CHAPTER 2:

VISUAL ELEMENTS OF ART

Professor:Course/Section:

I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say in any

other way – things I had no words for.

–Georgia O’Keeffe

The Visual Elements of Art:

• Color• Shape• Line• Light• Value• Texture • Space• Time• Motion

The Language of Art

• With the “Language of Art,” we are able to communicate thoughts and feelings about our visual and tactile experiences in our world

Visual Elements of Art

• Also called the Plastic Elements of art. • Art selects a medium

– Drawing, painting, sculpture, architecture, photography, textiles, ceramics, etc..

• Then they use the visual elements to express themselves in the chosen medium.

Principles of Design:

• Unify• Balance• Rhythm• Scale• Proportion• Etc..

LINE…

• …is the simplest and also the most complex of the elements of art.

• …serves as the basic building block for all art

• …has the capacity to evoke thoughts and emotions

Definition of Line

• In Geometry - “A line is made up of an infinite number of points and the the shortest distance between two points is a straight line.”

• In art - A line is a moving dot.

Characteristics of a Line

• Measure - its length and width. • Expressive qualities

Expressive Qualities of Line

• “Line may be perceived as delicate, tentative, elegant, assertive, forceful, or even brutal.”

Fig 2-2 JACKSON POLLOCK. Number 14: Gray (1948). Enamel and gesso on paper. 223/4” x 31”.

Lines can be…

• Straight • Curved• Vertical• Horizontal• Diagonal• Zigzagged…

Types of Line

• Contour Lines - Created by the edge of things.

• Actual lines - Are connected and continuous.

• Implied lines - completed by the viewer. • Psychological lines - A line created by a

mental or perceptual connection. (Ex: When a character of figure points or looks at another.)

Fig 2-4 A, B, and C Actual line (A) versus two kinds of implied lines, one formed by dots (B) and the other formed by psychologically connecting the edges of a series of straight lines (C).

More about line…

• “Edges are perceived because the objects differ from the background in value, texture or color.”

• Shading creates or models roundness.

• “One of the hallmarks of Renaissance painting is the use of implied lines to create or echo the structures of the composition.”

Figure 2.5, p.30: LEONARDO DA VINCI. Madonna of the Rocks (c. 1483). Oil on panel, transferred to canvas. 78 1⁄2” x 48”.Figure 2.6, p30: The pyramidal structure of the Madonna of the Rocks.

Figure 2.7 p. 31. EMILY MARY OSBORNE. Nameless and Friendless (1834 - ?) Oil on Canvas. 34” x 44”.

Functions of Line

1. To Outline and Shape2. As Form 3. To Create Depth and Texture4. To Suggest Direction and

Movement

Figure 2.8, p.31: RIMMA GERLOVINA AND VALERIY GERLOVIN. Madonna and Child (1992). Chromogenic print.

To Give Outline and Shape

Figure 2.9, p.31: ELIZABETH CATLETT. Sharecropper (1968). Color linocut. 26” x 22”.

To Create Depth and Texture

Ways to create Texture

1. Modeling - the creation of the illusion of roundness or 3d through the use of light and shadow.

2. Stippling - the use of a pattern of dots that thickens and thins.

3. Hatching - using a series of closely spaces parallel lines to achieve shading.

4. Cross-Hatching - a series of lines that run in a different direction and cross each other.

Fig. 2-12 Illusion of three-dimensionality.

Figure 2.11, p.32: SANDRO BOTTICELLI. The Birth of Venus (c. 1482). Oil on canvas. 5’8 7⁄8” x 9’1 7⁄8”.

To Suggest Direction and Movement

What lines imply

• Horizontal lines - suggest stability• Vertical lines - defy gravity and

suggest assertiveness.• Diagonal lines - imply movement

and directionality.

SHAPE, VOLUME AND MASS

SHAPE

SHAPE

• Has many definitions• In art - “shapes are defined as the

areas within a composition that have boundaries separating them from what surrounds them; shapes make those areas distinct.”

• Shape can also be communicated through patches of color and texture.

Fig. 12 JACOB LAWRENCE. Harriet Tubman Series, No. 4 (1939 - 1940) Casein tempera on gessoed hardboard. 12” x 17 7/8”.

Figure 2.14, p.34: HELENE BRANDT. Mondrian Variations, Construction No. 3B with Four Red Squares and Two Planes (1996). Welded steel, wood, paint. 22” x 19” x 17”.

The word FORM - is often used to speak about shapes in sculpture and

architecture - 3D works of art.

Volume refers to the mass or bulk of a 3D work. It is the amount of space

it contains.

Fig. 2-15. GERRIT RIETVELDT. Schroeder House, Utrecht. (1924).

Mass - In 3D art, the mass of an object refers to its bulk.

Fig. 2-16 RACHEL WHITEREAD. Holocaust Memorial, Vienna (2000).

Actual Mass versus Implied Mass

• Actual mass occupies three-dimensional space and has measurable volume and weight

• Implied mass creates the illusion of possessing volume, having weight and occupying three-dimensional space

Fig. 2-17 MARK TANSEY. Landscape (1994). Oil on Canvas. 181.6cm x 365.8 cm.

