• Art Elements
When analyzing art, you should look for the various elements to help determine its structure, meaning and value. The traditional seven elements are as follows:
• Line
• Shape
• Form
• Space
• Color
• Value
• Texture
These two resources give details about each one:
• http://arthistory.about.com/cs/reference/f/elements.htm
• http://www.getty.edu/education/teachers/building_lessons/elements_art.pdf
Using these elements, compare and contrast Aaron Douglas' Song of the Towers, 1934 with Grant Wood's American Gothic, 1930.
You can review the images in our text, or click the links below to visit the work online.
• Song of the Towers (from Aspects of Negro Life), 1934 (http://exhibitions.nypl.org/treasures/archive/files/douglas-song-of-the-towers_9890debb55.jpg)
Spend time looking carefully at each work. Write down a list of words that describe each work - include nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. What is similar about these works? What is different? You do not have to identify all seven elements in the paintings, but you should be able to identify at least two.