Mona lisa elements of art

The Vocabulary of Art

Figure 4.1 Elizabeth Murray, The Sun and the Moon, 2005.

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Line: path of moving point Actual & Implied (contour/outline; direction & movement; hatching, cross-hatching, stippling)

Shape: (2-D) enclosed line Actual & Implied

Mass/Form: (3-D) depth, height & width

Figure (positive) & Ground (negative)

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Chapter Four, Part A

The Visual Elements

Light: digital & electronic Actual & Implied

Value: relative light & dark Chiaroscuro (light & dark)

Color: Hue

Analogous (warm & cool) Primary Secondary Complementary Pointillism: optical mixing

The visual elements help us analyze our visual experiences. These terms are also used as the fundamental language for the discussion about works of art.

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This chapter is divided into two parts, as there are a lot of terms. This also allows lecture time to be divided by an activity. Students will find the need to take notes on individual slides, so they should save more room beneath each term.

Activity: Non-objective design using line, shape, and color to convey meaning: Write several adjectives on the board (anger, exuberance, alienation, passion). Students must use nonobjective lines, shapes, and colors to convey the meaning. Remind students to bring supplies (paper, pencils, range of color media).

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Dotted lines and directional cues such as a finger pointing in a specific direction creating a line of sight are examples of implied lines in action.

Figure 4.2 Keith Haring, Untitled, 1982.

Figure 4.3 Sarah Sze, Hidden Relief, 2001.

Line: Contour and Outline

Outline: Defines a 2-dimensional shape.

Contour lines: Record boundaries and define more specifically what shapes represent.

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Line is defined as a path of a moving point. The thick lines in Haring’s painting are bold and are symbolic for boundaries of shapes. While there are no lines surrounding us in real life, these contour lines are immediately perceived by us as a symbol for the represented images.

The use of line is a dominant element in this sculpture. The type of line varies from thick to thin depending on the thickness of the wire, or groups of wire twisted together. These “drawings” in space direct the movement of our eyes through a roller coaster ride of visual excitement.

An outline defines a two-dimensional shape. Contour lines are interior and exterior boundaries (edges) of an implied three-dimensional form.

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Direction

Vertical lines

seem assertive, or denote growth & strength.

Horizontal lines

appear calm.

Diagonal lines are the most dramatic

and imply action.

Figure 4.6 and 4.7 Eakins, The Biglin Brothers Racing, 1873-74.

Line: Direction and Movement

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The tree line, shore, and boat give the feeling of tranquility, while the verticals of the figures imply strength and effort. The only diagonals are the arms and the oars, which convey a sense of motion. The effort of these rowers is downplayed in order to achieve a peaceful, quiet morning. Where is the viewer intended to be?

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Eye movement and implied emotion

Figure 4.8 and 4.9 Géricault, The Raft of the Medusa, 1818-19.

Implied Line

Direction & Eye Movement

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The diagonals of the limbs, the mast, and rope imply intense human effort and stress, while the verticals of the figure with the waving shirt conveys hope and strength. It is only when we follow the implied lines of their attention that we notice the ship on the horizon. The rope leads our eye to the sail, which we realize will pull the survivors away from the rescue craft.

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Figure 4.13 Emmi Whitehorse, Chanter,1991.

Figure 4.12 Bill Reid, The Raven and the First Men, completed 1983.

Figure (positive shape)

Ground (negative shape)

Shape: An enclosed line;

a two-dimensional area with identifiable boundaries

i.e.: circles or squares

Mass/Form:

A three-dimensional area with identifiable boundaries

i.e.: spheres and cubes

Shape and Mass

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This carving depicts a story from the Haida people from the Pacific Northwest coast. The spirit hero, called Raven, discovers the first humans and coaxes them out of the clam shell. To fully appreciate the actual three-dimensional sculpture, we need to walk all the way around the four sides. Seen in person, we would be aware of the play of light and shadow, which emphasizes the depth of the carvings.

Using signs and symbols from the Navajo, this Native American artist implies shapes and three-dimensional mass. The solid lines imply shapes, while the changes in value imply mass. We perceive the shapes to be the figure, or positive shape. The background surrounding them is the ground, or negative shape.

