The document discusses the process of interpreting visual artworks. Interpretation involves proposing ideas about the possible meanings and intentions of a work based on evidence from analyzing its formal qualities and contextual factors. It is a personal reading that can draw on the interpreter's imagination and emotions. Interpreters should be open to revising their interpretations as new information emerges. The document also distinguishes between art that focuses primarily on aesthetic qualities and art that uses aesthetics to convey a message or concept. Interpreters should consider contextual clues like an artwork's title, cultural context, and how aspects of the work relate to their own experiences.

1. INTERPRETATION

2. Interpretation....
 meaning of the work based on the information in steps
1 and 2.
about ideas (not description) or sensation or feelings.
don't be afraid of revising your interpretation when new
facts are discovered
don't be reluctant to make an interpretation from your
analysis of only the visual interpretation

3. Interpretation....
involves a personal reading of either the entire work or
aspects of it
this is where the critic's imagination if fully involved in
finding meaning in the work
propose ideas for possible meaning based on evidence
viewers project their emotions/feelings/intentions onto
the work.

4. What do you think it means?
What was the artist trying to
communicate?
What clues do you see that
support your ideas?

5. F.S. C. NORTHROP
visual art divided into two main categories;
1. Art in the first function
2. Art in the second function

6. Art in the first function
based on the idea that the medium is the message
the materials of art; colors, shape, sound, and
movements
the aesthetic interest or pleasure derived from this
arrangement is the focus of the work

7. Art in the second function
uses the aesthetic materials and the aesthetic
continuum not primarily for their own sake but to
convey some theoretically conceived factor in the
nature of things, of which the aesthetic materials
alone are the mere correlates or signs

8. The materials of the art
become secondary to the
message of the
choreographer.
The medium conveys the
message

9. Problems in Interpretation
The meaning of a work, particularly in an
unfamiliar genre, may not be immediately obvious.
Dance does not usually tell you in words what is
happening onstage and how the dancers feel about
it.

10. QUESTIONS to
CONSIDER

11. TITLE
Does the title give any insight into
the meaning of the dance? If so, how?

12. PROGRAM:
Does anything in the printed
program give insight into the dance,
such as names of characters in
theatrical dances, explanations, text or
poetry, or choreographer's notes?

13. CONTENT
Did this dance have a narrative, message,
mood, or theme that could identify? If it's
abstract, what movement ideas and themes
held it together?
Is this dance art in the first or second
function, or in between?

14. CULTURAL CONTEXT
Are you familiar with the cultural
context in which the dance was
created? If so, how might that
help you interpret the work?

15. PERSONAL MEANING
Were there any connections between
what you saw in the performance and
your own life experience?
Were there specific movements that
reminded you of something?

16. Example of Interpretation
Wendy Perron's (2008,80) review of the Festival Ballet
Providence:
Viktor Plonikov's Coma (2007) begins with a stunning
image of four dancers lying on slabs that are swinging close
to the ground.It's a hospital with a difference. Banks of
lights suddenly glare at us and go dark. Music by Arvo Part
is played on tape (rather than too loudly). In this context,
the dancing seems to play out fantasies about death.