Art & Meaning
3 Main Components of a Work of Art: Subject – objects depicted Form – the way something looks (line, shape, etc.) Content – impact or meaning
Form Form is the way a work of art looks: size, shape, materials, color and composition. Content Content is what the work of art is about – the subject matter.
Form & Content Piano Lesson, Henri Matisse, 1916Music Lesson, Henri Matisse, 1917
Context Strong ties bind a work of art to its creator, to the tradition it grows from and responds to, to the audience it was made for; and to the society in which it circulated. Ex: African art in a museum context Ex: Religious art displayed in a gallery setting, etc.
Finial of a linguist’s staff, from Ghana, 20 th century Social Context of Art A linguist holding a staff topped with a wooden sculpture, Ghana
Madonna and Child with Saints, Piero della Francesca,
The Conversion on the Road to Damascus, Caravaggio, 1600, Santa Maria del Popolo, Rome
The Visual Elements of Art and Design, part 1
Art is… a visual language, a heighten awareness of the way the world looks; i.e. it’s a way of seeing that is different from what is just physically there. Ex: Henri Matisse vocabulary and rules
Elements of Art and Design 1. Line 2. Mass 3. Color 4. Texture 5. Shape 6. Space
THE USE OF LINE IN ART & DESIGN Leonardo da Vinci Line is a path traced by a moving point. Willem De Kooning
THE USE OF LINE IN ART & DESIGN Picasso Line drawing studies College Textbook Cover for International Business Cover conveys concepts of movement, transparency and the intersection of cultures within international business today.
THE USE OF LINE IN ART & DESIGN Lines can be used to record the borders of forms Blond Waiting, Roy Lichtenstein, 1964 Best Buddies, Keith Haring
LINE QUALITY Lines can have infinite variety Different lines can create different moods Horizontal lines / Vertical lines / Angular lines / Curved lines
THE USE OF LINE IN ART & DESIGN Lines can be used to create depth and texture: a good example of this is in the process of modeling. Self-Portrait, Vincent Van Gogh
THE FUNCTION OF LINE IN ART Lines can be used to convey direction as well as to indicate motion The Biglin Brothers Racing, Thomas Eakins,
Form is a visual organization of the artwork. It is the way a thing looks – the shape, proportion, balance, harmony of it’s parts, etc. Art vs Design – FORM & SPACE
Advertising Campaign for an iPod Shuffle Typographic Rendition of Robert Indiana’s artwork LOVE (computer software) LOVE / sculpture, Robert Indiana, 1976
Shape is a two-dimensional form. It occupies an area with identifiable boundaries. Boundaries can be created by line, a shift in color, texture, etc. DEFINITION OF SHAPE classical still life / lemonsCubist Still Life, Roy Lichtenstein
Objects - positive shapes. Spaces around objects - negative spaces. FORM (POSITIVE) & BACKGROUND (NEGATIVE SPACE)
Still Life with Autumn Fruits, Julian Merrow-Smith Book Cover, Paul Rand, 1956
Rubin’s vase FORM (POSITIVE) & BACKGROUND (NEGATIVE SPACE)
an image inspired by Rubin’s Vase FORM (POSITIVE) & BACKGROUND (NEGATIVE SPACE)
A Mass is a three-dimensional form that occupies a volume of space. Ex: Mass of clay, the mass of a mountain, etc. Shapes and masses can be roughly divided into two categories: geometric and organic. DEFINITION OF MASS geometricorganic
Artists often use implied shapes to add unity to their artwork. IMPLIED SHAPES The Madonna of the Meadows, Rafael, 1505
In 1666 Isaac Newton passed a ray of sunlight through a prism 1)Rays refracted into different colors 2) Rays arranged in the order of the colors of the rainbow 3) What we perceive as color is reflected light rays COLOR
Complimentary Colors: across from each other Analogous Colors: next too each other COLOR WHEEL
First Steps, Vincent Van Gogh COMPLIMENTARY or ANALOGOUS?
Crucifixion, Pablo Picasso, 1930