Featured Image via Joelius Dubois
This week I channeled my inner artist as I learned all about visual analysis. As an art-lover, it was incredibly beneficial to learn how to look at pieces from a deeper perspective. As easy as it may be to take one or two glances at artwork and move on to the next, you’d be surprised by how much can be revealed when you take a moment to sit down and peek into the mind of the artist.
I chose to analyze the art of Howard University artist Joelius Dubois. His work struck close to home for me as his depictions painted near perfect portraits of mundane Black existence, something that was both visually intriguing and familiar at the same time. Both of my selections “it takes a village” and “in the salon” managed to capture the warmth that exists within an interconnected community and the intimacy of Black interactions. Check out my Animoto video below for a more detailed analysis of Dubois’s work.
Using the Animoto platform for my analysis was an adjustment that I believed paid off in the end. Oftentimes, when you think of analyzing a subject, your mind likely wanders to pages of notes and critique. However, with Animoto, I had to condense my thoughts into short sentences. While this may have been challenging in the beginning, once I got the hang of it I discovered that this actually made me focus on the most important aspects of the art, and cut out any extra fluff.
In my vlog below, I discuss my experience analyzing Dubois’s art and using the Animoto platform to produce my analysis video.
The moral of this week is to take it slow the next time you find yourself in an art museum. By looking at art through an analytical lens, you just might unlock a whole other masterpiece hidden within the strokes.
nyah terrilyn 