Often in ones attempt to clarify, more confusion is created. I hope that will not be the way this post goes. Read on. Definitions in the visual arts field are not always consistent and various artists choose to personalize terms based on their understanding of a word. I'm no exception. I was once sternly corrected for using subject and content interchangeably when these two words have discrete meanings according to my knowledgeable friend who went to art school I didn't, but I can research!
Subject matter is the literal, visible image in a work while content includes the connotative, symbolic, and suggestive aspects of the image. The subject matter is the subject of the artwork, e. Gerald Brommer in Emotional content: How to create paintings that communicate notes that "Content is the reason for making a painting. Content is the communication of ideas, feelings and reactions connected with the subject When we look at a painting its content is what is sensed rather than what can be analyzed.
It is the ultimate reason for creating art. He specifically calls this "emotional content". Apply market research to generate audience insights. Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. Share Flipboard Email.
Marion Boddy-Evans. She has written for art magazines blogs, edited how-to art titles, and co-authored travel books. Composition According to Henri Matisse "Composition is the art of arranging in a decorative manner the diverse elements at the painter's command to express his feelings. Featured Video. Cite this Article Format. Boddy-Evans, Marion. The 8 Elements of Composition in Art.
This is especially so in more abstract works, in which the viewer may not recognize the image as a known object and must, thefore, interpret meaning from shapes and other elements. Images that are hardly recognizable, if representational at all, can still deliver content if the observer knows how to interpert form.
Occasionally, artists may be unaware of what motivates them to make certain choices of image or form. For them, the content of the piece may be subconscious instead of deliberate. For example, an artist who has had a violent confrontation with a neighbor might subconciously need to express anger content and is thus compelled to work wit sharp jagged shapes, bitter acrid reds, slashing agitated marks form , and exploding images subject.
Sometimes the meaning of nonobjective shapes becomes clear in the artist's mind only after they evolve and mutate on the canvas. Although it is not a requirement for enjoying artwork, a little research about the artist's life, time period, or culture can help expand viewpoints and lead to a fuller interpretation of content. For example, a deeeper comprehension of Vincent van Gogh's specific and personal use of color may be gained by reading Van Gogh's letters to his brother Theo.
His letters expressed an evolving belief that color conveyed specific feelings and attitudes and was more that a mere optical experience. He felt that his use of color could emit power like Wagner's music.
The letters also revealed a developing personal color iconography, in which red and green symbolized the terrible sinful passions of humanity; black contour lines provided a sense of anguish; cobalt blue signified the vault of heaven, and yellow symbolized love. For Van Gogh, color was not strictly a tool for visual imitation but an instrument to transmit his personal emotions. Color symbolism may not have been used in all his paintings, but an understanding of his intent helps explain some of his choices and the power in his work.
Subject, form, and content have always been the three basic components of a work of art, and they are wed in a way that is inseparable. In general, subject may be thought of as the "what" the topic, focus, or image ; form , as the "how" the development of the work, composition, or the substantiation ; and content , as the "why" the artist's intention, communication, or meaning behind the work.
The subject of visual art can be a person, an object, a theme, or an idea. Though there are many and varied ways of presenting the subject matter, it is only important to the degree that the artist is motivated by it. Objective images, which represent people or objects, look as close as possible to their real-world counterparts and can be clearly identified.
These types of images are also called representational. Gus Heinze, Expresso Cafe , Artists who explore the process of abstraction simplification and rearrangement create images that look less like the object on which they are based, although they may still be recognizable.
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