elements of art what makes up an art work? the elements of art

Elements of Art

What makes up an art work?

The Elements of art

Elements of ArtThe composition of an art work is made up

of the arrangement of the elements.These are known as the Elements of Art

Elements of Art

COLOR LINESHAPE

SPACE VALUE FORM

COLOR

COLOR

• Primary colors- yellow, red and blue.

(colors that can not be made by mixing other colors.

• Secondary colors- purple, green and orange (colors mixed from a combination of any two primary colors)

Primary coloursRoy Lichtenstein

Color Schemes

• Complementary Colors – colors directly across from each other on the color wheel

• Monochromatic color scheme - uses only one color and tints and shades

• Analagous colors- colors that have something in common. They are next to each other on the color wheel. One color will be in harmony with another.

Complementary coloursGauguin

Complementary colours scheme

Monochromatic color schemeM.C. Escher

Colour schemes

Communicating with colour

• Cool colors recede - go away from you

Van Gogh

Warm colors come toward the viewer (advance); Cool colors recede

Mark Rothko

Rothko

VALUE

ValuePencil Value Scale

ValueStippling Value Scale

Line – The Obvious

STRAIGHT

HORIZONTAL

VERTICAL

DIAGONAL

LINE

Simple to Complex

in terms of line . . .

Lines can be implied . . .

IMPLIED LINES

Not really there but guide the eye or organize the image

Implied Line

SHAPE

Late Gothic/ Early Renaissance from 1305

BOLD

DIAGONAL

Giotto, Pieta(Lamentation)fresco

Caravaggio

The Calling of

St. Matthew,

1599-1600

Gentileschi,Judith Slaying Holofernes,

1620

Diego Rivera, The Flower Carrier, 1935, 48x48 in.

Note lines implied by directional

gazes

Pierre-Auguste RenoirLe déjeuner des canotiers, 1880–1881Oil on canvas, 129.5 × 172.7 cm

Morandi, GiorgioStill Life (The Blue Vase)1920Oil on canvas

The blue lines point out . . .

IMPLIED LINES

Morandi, GiorgioStill Life (The Blue Vase)1920Oil on canvas

implied

Caravaggio, Supper at Emmaus, c.1601

Kenneth Noland, Thrust, 196345 x 45 in.

A VENETIAN WOMANJohn Singer Sargent (American, b.1856, d.1925)1882oil on canvas93 3/4 x 52 1/2 in. (238.1 x 133.4 cm)

Barnett Newman, Dionysius, 1944, 67x49in.

Barnett Newman, Yellow Painting, 1949

Barnett Newman, Untitled (The Cry), 36x24in., ink on paper

Late Gothic/ Early Renaissance from 1305

BOLD

DIAGONAL

Giotto, Pieta(Lamentation)fresco

Caravaggio

The Calling of

St. Matthew,

1599-1600

Gentileschi,Judith Slaying Holofernes,

1620

IMPLIED LINES

Not really there but guide the eye or organize the image

Diego Rivera, The Flower Carrier, 1935, 48x48 in.

Note lines implied by directional

gazes

Pierre-Auguste RenoirLe déjeuner des canotiers, 1880–1881Oil on canvas, 129.5 × 172.7 cm

Morandi, GiorgioStill Life (The Blue Vase)1920Oil on canvas

The blue lines point out . . .

IMPLIED LINES

Morandi, GiorgioStill Life (The Blue Vase)1920Oil on canvas

implied

Schiele, EgonSeated Girl1911Watercolor and pencil48 x 31.5 cm

Caravaggio, Supper at Emmaus, c.1601

Kenneth Noland, Thrust, 196345 x 45 in.

A VENETIAN WOMANJohn Singer Sargent (American, b.1856, d.1925)1882oil on canvas93 3/4 x 52 1/2 in. (238.1 x 133.4 cm)

A VENETIAN WOMANJohn Singer Sargent (American, b.1856, d.1925)1882oil on canvas93 3/4 x 52 1/2 in. (238.1 x 133.4 cm)

Lines used to create emphasis

Lines can curve . . .

