Principles of Composition

Jackson Pollock, Shimmering Substances (Sounds in the Grass Series), Variety Henri Matisse, Memory of Oceania, 1953 Gouache on paper, cut and pasted, and charcoal on white paper, Museum of Modern Art, NY Unity Unity-quality of overall cohesion within an artwork. Variety is the element of difference within an artwork. Unity fuses the parts of a painting into a satisfactory whole. Jackson Pollock, Shimmering Substances (Sounds in the Grass Series), Oil on Canvas, 1946 Museum of Modern Art, NY

Joseph Cornell, The Hotel Eden, 1945, Assemblage with music box, VARIETY Variety-element of difference within an artwork This sculpture was made with found objects-sense of faded romance French listngs, exotic paper parrot, remains of a poster of an old seaside hotel What shapes do we find here? Cylinders, circles, etc Joseph Cornell, The Hotel Eden, 1945, Assemblage with music box, National Gallery Of Canada, Ottawa

RADIAL BALANCE One of the ways we order our visual experience is through Balance Balance—gives equal weight to the shapes, colors, lines, or textures in a painting. Without balance, the artwork will seem awkward! Balance offers a feeling of equality in weight, attention, or attraction of the various visual elements within a pictorial field as a means of accomplishing organic unity Is unity accomplished here? If so, how? Henri Matisse, The Joy of Life, 1909-10, Oil on Canvas, Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia

A B S A Y L M A M N E C T E R I C A L Asymmetrical Balance-uneven balance Gustav Klimt, Death and Life, Before 1911, finished 1915, Oil on Canvas, Museum Leopold, Vienna, Austria

Asymmetrical Balance Wedding Portrait Dog represents fidelity and loyalty. Thomas Gainsborough, Mr. and Mrs. Andrew, 1748-1749, Oil on Canvas, National Gallery, London

Moderno, Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes, Mexico City Symmetrical balance-evenly placed elements 2 hearts in one single circulatory system, both hearts are exposed, what is the difference of the heart on the left v. right? Frida Kahlo, The Two Fridas, 1939, Oil on Canvas, Museo Nacionale de Arte Moderno, Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes, Mexico City

Scale: the size of something In relation to what we Scale & Proportion Scale: the size of something In relation to what we Assume to be normal Hieratic Scaling-who is the most important person on the canvas Jean-Honore Fragonard, The Pursuit, from The Progress of Love, 1771-73, 1790-91, Oil on Canvas, Frick Collection, New York

What emotions are evoked when looking at this sculpture? « The first suggestion of a monument came some years ago as I was riding in from the airport. I thought: how Nice it would be to have a large rabbit about the size of a skyscraper in midtown. It would cheer people up seeing its ears from the suburbs. » Oldenburg Claes Oldenburg, Stake Hitch, 1984, Stake: Aluminum, steel, resin painted with polyurethane enamel, Rope: polyurethanfoam, plastic materials, painted with latex Dallas Museum of art

Buddha means enlightened one Buddha means enlightened one. Buddhism originated in India, spread to Japan from China and Korea. How does this god appear? The sculpture is hollow and can be entered In terms of scale and proportion, the circumference of the thumb alone is almost 3 feet. Great Buddha of Kamakura, Kotoku-in, Kamakura, Japan, 1252, Bronze, 43’

Proportion-size of one part in relation to another within Scale & Proportion-size of one part in relation to another within an artwork or size of one part in relation to the whole P R O T I N Rene Magritte, Delusions of Grandeur II, 1948, Oil on Canvas, Hirshorn Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC

EMPHASIS! Jasper Johns, Target with Four Faces, 1955, Encaustic and Emphasis---the focal part of the artwork, smaller focal points are called accents Jasper Johns, Target with Four Faces, 1955, Encaustic and Collage on canvas With plaster casts, MOMA, NY