Types of Shapes

• 1. Geometric shapes - Are regular and precise. Ex: rectangles and circles.– Straight (rectilinear) – Curved (curvilinear)

• 2. Organic shapes -have a natural appearance.– Biomorphic shapes– Amorphous shapes

Fig. 18 DAVID SMITH. Cubi XVIII (1964). Polished stainless steel. 9’7 3/4” x 5” x 1’ 9 3/4”.

Geometric Shapes

Figure 2.21, p.39: FRANK GEHRY. Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, Spain (1997).

Organic Shapes

Figure 2.19, p.37: FRANK GEHRY. Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, Spain (1997).

Compare and Contrast

Picasso and Colescott

Rectilinear forms versus curvilinear forms presented

by two artists

Figure 2.20, p.38: PABLO PICASSO. Les Demoiselles d’Avignon (1907). Oil on canvas. 8’ x 7’8”.

Figure 2.21: ROBERT COLESCOTT. Les Demoiselles d’Alabama: Vestidas (1985). Acrylic on canvas. 96” x 92”.

Biomorphic Shapes

• Are said to have a form like a biological entity.

• (From the Greek word morphe.)

Figure 2.22, p.39: ELIZABETH MURRAY. Tangled (1985–1990). Oil on shaped canvas with wood. 83 1/2 x 66 x 19 in.

Positive and Negative Shapes

• Positive shapes - the objects or figure that the viewer focuses on.

• Negative shapes - the empty space (or the space filled with other imagery) left over in the piece.

Figure-Ground Terminology

• Figure - ground relationship - the relationship between the positive and negative shapes in a piece.

• Figure - ground reversals - when the positive and negative shapes in a piece can be reversed or are ambiguous.

• “We tend to perceive things in context.”

Fig. 26 A Rubin Vase.

Shape as Icon

• Some shapes carry with them immediate associations.

• Ex:• Christian Cross• Jewish Star of David• Chinese yin yang.• “Shape s a powerful visual element, and

the representation of shape is a powerful design tool.”

Figure 2.28, p.42: EDWARD STEICHEN. Rodin with His Sculptures “Victor Hugo” and “The Thinker” (1902). Carbon print, toned.

LIGHT AND VALUE

• Visible light is the part of the spectrum of electromagnetic energy that we can see.

• “Without light there is no art.”

Value

• The value of a color of a surface is its lightness or darkness.

• Value contrast - the degrees f difference between shades of gray.

• Drawing objects or figures with a high value contrast makes them easy to see.

• Value pattern describes the variation in light and dark within a composition.

Fig. 2-33 Value contrast.

Chiaroscuro

• The gradual shifting from light to dark through a successive gradation of tones across a curved surface.

Figure 2.35, PIERRE-PAUL PRUD’HON. La Source (c. 1801). Black and white chalk on gray paper. 21 3/16 x 15 5/18 in.

Descriptive and Expressive Properties

of Value• Values - blacks, grays and whites• May be used to describe objects• Or may be used to evoke

emotional response in the viewer.

Fig. 2-37 p.46 LORRAINE O’GRADY Mlle Bourgeoise Noire Goes to the New Museum (1981).

COLOR

• Language connects emotion with color.

• Color can trigger emotional response in the observer.

Psychological Dimensions of Color: Hue,

Value, and Saturation• Hue - a term for the family of color. • Cool - colors on the green-blue side

of the color wheel. • Warm - colors on the yellow-orange-

red side of the color wheel. • Saturation - the pureness of the color• Shades - adding black to a hue. • Tints - adding white to a hue.

Additive and Subtractive Colors

• Additive color - mixing light. • Subtractive color - mixing pigments. • Primary colors - Color that can not be derived

from the mixing of other colors.– Red– Yellow– Blue

• Secondary colors - created from the overlap or mixing of 2 primary colors. – Orange– Green– Violet.

Complementary versus Analogous Colors

• In pigments, the primary colors are red, yellow and blue.

• They can not be produced from mixing other colors.

• Tertiary colors - created by mixing pigments or primary and secondary colors.

• Analogous colors- Hues that lie next to each other on the color wheel.

• Complementary colors - colors that lie across from one another on the color wheel.

Local versus Optical Color

• Local Color - the hue of an object as created by the colors its surface reflects under normal lighting condition.

• Optical color - our perceptions of color, which can vary with lighting conditions.

Figure 2.46, p.51: CLAUDE MONET. Haystack at Sunset near Giverny (1891). Oil on canvas. 28 7⁄8” x 36 1⁄2”.

Figure 2.49, p.51: VINCENT VAN GOGH. The Night Café (1888). Oil on canvas. 27 1⁄2” x 35”.

Color as Symbol

• We link mood with color.• Feelings and behavior can be

symbolized with colors• The symbols and meanings of

colors are culture specific.

