Critical and Contextual Study: Artists and Their Work

Learning from other artists

A critical and contextual study means looking carefully at the work of other artists and designers so that you understand it and let it feed your own ideas. It has two sides. The critical side looks closely at the work itself, at what it shows, how it is put together, how it was made, and the mood it creates. The contextual side looks beyond the work, at the time, place, culture and purpose that shaped it. Doing both well means you can explain not just what a work looks like but why it looks that way, and then use what you have learned in your own art. This module shows how to carry out such a study and how to respond to an artist rather than simply copy them.

Study words

Learn these five terms before you study the work of an artist.

Match each question to what it examines

Critical against contextual study

A full study needs both sides. Know what each one looks at.

What is a response?

After studying an artist, you take ideas from their work and develop your own piece in a new way of your own. What is this called?

• Responding to the artist
• Copying the artist exactly
• Ignoring the artist entirely
• Contextual study

Respond, do not copy

The whole point of studying another artist is to make your own work stronger, not to reproduce theirs. Tracing a picture and handing it in as your own shows nothing about your thinking and earns very little. Instead, take one thing you admire, perhaps a technique, a use of colour, a theme or a way of composing, and carry it into your own piece in your own way. A study that leads to a genuine personal response is worth far more than a perfect copy. Always make clear which artist influenced you and how, so a moderator can see the link between what you studied and what you made. Studying is the start of your work, not a substitute for it.

Pick the true facts about studying art

Select every statement about a critical and contextual study that is true.

• Critical study looks closely at the work itself
• Contextual study looks at the time, place and purpose
• Studying an artist should inform your own work
• A good study copies the artist exactly
• Context has no effect on why a work was made

Order how to study the work of an artist

Put the steps of a critical and contextual study in a sensible order.

• Look closely at what the work shows
• Analyse the composition and technique
• Work out the mood or meaning
• Research the context it was made in
• Use what you learned in your own work

Complete the study facts

Looking closely at the work itself is _____ study. Looking at the time, place and purpose behind it is _____ study. Using ideas from an artist in a new way of your own is a _____. Simply tracing an artist exactly is _____.

Learning a sport by watching the best

Think about how you learn a sport by watching a player who is brilliant at it. You do not just admire them; you watch closely to see how they move, when they make their decisions, and why a certain choice works. You also learn about the game around them, the rules they follow and the pressure they play under. Then you take what you have understood back onto your own pitch and use it in your own style, not by pretending to be them. Studying an artist works in the very same way. You look hard at the work, you learn about the world it came from, and then you let it feed your own ideas rather than borrowing them whole. The watching teaches you; the playing is still yours.

Tap the things a study examines

Tap every item below that a critical and contextual study actually examines.

• the subject of the work
• the technique that was used
• the time it was made in
• the price of your bus fare

The art study run

Answer each one correctly to keep your lives. Choose the best answer.

Study the work well

Read each situation and choose the best move.

• You are studying an artist for your project. What is the best thing to do?
• You want to understand why a work looks the way it does. What should you research?
• You find an idea in the work of an artist that you love. How should you use it?

Build an art study point

Choose the word for each gap to complete one accurate point about studying art.

Explain how to study an artist

A friend has to study an artist for their art project and does not know what to write about. Explain clearly how to carry out a critical and contextual study.

• Explain what critical study looks at
• Explain what contextual study looks at
• Explain the questions to ask about a work, such as its subject, composition, technique and mood
• Explain why you study the context of a work
• Explain how to respond to an artist rather than copy them