critique for art problem

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THE FORMAL ELEMENTS

Line –

· Includes actual lines, implied lines, lines formed by edges, directional lines, and lines forming pattern, texture, shading, and contour lines creating modeling

· Strictly defined: a line is a path traced by a moving point

· Can be organic or straight

· Popular among artists utilizing contour lines such as Matisse

· Shape –

· A two-dimensional area having identifiable boundaries, created by lines, color or value changes, or some combination of these

· Form: deals with composition and the physical appearance of a work of art relating to materials and style

Mass –

· Three-dimensional form, often implying bulk, density, and weight

Light –

· Actual light, illusion of light

· The contrasts created by light and darkness (related to value)

· The origin of light and how that effects the interpretation of the work

· Rembrandt is well known as a painter of light. He uses small beams of light as emphasis in his paintings, creating shadows. He plays with light in such as way so that the light itself actually becomes a character in the painting.

Value –

· Refers to light and dark, chiaroscuro (movement or gesture of light and shade)

· The gradation of a gray scale or hue, tint and shade

Color –

· Local color, emotional qualities of color (the mood), color schemes

· Analogous color, monochromatic color, triads, polychromatic color, absence of color

Texture –

· Can be actual or implied through medium, style, composition, value, color, pattern, etc.

Pattern –

· Any decorative, repetitive motif or design

· Can create visual texture

Space –

· Can be 2- or 3-dimensional, may refer to the illusion of space or depth on a 2-dimentional surface (i.e. perspective)

· The area behind the shape, the background

· Architecture: appreciating the sculptural masses from the outside, while walking through the shaped space from the inside

· The void within boundaries

· “The works of art take their character from the ways in which they carve out volumes of space within and around them.” (Gilbert’s Living with Art – 6th ed.)

Time –

· Variations of light to indicate a time of day

· Popular with Impressionists like Monet (He enjoyed making studies of the same environment or object at different times of day. He believed that each shift in light created a different subject, as though there were no continuing reality but only a collection of moments.)

Motion – Implied or actual kinetic energy, dynamism Popular with Futurists in the early 20th century such as Balla, Calder, and Boccioni due to inventions such as the automobile and airplanes.

PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

Unity –

· A sense of oneness, a coherent whole

· Appears almost always with Variety. Artists strive to find just the right point on the spectrum – the point at which there is sufficient visual unity enlivened by sufficient variety.

Variety –

· Differences that create interest

Balance –

· Can refer to symmetrical, asymmetrical, radial, or actual physical balance, such as in sculpture

· Also refers to the visual weight of a piece, the distribution of parts around an axis or point

Emphasis and Focal Point –

· Can be a center of interest, an area emphasized by directional forces, color, proportion, etc.

· Works with Subordination

Subordination –

· Certain areas of the composition are purposefully made less visually interesting, so that the areas of emphasis stand out

· Can be just as visually stimulating as the Focal Point, but fades to create an atmosphere or backdrop to the subject matter

Proportion –

· Relative sizes of objects within the image itself

Scale –

· Size of the work of art in relation to external objects in its environment

· Outrageous scale is evident in the work of Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen – Plantoir.

Rhythm and Repetition –

· Refers to visual rhythms, repetition of elements in color, shape, size, etc.

· Can be related to Pattern

· An example would be to try to paint music, what kind of patterns and rhythms would need to be present to convey that message? – Lorna Simpson’s Easy to Remember