The Elements of Art
Works
of art are unique arrangements.
But
Arrangement of "What?" What to
look for?
On way of trying
to engage a work of art is by noting is unique elements and the principles by
which the elements are arranged. These
then are the “elements” and the “principles” of the art medium. Below we consider Visual Art, however, any
art form which can be conceived of as having unique elements and principles of
design can be engaged this way.
Elements and Principles of Visual Art
Visual Art-
·
We
must look for Visual Elements and the formal principles which govern their use
(and appreciation) in works of visual art.
The Elements of Visual Art (seven basic
components, or building blocks of visual art)
1.
color
2.
value
3.
line
4.
texture
5.
shape
6.
form
7.
space
The Principles of Art (eight different
ways the elements can be used in a work of art)
1.
balance
2.
emphasis
3.
harmony
4.
variety
5.
gradation
6.
proportion
7.
movement
8.
rhythm
The
elements of visual art can be compared to words to form phrases, sentences,
paragraphs and meaningful sequences in the literary arts. (How writers organize
those words is similar to using the principles of art.)
The Elements of
Art
Do
not confuse elements with subject matter or representational content. In
addition to the people, objects, and events shown, there are elements of art
which create the people, objects, and events (colors, values, lines, textures,
shapes, and spaces, etc.).
Color
is an element made up of three distinct qualities:
1.
2.
Intensity
3.
Value
Two
patches of color can differ from one another in any one or more of these three
ways.
·
·
Blue
is often good enough to discriminate behavior.
Broadly speaking there are 12 different hues (primary, secondary and
tertiary).
The terms warm and cool are applied to
certain colors- (based on associations?). Cool colors are often associated with
water and sky. Warm colors are often associated with fire and sun. Perhaps because of this association or
perhaps not, cool colors appear to recede in space, whereas warm colors seem to
advance.
·
Value
refers to the darkness or lightness of a color. (A black and white photo of a
painting would have the same values, but perhaps none of the same hues.)
·
Sometimes
value is an important element in works of art even though color appears to be
absent (drawings, wood-cuts, lithographs, and photographs, sculpture and
architecture).
Line
is difficult to describe.
·
One
might say “a continuous mark made on some surface by a moving point,” but also
edges or contours (contour line). Often
sculpture and paintings make use of “implied” lines which we sort of mentally
fill in.
·
Contour
line separates the object from the background and from other objects in the
same work. (Some artist use black
outlines to add clarity and interest their works. Some artists try to eliminate or conceal the
outline of objects in their pictures.)
Line
also applied to sculptures. (Henry Moore)
Line
can work to define objects and to suggest movement. (horizontal, vertical,
diagonal, or curved)
Certain
feelings or sensations are associated with each of these movements. Vertical, or straight up and down, suggests
strength and stability. Horizontal, or from side to side, suggests calmness.
Diagonal suggests tension. Curved suggests a flowing movement.
Axis
Line
An
axis line is an imaginary line that is traced through an object or several
objects in a picture. Some artworks make
use of a single axis line; others make use of several. In a work with more than
one axis line there may be a formally significant relationship between them
drawing the eye to an important figure, etc. While the axis line might never be directly
visible, it can become an implied line that organizes the visual scene.
4. Texture
The
surface quality, or implied "feel," of an object; the way it actually
feels or looks like it might feel if touched. (ie. smooth surface, where your
eyes sweep over the smooth, glossy
surface or rough that you sense with your eyes or could feel with your fingers.)
Actual Texture: That which the perceptible by the eyes and
the tactile sense.
Simulated or
Artificial Texture: That which is depicted. The painting may in fact be smooth, the
depicting a rough brocade fabric or thick clunky jewelry or fur.
NB: Since three‑dimensional
forms/ sculpture seems to invite touch, Actual Texture is especially
important to the aesthetic appreciation
of sculptors.
5. Shape
·
When
a line meets itself it creates a Shape.
·
However
since line can be created by other elements, shapes too can also be made by the
Color elements of
·
Shapes
are flat. They are limited to only two dimensions: length and width.
6. Form
·
A
form is an object with three dimensions.
·
The
three‑dimensional character of Form distinguishes it from Shape, since
the former has depth as well as length and width.
·
Just
as with texture, Form can me Actual or Simulated.
·
Many
painters have tried to create the illusion of solid, three‑dimensional
forms in their works. A circular shape can be made to look three
dimensional (simulated form) by gradually changing its value
from light to dark. When combined with another dark shape simulating a shadow
cast by the round object, a three‑dimensional effect is created.
·
Sculptures
have actual Form.
Mass and
Volume
Mass and Volume are features of form are mass and
volume. Mass refers to the “outside size” and volume refers to the “space
within a form.” Any formal discussion of
the mass of a sculpture or a building uses the vocabulary of solid geometry.
One can also refer to the volumes created between and within sculptural masses.
Note too that the two‑dimensional outline of a
sculpture or building (shape) might be formally compelling. It may offer varying interesting shapes when
viewed from different angles.
7. Space
·
Space
is the distance or area between, around, above, below, or within things. In
art, space is an element that can be either three‑dimensional or two‑dimensional.
Architecture
is an art form devoted to the enclosure of space. To truly appreciate this art
form, you must carefully consider the way in which space is treated in
different structures.
To
understand and appreciate art also requires understanding how elements are
arranges; the principles of art are used to organize those elements.
The Principles of
Art
·
The
principles of art describe the different ways artists can use each element.
·
The
artist is seeking to create variety without chaos and harmony without monotony.
·
Each
of these principles describes a unique way of combining or joining art elements
to achieve different effects.
1. Balance
Balance
refers to a way of combining elements which most often suggest a stability to a
work of art.
