• Unit 3: How Art Speaks – Finding Meaning

    Art asks questions and conveys meaning. It expresses ideas, uncovers truths, manifests what is beautiful, and tells stories. In this unit, we will begin to explore the meaning behind particular works of art within the context of various styles and cultures.

    Completing this unit should take you approximately 4 hours.

    • Upon successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

      • identify the four levels of meaning in works of art: formal, subject, context, and iconography;
      • define the term context and discuss its essential role in finding meaning in art; and
      • describe the six critical perspectives: structural, deconstructive, formalist, ideological, psychoanalytical, and feminist.

    • 3.1: Objective vs. Subjective Meaning

      • Activity 4: Form and Content Quiz
        This unit introduces you to the conceptual tools that professional art critics use to interpret art. In this activity, you will try your hand at interpreting an artwork. At the end of the course, you should come back to this activity and review your response. Do you think you will have honed your skills at finding meaning in art by then?
      • How We See: Objective and Subjective Means Page

        Read this section for more on the differences between objective and subjective viewing.

    • 3.2: The Four Levels of Meaning: Formal, Subject, Context, and Iconography

      • The First Level of Meaning: Formal Page

        When we see any object, we can immediately understand its form: the physical attributes of size, shape and mass, for instance. With art, this may at first appear to be simple: we can separate out each artistic element and discover how it is used in the work. You had practice doing this in the last two units. The importance of the formal level of meaning is that it allows us to look at any artwork from an objective viewpoint.

      • The Second Level of Meaning: Subject Page

        Art can be grouped into specific genres, or patterns of subject matter, that are found over time. Many of them are present in some cultures, but never present in others. These differences give us another lens for finding meaning when we approach these types and patterns of art.

      • The Third Level of Meaning: Context Page

        This article highlights the importance of understanding the context in which art is made. Pay close attention, because context, as you will have already noticed, is an important theme in this course.

      • More on Context Page

        Read this short article and watch the video, which explores the key dimensions of context as it differs between artists and viewers. How are the contextual factors different between viewers and artists?

      • The Fourth Level of Meaning: Iconography Page

        At a basic level, we can think of iconography as the conveyance of deeper meanings through simple visualizations. It makes use of symbolism to generate narrative, which in turn develops a work's meaning.

    • 3.3: Critical Perspectives

      • Critical Perspectives Page
        This article discusses some of the most important perspectives in art criticism: structural, deconstructive, formalist, ideological, psychoanalytical, and feminist.
      • Activity 5: Everyone's a Critic Quiz
        Complete this ungraded assignment, which asks you to apply each of the critical perspectives covered in this unit.

    • Unit 3 Wrap-up

      • Activity 6: Style, Form, and Content Quiz
        Complete this ungraded activity, in which you will provide links to works of art that you believe fit a variety of criteria.
      • Unit 3 Assessment Quiz
        Receive a grade

        Take this assessment to see how well you understood this unit.

        • This assessment does not count towards your grade. It is just for practice!
        • You will see the correct answers when you submit your answers. Use this to help you study for the final exam!
        • You can take this assessment as many times as you want, whenever you want.