Art Chapters 3 and 4

Content

Content - everything included in a work of art • The content of a work of art not only refers to lines and forms but also its underlining meanings or themes.

Horizontal, Vertical, and Radial Balance

Horizontal balance - Elements on the left and right side of the composition seem to be about equal. Vertical balance - The elements at the top and bottom of the composition are in balance Diagonal balance - The elements on either side of a diagonal line dividing the composition are visually equal. Radial balance - Design elements radiate from the center point; frequently used in ceramics, jewelry, basketry, stained glass, and other crafts

Iconography

Iconography - The study of the themes and symbols in the visual arts. • In fine art, winter is a common symbol of death and aloneness. • Fall is a common symbol of harvest and decline. • Awareness of symbolism can enrich the viewing experience.

Rhythm

Regular Repetition or Rhythm - orderly progressions • Rhythm can move a viewer visually as well as emotionally. • Repetitive pattern can be used to lead the eye over the landscape of the work. • Rhythm is found in sound, nature, architecture, and art.

Golden Mean or the Golden Selection

The small part of a work should relate to a larger part of the work as the larger part relates to the whole.

The Levels of Content in a Work of Art

Three levels of content: • Subject Matter • Elements and composition • Underlying or symbolic meanings or themes

Photography

We think of most photography as realistic: • The technique of shooting, capturing, and documenting, suggests candid truth, and reality.

About Semekazi

Willie Bester is an artist who was classified as "color" under South African apartheid rule and therefore was not allowed formal training as an artist. "The many images and objects serve as symbols of rampant oppression and deprivation affecting a whole people, while a single portrait of a worker in the center of the composition -...- serves as a single case study." Knowing this how does this knowledge change you interpretation of the previous image?

Golden Rectangle

a rectangle base on the measurements of the golden rectangle

Quotes

"He searched disorder for its unifying principles." -Brian O'Doherty on Stuart Davis "The duty of an artist is to strain against the bonds of the existing style." -Philip Johnson "Context has a profound influence on style." "Copy nature and you infringe on the work of our lord. Interpret nature and you are an artist." -- JACQUE LIPCHITZ

• Artist often title abstract works to provoke thought. • They may title a work "untitled" to avoid associations created by the title. • They may deliberately title a nonobjective work based on some association triggered by the work. • One of the issues that viewers have with non- objective work is that they want to it to make sense. Nonobjective work is just that, nonobjective.

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Actual Balance and Pictorial Balance

1. Actual Balance means that the piece of art is literally balanced. It can stand upright on its own. 2. Pictorial Balance refers to the distribution of the apparent or visual weight of the elements in works that are basically 2D.

The Canon of Proportions

A set of rules about the body parts and their dimensions relative to one another that became the standard for creating the ideal figure.

Realistic Art

realism - is the portrayal of people and things as they are seen by the eye or as they are thought to be without idealization, without distortion. Realism - (with a capital R) also defines a specific school of art that flowered during the mid-nineteenth century in France.

Abstract Art

• Abstract - Art that departs significantly from the actual appearance of things. • Nonobjective - Art that makes no reference to nature or reality. • Cubism - Transcribed natural forms into largely angular geometric equivalents • Psychic Automation - When an artist attempts to clear their mind of purpose and concerns so that inner conflicts and ideas find expression through their works.

How to Create a Focal Point

• Accentuating certain shapes • Intensifying color • Using directional line • Strategically placing objects and images • By isolating an object or subject

Distortion of Scale

• Altering the viewer's sense of scale can create visual shock and humor. • Can challenge the viewer to rethink the subject and the historical aspects of the object

Compare + Contrast (again)

• An awareness of the historical circumstances under which a work of art was created, understanding what is new about its style and composition help the viewer appreciate its significance. • Understanding the relationship between these next two pieces, makes each more meaningful to the viewer.

Balance

• Balance refers to the distribution of weight in art • The actual or apparent weight in the elements of a composition • Balancing the formal elements of art.

