Purpose: Why Study Art | |
When you think of the word text, what do you think of? You might think of words in a book, on a Web site, or even a text message. The word text, however, is not necessarily confined to only words on a page or screen. The word roots for text are from Latin meaning "to weave." In fact, another word that comes from a similar root is textile, a fabric that is woven or knit. From this idea of a finished product, woven together, we can conclude that a text draws from multiple sources, or to be more metaphorical, several fibers come together to create a fabric. |
How Art Can Help You Analyze, a TED-Ed Video, appears in your lessons. |
With that idea in mind, text, particularly over the last half of a century in philosophical and literary circles, has come to include visuals, such as photographs, graphs and charts, and video. | |
Sometimes, they are referred to as visual texts, and just as words on a page are read and interpreted, so are these visuals. In this assignment, you will read, interpret, and analyze an image in the form of a painting or photograph. The depictions in these images range from photographs of nature, architecture, or household items, to paintings of people, places, and events. In working through this exercise, you will not only increase your ability to read a visual text, but you will also build skills of investigation and form the competencies that lead to visual literacy. To learn more about studying visual culture, see this resource. |
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