Subject and Content Notes
Subject and Content Notes
CONTENT
In viewing art, there are clues that mediate between
the artwork and the viewer, allowing the viewer to more
easily comprehend what he is seeing.
These clues are the three basic components of a
work of art:
Subject – the visual focus or the image that may
be extracted from examining the artwork; the
“what”
Content – the meaning that is communicated by
the artist or the artwork; the “why”
Form – the development and configuration of the
art work – how the elements and the medium or
material are put together; the “how”
2 TYPES OF SUBJECT
1. Representational Art or Objective Art
– They are those arts which depict
(represent) objects that are commonly
recognized by most people. They attempt to
copy, even if in a subjective manner,
something that's real. It uses “form” and is
concerned with “what” is to be depicted in
the artwork.
Examples:
A.Still life is a work of art depicting mostly
inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace
objects which may be either natural (food, flowers,
plants, rocks, or shells) or man-made (drinking
glasses, books, vases, jewelry, coins, pipes, and
so on) in an artificial setting.
B.Portraiture (portrait) is a painting, photograph,
sculpture, or other artistic representation of a
person, in which the face and its expression is
predominant.
C.Landscapes, Seascapes, Cityscapes
Mona Lisa
Leonardo da Vinci
(1503)
Despite not knowing who Mona Lisa is,
it is clear that the painting is of a
woman that is realistically-
proportioned;
only the upper torso is shown;
is flashed;
the background is a landscape
2. Non-representational Art or Non-
objective Art – They are those arts without
any reference to anything outside itself
(without representation). It is non- objective
because it has no recognizable objects. It is
abstract in the sense that it doesn’t
represent real objects in our world. It uses
“content” and is concerned with “how” the
artwork is depicted.
Jackson Pollock “Autumn Rhythm”
Judeo-Christian tradition
Landscape
Seascape
Cityscape
Die Ebene von Auvers (Wheat
Fields Near Auvers
Vincent van Gogh (1890)
A Cockchafer, Beetle, Woodlice and Other Insect, with a Sprig of
Auricula
Jan van Kessel (early 1960s)
Fruit Pickers Under the Mango
Tree
Fernando Amorsolo (1937)
(creation of man)
Conventional meaning: man was