Both of these works combine geometric and organic shapes.

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The figure and the ground are how we perceive shapes and masses within a work of art.

Figure: the positive shape on which visual focus is placed.

Ground: the negative shape or area sometimes considered the background of a work of art.

Figure 4.14 Aztec, circular shield, before 1521.

Shape and Mass

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Note the shapes created in the negative space. This requires time on the part of the viewer to be able to perceive the subtleties. This is a configuration where our eyes perceive first one color as the positive, then the other.

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The 2 broad categories of shapes and masses are geometric and organic.

Geometric forms can be mathematically defined.

Organic forms are irregular and suggest forms found in nature.

Shape and Mass

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Note the shapes created in the negative space. This requires time on the part of the viewer to be able to perceive the subtleties. This is a configuration where our eyes perceive first one color as the positive, then the other.

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Implied Shape

Figure 4.16 Raphael, The Madonna of the

Meadows, 1505.

Implied Shape

Artists use implied shapes to help unify their compositions. Implied shapes can help to create a sense of order in a work of art.

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Here we see another type of implied shape, one that does not exist. It is our eye movement in the grouping of figures that follows a triangular shape. This triangular composition was a popular device to provide unity during the Renaissance. The contrast of light and dark creates emphasis, which helps our eye movement within this triangle.

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Shading and Modeling: Create mass

Hatching:

Closely spaced parallel lines

Cross-hatching:

Parallel lines intersect like a checkerboard

Stippling:

Dots spaced close or far apart to suggest darker or lighter areas

Michelangelo,

Head of a Satyr

(not in text)

Line

Implied Shape & Mass

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While this visual is not in the text, it provides an example of all of the techniques listed here in one image.

Shape is a two-dimensional form or area with boundaries defined by line, texture, value or color. Mass is a three-dimensional form that occupies a volume of space. It can also be implied on a flat surface as the example above demonstrates. Note the ability of pure line to depict a 3-D impression on a 2-D plane. Also notice the line quality: thick and thin lines. You may want to explain bracelet modeling and the direction of the hatching & cross-hatching lines.

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Light:

Actual light

The fundamental purpose of light is to show us the material world. It helps us understand forms and spatial relationships.

Figure 4.17 Doug Wheeler, DW 68 VEN MCASD 11, 1968/2011.

Light Value and Color

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Light, color, and value are intimately connected. Sculpture and architecture become more dynamic with the use of intentional lighting effects. Actual light is also used in digital and electronic art.

Turrell creates “skyspaces,” carefully calculated apertures that frame an unobstructed view of the sky. A twelve-foot opening is set at the center of a curving white ceiling. All trees overhanging this area were cut down so that the sky does not reflect depth, but seems to hover inside the room. This is an optical effect that Turrell refers to as “bringing the sky down.” Artificial lighting along the base of the ceiling causes the ceiling to appear to float. This plain white room where light is experienced is a metaphor for spiritual awareness that Quakers call “the light within.”

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Value: Relative lightness or darkness

Chiaroscuro: Means light/dark (contrasts of light and shadow)

Figure 4.20 Leonardo da Vinci, The Virgin and Saint Anne with Christ Child and John the Baptist.

Figure 4.21 Charles White, Untitled, 1979.

Implied Light

Value Modeling in Two Dimensions

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Value enables our eyes to perceive form and spatial relationships, even on a flat, two-dimensional surface. The technique of chiaroscuro was invented during the Renaissance. This unfinished drawing shows continuous tones on a middle-value brown paper with charcoal and white chalk. Notice the raised hand of Saint Anne and the flatness due to the lack of value range.

An etching process relies on the use of line, not continuous tone. As we saw earlier, these same effects can be achieved through the use of stippling, hatching, and cross-hatching. If the direction of these lines follow the rounded forms, it is called bracelet modeling. When viewed from a distance, the marks average out to nuances of gray in an effect called optical mixing.