Three kinds:
1. Symmetrical
-two halves of a work are identical
2. Asymmetrical
-less easily defined; takes into account such qualities as hue, intensity, and
value in addition to size and shape. For
example, a dark valued smaller shape which appears heavier may be used to
balancing the larger airier looking white shape.
3. Radial -objects
are positioned around a central point, e.g. a daisy or a Rose stained‑glass
window
2. Emphasis
·
Emphasis
is a way of combining elements to stress the differences between or among those
elements.
·
Contrasting
elements often direct and focus the viewer's attention. Contrast also is used
to avoid visual monotony.
3. Harmony
·
Harmony
refers to a way of combining similar elements in an artwork to accent their
similarities.
·
It
utilizes repetitions and subtle, gradual changes. Like elements such as repeated hues, shapes
or lines are used to tie the picture parts together into a whole.
4. Variety
·
Variety
is a way of combining elements to create intricate and complicated
relationships.
·
It
is achieved through diversity and change among the elements. Variety increases the visual interest of
their works. A picture made up of many different hues, values, lines, textures,
and shapes would be described as complex.
A
carefully determined blend of harmony and variety is essential to the success
of almost any work of art. Both principles must be taken into account during
the creative process. Harmony blends the picture parts together to form a unified
whole, and variety adds visual interest to this unified whole. It is this
visual interest that attracts and holds the attention of viewers.
5. Gradation
·
Gradation
refers to a way of combining elements by using a series of gradual changes in
those elements (e.g. gradual change from small shapes to large shapes, from dark
hues to light hues, etc.)
·
It
is the opposite to emphasis which
stresses abrupt changes in the elements.
6. Proportion
·
Proportion
is the principle of art concerned with the quality elements takes on due to the
relationship
they have to other elements in the work and to the whole. (i.e. a “large” shape in a painting only is a
large shape in the painting because of its relationship to the other shapes and
to the whole work).
For
instance, if in a certain portion of a painting, there are more intense hues
than dull hues, or more rough textures than smooth, emphasis is suggested. In a similar manner, the large size of one
shape compared with the smaller sizes of other shapes creates visual emphasis. But
notice the “emphasis” is created via “proportion.” The viewer's eye is automatically attracted
to the larger, dominant shape.
In
some traditions, artists rely on the principle of proportion to point out the
most important figures or objects in their works. The more important figures
were made to look larger than the other, less important figures.
7. Movement
·
Movement
is the principle of art used to create the look and feeling of action and to
guide the viewer's eye throughout the work of art.
·
While
there is, of course, no literal motion in a static two-dimensional artwork, the
viewers eye, and thus the visual experience of the painting is not
static.
·
Movement
is used to direct the viewer's attention to a center of interest, or to make
certain that the main parts of the work are noted.
·
Some
Movement is achieved via cognitive association (the depiction of a horse shown
in full gallop), other times it is achieve by a skillful manipulation of the
formal elements alone.
·
This
latter movement is achieved through placement of elements so that the eye
follows a certain path, such as the curve of a line, the contours of a shape,
or the repetition of certain colors, textures, or shapes. (see Bridget Riley’s Current
-1964)
There
are some three‑dimensional artworks and projected two dimensional images
that actually do move.
8. Rhythm
·
Closely
related to movement.
·
Rhythm
is created by the placement of repeated elements in a work of art to cause a
visual tempo or beat.
·
These
repeated elements invite the viewer's eye to jump rapidly or glide smoothly
from one to the next. (For example, the same shape may be repeated several
times and arranged across the picture to create the sensation of movement in a
certain direction. (Consider Marcel Duchamp's Nude Descending a Staircase #2)
Sometimes
visual contrasts set up a rhythm, in which elements are repeated and combined
with contrasting colors, values, shapes, lines, or textures. A certain color
may rush forward, then backward, or light values may clash with darker values.
Achieving Unity in
a Work of Art
9. Unity
Unity
may be thought of as an overall concept or principle. It refers to the total
effect of a work of art.
In
well organized works of art, principles are used to arrange the elements. This it the “unity” possessed of great works.
By AUnity@ aestheticians
usually mean the look and feel of wholeness, correctness or oneness in a work
of art. This is not unlike the “Harmony and Proportion” or “Organic Unity”
(Aristotle) or “Unimpairedness” (Aquinas) or “purposive purposelessness”
(Kant).
In
Unified works the elements and principles work together. Where unity is lacking, the works may look
disorganized, incomplete, or confusing (visual noise).
Formal Analysis
A
Design Chart may help identify key salient points of the work:
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Emphasis |
Balance |
Harmony |
Variety |
Gradation |
Proportion |
Movement |
Rhythm |
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Color (Intensity) |
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Value |
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Line |
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Texture |
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Shape |
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Form |
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Space |
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Begin
with any element and ask “How this element is used in a work?” (Link the
element with each principle.)
For
example,
1.
Are contrasting hues used to direct the eye to areas of emphasis?
2.
Are the hues in the picture balanced?
3.
Is harmony achieved through the use of similar hues that are repeated
throughout the picture?
4.
Are different hues used to add variety to the composition?
5.
Do any of the hues change gradually, or in a gradation from one to another?
6.
Is the presence of any one hue out of proportion to the other hues used in the
picture?
7.
Are the hues arranged to create a feeling of movement?
8.
Of rhythm?
Once
you have completed an examination of hue, you would turn to the next quality of
color, which is intensity, and repeat the procedure with all the principles.
An
analysis carried on in this manner can help you gain the knowledge and
understanding needed to determine how the parts of a picture have been put
together to achieve unity.
Empowered
with these concepts and skills one is able to do more than merely to “look” at
art; one can see it and appreciate it.
Talk
of an artist's "style" often involves characteristic ways of using
elements and principles of art.
An
artist’s manipulation of the elements could be instinctive or contrived.
