Form & Content

FORM & CONTENT

Two basic considerations we need to be acquainted with are form and content.

Form: the physical and visible characteristics inherent in works of art

Formal distinctions include a work’s size, medium (painting, drawing, sculpture or other kind of work) and descriptions of compositional elements such as the lines, shapes and colors involved.

Content: the meaning we derive from art.

Content includes any visual clues that provide an understanding of what the art is trying to tell us. Sometimes an artwork’s content seems vague or hidden and needs more information than is present in the work itself, the cultural context that informed the creation of the art also clarifies the meaning. 

 

Ultimately these two terms are roped together in the climb to understand what art has to offer us. As we examine art from different time periods, styles and cultures, the issues of form and content will apply to all of them.  We’ll explore form and content further in Modules 3 and 4.