Part 2: The Formal Elements and Their Design Chapter 7 – Other Formal Elements Thinking Back: 1.How does visual texture differ from actual texture? 2.What is pattern? 3.How are the plastic arts temporal as well as spatial? 4.Which of the arts are most concerned with time and motion ? Due—Homework Chapter 8: The Principles of Design

Part 2: The Formal Elements and Their Design Chapter 7 – Other Formal Elements Thinking Back: 1. How does visual texture differ from actual texture? Actual texture – the real surface quality of an artwork Visual texture – an illusion 2. What is pattern? Pattern – a repetitive motif or design in an artwork 3. How are the plastic arts temporal as well as spatial? We experience them (spatially) all at once, but also (temporally) as part of a larger narrative, or story 4. Which of the arts are most concerned with time and motion ? Photography and film

Part 2: The Formal Elements and Their Design Chapter 8 – The Principles of Design Thinking Ahead: 1.What is visual weight, and how does it differ from actual weight? 2.What is a focal point? 3.How does scale differ from proportion? 4.How do artists use repetition and rhythm?

The Principles of Design Balance Emphasis and Focal Point Scale and Proportion Repetition and Rhythm Unity and Variety

Leonardo da Vinci Study of Human Proportion: The Vitruvian Man c Pen and ink drawing 13 ½ × 9 5/8 in.

Balance Balance – the even distribution of weight in a composition Actual weight – the physical weight of materials in pounds Visual weight – the apparent “heaviness” or “lightness” of the shapes and forms arranged in a composition To achieve visual balance, artists employ: Symmetrical Balance – Absolute Symmetry – Bilateral Symmetry Asymmetrical Balance Radial Balance

Symmetrical Balance Symmetry is strongly tied to balance, and symmetrical images are said to be in balance. When each side is exactly the same, we have absolute symmetry. When there are minor discrepancies between one side or another, but the overall effect is still one of symmetry, we have bilateral symmetry.

Bilateral symmetry

Taj Mahal, Agra, India. Mughal period, c. 1632–48 Absolute symmetry

Enguerrand Quarton. Coronation of the Virgin. 1453–54. Panel painting. 72 × 86 5/8 in. This work uses bilateral symmetry. Even though the symmetry is not absolute, it still gives a sense of balance and harmony to the image.

Asymmetrical Balance Balance can be achieved even when the two sides of a composition lack symmetry, if they seem to possess the same visual weight – the apparent “heaviness” or “lightness” of the shapes and forms When this happens, there is asymmetrical balance.

Jan Vermeer Woman Holding a Balance c Oil on canvas 15 7/8 × 14 in. The areas of light and dark balance each side of the design. The subject matter is the balance between the spiritual and material worlds.

If we manipulate the image, it no longer has a sense of balance. The darkness has far more visual weight now than the light does, and it seems more overwhelming.

Childe Hassam. Boston Common at Twilight. 1885–86. Oil on canvas. 42 × 60 in. The visual weight is heavier on the left side of the composition, where the busy street activity is.

Radial Balance With radial balance, everything radiates out from a central point. Radial balance is very familiar in nature, and it commonly possesses spiritual and religious significance.

Rose window, south transept, Chartres Cathedral. c

Mescalero Apache coiled basket. early 20th century.

Emphasis and Focal Point Emphasis is used by artists to draw the viewer’s attention to one area of the work. This area is the focal point of the composition. It is easy to find the focal point of a radially balanced composition; it is always the center. Emphasis can also be established by creating strong contrasts of light and color, or by the organized implied lines of linear perspective.

Rose window, south transept, Chartres Cathedral. c Where is the focal point?

Enguerrand Quarton. Coronation of the Virgin. 1453–54. Panel painting. 72 × 86 5/8 in. Where is the focal point?

Anna Vallayer-Coster. Still Life with Lobster Oil on canvas. 27 ¾ × 35 ¼ in. Where is the focal point? How does the artist create emphasis?

Anna Vallayer-Coster, Still Life with Lobster, By using a complementary color scheme, the red lobster becomes a strong focal point, with the red vibrating against the green tones of the background. (This is also achieved by the color’s intensity – the red is far more intense than the dull greens of the background, and so it stands out visually.)

Georges de La Tour Joseph the Carpenter c Oil on canvas 18 ½ × 25 ½ in. Where is the focal point?

Rather than by the use of color contrast, this composition emphasizes the focal point by contrasts in value. The bright light on the child’s face contrasts sharply with the dark surroundings, and draws our eye in to look at it. Georges de La Tour Joseph the Carpenter c Oil on canvas 18 ½ × 25 ½ in.

Anselm Kiefer Parsifal I 1973 Oil on paper 127 7/8 × 86 ½ in. Where is the focal point?

The white crib becomes the focal point through a contrast of light. The brightness of the crib contrasts against the darker areas of the print. Anselm Kiefer Parsifal I 1973 Oil on paper 127 7/8 × 86 ½ in.

