Post on 22-Jul-2020
transcript
The Visual Elements
Lecture 2B and 2C
The 6 Main Visual Elements in the
Visual Toolbox
1. Line
2 Shape/Mass
3. Light/Value
4. Color
5. Space
6. Time/Motion
“The language of art is
…the visual elements.”
“ I found I could only say
things with color that I
couldn’t say in any other
way—things I had no words
for.”
Georgia O’Keeffe
1. LINE
Lines are our basic means for
recording and symbolizing
ideas, observations, and
feelings.
Begin your examination of
every work by looking at and
describing the lines you see.
Please refer to figure 2.4 in
your textbook and become
familiar with all the lines and
descriptors illustrated.
1. LINE: cont.
Functions:
To Outline and Shape (Contour lines)
To Express Emotion (Psychological lines)
Can imply volumes or solid masses (Hatching or Cross-hatching)
To Suggest Direction and Movement
How do the lines function in this
work?
Lines to imply volumes or solid masses
Kiki Smith, Ginzer, 2000.
Etching on paper, Figure 2.11
Lines to Suggest Movement or Stillness
Fig. 19-4 Theodore Gericault, Raft of the Medusa, 1818-1819
Horizontal and Vertical = Stillness, Stability
Diagonal = Movement, Chaos
What emotions are suggested by these works? What adjectives?
2. SHAPE and MASS
Shape: a 2D form that occupies area with identifiable boundaries.
Mass: a 3D form that occupies a actual space.
Mondrian, 1930 and Sennefer, Figure 2.16
As you begin to look at a work, describe the
shapes and masses you see.
The Pyramids of Giza
Emmi Whitehorse, Chanter
Positive and Negative Shapes
Positive shapes (Figures): the dominant shapes, usually the subject matter.
Positive and Negative Shapes
Negative shapes (Ground): the background.
Since we are used to filtering out the background, we have to shift our awareness and learn to see everything the artist has included.
Implied shapes
Implied shapes are created by the viewer’s perception. These
optical illusions are used by artists to unify or stabilize their
compositions.
Raphael, The Madonna of the Meadows and Chagall, I and the Village
3. LIGHT
Artificial and natural light is used today by some artists as a medium.
James Turell, Live Oak Friends Meeting House, Houston
Daniel Chester French (1850–1931). Abraham Lincoln. 1911–1922.
a. As originally lit by daylight.
b. With the addition of artificial light. Figure 2.36
3. VALUE
Values: shades of light and dark.
Contrast: the degree of difference between shades of gray.
Chiaroscuro
Chiaroscuro: Italian term
meaning light/dark; shading
from light to dark that gives
a 3D appearance.
Pierre Paul Prud’hon, The Source
4. COLOR
What we perceive as
color is actually white
light being reflected off a
surface.
Black, white, and
shades of gray are not
colors; they are
achromatic or neutral.
The human eye can
distinguish between
millions of colors.
The 3 Color Properties
Hue: the name of the color.
Value: the relative lightness or darkness
Tint: A color lighter than the normal value
Shade: A color darker than the normal value
Intensity: the relative purity of a color (sometimes called saturation)
The Color Wheel
Primary Hues (1): can’t be
created by mixing pigments.
Secondary Hues: (2):created
by mixing two primary colors
Tertiary or Intermediate
Hues: created by mixing one
primary hue with one
secondary hue.
Color and Emotions
Color can trigger strong
emotional responses in a
viewer. In our culture we
are:
Green with envy
Red with anger
Blue with sorrow
White with fright
Many color associations
are culture specific.
Study by Tom Wesselmann, 1964.
5. SPACE
Actual space: space of the real world occupied by 3D arts. To
fully understand a work of art in actual space, the viewer must
walk around or in the artwork.
Ara Pacis Augustae
Implied space/depth
Implied space: the illusion of space created on a 2D surface. The space can appear shallow/flat or expansive.
Figure 2.21 Clues to Spatial Depth
-Overlapping -Diminishing Size -Vertical Placement -Linear Perspective -Atmospheric Perspective
Linear Perspective
A technique based on the observation that parallel lines seem to
converge as they recede from the viewer, finally meeting at a
vanishing point. Linear perspective relies on a fixed viewpoint.
Figure 2.24a and 2.24b Raphael, School of Athens, 1509-1511
Linear Perspective
Atmospheric Perspective
A technique based on the observation that objects appear paler and/or bluer, and less distinct the further away they are from the viewer due to the way moisture in the intervening atmosphere scatters light.
Fig. 2.26 A.B. Durand, Kindred Spirits.
Does this space seem deep or shallow?
Figure 2-11 Botticelli, The Birth of Venus, 1482
6. TIME and MOTION
Artists throughout the ages have sought to represent the passage of time and the movement of objects through space.
Scenes from Genesis in
the Moutier-Grandval
Bible, ca. 840
Registers: bands of
decoration. Can contain
narrative scenes.
Implied Motion
The viewer infers
motion is occurring
through diagonal lines
and/or repetition.
Fig. 2.32 Dancing Krishna
Actual motion
Kinetic art:
art that moves
Fig. 2.35 Alexander Calder, Untitled, 1976
Illusion of Motion
In the 20th century, new technologies and media allowed for new ways in which to include the elements of time and motion in the arts.
Motion Pictures (and TV shows!)