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When researching- start here
If the work does not have a strong function and purpose then you will struggle with the whole comparative study.
Interpretation of function and purpose is understanding the meanings, intentions (purpose) of the work and how it is viewed by others/society (function). It needs to be supported by facts (research).
What can you find out about the artist’s intentions? If the artist didn’t write about the meaning behind the work, what do other articles and scholars say about it? Was the artwork made to send a political message, religious, was it biographical, etc. Most artists start making their work having some sort of intentions behind the work they are making, even if it is a stylistic choice.
Just because an artwork was made for a certain reason sometimes the function of the work is different, maybe it becomes a documentation of a culture over time even though it was made for self-expression and not meant to be shown to the world.
See below for lists of functions/purposes of artwork.
From the rubric: You need to make "an informed and appropriate interpretation of the function and purpose of the selected artworks, objects and artifacts within the cultural context in which they were created."
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At the highest level on the rubric:
"The work demonstrates a consistently informed and appropriate interpretation of the function and purpose of the selected pieces within the cultural context in which they were created."
Example of the difference between Function and Purpose:
Purpose (Artist):
The purpose of this painting was to communicate Kahlo’s outrage against Diego Rivera’s recurring infidelity. It was created shortly after her divorce.to elicit an emotional response from her viewers as it portrays a raw, graphically defiant scene (angry face, empty room, bare walls, cut hair tossed about, sardonic verses). Her intention was not only to make a personal statement, but also to communicate her nonconformity against traditional, Mexican gender and familial roles where male infidelity was widely accepted and divorce prohibited by the Catholic church. This is evident as the scenario is void of any use of national symbolism. As a celebrity, it took courage to do this as Kahlo was exposing the intimacy of her private life to the whole world. She was criticizing her native cultural and social norms calling upon her viewers to contemplate social change.
Function (Audience):
Over time, the meaning of this painting changed as contemporary audiences may have seen the artwork as a documentation of a specific period in time or as communicating a political view in favor of Feminism (Biography.com).
· Expressive function – expresses the artists’ feelings
· Descriptive function – records the likeness of a place or person or other subject.
· Conceptual function –the idea or concept behind the work is more important than the object
· Practical function-has a practical use, such as clothing, vessels, furniture, a building
· Religious function – tells a religious story or is an object of devotion.
· Historical narrative function- tells a story of an event in history
· Commemorative function – made to honour someone (like a statue of a famous person)
· Political function- serves a political purpose, such as propaganda.
· Symbolic function – symbolizes certain beliefs or ideas without representing them.
· Decorative Function- used to adorn the body, a room, a building etc.
· Ritual function – used as part of a ritual or ceremony, or has magical powers.
· Shock function – intended to shock or upset the viewer can you think of more?
Frida Kahlo. Self-Portrait with Cropped Hair. 1940.
From IB Examiner:
"Candidates often interpret, or give their personal opinion of the artwork without supporting their understanding of function and meaning with evidence. This evidence comes from the formal analysis of the artwork (criterion A) and from other sources of knowledge such as research into the cultural significance. Both criteria C and B require reference to ‘cultural context’ and candidates can forget this. Wider research is essential to gain understanding of purpose. Some candidates were knowledgeable and effectively selected information to support their ideas. Candidates particularly struggled if they had chosen a little known contemporary artist that they were unable to effectively research and place in a cultural context. Balancing such choices with related, but contrasting, material is a useful way to develop understanding of function."
June McFee's Cultural Framework can be a good way to display information for criteria B. (and potentially C.)
June McFee's Cultural Framework can be a good way to display information for criteria B. (and potentially C.)
5. Conceptual Framework Artmaking.pdfPage updated
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