(Focal point and Emphasis, Rhythm, and Scale & Proportion)

More Compositional Tools

Gericault, Horse Attacked by a Tiger

What is the artist asking us to pay attention to?How is he doing that?

EMPHASIS

• Gives prominence to part of a design—makes one part more important than others

Degas, The Café Singer

Focal points are compositional devices used to create emphasis:

an element in the composition that commands the viewer’s attention and invites them to look closer.

Stuart Davis, Composition

Focal Accents are more than one focal point in an image.

Emphasis by contrast occurs when one element differs from others

• A light element in a mostly dark design• When most elements are soft edged, a hard

edged component becomes the focal point• If most things are realistic the expressive part

is the focal point (or vice versa)• Text or graphic symbols• When most shapes are consistent but a few

differ (circles in a square design)

Jeff Wall, The Pine On the Corner

What element is different than others?

Text or graphic symbols

Static/Dynamic Contrast

Contrast in Scale (small/large contrast)

Textural Contrast

Curved/Rectangular Contrast

Eakins, the Agnew Clinic

Emphasis by isolation: when one element is placed off from others to show difference/importance. What other devices are used to create emphasis?

Jacque-Louis David, The Oath of the Horatti

Emphasis by Placement: many elements point to one area; our attention is directed there.

Shepard Fairey

Compositionally, how is he making the roses a focal point in the print?

Vermeer, The Music Lesson

Grunewald: Christ Descending from the Grave

DOMINANCE: Attracts a viewer’s attention through one element overwhelming the piece

What dominates here, and how is that achieved?

Sol Lewitt, Wall Drawing

All over design: focal points are eliminated to emphasize the surface of the entire piece, rather than a small area.

James Ensor, Christ’s Entry Into the City

Where is the focal point? What is emphasized?

SCALE: A term for size. Usually refers to the size of the object relative to the human body or the standard size of the object.

Robert Therrien, Stacked Plates

Scale can refer to size within the image or in comparison to real life

Fra Fillipi Polli, Saint Lawrence

Heirarchical scale: importance is determined by size

Medallion, Ming Dynasty

Chris Burden, Los Angels Police Department

James Rieck, Shirtsleeves

Mehretu, Goldman Lobby

Julie Mehretu, Goldman Sachs Lobby

Nasca Drawing, Peru

Proportion

Refers to relative size, measured against other elements in a composition. For example, in these caricature images, certain features are out of proportion (ears, chin) relative to the rest of the face---in this case, for comic effect.

Charles Ray, Family Romance Illustration of Scale and Proportion shifts

Rene Magritte, Personal Values

Contrast of scale: when different scales are used within the same image

Bridget Riley, Drift

Rhthym: a visual as well as musical sensation. Related to the impression of movement.

Chairs by Charles Rennie Mackintosh

Repeating forms give the impression of rhythm, creating patterns.

Piet Mondrian, Broadway Boogie Woogie

Anton Stankowski

Anton Stankowski

Bridget Riley

Ed Ruscha, Goodyear Tires, Laurel Canyon, CA

Progressive rhythm: shapes changing in a regular manner. Here, the oil stains from parked cars get darker and larger the closer the parking spaces are to the store.

Robert Delaunay, Composition

Alternating rhythm:Motifs alternate regularly to create a pattern

Malevich, Machine Composition

Kinestethetic:When a visual experience stimulates another sense. Here, the sense of sound

Malevich, Suprematist Composition

What kind of sound is suggested by this composition vs. the previous comp?