An Exploration of Line

What is a Line?

Line A line is a moving dot. A mark made by using a tool, such as a pen or pencil and pushing or dragging it across a surface. A line has qualities and characteristics. Thick, thin, light, dark, fast, slow, they direct,they point, the divide, they surround and they can be implies. They can even convey emotions Lines can be made with many different tools and methods and can have many qualities.

Line Lines can be curved or straight; vertical, horizontal, or diagonal; thick or thin smooth or fuzzy; light or dark; and continuous or broken. Examples of various lines to be discussed: Light to Dark Lines Mark making Gradation

Create your line vocabulary

Criteria Sheet for line composition Create thumbnail sketches for ideas in sketchbook before starting. Thumbnail sketches should be about 4x4 or about ½ your sketch book page. Must come up with overall design for line composition . Must include at least (6) different lines you have created. Must use shapes to overlap in some way in composition. All shapes must be filled in with line. You can create as many different shapes and patterns as you want

Criteria Sheet for line composition Sketch must first be in pencil. Students may use different mediums once sketch is complete to show contrast and weight. You may use a ruler and stencils or free hand your overlapping shapes. You design may include recognizable objects or be abstract design.

Lines can curve . . .

Hokusai, Katsushika The Great Wave Off Kanagawa From "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji" 1823-29 Color woodcut 10 x 15 in.

Cy Twombly, Untitled, 1970

This “artless” scribble Defines an area Creates an illusion of depth (volume)

Look again …

Brice Marden American, born Bronxville, New York, 1938   Cold Mountain 2, 1989-1991 Oil on linen, 108 1/8 x 144 1/4 in. Brice Marden American, born Bronxville, New York, 1938   Cold Mountain 2, 1989-1991 Oil on linen 108 1/8 x 144 1/4 in. (274.5 x 366.4 cm.)   HOLENIA PURCHASE FUND, IN MEMORY OF JOSEPH H. HIRSHHORN, 1992 (92.22)   During the 1960s and 1970s, Brice Marden was known for monochromatic canvases distinguished by subtly textured encaustic surfaces, restrained brushwork, and accidental drips. In the mid-1980s, the artist, who had an interest in Asian cultures, discovered a book of poetry by the eighth-century Chinese hermit Han Shan ("Cold Mountain"), who took his name from the mountain on which he lived. The book included Chinese calligraphy in groupings of several characters. Exploring new painting materials and methods, Marden adapted that form as a visual principle for his "Cold Mountain" series. The series includes Marden's largest works to date, measuring 9 by 12 feet each. With a brush attached to a stick, Marden drew rows of abstract symbols over thin washes of color reminiscent of the atmospheric landscapes in Chinese paintings.   In Cold Mountain 2, as in Chinese calligraphy, the "writing" displays a controlled tension between careful planning and spontaneous execution. While the series' lyrical lines represent a new direction for Marden, they also continue his longstanding preoccupation with color modulation, light, and surface textures within a reductive but expressive vocabulary.   Text adapted from "Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden: 150 Works of Art" (1996), entry by Anne-Louise Marquis.

What lines lurk in this texture?

Jackson Pollock, Lavendar Mist No. 1, 1950

Consider the expressive quality of the jagged lines in this work . . .

Clyfford Still, 1957, No.1

Georgia O’Keeffe, Red, White and Blue, 1931

Lines create or imply shapes Shapes can be open or closed Lines around a shape are CONTOUR lines

Henry Moore Abstract Sculptor and artist

Alberto Giacometti Post Impressionist Title: Portrait de Diego Date: 1958

Pablo Picasso Cubist Title: Weeping Woman in Front of a Wall Date: 1937

Pablo Picasso Cubist Title: Weeping Woman Date: 1937

LINE ON HANDOUT What is a line in Art? Line – a series of points; an area whose length is considerably greater than its width; an indication of direction, an apparent movement. A line is a point moved or moving through space. This applies to drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, clay/pottery, and architecture. Characteristics of lines: lines can be actual or implied; a line which denotes or describes an outside edge of an object is a contour line. A contour line divides the plane or delineates an edge of a volume. A directional line points or moves the eye in a particular direction. Horizontal – often read as across, quiet, stable. Vertical: reaching up, spiritual, uplifting, rising. Diagonal: dynamic, moving. Lines can be interpreted as having expressive qualities; particular qualities – thick or thin, weighty or straight, hard-edged or soft – can indicate moods or feelings.