Comparative Study

Assessment

Criterion A: Identification and analysis of formal qualities (6 marks)

An effective discussion of the formal elements of art.

What you need to do: Describe what you see when you look at the work of art, analyzing the formal elements such as compositional structure, focal point, line, shape, size, space, color scheme, texture, value. Discuss the materials, technique and media used.  WHY has the artist chosen to apply and manipulate these formal qualities?

• What genre is it:  landscape, portrait, still life, journey, moment, memory, event, surreal, fantasy, abstract?

• Technical process  - look at how the work has been developed and made. What materials and tools have been used? Painted, woven, printed, drawn, cast, stitched, layered, assimilated, collage?

• Technique: What kind of marks does the artist use? If it's a painting,  look at the brush strokes (are they soft and blended or harsh and thick?)

• What color scheme does the artist use? (are the colors warm, cold, vibrant, hazy, muted etc.)  Why did the artist use these colors? How is the color organized? Are there any areas of the work that have been highlighted with a particular color?

• Is the work very flat, using shapes (2D) or has the artist used light and shadow to create implied form (3D) in the work?

• What is the surface like? What kind of texture can you see?

• If it's a painting, where is the light source coming from? what is the effect?

• Look at the scale (size) of the artwork and how that affects the composition and experience for the viewer.

• Where is the focal point? How has it been created by the artist (using leading lines to move your eye towards it, contrast in scale, values ​​etc?) Why is it the focal point?

• Composition: if it's a portrait, for example, how is the person sitting / standing / moving? What does this mean, what does it say about the person? If there are several people, is one person more important than another? How can you tell? Is there a compositional structure? eg Triangular composition gives a feeling of stability and strength in the work.

• Has perspective (atmospheric, 1 or 2-point) been used to create depth/space in the artwork?

• Remember to look at the positive AND negative spaces in the work.

• Where is the artist standing in relation to the subject? If this is an important aspect in the artwork, consider why the artist has used this point of view. For example, if you use a low angle and look up at the subject, it makes them look powerful. The opposite is true if you use high angle and look down at them.

• Is there a sense of movement and motion? How has this been created?

• Any repetition, pattern?

Student example of Criterion A slide: 

Criterion B: Analysis and understanding of function and purpose (6 marks)

An informed and appropriate interpretation of the artworks.

What you need to do: Discuss the function for which the artwork was made, the artists’ intention and explore possible interpretations of the work. Explain how symbolism and imagery is used to communicate the meaning. "There can be different, competing, and contradictory interpretations of the same artwork. An artwork is not necessarily about what the artist wanted it to be about." (Terry Barrett, Criticizing Art: Understanding the Contemporary)

• Think about the big idea / subject that is trying to communicate, the artist's perspective or 'viewpoint'. What is it? What's it about?

• What symbolism or imagery has the artist used to communicate their message?

• Are there any visual sources that have been appropriated and used in the work, art history or references from other subjects: literary, music, film, etc.

• What does the artist call the work? Does the title change the way we see the work?

• Is the artwork a realistic depiction? Proportion: have any objects been exaggerated or distorted in relation to the others? If so why? How does it help to communicate the message? 

• Mood  - look at the communication of moods and feelings. How does the work make you feel? Why do you feel like this? Does the color, texture, form or theme of the work affect the mood of the work?

What was it made for? Here are some different FUNCTIONS that art can have.....:

- Expressive Function: expresses the artist's feelings

- Descriptive Function: records the likeness of a place/person/other subject

- Conceptual Function: the idea behind the artwork is more important than what it looks like

- Practical Function: has a practical use (eg clothing, vessels, furniture, a building...)

- Religious Function: tells a religious story or is an object of devotion

- Historical Narrative Function: tells the story of an event in history

- Commemorative Function: made to honour someone (eg the statue of a famous person)

- Political Function: serves a political purpose (eg propaganda)

- Symbolic Function: symbolizes certain beliefs or ideas without representing them

- Decorative Function: used to decorate the body, a room, a building etc (eg jewellery or wallpaper)

- Ritual Function: used as part of a ritual or ceremony, or has magical powers

- Shock Function: intended to shock or upset the viewer.

(This list taken from www.thinkib.net)

Student example of Criterion B slide: 

Criterion C: Analysis and evaluation of cultural significance (6 marks)

An informed understanding of the artworks within a cultural context.

What you need to do: Place the work in context: What is the background from which this artwork emerged, the cultural, social, political, historical, and personal influences that shaped it? Make sure you link all contextual information back to the artwork to show its relevance to the piece.

• When was it made? Where was it made? Who made it? Who was the work made for?

• If it's an object or artifact, how was it used by people at that time or in that culture? Is it a common everyday object, or something used only for ceremonial or special occasions?

