Art League | Page 6

What is Form?

By Olivia Smith

Form can mean a lot of different things when it comes to art. A formal analysis is how the design elements of the artwork evoke thoughts or emotions in the viewer. It has nothing to do with the intended meaning or what is actually being depicted. It is all about the way the painting or work of art flows and how it makes the viewer feel. So in this case, form also applies to music. Disregarding the intended meaning of a song, the form of the music, how it is constructed, makes people feel a certain emotion. Therefore, there will be works of art and songs that match up in terms of form and make the viewer feel the same emotion.

To start, I picked a song called "Masters of War" by Bob Dylan. It is a very eerie sounding song because of the out-of-tune guitar and it makes people feel cold, alone, and afraid. I know when I listen to the song I get a chill down my spine and a discomfort in my stomach. The artwork I chose to go along with is a painting by Eric Lacombe, depicting a face that looks like a cross between and man and a skeleton. Lacombe is known for his distorted, eerie faces that convey a very creepy and unsettling mood. This specific painting matches up with Bob Dylan’s song because it has rough edges, like the out-of-tune guitar in the song. And it gives people a similar feeling because it has similar form.

https://weandthecolor.com/the-creepy-visual-art-of-eric-lacombe/22950

(Click on this picture to hear the song)