Fundamentals of Visual Arts
At the end of the review lesson, You should be able to: 1. Define Art and study the nature and subjects of art; 2. Identify the different elements and Principles and Design of art; 3. Analyze selected artworks applying the discussed elements and principles of visual arts; 4. Create an artwork applying the student’s understanding of the elements and principles of visual arts.
Fundamentals of Visual Arts
Art
Meanings of Art
Art comes from the Aryan root word "AR" which means to join or to put together.
From "AR", we can derive two Greek verbs "artizein" which means to prepare, and "arkiskeins" which means to put together.
The Latin term "ARS" means everything that is artificially made or composed by man.
Art - very vital in our daily existence considering that man learned to draw before he could even start to talk as attested by the early paintings shown in prehistoric period.
There are other meanings which have been stated by prominent geniuses.
1. Leo Tolstoy - Russian novelist, "art is a means of union among all men, a means of communication."
2. Beneditto Croce - Italian philosopher and profound thinker in the field of aesthetics. - "Art is vision. The artist creates a picture of phantasm."
3. St. Thomas Aquinas - art is the direct opposite of the practical. The merits of the work of art do not depend on the taste or wish of the artist; they are the outcome of the work itself. Thus, an artist may be immoral, and yet his work may be good.
4. Aristotle - art has no other end but itself. All arts are patterned on nature. Art is also the right reason for making things.
5. Aldous Huxley - art springs from an urge to order and this is so in the sense that the artist selects from and arranges the profusion of nature.
6. Henry James - life is all inclusion and confusion, while art is discrimination and selection.
7. Herbert Read - art is a pattern informed by sensibility, emotion which cultivates good form, both leading to harmony, which is the satisfaction of our sense of beauty.
Elements of Art
Line Shape and Form Value Color Texture Space
Principles of Design
Unity/ Harmony Balance Emphasis & Subordination Proportion Rhythm Variety
Traditional Visual Arts
Drawing/ illustration Painting Etching Sculpture Etc.
Modern Visual Art
Digital Art Animation/ Flash animation Film Web-based videos Etc.
The Subjects of Arts
1. Landscapes, Seascapes 2. Still Life 3. Animals 4. Portraits 5. Figures 6. History and Legend 7. Religion and Mythology 8. Dreams, Fantasy and Fiction The Subjects of Arts
The Nature of Art
Art is everywhere Art and Expression and Communication Art as Creation Art and experience Art and Nature Art and Beauty
Classifications of Visual Art Two Dimensional (2D – Length x Width) Three Dimensional (3D – L x W x H)
Four Dimensional Art The Fourth Dimension concerns how two kinds of perception work together as we interact with objects or people in space. That is, to know things in real time, we must bring our memories from past time into the present. For example, when we sit down, we don't look at the chair as we lower ourselves on to it. We assume the chair will still be there when our bottoms hit the seat. Another definition for "the Fourth Dimension" is the very act of perceiving (consciousness) or feeling (sensation). Artists and writers often think of the fourth dimension as the life of the mind.
Four Dimensional Art
Traditional Mediums in Art
Pencil
Crayons Wax-based Monotones
Oil Pastels Oil-based Perfect for blending Colors
Watercolor Transparent/ Water based
Acrylic Opaque/ Water based
Oil Paint Opaque/ Oil Based
ELEMENT #1: The line Line is man's own invention. It does not exist in nature. The lines we "see" in nature are, on close observation, veins of leaves, the joining of two different surfaces, or the edges of objects. The artist uses lines to imitate or to represent objects and figures on a flat surface.
ELEMENT #1: The line Straight Curved
Common Types of straight lines Horizontal Vertical Diagonal Zigzag Broken
The Horizontal Line Rest Serenity Perfect stability
The Vertical Line Height Poised & Stable Strength Power
The Diagonal Line Movement Emotion Unrest/ uncertainty
Curved lines Flow Softness
Formalist Analysis.
The Raising of the Cross
The Descent from the Cross
Renaissance Baroque
David, by Michelangelo
David, by Gianlorenzo Bernini
David (Renaissance) David (Baroque)
ELEMENT #2: Shape
Geometric Shapes
Organic Shapes
Shape vs. Form Shape Form
Deconstruction