• What was the audience and critics reaction to it at the time? Was it accepted or criticized? How about the contemporary audience now?

• Were there any important societal or world events that were happening at the time the work was created? (eg civil or world war, The Great Depression, women's liberation movement, AIDS epidemic, human rights issues, government propaganda, repressive laws ......) 

• If it's an artwork, think about what was happening in their society at the time that might have motivated the artist to produce the work (eg Picasso's 'Guernica' is a direct response to the Spanish Civil War).

• Try to empathize with the artist in order to learn to read and understand their mind and emotions. What are their personal or spiritual beliefs that might have influenced their work?

• What's the importance of the piece in relation to the artist's culture: personal, social, cultural, historical, artistic, educational, political, spiritual.

• How does the work relate to the works around it (inside and outside of the gallery setting)? Can you link the work to other arts of the period such as film, music or literature?

• Is it related to a specific art movement (eg cubism, impressionism, art nouveau)? Did the artist influence other artists, architects, designers etc?

Student example of Criterion C slide: 

Criterion E: Presentation and art terminology (6 marks)

The information is clearly, coherently and consistently communicated.

What you need to do: Make the slides visually engaging and appropriate;  design a considered layout with clearly legible writing; make sure your sources are cited, and images are referenced correctly with use of accurate subject specific language throughout. Make the font size large enough for the examiner to read it easily (without having to zoom in). 

Student example of engaging presentation:

Criterion F (HL ONLY): Making connections to own art-making practice (12 marks)

Analyze and reflect on how the artworks studied influence or otherwise relate to your own art making.

What you need to do: Make meaningful connections between your work and those of the artists in your study, using clear examples. Analyze and reflect on your own development in relation to the work studied. Remember that the IB are NOT assessing your artwork, they are assessing the analysis and reflection you write about the connections between your work and the ones you studied. This is a valuable opportunity to contextualize one's own work, to step back and reflect on what concepts, techniques, and approaches to making art have been assimilated from looking at other artworks. 

First, write a reflection about the overall outcome of the comparative study, what you learnt from doing it, and how writing/researching the CS has helped you to develop as an artist. Then, write your analysis and evaluation in relation to ART MAKING PRACTICES ( not the quality of the artworks). Include plenty of visual evidence (photos of your finished artworks and process work).

DO 

• Include evidence of your art-making process, and make relevant connections to the creative process where applicable 

• Reflect on conceptual aspects of the work and how this impacted your work 

• Consider what you might have learned from this investigation and how this has influenced your development 

DON'T 

• Make a copy of one of the CS artworks 

• Simply list similarities and differences 

• Invent connections where none exist 

• Introduce new artworks that weren’t in the CS so far

(source: InThinking)

NOTE: You can choose to include the artwork you create for the CS for the Exhibition as well, as the art itself isn't graded in the CS, just your explanation of how your art was influenced by the works you researched. (12 marks) 

Student example of Criterion F slide: 

Recommended Structure for the Comparative Study

Choosing the 3 Artworks/Artifacts

• • They don't have to all be artworks, you can also include an object or artifact from a specific culture or historical time.

  • Choose 3 pieces that you really like!! After the research and writing, you will be creating an artwork of your own that is inspired by them, so it's important that you find them really visually/conceptually interesting. 

  • Choose well-known artworks or artifacts that you can find information about!

  • Find works that are connected in some way. It will be impossible to find connections if they are about totally different concepts and use different materials and techniques!

  • Make sure they are from different and contrasting cultures or historical times

  • Make sure at least a couple of the pieces have a strong concept that is communicated through visual symbolism/imagery of some kind (Criterion B: Function and Purpose). 

• Choose works that have clear links to the culture they were created in (Criterion C: Cultural Significance). 

Websites of Artworks Organized by Topic

The Art Story: This is one of my favourite web sites for researching modern artists. It has loads of information about artists, movements, timelines.... even a page that compares and contrasts different works of art (https://www.theartstory.org/comparison-main.htm)! If you're stuck, this can help you.

Kyle Staver's instagram has lots of nice collections of artworks grouped by theme or image.

Artsy.net has an incredible collection of artists grouped by theme; although many of the artworks aren't famous enough to find enough information about, it's still a great place to get possible topics to explore.

The Arty Teacher: a blog that has loads of different themes to explore.

Tate Britain: Resources to help students with their research on a theme

Annenberg Learner: a series of 30 minute episodes that focuses on different themes such as Dreams and Visions, Urban Experience, Death, Portraits, the Body etc. Each episode covers about 20 different artworks!

Pinterest Comparative Study Ideas: a Pinterest board with some interesting ideas for themes.