Art Chapter 1.6 Unity, Variety, and Balance

Example of Balance

Aerial view of The Taj Mahal

Example of variety

Album quilt

Example of Radial Balance

Amitayus Mandala

Asymmetrical Balance

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

Symmetrical Balance

Examples include the human body, most animals, and a number of geometric shapes

A piece in which both compositional unity and conceptual unity is in use.

Vishnu Dreaming the Universe

Example of Compositional Unity

Hokusai, "The Great Wave off Shore at Kanagawa"

Example of Conceptual Unity

Joseph Cornell- Untitled (The Hotel Eden)

Example of Asymmetrical Balance

Ma Yuan, Walking on a Mountain Path in Spring

Variety

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

Three kinds of Unity

compositional, conceptual, gestalt

Compositional Unity

organizing all the visual aspects of a work

Balance

provides a visual equilibrium and helps the work appear complete

Unity

provides cohesiveness and helps communicate its visual idea

Gestalt Unity

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

Conceptual Unity

the cohesive expression of ideas within a work of art

Radial Balance

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