VISUAL ELEMENTS

VISUAL  ELEMENTS    

Remember  that  a  picture—before  being  a  war  horse,  a  nude,  woman,  or  some  anecdote—it   is  essentially  a  plane  surface  covered  with  colors  assembled  in  a  certain  order.  Marice  Denis    

LINE   a  line  is  an  extension  of  a  point.    Length  dominates  over  width.  Where  we  perceive   the  edge  is  a  line.  Line  can  be  active  or  static,  aggressive  or  passive,  sensual  or  mechanical.   Lines  can  indicate  directions,  define  boundaries  of  shapes  and  space,  imply  volumes  or  solid   masses,  and  suggest  emotion  or  emotion.    Implied  lines  suggest  visual  connections.     SHAPE    the  words  shape,  mass,  and  form  are  sometimes  used  inter  changeably  to  refer    to   the  expanse  within  the  out-­‐line.  The  dominant  shapes  are  figures,  background  areas  are   ground  (see  example  below).  Shapes  are  regular  or  geometric  (circles,  triangles,  and   squares)  or  irregular  or  organic  (often  curving  or  rounded,  and  seem  relaxed  and   informal).  Geometric  or  most  common  in  human-­‐made  world.  Except  for  crystals,   honeycombs,  and  snowflakes,  most  shapes  in  nature  are  organic.    Can  be  biomorphic.    

           

 

SPACE    indefinable,  general  receptacle  of  all  things—the  seemingly  empty  space  around  us.   It  is  continuous,  infinite,  and  ever  present.  Visual  arts  (spatial  arts)  are  art  forms  organized   in  space.    Architecture  is  space  enclosed  by  line,  shape,  and  form,  for  example.  To  imply   spatial  depth,  visual  lines  can  overlap,  diminish  in  size,  have  vertical  placement,  or  all  three   (overlap  with  vertical  placement  and  diminish  in  size).       LIGHT    our  eyes  are  light-­‐sensing  instruments.  Everything  we  see  is  made  visible  by  the   radiant  energy  we  call  light.  Light  can  be  directed,  reflected,  refracted,  diffracted,  or   diffused.  The  source,  color,  intensity,  and  direction  of  light  greatly  affect  the  way  things   appear.     COLOR    a  component  of  light,  affects  us  directly  by  modifying  our  thoughts,  moods,  actions,   and  even  our  health.  What  we  call  “color”  is  the  effect  on  our  eyes  of  light  waves  of  differing   wavelengths  or  frequencies.  When  combined,  these  light  waves  make  white  light.  Individual   colors  are  components  of  white  light.     Pigment  primary  hues:    red,  yellow,  and  blue     Pigment  secondary  hues:  orange  green,  and  violet     Pigment  intermediate  hues:  red-­‐orange,  yellow-­‐orange,  yellow-­‐green,  blue-­‐green,         blue-­‐violet,  and  red-­‐violet.     TEXTURE    tactile  qualities  of  surfaces  (actual—what  we  can  feel)  or  to  the  visual   representation  of  those  qualities  (simulated  or  implied—what  is  created  to  look  like   something  other  than  paint  on  a  flat  surface).      

     

PRINCIPLES  OF  DESIGN    

 UNITY  AND  VARIETY  are  complementary.  Unity  is  the  appearance  or  condition  of  oneness.  

When  a  work  has  unity,  we  feel  that  any  change  would  diminish  its  quality.  Variety  provides   diversity.  Variety  acts  to  conquer  unity  (too  much  unity  is  boring).  However,  too  much   diversity  is  chaotic.  Balance  between  unity  and  variety  creates  life.     BALANCE  is  both  a  visual  issue  and  structural  necessity.  The  interplay  between  the   opposing  forces  of  unity  and  variety  is  a  common  condition  of  life  and  art.  Balance  is  the   achievement  of  equilibrium,  where  opposing  forces  are  held  in  check.  Can  be  achieved  by   symmetry  or  asymmetry  (or  a  combination  of  both).    See  Poussin’s  The  Holy  Family  on  the   Steps  for  and  example.     DOMINANCE  AND  SUBORDINATION    Dominance  is  used  to  draw  ur  attention  to  an  area  or   areas.  If  a  specific  spot  or  figure,  it  is  called  a  focal  point.  Position,  contrast,  color  intensity,   and  size  can  all  be  used  to  create  emphasis.  Through  subordination,  an  artist  creates  neutral   areas  of  lesser  interest  that  keep  us  from  being  distracted  from  the  areas  of  emphasis.     DIRECTIONAL  FORCES  are  “paths”  for  the  eye  to  follow  provided  by  actual  or  implied  lines.   May  be  suggested  by  implied  lines  of  a  form’s  axis,  by  the  implied  continuation  of  actual   lines.     CONTRAST  is  the  juxtaposition  of  strongly  dissimilar  elements.  Dramatic  effects  can  be   produced  when  dark  is  set  against  light,  large  against  small,  bright  colors  against  dull.     REPETITION  AND  RHYTHM  give  a  composition  unity  continuity,  flow,  and  emphasis.   Rhythm  is  created  through  the  regular  recurrence  of  elements  and  related  variations.  It   refers  to  any  kind  of  movement  or  structure  of  dominant  and  subordinate  elements  in   sequence.     SCALE  AND  PROPORTION  Scale  is  the  size  relation  of  one  thing  to  another.  A  short  person   standing  next  to  a  tall  person.  Proportion  is  the  size  relationship  of  parts  to  a  whole.  David’s   hand  is  large  in  relation  to  his  height  and  width  (see  Michelangelo’s  David).             Frank,  Patrick.    Prebles’  Artforms.