Analyzing Form (Poetics of Display)
Here’s how to judge the quality of your work. Remember that no image or group of images will provide an opportunity to use all the concepts and terms. In fact, the presence of some might mean the absence of others. Rather than rating yourself slavishly by how many terms you use, emphasize the big picture. Don’t get lost in the details, but use them to accomplish an overall sense. (Also, don’t use the headings below to organize your analysis – these are to guide you in judging the quality, not organization, of your analysis.)
Initial Reaction
Do the images grab your attention? Are they striking, interesting, arresting as examples? Do they give you an immediate cause for thought?
Form Analysis
Elements. Which of the following elements (and properties) does the analysis include: point (location), line (extent), shape (figure), space (ground)?
Attributes. Which attributes: direction, scale, tonal value, color? Not all images have interesting uses for every one of these, so judge the images on the variety of forms open for observations.
Analysis. Also judge the analysis. Is it thorough? Is it accurate, that is, does it ring true? Does it help you see the forms more clearly?
Patterns
Do some forms get repeated? Which ones? Does the analysis capture these "echoes" or "motifs" by pointing them out?
Interpretations
Moods. The forms within images produce a reaction in you. They evoke moods. Is the mood uniform, or do you sense come conflicting or contrasting moods at work? Does the analysis give appropriate names and descriptions for the mood or moods?
Styles. The analysis may (but need not necessarily) do something similar with style, indicating similar forms in images from a specific historical period.
Systems
The following may be new to you, so you won’t have looked for them initially. How do the images rate in their potential for these? Do they seem to provide a clear opportunity to discuss any of them?
Gestalt laws of grouping. proximity, continuity (continuation), similarity, closure.
Principles of design. unity, balance, contrast, rhythm, proportion.
Perspectives. hierarchy, atmospheric, chiaroscuro, linear.
Overall
The reason for doing analyses of form is to learn something! The opportunities to learn depend partly on the quality of the images, but some that seem at first uninteresting turn out to have a lot going on. Judge how much the analysis showed you – helped you see – through the previous steps.