ABSTRACT

This chapter discusses the components of an artwork as they relate to style, which is the distinctive visual characteristics of an artwork. The components of an artwork consist of the subject, form, content, and context. Form is the sensorial experience of the work and includes the media as well as the arrangement of the compositional elements. When analyzing form, the first step is to identify the medium of the artwork, which could be anything from traditional materials such as graphite or charcoal, to expanded drawing media like GPS drawings, or embroidery. By examining the form in terms of the senses and media, and composition, authors can start to describe the style in more detail, using descriptive words. Context can also affect how the form is interpreted. For instance, colors, smells, and media choices can mean different things per different cultural associations.