Texture

• Texture – Derived from the Latin word for “weaving”– Used to describe the surface character of

things through the sense of touch. – An artist can emphasize of distort texture of

an object to evoke emotional response in the viewer.

• Impasto - a think buildup of paint on the surface of the canvas.

Figure 2.49, p.53: LEON KOSSOFF. Portrait of Father, No. 2 (1972). Oil on board. 60” x 36”.

Types of Texture

• Actual Texture - is tactile, texture you can touch. – Example: impasto (The most common type

of texture used in painting.)

• Visual Texture - simulated texture. It looks like a texture but can’t really be felt. – Example: Trompe l’oeil a French word (and

style of painting) that means to trick the eye.

• Subversive Texture - Texture chosen or created by the artist to subvert or undermine our ideas about the objects they depict.

Fig. 2-52 P. 54 RACHEL RUYSCH. Flower Still Life (after 1700) Oil on Canvas. 29 3/4” x 23 7/8”.

Figure 2.53, p.55: DAVID GILHOOLY. Bowl of Chocolate Moose (1989). Ceramic. 10” x 6” x 7” (25.4 cm x 15.2 cm x 17.8 cm).

Figure 2.55 p.56 MERET OPPENHEIM. Object (1936). Fur covered cup, sauser, and spoon. Overall height: 2 7/8 in.

SPACE

• Objects exist in Three-dimensional space.

• Some art is truly 3D like sculpture and architecture.

• And some art just tries to depict space on a 2D surface.

Fig. 2-56 Overlapping circles and arcs.

Overlapping

• You can create the illusion of depth by overlapping objects.

Figure 2.58, p.58: NI ZAN. Rongxi Studio (Late Yuan/Early Ming dynasty, 1372 CE). Hanging scroll; ink on paper. H: 29 1⁄4”

Relative Size and Linear Perspective

• The furthers objects are from us the smaller the look.

• Things that are closer to us look larger and things that are further away look smaller.

• Artist use different techniques like relative size and linear perspective to create the illusion of depth in a piece of art.

The Illusion of Depth

• Vanishing point - The point at which parallel lines cone together, or converge.

• Horizon - the line where the line of sight stops and on which the artist often places the vanishing point.

• Vantage point - where (or the height) the viewer is looking from.

• One-point perspective - when parallel lines in a picture come together at one point, the vanishing point, on the horizon line.

• Two-point perspective - when parallel lines in a picture come together at 2 different points on the horizon line.

Fig. 2-64 RAFFAELLO SANZIO (CALLED RAPHAEL). PHILOSOPHY, OR SCHOOL OF ATHENS (1509-1511).

Fig. 2-65 Perspective in School of Athens.

Fig. 2-66 GUSTAVE CAILLEBOTTE. Paris Street: Rainy Day *1877). Oil on Canvas. 83 1/2” 108 1/4”.

Fig. 2-67. Perspective in Caillebottoes’s Paris Street: Rainy Day.

Atmospheric Perspective

• (Also called aerial perspective.)

• Texture gradient - closer objects are perceived as having rougher or more detailed surfaces.

• Brightness gradient - distant objects are less intense.

Figure 2.69, p.61: SYLVIA PLIMACK MANGOLD. Schunnemunk Mountain (1979). Oil on canvas. 60” x 80 1⁄8”.

Time and Motion

• Actual Motion:– Kinetic Art - art that moves.

Example: Mobiles– Photography

Fig. 2-70 p. 62 ALEXANDER CALDER. Untitled (1972). East Building mobile.

Implied Motion

• Stopped Time - a style of art that “stops time” in order to imply motion.

• Time implied & Motion Implied - Some works try to imply that motion or time has occurred.

Figure 2.71, p.63: GIANLORENZO BERNINI. Apollo and Daphne (1622–1624). Marble. 7’6”.

The Illusion of Motion

• There is a difference between implied motion and the illusion of motion.

• One implies that the motion has already occurred and the other implies that the motion is happening right now.

• Examples:• Early photographic experiments of multiple

exposures of motion.• The blurring of shapes and the repetition of

linear patterns blurring the contours of a figure. • Blurring outlines to create the illusion of motion.• Op Art !

Figure 2.74, p.64: THOMAS EAKINS. Man Pole Vaulting (c. 1884). Photograph.

UMBERTO BOCCIONI. Dynamism of a Soccer Player (1913). Oil on canvas. 6’4 1⁄8” x 6’7 1⁄8”.

BERNHARD JOHANNES AND ANNA BLUME. Kitchen Tantrums (1986–1987). Photo-piece. 51 1⁄8” x 35 7/8”.

Op Art

• Op Art - Optical Art, is based on creating optical sensations of movement through the repetition and manipulation of color, shape, and line.

• Afterimage - when we look at a color for a long period of time and then look away you may briefly see the opposite color due to fatigue of the cornea in the eyes.

Other Ways of Creating the Illusion of Motion

• Cinematography and video• Stroboscopic motion• (Real movement involves illusion)

Fig. 2-76. P.65 BRIDGET RILEY. Gala. (1974). Acrylic on canvas. 5’ 2 3/4” square.