Veronica's Art Critique Questions

"A Bigger Splash" by David Hockney

1.         1.The diving board stands out the most in this painting by David Hockney because of its warm color, yellow. It has the feeling something very lonely as if the person has “moved on”.

2.     2. It pops compared to the almost all blue and brown painting. It’s very drab and simple; it has almost no texture to it at all.

3.     3. There is a director’s chair in the back with no one sitting in it. The guy who jumped in the pool is a loner.

4.     4. Throughout the whole painting, everything is very simple and has no texture at all. Everything (dull colors, flatness) gives it the feeling of loneliness.

5.     5. Contrast has been used in very subtle ways.  The only one that is visible to me is that the picture is very lonely, and he or she has a very modern, glamorous house.

6.     6.The edge of the pool leads your eye across the picture from the director’s chair to the palm trees.

7.     7. He is a very abstract modern artist. He uses very simple techniques with barely any texture at all.

8.     8.There is a dried up bush by his house, which implies that he doesn’t care much about gardening and he doesn’t care or have time to water it.

9.     9.David Hockney probably wanted it to be less obvious so that the people looking at it would have to search closely.

1010. The feeling is almost definitely loneliness, and the painting shows that on the outside it may look like he/ she has a glamorous life, but in the inside he/she is very lonely and sad.

1111. Lonely Waters

1212. I like that the flatness of the painting brings out the feeling of loneliness.

WWe used this form to critique:

Artwork Critique Form

QUESTIONS	Write your ideas here. Give first impressions. Make guesses. Say what you see, donot say what you like, or don't like. Do not judge. Describe, analyze, and interpret.
l.  What stands out the most when you first see it?	.
2.  Explain the reason you notice the thing you mention in number 1.	.
3.  As you keep looking, what else seems important?	.
4.  Why does the thing you mention in number 3 seem important.	.
5.  How has contrast been used.  See Contrast Note - over.	.
6.  What leads your eye around from place to place? See Connections -over.	.
7.  What tells you about the style used by this artist? See Style -over	.
8. What seems to be hiding in this composition?	.
9.  Why do you think this  was partially hidden?	.
10. Imagine the feelings and meanings this artwork represents?	.
11. What titles could you give this artwork?	.
12. What other things interest you about this artwork?	.
form   ©  Marvin Bartel, 2002	http://www.goshen.edu/art/ed/critiqueform.html  May be printed and copied for non profit classroom use.