Art Analysis Worksheet for City Sunscape by Louise Nevelson

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ART ANALYSIS WORKSHEET
Gallery Study: In preparation for your formal analysis, print this worksheet and take it with you
to complete while you study your chosen artwork. You will submit these notes with your final
submission.
Viewing a visual image should be more than just looking and reacting without much thought.
Viewing is an interaction between the viewer and the art object. Although most art works are
constant, the interaction varies with each viewer because of the viewer's own varied perspectives
and associations.
1. Step 1
a) Preparation—have an open mind about artwork. Assume that the artist had something
to communicate.
The artist wanted people to understand the significance of transforming a discarded
object such as wooden in to a beautiful sculpture
b) Label—list the name of the artist, the title of the work, and the gallery visited or the
location of the artwork.
Artist – Louisie Nevelson
Titkle of work – City Sunscape
Gallery visited – Foosaner Art Musuem, Florida Institue of Technology
NOTE: DO THE FOLLOWING SECTIONS IN ORDER. Respond to the following sections in
paragraph form. Use the questions provided (Q) as a guide to provide you with information for
your paragraph.
2. First Impression—record your first spontaneous reaction to the artwork. By the end of
the process, you may understand your first impression better or you may even change your
mind. There are no wrong answers. Unfortunately, this step is where many people stop when
they are looking at artwork.
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Q. What is your immediate reaction to the work?
My immediate reaction to the work was one of awe and inspiration. In order to
design the sculpture Nevelson used tiny pieces of the wood scraps that could be found
near the site of extremely old buildings. The black painting resembled the beginning of
something new and such thought process of the artist left me speechless.
List any words that come to mind.
1. Immense
2. Majestic
3. Creative
4. Inspirational
3. Description
a) Inventory—This stage is like taking inventory. You want to come up with a list of
everything you see in the work. The key here is to stick to the facts. Imagine that you are
describing the artwork to someone over the telephone. This is a long and detailed
section.
Louise Nevelson is known for her expression of abstract art. In most of her work, she utilized
objects of wooden nature gathered from the debris piles in the urban areas. She did this in order
to give some significance to the discarded objects; trying to create something majestic and
meaningful from the debris pile. In order to design the sculpture Nevelson used tiny pieces of the
wood scraps that could be found near the site of extremely old buildings. She nailed these pieces
together and boxed them up in to tiny cubicles to give shape to the sculpture. Nevelson had used
raisin and wooden parts in order to sculpt the beautiful structure of City Sun Scape. The painting
is of the dimension 26 1/82 x 44 7/8 inches and 66.1 x 114 centimeters
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b) Composition—Notice different elements in the artwork. How do the individual parts of
the artwork contribute or distract? Use terms—line, shape, color, value, form.
Nevelson had used raisin and wooden parts in order to sculpt the beautiful structure of City Sun
Scape. She nailed these pieces together and boxed them up in to tiny cubicles to give shape to the
sculpture.
c) Visual Cues—How do the elements interact and conflict? How many colors are used?
Notcie the source and direction of light. What kind of light source is used? How is the
illusion of depth achieved?
The colour ‘black’ used in the piece of art could resonate with the entire air of majesticity
that surrpounded the sculpture. The usage of this one colour made the sculpture that much more
charming. Since I visited the gallery in the day time, the sunlight was the source of light. When it
fell on the sculpture, it revealed the depths to which the artist went to create it. The beautiful
intrications gave a look of elegance to the artwork.
4. Analysis—Try to figure out what the artist has done to achieve certain effects. You should
refer to your first impressions and try to explain how the artwork achieves that reaction.
In order to design the sculpture Nevelson used tiny pieces of the wood scraps that could be found
near the site of extremely old buildings. She nailed these pieces together and boxed them up in to
tiny cubicles to give shape to the sculpture. Nevelson had used raisin and wooden parts in order
to sculpt the beautiful structure of City Sun Scape. The painting is of the dimension 26 1/82 x 44
7/8 inches and 66.1 x 114 centimeters
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