Larry Poons. Orange Crush Acrylic on canvas. 80 × 80 in. Where is the focal point?

Larry Poons. Orange Crush Acrylic on canvas. 80 × 80 in. This work is afocal – there is no one point where your eye wanders comfortably to rest. It bounces around the composition, always in motion.

Diego Velázquez Las Meninas (The Maids of Honor) 1656 Oil on canvas 10 ft. ¾ in. × 9 ft. ¾ in. Where is the focal point?

Diego Velázquez. Las Meninas (The Maids of Honor), detail Oil on canvas. 138 × 276 cm.

Scale and Proportion Scale is the word we use to describe the dimensions of an art object in relation to the original object that is depicts or in relation to the objects around it. There is “small-scale” and “large-scale” work. Proportion refers to the relationship between the parts of an object and the whole, or the relationship between an object and its surroundings.

Do-Ho Suh. Public Figures. 1998–99. Fiberglass/resin, steel pipes, pipe fittings. 10 × 7 × 9 ft. Note the relationship between the scale of the monument, and the scale of the figures holding it up. This plays with our expected sense of proportions.

Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen. Spoonbridge and Cherry Stainless steel and aluminum painted with polyurethane enamel. 29 ft. 6 in. × 51 ft. 6 in. × 13 ft. 6 in. Collection Walker Art Center, Minneapolis

Hokusai. The Great Wave off Kanagawa, from the series Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji. 1823–29. Color woodcut. 10 × 15 in.

Polyclitus Doryphoros, or “spear bearer” 450 BCE. Marble height 84 in. Polyclitus defined beauty as a function of proper proportion. He demonstrated the “perfect body” through mathematical proportion. Polyclitus’s canon - the head is one eighth of the body’s height, and the shoulder width is one fourth of the total height of the body.

Doryphoros, detail. Even within the face, mathematically- determined proportion indicated balance and beauty. Notice the symmetry of the face, and consider how we are still affected by these standards several thousands of years later.

Parthenon. 447–438 BCE. Pentelic marble. 111 × 237 ft. at base

Repetition and Rhythm Repetition often implies monotony. When we see the same thing over and over again, it can get boring. However, when the same or similar elements such as shapes, colors, or patterns repeat themselves over and over again in a composition, a visual rhythm will result.

Jacob Lawrence. Barber Shop Gouache on paper. 21 1/8 × 29 3/8 in.

Auguste Rodin. Gates of Hell with Adam and Eve, 1880–1917. Bronze

Auguste Rodin. The Three Shades. 1881–86. Bronze Coubertin Foundry, posthumous cast authorized by Musée Rodin, ½ × 75 ½ × 42 in. Each figure is exactly the same – they are cast copies of the same pose repeated. However, by setting them at different angles, the artist exposes a wide array of visual differences. This begins to form a visual rhythm – the bodies show movement and variety through the repetition.

Unity and Variety Repetition and rhythm are employed by artists to unify the different elements in their work. When all visual elements are in agreement, the artwork has unity. No individual part is valued more than another. Variety shows us different aspects to the composition, and breaks the potential for visual monotony within unity. A good work of art must generally have both unity and variety, and it is the artist’s job to find a balance between the two.

Jacob Lawrence. Barber Shop Gouache on paper. 21 1/8 × 29 3/8 in. Lawrence is uniting the diversity of the Harlem streets through repetition and rhythm.

Auguste Rodin. The Three Shades. 1881–86. Bronze Coubertin Foundry, posthumous cast authorized by Musée Rodin, ½ × 75 ½ × 42 in. Here unity and variety coexist, but it is variety that sustains our interest. The figures are identical, but our point of view changes with each of the Shades.

Tensions within Unity and Variety In the twentieth century, artists have become increasingly interested in embracing and exploiting the tensions between unity and variety. Rather than seeking a means to unify the composition, they have sought to expose not just variety, but opposition and contradiction. It is this sense of disjunction, the sense that the parts can never form a unified whole, that we have come to identify with what is commonly called postmodernism. Postmodernism declaresthat anything can be put next to anything else. In this sense, it is democratic.

James Lavadour. The Seven Valleys and the Five Valleys Oil on canvas. 54 × 96 in.

Frank Gehry and Vlado Milunić. The Rasin Building / the Dancing House / “Ginger and Fred,” Prague, Czech Republic An example of the postmodern sensibility

Louise Lawler. Pollock and Tureen Cibachrome. 28 × 39 in. An example of the postmodern sensibility

Claude Monet. The Railroad Bridge Oil on canvas. 21 4/5 × 29 2/5 in.

Reminders Study guide posted on My Learning Web and ed to students on Friday, February 20 th Typed journal #3 due on Monday, February 23. In-class Exam review session Exam 1 (Ch. 1-8) on Wednesday, February 25. Closed book and notebook.