Hokusai, KatsushikaThe Great Wave Off KanagawaFrom "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji"1823-29Color woodcut10 x 15 in.

Jean Honore Fragonard, The Bathers, 1761

Cy Twombly, Untitled, 1970

This “artless” scribble

• Defines an area

• Creates an illusion of depth (volume)

Look again …

Brice MardenAmerican, born Bronxville, New York, 1938 Cold Mountain 2, 1989-1991Oil on linen, 108 1/8 x 144 1/4 in.

What lines lurk in

this texture?

Jackson Pollock, Lavendar Mist No. 1, 1950

Consider the expressive quality of the jagged lines

in this work . . .

Clyfford Still, 1957, No.1

Georgia O’Keeffe, Red, White and Blue, 1931

The Obvious Again

STRAIGHT

CURVED – SMOOTH, JAGGED

Johann KoerbeckeGerman, c. 1420 - 1491The Ascension, 1456/1457tempera on panel, 92.7 x 64.8 cm (36 1/2 x 25 1/2 in.)

Curved, smooth

Jagged

Jagged, zig-zag

straight

Clyfford StillAmerican, 1904 - 1980 1948-C, (1948)Oil on canvas80 7/8 x 68 3/4 in.

complex contour lines formed by these complex shapes

Lines create or imply shapes

Shapes can be open or closed

Lines around a shape are CONTOUR lines

SHAPE

open/closed

geometric/

biomorphic or organic

Picasso, Femme

an open shape, a biomorphic form

Frank Stella, Wolfeboro II, 1966

closed, geometric

THE UPSTAIRSCharles Sheeler (American, b.1883, d.1965)1938oil on canvas19 1/2 x 12 3/4 in. (49.5 x 32.4 cm)

Lines create planes; planes suggest volume

VOLUME

Implied in painting; actual in sculpture

LINE SHAPE VOLUME

Kenneth SnelsonRador, 1975brass & stainless steel21 x 17 x 6 inches

Kenneth SnelsonAmerican, born Pendleton,

Oregon, 1927

Needle Tower, 1968Aluminum and stainless steel720 x 243-1/2 x 213-3/8 in.

RodinBalzac

Frank Lloyd Wright, Fallingwater, 1936-7

VolumesCA

N

C R E A T E

LINES

Frank Lloyd Wright, Fallingwater, 1936-37

Frank Gehry, Disney Concert Hall

Frank Gehry, Disney Concert Hall

Frank Gehry, Disney Concert Hall

Giusti Garden, Verona, Italy

Henry MooreKnife Edge Mirror Two Piece1976-1978, bronze534.5 x 721.1 x 363.1 cm (210 1/2 x 284 x 143 in.)

Bird in Space, 1923Constantin Brancusi (French, born Romania, 1876–1957)Marble; (with base) H. 56-3/4, Diam. 6-1/2 in.

Bird, 1940

BrancusiAdam and Eve1921

BOTTOM LINE

The concept of line plays a role in compositions of music and art, ranging

from the simple to the complex.

LINEWhat is a line in Art?

Line – a series of points; an area whose length is considerably greater than its width; an indication of direction, an apparent movement. A line is a point moved or moving through space. This applies to drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, clay/pottery, and architecture.

Characteristics of lines: lines can be actual or implied; a line which denotes or describes an outside edge of an object is a contour line. A contour line divides the plane or delineates an edge of a volume.

A directional line points or moves the eye in a particular direction. Horizontal – often read as across, quiet, stable. Vertical: reaching up, spiritual, uplifting, rising. Diagonal: dynamic, moving.

Lines can be interpreted as having expressive qualities; particular qualities – thick or thin, weighty or straight, hard-edged or soft – can indicate moods or feelings.

