ideas Commissioned by Employers

There are artists hired by employers. Like graphic designers, they create
corporate logos, brochures, restaurant menu designs and other print materials. Interior
designers and architects design homes and buildings according to the demands of their
clients.

II. Form/Composition
 As a component of art, form is the overall organization of the artwork. It is an
outcome of the artists‟ effort to use the elements of art and arrange them according to
aesthetic principles. In a more specific sense, evaluating the form of an art is similar to
analyzing the processes employed during creation. Through this, you may tend to
unravel the contexts from which the artist is coming from such as with the choices he
made in terms of the material to use or the manner by which they will be
implemented18. The first aspect of form is the elements of art with the aid of principles
of design.

However, the second aspect of form is its “actual and objective form.” This refers
to the outcome and actual output of the creative process which are 2-dimensional or 3-
dimensional. A modern type of form is those that are now produced by technology or
technological media.

Two-Dimensional Art

This type of art begins the work on a flat surface called a plane. For painters, the
blank canvass is a plane. For students who are asked to draw, the sheet of bond paper
is the plane. While the art is 2-dimensional in form, it does not mean that it could not
project a 3-dimensional effect. In this case, there is a need to distinguish form and
conveyance. The art form is the actual appearance of the art. In 2-dimensional forms,
mostly drawings and paintings are on a flat surface. The conveyance, on the other
hand, is the manner the art, its elements and subjects project an image or impression.
Some arts only show a still image of one subject but some other 2- dimensional arts like
paintings may show some sense of distance such as the mountain and land separated
by a river. Artists may manipulate design principles to produce images that convey not
just height and width but also depth or at least the illusion of such.

Characteristics of Two-Dimensional Art

A. It has mathematical dimensions of width and height (but no depth).

B. They can be decorative spaces or plastic spaces – it is not the laymen‟s
definition of decorative and plastic space. It refers to a spatial condition
when elements of the art cling onto the picture plane. Plastic spaces, on
the other hand, create impressions that the elements of art can weave its
way around you.
C. Plane/Picture Frame – this is the defined boundary of the picture plane.
This can be interpreted as a limitation of two-dimensional artists where
they are only bound to work within the frame. They come in the form of
 shapes like squares, rectangles, triangles, or circles.

Three-Dimensional Media

A. Sculpture – A type of three-dimensional art where most of the media used

are clay, glass, plastics, wood, stone ore metals. Sculpting
allows you and the artist to create the intended shapes through
these media. The first type is called free-standing sculpture that
can be viewed all around it. The second type is the relief
sculpture that is projected into a space from a flat surface.
Usually attached to the surface, there is less likelihood to see a
view of the art from the actual back. They are usually
made through the following methods.
.
B. Assembling – It is the process of constructing a sculpture using different
materials. It can be a combination of wood, plastic, metal,
and others.

C. Modeling – it is an additive process where the artist gradually adds more of

the material to build the form.

D. Carving – it is a subtractive process where the sculpture removed, cuts,

chips, or drills parts of the sold mass to create the form.

E. Casting – it comes in the manipulative process where materials like soft

pliable materials are made into shapes using manual hand force
or machine manufactured force.

F. Crafts – these are three-dimensional crafts that have utilitarian intentions.

Usually made crafts with functions are baskets, plates, cups,
vases, jars, kitchen utensils and even jewelry.

Technological Media

Technological advances have paved the way for arts and the process of making
one to be more accessible for consumers. It also allowed people to tap more into their
artistic side to create their own version of art forms. They are Photography, Film, Video
and Computer Art.

Photography
 This is a technique of “capturing optical images on light-sensitive camera.” Done
through the camera, photographic media have improved not only as a method to
capture moment but now done as a method to convey art. The first camera ever
recorded in history was called the daguerreotype in the 19th century. It uses a copper
plate to create mirror like images. In the 1850„s, a wet plate replaced the old copper
place to create photographs. It uses a glass coat with the aid of chemicals to record the
image. This was then transferred to a paper or cardboard. In contemporary
photography, wet plates were replaced with films or negatives where a camera captures
reverse image of the object when hit by the flash of light. Today, there are digital
methods to capture photographs such as Digital single lens reflex (DSLR) camera and
even smartphones that capture comparably good images.

Films and Videos

Films are a series of negatives that intend to show motions of pictures.

Filmmaking was a by-product of people‟s interests towards still pictures by transforming
them into continuously seamless movements. With each frame of a film is camera to
create successions of images, hence, movements. While still pictures can be captured
now using DSLR‟s and smartphones, these recent gadgets can now also perform the
functions to produce films or videos.

But films may be considered obsolete as digital video recordings are now
available. Equipped with audio and visual coding systems, video recording and editing
are now more possible. In the past, videos did not have sounds, and some had to be
dubbed separately. With the appropriate computer software and systems, more and
more videos are being made today. Special video types can even be uploaded on the
World Wide Web (www). On the internet, the YouTube® has become an online social
platform that share videos and can be accessed by its web visitors. Originally,
YouTube® was a video streaming and sharing platform for on-line gamers. Today,
YouTube is now uploaded with billions of videos ranging from themes of music, content-
creation, lifestyle, education, and business, etc.

