ART: Time and Motion

To communicate motion without actually making anything move, artists

choose to imply time or, alternatively, create the illusion of time

Conceptual unity

cohesive expression of ideas within a work of art

three kinds of unity

compositional, conceptual, and gestalt (the complete order and indivisible unity of all aspects of an artwork's design)

Art objects created on a human scale

correspond to the size of things as they actually exist

Performance art

is theatrical; the artist's intention is not to create an art object, but an experience that can exist only in one place and time in history

Real human bodies do not have exactly these proportions, but when the ratio 1:1.618 is applied to making statues

it gives naturalistic results

Too much variety

lead to a lack of structure and the absence of a central idea

Using Variety to Unify

Even while using a variety of different shapes, colors, values, or other elements, an artist can create visual harmony

Gestalt

German word for form or shape

Symmetrical Balance

If a work can be cut in half and each side looks exactly (or nearly exactly) the same

Balance

Just as real objects have physical weight, parts of a work of art can have visual weight, or impact

Variety

a collection of ideas, elements, or materials that are fused together into one design

Usually, an artist ensures that

all the parts of an object are in proportion to one another

Art objects created on a monumental scale

appear larger than they would be in normal life

Small-scale objects

appear smaller than our usual experience of them in the real world

The proportions of Ancient Greek sculptures

are often very close to the Golden Section

Large-scale works

can be experienced by groups of viewers and usually communicate big ideas directed at a large audience

Too much similarity of shape, color, line, or any single element or principle of art

can be monotonous and make us lose interest

Variety

can invigorate a design

Carefully chosen proportion

can make an art object seem pleasing to the eye

Gestalt Unity

Refers to something in which the whole seems greater than the sum of its parts

Radial Balance

Sometimes used in religious symbols and architecture where repetition plays an important role in the design

The ancient Greeks

sought an ideal of beauty in the principle of proportion

linear method

still used by artists, comic-book writers, and designers who want to tell a story or express the passing of time

gestalt

the complete order and indivisible unity of all aspects of an artwork's design

Asymmetrical Balance applies when

the elements on the left and right sides are not the same, but the combination of elements counters each other

If the amount of visual weight does not have a reasonable counterweight on the opposite side

the work may appear to be unsuccessful or unfinished

closely linked elements in art

time and motion

Artists use a multiplicity of values, textures, colors, and so on

to intensify the impact of a work

Variety is about

uniqueness and diversity

The ancient Egyptians

used the palm of the hand as a unit of measurement

variety

visual diversity that brings many different ideas, medias and elemnts together in one composition

get a sense of gestalt

we comprehend how compositional unity and conceptual unity work together

The models used by the Greeks for calculating human proportion

were later adopted by artists of ancient Rome, and then by Renaissance artists

Implied Motion

when we do not actually see the motion happening, but visual clues tell us that it is a key aspect of the work

Stroboscopic Motion

When we see two or more repeated images in quick succession, they tend visually to fuse together

Time-based arts, such as film, embody six basic attributes of time

1.duration 2. tempo 3. intensity 4. scope 5. setting 6.chronology

Distorted Scale

An artist may deliberately distort scale to create an abnormal or supernatural effect

Radial Balance

Can imply circular and repeating elements

Unity

Provides an artwork with its cohesiveness and helps communicate its visual idea

Proportion

The relationships between the sizes of different parts of a work make up its proportions

Actual Motion

We perceive actual motion when something really changes over time

Asymmetrical Balance

When artists organize a composition they often use different visual "weights" on each side of it

balance

distribution of elements, whether unified or varied within a work

Near-perfect symmetry

exists in the human body

A photograph

freezes a moment in time

Organic materials

grow and degrade with the passage of time, so work by "bioartists" is always changing

small-scale work

implies intimacy

unity

imposition of order and harmony in a design

perceive scale

in relation to our own size

Usually a monumental scale

indicates heroism or other epic virtues

The Golden Section

is a proportional ratio of 1:1.618, which occurs in many natural objects

Radial balance (or symmetry)

is achieved when all elements in a work are equidistant from a central point and repeat in a symmetrical way from side to side and top to bottom

Motion

is directly linked to time

Variety

is the artist's way of giving a work of art a jolt

Almost always, larger

means more important, and smaller means less important

traditional art media

motionless and timeless

Motion

occurs when an object changes location or position

War monuments

often feature figures much larger than life-size in order to convey the bravery of the warriors

compositional unity

organizing all the visual aspects of a work

Kinetic art

plays out the passage of time through an art object, usually a sculpture, which moves

Hierarchical scale

refers to the deliberate use of relative size in a work of art, in order to communicate differences in importance