1.6 - Unity, Variety, and Balance

Excluding the outer border, how many matching sets of identical motifs are there in the design of this nineteenth-century quilt from Baltimore, Maryland?

0

What does Robert Rauschenberg's use of variety in his sculpture Monogram communicate?

A transgression against traditional art and morals

The Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai created a sense of visual harmony out of stormy chaos in his woodblock print "The Great Wave off Shore at Kanagawa" by organizing repetitions of shapes, colors, patterns, and textures. Match each element labeled in the print with the highlighted feature that most closely resembles it, using the same letter. (for example, use the letter B to indicate which element of the print most closely resembles the B marked in the artwork.)

A: boat in middle lower right B: mountain C: bottom right

What form of visual balance is most obviously apparent in the composition of each of these paintings?

All asymmetrical except the one with red and people is symmetrical

The composition of which of these artworks features radial balance?

All except the man in the circle

Which of the following might contribute to this fifth-century Indian relief carving possessing gestalt unity?

All of them

The architects of the Taj Mahal complex in India employed what form(s) of compositional balance in its design?

Bilateral & Radial

Bird & Black/WhiteIn which of these works do dreams contribute to the sense of underlying conceptual unity?

Bird & Black/White

This Cubist still life of a café table by the Russian artist Marie Marevna represents several different viewpoints simultaneously. How has the artist imposed visual unity on the composition?

By using: a limited palette..., flat planes, strong angular lines

Artists in ancient - designed a creature born of - known as a -, which appears on the side of this bronze ritual container made over - years ago.

China, Symettry, T'ao t'ieh, 3000

The composition of which of these artworks is asymmetrically balanced?

Every picture except the man with his arms out

Great artists never impose restrictions on the range of elements they use when creating a work.

False

What does this quilt utilize to unify the composition?

Grid and variety

What is the name given to the Buddhist symbolic and sacred representation of the universe, which is often characterized by strong radial symmetry?

Mandala

Which description best fits each of these diagrams?

Only rectangles: unified by uninteresting, Has triangle: interesting but incoherent, Circle and Rectangle: Unified and interesting

What conceptual idea(s) does the compositional use of symmetry in the design of the Taj Mahal express?

Perfect beauty, timeless love

The decoration of which of these vessels is symmetrically balanced?

Persons head, cauldron

Which of these elements and principles of art are the chief means by which Hokusai creates a sense of visual harmony in the seemingly chaotic scene of "The Great Wave off Shore at Kanagawa"?

Texture, color, pattern, shape

Which of these buildings does not display radial symmetry in its design?

The big metal thing with water in the picture

What provides the conceptual unity of this work by the American sculptor Joseph Cornell?

The idea of confinement

Click on all the shapes that share a common attribute.

The three circles / The three in green

To reflect on life and spiritualityWhy do traditional Chinese artists employ asymmetrical balance in their works?

To reflect on life and spirituality

What is the name for the principle of art that involves the imposition of order and harmony on a design?

Unity

Inasmuch as - is about repetition and similarity in order to give a sense of harmony to an artwork, - is about uniqueness and diversity in order to give a work of art a jolt of energy.

Unity, variety

What is the name for the principle of art that involves the organization and distribution of elements within a work in order to create a sense of visual equilibrium?

balance

What do we call the sense that we get when we comprehend how compositional and conceptual unity work together in an artwork?

gestalt