Chapter 4: Deriving Meaning

Question 1

Formal analysis

Answer 1

integrated study of the elements and principles of art and the way they are used in a specific artwork.

Question 2

composition

Answer 2

the arrangement of elements and the application of principles inn an artwork

Question 3

content

Answer 3

the theme or message

Question 4

subject matter

Answer 4

substance of a work of art

Question 5

subtext

Answer 5

the underlying ideas or messages

Question 6

metaphor

Answer 6

an image or element that is descriptive of something else

Question 7

symbol

Answer 7

an image or element that stands for or represennts some other entity or concept

Question 8

iconography

Answer 8

a system of symbols that allow artists and designers to refer to complex ideas

Question 9

context

Answer 9

external conditions that surround a work of art (historical events, economic trends, contemporary cultural development, etc.

Question 10

formalist criticism

Answer 10

emphasizes the analysis and critique of an artwork based on the compositional arrangement of its elements

Question 11

ideological criticism

Answer 11

rooted in the writings of Karl Marx, deals with the political underpinnings of art

Question 12

psychoanalytical criticism

Answer 12

holds that art should be studied as the product of individuals who are shaped by their pasts, their unconscious urges and their social histories

Question 13

structuralism

Answer 13

in order to understand a work of art, one must study the structure of art an the complex interrelationship of all its parts

Question 14

semiotics

Answer 14

study of signs in verbal or written communication

Question 15

post-structuralism

Answer 15

a range of reactions against Structuralism, but it is not homogenous set of ideas

Question 16

deconstruction

Answer 16

holds that from the inside, anny system looks natural and coherent but that it is, in fact, filled with unseen contradictions, myths, or stereotypes

Question 17

feminist criticism

Answer 17

concerned with the oppression of groups in a given society, along with the oppression of their belief systems

Question 18

visual culture

Answer 18

discuss all visual components of contemporary culture, including art, film, advertisements, the Internet, television, social media, and so on

Question 19

relational aethestics

Answer 19

focuses on ways that art can augment human relationships in social spaces rather than emphasizing the collection of art objects

Question 20

phenomenology

Answer 20

studying the human consciousness and experiences such as judgement and perception