Imbalance

• Can create shock and discomfort • Can be used to capture a sense of movement

Design or Composition

• Design or composition is a process - the act of organizing the visual elements to effect a desired aesthetic on a work of art. • When artists create compositions they consciously draw upon design principles. • Sometimes, however, they may choose to consciously violate them.

Form

• FORM Form incorporates elements, design principles, and composition in a work of art. This might include: - Color - Texture - Shape - The illusion of 3D - Balance - Rhythm - Unity of design Formalistic criticism involves the elements and design but not the historical or biographical elements of a work of art.

Ways to Achieve Unity and Variety with Unity

• Grid • Color harmony • Keeping one or more aspects of the work constant • Continuity

Expressionistic Art

• In expressionistic art, form and color are freely distorted by the artist in order to achieve a heightened emotional impact • Expressionistic - also a modern art movement

Variety

• Note the use of color field for the sense of variety - and unity • Note the sense of "oneness" in the compositions • Thus, there is a sense of variety • The overall composition is now unified

Examples of: Nonobjective, Abstract Art

• Pablo Picasso's Les Demoiselles D'Avignon (ch. 19) • Georges Braque's The Portuguese (ch. 19) • Jackson Pollock's Male and Female • Barbara Hepworth's Two Figures • Judy Pfaff's Voodoo

Realistic vs Representational Art

• Representational art presents natural objects in a recognizable manner, although not a realistic form. • Representational art or figurative art - is defined as art that portrays, however altered or distorted, things perceived in the visible world.

Scale

• Scale refers to size. • Scale - The relative size of an object compared to other objects of its kind, its setting, or human dimensions.

Emphasis and Focal Point

• Some feature of a work normally will capture the viewer's attention. • Artists use emphasis to focus the viewer's attention.

Style

• Style - The handling of distinctive elements and particular media throughout the various artistic periods associated with the work of an individual artist, a school or movement, of a specific culture or time period.

Symmetrical Balance

• Symmetry - refers to a similarity of form or arrangement on either side of a dividing line or plane • Symmetrical Balance - the whole of the work has a symmetrical feeling • Asymmetrical balance - when the variations to the right and left side of the composition are more then slight, yet there remains an overall sense of balance • Bilateral symmetry (or pure or formal symmetry) - everything in a composition to either side of an actual or imaginary line is the same

Compare + Contrast

• The style of a work of art refers to the characteristic ways in which artist's express themselves and the times in which they live. • Conceptual art - The ideas being expressed by the artist are more important than their physical expression.

Style, Content, and Awareness

• There are several characteristic methods of expression that have developed that are referred to as style. • The content of a work includes not only its form but also its subject matter and its underlying meanings or themes. • Awareness of style, form, and content helps the viewer understand and appreciate the visual arts more fully.

Unity and Variety

• Unity is oneness or wholeness. • A work or art achieves unity when its parts seem necessary to the composition.

Hierarchical Scaling

• Used as a way of indicating importance • Bigger = more import • Often used in Ancient and Medieval art

Art, Culture, and Context

• Variations in style are sometimes linked to: - use of different media - diverse cultural contexts - characteristic approach of the artist to the subject "Context has a profound influence on style." One of the best ways to illustrate stylistic differences is to examine a group of artworks with a common theme, such as the "couple". The works of most artists are a product of their culture and time. There are LOTS of styles in art, and they change often, yet there are some standards.

Types of Unity

• Visual Unity - Artwork that is unified by color, shape, composition, or some other visual design principle • Conceptual Unity - Artwork that has a common theme or concept throughout it

Emphasis on Variety

• When artists emphasize variety, they are usually exaggerating differences rather than similarities.

Asymmetrical Balance

• When the right and left sides of a composition bear visibly different shapes, colors, textures, or other elements, and yet they are arranged or "weighted" in such a way that the work feels balanced. We tend to like balance.

The Language of Art

• With the "Language of Art," we are able to communicate thoughts and feelings about our visual and tactile experiences in our world.