Computer Arts

Graphic Designers rely on computers and its applications to create art. Hardware
of computers are the physical tools that assist in the creation art such as keyboard,
monitor, CPU, printer, and mouse. Other tools include stylus and graphics tablets,
scanners, and web cameras. Computers now also have a plethora of software
applications to create art such as Adobe® Photoshop, Affinity Designer, Clip Studio
Paint Pro, Art Weaver and Art Rage, etc.

III. Content

Artworks also contain emotional or intellectual messages. They are called

contents. These are statements, moods, or interpretations developed by an artist
through the artwork. Among the three components, this must be the most difficult to
recognize. Without the ability of the viewer to communicate with the artist, it would be
difficult for the former to decipher the thought and emotional processes of the artist. The
rhetoric and narratives of an artist are not always literal in application. They must breed
reinforcement of the deeper collective unconscious for the art to be more relatable.
Occasionally, artist may not always be aware of the choices they make in the use of
elements and principles of design.

However, a system can be devised to discover at least some of the relevant

contents of art. You may research about the artist‟s life, time period and culture to have
fuller viewpoints and interpretation of the work. For some, the use of a technique, color
mixture and line movement canindicate an artist‟s culture and background. For
example, the Starry Starry Night of Vincent Van Gogh can be best understood through
his letter to his brother Theo.42 That is why artist provide what they call a “credit line” in
their piece of work to assist viewers in understanding the relevant details of the artist
and the work at hand. A credit line consists of (1) Name of the Artist, (2) Title of the
Work, (3) Year/s the work was made, (4) Medium, (5) Size Dimensions, and (6)
Location of work. In some cases, instead of labeling year, artist provide the “c” to
abbreviate the word “circa” which means about or around.

An alternative technique is studying iconography. It is the process of

understanding the meanings of the elements of the art and the symbolisms the objects
convey. Symbolic representation usually occurs when a representation takes on a
meaning that is not necessarily nor naturally related to what it literally depicts.44 In
Psychology, art and its content has been instrumental to the assessment and
therapeutic process. Psychologists use artistic materials in assessment procedures
called projective technique. Examples of projective techniques in assessment are the
House-Tree-Person (HTP) Test, Rorschach Inkblot Test and Thematic Apperception
Test. In HTP, the client will be asked to draw a house, a tree, and a person and all of
which will be used to analyze personality traits and mental status. In Rorschach and
Thematic Apperception Test, the client will be asked to share what they perceive from
the set of cards with inkblots or images, respectively. The same verbal responses will
be analyzed as personality and mental health assessments.
Activity No. 3
For Those With Internet Access
What to do?

Since majority of the students nowadays are very techy individuals make a PHOTO gallery with the following contents:

1. Capture 5 pictures using your mobile phones.

2. Be sure to capture a picture that tells a story.
3. Provide a title for each picture.
4. Create a 5-sentence story for each picture.
5. Use MS Word to place your pictures, titles, and stories.
6. Come up with your group‟s general theme for the entire pictures and
discuss the reasons orally next meeting through your group‟s
representative.
7. Choose a representative to discuss your output.

HERE IS THE FORMAT OF THE ACTIVITY

List of Names (alphabetical order)

1.
2.
3.
Etc.
Picture

Title

Story_________________________

Note: After the last picture, title, and corresponding story come up with your Theme.

The Rubrics

Weighing Items Excellent (8-10pts) Very Good (5-7pts) Good (0-4pts) Total
1. Story‟s Content All the contents Some contents are Majority of contents are
mentioned can be missing. present.
depicted within the
picture.
2. The Picture and Its Appropriate creativeAppropriate creative Limited creativity with
Creativity layout of the picture layout of the picture less appealing to the
being presented that being presented that class.
does not need does need some
improvement at all
improvements which is
which is very appealing a little appealing to the
to the class. class.
3. Speaking Confidence, character, Confidence, character, Confidence, character,
Skills and smooth sailing of and a little smooth and stormy sailing of
the presentation without sailing of the the presentation with
oral reading of the presentation with some lots of oral reading of
slides, and has the oral reading of the the slides, and has a
ability to capture the slides, and has some little ability to capture
class‟ attention. ability to capture the the class‟ attention.
class‟ attention.
4. Choosing the Titles Proper title will be given Proper title will be Proper title will be
and General Theme to each picture that given to each picture given to each picture
does not contain bad that does contain bad that does contain bad
words, catchy, and words, not so catchy, words, not that catchy,
unique in nature. The and a little bet unique and no uniqueness in
theme must be well fit to in nature. The theme is nature. The theme
the entire set of the a little bit fit to the does fit to the entire set
pictures presented. entire set of the of the pictures
pictures presented. presented.
The Group‟s Total Score Earned (Note: the total score is 40 points)