Dennis TANG TSZ FUNG_GallagherWateryEcstatics2003

1) INTRODUCE THE DRAWING IN GENERAL TERMS 

•What is the title of the drawing?

• Watery Ecstatics

•What is the name of the artist?

• Ellen Gallagher

•What is the year the drawing was done?

• 2003

•What is the medium? (ie the materials used to produce the picture, for example charcoal on paper, pen and ink etc) 

• The materials are watercolor, pencil, cut paper and varnish on paper

•What is the subject matter or general theme of the work? (eg is it a figure drawing, a map, a portrait, an autobiographical work, a picture about nature, a drawing of the city etc?) 

• The general theme of the work were employing techniques of photogravure, spit-bite, collage, cutting, scratching, silkscreen, offset lithography and hand-building.
• Themes related to race are often evident in Gallagher's work, sometimes using pictographs, symbols, codes and repetitions.

•Does the drawing have a particular purpose? eg Is it a diagram that explains how something works? Does it record accurately record the appearance of something? Does it express the artist's emotion or memory? 

2) DESCRIBE THE DRAWING IN DETAIL

•How is line used? What does it do/express? 

• The main yellow line used in the painting was strong, hard and twisting.
• And the pattern or drawing behind the yellow line was weak and detailed.
• The emotion expressed of those line was happy, vivid. 

•How is tone used? What does it do/express? 

• The tone used was happy, because the color was very warm, the line was strong that made those audience feel the passion from it.

•What can you say about shape and/or form in this picture? What is the effect? 

• Only line showed in the painting, and the background was white. This made an effect which audience will focus on the stroke of the painting. From the stroke, audience will easily feel the emotion of the painter.

•What can you say about the composition of the drawing? What is the effect of this type of composition on the overall drawing?

• The composition of the painting was not balance, the background and the centre of the painting was keep in white. This background will provide more imagination for audience. And the olorful object will easily catch the eyeball.

•Is rhythm important in this picture? If so, say more about it...

• Rhythm is important in this painting, because line was the main character in this painting.
• From the line, we can see the rhythm and the power.

•Is the picture balanced? Explain...

• The painting is not balance. The object is in the lower part of the paper, and the upper part is blank.

•Is perspective used in the picture? If so, describe the way that the illusion of three-dimensional space has been created.

• Perspective did not use in the painting.

•Is the picture harmonious? If so, in what way? 

• The painting is quite harmonious, because the use of the white background. 
• The huge white background just like the sea or water or sky, which made the line feels comfortable.

•Are there any strong contrasts in the picture? Say more... 

• There is a big contrast between the line and the background. Because the background is white and the line is colorful. 

3) INTERPRETATION AND EVALUATION

•What is the mood of the drawing? Justify your answer using information from your responses above.

• The mood of the drawing are happy and vivid.

•What does the drawing express? Justify your answer using information from your responses above.

• The drawing expressing the interaction of the line and the stroke and the color.

•In your opinion, why is this work interesting/moving/ clever/ imaginative/thought-provoking/......?  Choose the adjective(s) that best fit(s) the work, and then justify your conclusions by referring to specific features and qualities of the drawing (including those you have discussed above).

WHAT IS THE FORMAT OF THE DRAWING ANALYSIS?

• The adjective that best fit the work is vivid.
• From the painting, we cannot realise the object clearly. However, I will think about the plankton in the sea. Plankton is a kind of live that live under the sea, they are strong and alway moving, full of the energy. In the painting, the color of the object is yellow, which represented the energy, sunshine. Moreover, the background of the painting is blank, so there is lots of room for the object to move around.
• Beside the color and the composition of the painting, I also think that the brushwork of the painting is one of the important elements to create the mood. There is a contrast between among two objects, the heavy yellow brushwork of those lines, small dots and thin lines in between it. Which may makes the painting more living. 
• Moreover, the brushwork also created a kind of movement and rhythm in between the painting. Because the brushwork is heavy and twisting, we thought that they are moving, more living.

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[1] Assessment of the analysis will be based on

(a) the detail and depth of your own analysis and (b) the quality and constructive nature of the online feedback that you offered your classmates