Formalism focusses on the way art is made and the way it looks. Opposed to thinking about the context or meaning behind the photo. Whereas visual language refers to communication using visual elements.
Formalism is linked to compositional elements. i.e. layout, arrangement, organisation, etc. They are what we see. These are the visual elements that make up a photograph:
- Colour
- Tone – light and dark
- Texture – surface
- Shape – 2D, flat
- Form – 3D
- Pattern – repetition
- Line
- Space – 3D concept
1978
In class, we were given a photo and told to annotate it based on its visual elements that I have bullet pointed above. The photo above is the one my partner and I were given. The photo below is of our visual element annotations.