ON HANDOUT

SPACE

SpaceLinear Perspective

Positive and Negative Space

SPACEBrett Whiteley

• Larger lines in the foreground

• Smaller lines in the back ground give an illusion of distances, space and perspective.

FORM

Form

Form

Form

Texture

Texture

COLOR

• Color is very expressive and an exciting element of art. It appeals strongly to the senses and emotions.

• Art works can communicate by color alone. It can cause emotional reactions.

Lines

Line in art may mean a single thin stroke

It may signify the meeting edge of two areas

It may refer to the contours, or edges

Line can suggest movement

Line can produce a sense of tranquility

Line Clement Meadmore

Line can create volumeM.C. Escher

Lines can create movement M.C. Escher

Lines can create movementBrett Whiteley

Brett Whiteley

Brett Whiteley

Brett Whiteley

• Larger lines in the foreground

• Smaller lines in the back ground give an illusion of distances, space and perspective.

Lines create pattern and shapeJohn Olsen

Value or Tone

• Tone can be flat or graduated

• Value Can be created by using shading, line or dots.

• Lines can be used to create tone in hatching or cross-hatching

• Dots can be used to create different tones or values.

Rick Amor

ToneRick Amor

Tone can be:– subtle– strong– contrasting

Value Hatching and cross-hatching

Rembrandt

Value Mattia Preti

How does value attract our attention to the focal point of the painting? (EMPHASIS)

Texture• Grained

• Rough

• Corrugated

• Smooth

• Furry

• Shiny

• prickly

TextureVan Gogh

Texture

When we actually touch and feel a surface we experience real texture

• Real texture; the feel of a surface - cactus, feathers, scales, fur, sharp stones

When we look at a photograph or a painting of the texture of a surface such as glass or velvet leather, we see patterns of light and dark that create the effect of texture

• Simulated or Implied texture; a two dimensional surface that imitates real texture, simulated textures copy or imitate real textures.

Implied / Simulated textureimitates real texture

Max Ernst

Real texture - the feel of a surfaceClaus Oldenburg

Shape / Form

• A shape is an area that is defined in some way by a line, an edge, a colour or a texture. If we traced around its outline we would have a shape; silhouette

• Shapes are flat they have only two dimensions – height and width

• Geometric shapes– look as if they were made with a ruler.

• Organic shapes – look irregular like the uneven shapes of nature.

ShapeHenri Matisse

Shape / Form

• Forms are similar to shapes. Both have height and width, but form also has the third dimension of DEPTH.

• Forms have volume and occupy 3-D space.

• Two dimensional = painting (height and width)• Three dimension = sculpture (height, width

and depth)

Elements of Art

• Every artwork can be described by one or more of these five elements of visual perception.

• For example, a work will have the presence of strong lines or absence of line. A work may be full of tone or a complete lack of tone.

Principles of Design These are the nine main principles of design

Contrast

Repetition

Movement

Rhythm

Direction

Space

Balance

Proportion

Emphasis

Unity

Principles of Art

• The artists use the principles to combine the elements in a satisfying way.

Ways to create space

• Divide the picture into the fore-ground, middle ground and background

• Strong details is used in the foreground, with gradual loss of detail as the image fades into the back ground

• Large objects in the fore ground graduating to smaller objects in the back ground

• Overlapping of objects give the appearance of objects being in front of each other

• Warm colours in the foreground and cool colours in the back ground

DegasSpace

Balance

• Refers to the distribution of weight in an art work so that no one part overpowers another or seems heavier that another.

• Artists may choose to create imbalance of a particular purpose. Sydney Long

Proportion

• The relationship between the size of the objects within an artwork.

• Eugene von Guerard

Emphasis

• An artist can create a centre of interest by allowing one area of an art work to dominate.

Picasso

Contrast Picasso “Girl Mirror”

Repetition

• John Brack - “Collins St 5pm”

Rhythm

• Richard Mock