An Introduction to the Frames

Frames There is more than one way to approach the making of art. The four Frames were designed as a tool to help understand different points of view about art.

The Subjective Frame The Subjective Frame looks at personal experiences, emotion and imagination.

A fishing boat and a steamer in rough seas Look at the painting of a boat caught in a violent storm. Does the painting evoke physical sensations? Does the scene evoke emotions? Can you get a sense of movement? Can you imagine the sounds of the waves crashing? Andreas Achenbach, A fishing boat and a steamer in rough seas, 1869. Oil on canvas, 71.5 × 101 cm.

The Garden of Earthly Delight Our minds have the capacity for imagination, an ability to visualise images beyond our solid world. Hieronymus Bosch, The Garden of Earthly Delight, 1504, oil on panel, triptych, centre 220 × 195 cm, each wing 220 × 97 cm, Museo del Prado, Madrid, p. 54.

The Cultural Frame From the viewpoint of the Cultural Frame, we become aware that every thing and everybody exists in a network of relationships. ‘No man is an Island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main’ (John Donne, poet)

An artwork does not appear out of a vacuum. Artworks reflect some part of the wider world around them, the culture in which they were created. Culture can be thought of as ideas and values that are shared by groups of people.

Great Southern Land The image (right) was created by Chinese-born Sydney-based artist Guan Wei. By looking at the way the mountains, plants and rivers are painted, you can see that his playful graphic style is informed by traditional Chinese art. Guan Wei, The Great Southern Land (detail), 2006, courtesy of the artist, Powerhouse Museum and Sherman galleries. Photographed by Jean Francois Lanzarone, p.56.

The Structural Frame The Structural Frame looks at how art is put together and how signs and symbols communicate meaning.

Boy The Structural Frame also focuses on the physical nature of artmaking. What is the artwork made of? How big is it? How is it put together? How can different materials express different ideas? Consider the physical properties of the sculpture “boy” by Australian artist Ron Mueck. The careful handling of materials to create a realistic image and the works imposing size are key expressive elements. Ron Mueck, Boy, 2000, fibreglass, resin, silicone, 500 cm tall, on display at the 49th Venice Biennial, p.57.

Think about how art uses a visual language. Imagine if you used an image of a heart in your art making. What ideas would it communicate?

If you represented the heart in a different way, such as this, would the meaning be the same?

The Postmodern Frame The Postmodern Frame takes its name from ‘postmodernism’, which is a movement of wide-ranging ideas and theories. Postmodern thinkers reject the idea of absolute truths.

With postmodernism, established ideas of what is valuable and significant and what is not are questioned and challenged. Is an opera by Mozart any better than a three-minute rap from 50 Cent? Who says so?

She has a hot price Artists who work in a postmodern way often appropriate (copy) images from other sources. In the image (right), a student has appropriated an image of the Mona Lisa and added a barcode sticker. What do you think the artist is trying to say? Student work, She has a hot price, 2007, digital print, 34 × 26 cm, artist’s collection.

Summary The four Frames: Subjective, Cultural, Structural and Postmodern, can be used as a helpful tool for organising your thoughts. A student can look through each Frame and examine their artmaking and the artmaking of others from particular points of view.