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Color wheel:

Made up of the colors refracted by Sir Isaac Newton’s prism

Figure 4.24 Color Wheel.

Light Value and Color

Color Theory

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Using a prism, Newton observed that a ray of sunshine refracted into colors of the rainbow. With a second prism he found he was able to recombine these colors into white light. All color is dependent on light. What we perceive as color is reflected light rays. A red shirt, for example, absorbs all of the color rays except the red ones, which are reflected back to our eyes.

Point out: Primary (1), secondary (2), and tertiary (3) colors as well as warm and cool colors.

Primary Colors:

Yellow, Red, Blue

Secondary Colors:

Orange, Green, Violet

Intermediate Colors (total of 6):

Also called tertiary; Mix a primary and adjacent secondary together

Color Wheel

COLOR: Color Theory

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Color Wheel: Based on the refracted colors observed by Sir Isaac Newton when light was directed through a prism.

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Hue: Name of the color

Value: Relative lightness or darkness

Intensity: (Chroma, Saturation)

Relative purity of a color

Color, Value, and Intensity

COLOR: Color Properties

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Discussion Question:

Choose any primary or secondary color. Which would you be visually attracted to first. A highly saturated version of this color or a tint/shade of this color? Support your reasoning.

Warm colors: located on red-orange side of the color wheel

Cool colors: located on the blue-green side of the color wheel.

Tint: adding white to a pigmented color.

Shade: adding black to a color

Color Wheel

COLOR: Color Properties

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Discussion question:

Which part of the United States would you associate with the warm side of the color wheel and why?

Which part of the U.S. would you associate with the cool side of the color wheel and why?

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Light primaries and their additive mixtures

COLOR: Light and Pigment

Additive Color: Colors of light mixed to produce still lighter colors.

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Discussion Topic:

Visually demonstrate the effect of light by having the students observe the classroom or their surroundings with the lights on and then observe the color in color by switching off the lights. Have them note the very real changes in color and how an intense strong color is diminished or altered by a change in lighting.

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Pigment primaries and their subtractive mixtures.

COLOR: Light and Pigment

Subtractive Color: Pigments of different hues mixed together result in darker and duller colors.

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Discussion Topic:

Have the students bring in some brightly colored crayons or markers and do some simple color mixing in class so that they can personally experience subtractive color operating.

A color scheme is the selective use of 2 or more colors in a single composition.

Monochromatic: Variations of the same hue.

Complementary: Hues directly opposite on the color wheel.

Analogous: Adjacent hues on the color wheel.

Triadic: 3 equidistant hues on the color wheel.

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COLOR: Color Harmonies

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Discussion Question:

What would it be like to live in a world of complementary color? Analogous color? Monochromatic color?

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Complementary:

Directly opposite on the

color wheel

Color conveys emotions.

Monochromatic:

Variations of the same hue

Figure 4.34 Whistler, Nocturne in Blue and Gold, c. 1872-75.

Figure 4.28 Inka Essenhigh, In Bed, 2005.

Light Value and Color

Color Harmonies

Figure 3.14 Edward Hopper, Gas, 1940.

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Monochromatic color schemes usually include a range of values and intensities. This nighttime scene is soothing with tints and shades of one hue: blue. Flecks of yellow have been added for interest and variety. This is an example of a “restricted palette” (few pigments with tints and shades). Color combined with verticals for stability, horizontals for peacefulness, and hazy negative space all help to create the mood.

Complementary harmonies tend to accentuate each other vividly (simultaneous contrast). You may want to go back a few slides to the color wheel for a demonstration of this.

Note the difference in the effect on the viewer between the color schemes of these two landscapes.

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Figure 4.29 Diana Cooper, The Site, 2006.

Figure 21.26 Piet Mondrian, Trafalgar Square, 1939-43.

Light Value and Color

Color Harmonies

Color conveys emotions.

Analogous:

Adjacent hues on the

color wheel

Triadic:

Three equidistant colors on the color wheel

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You may want to back to the color wheel to demonstrate the placement of red-violet, violet, blue-violet, blue and blue-green on the color wheel. Analogous colors are not nearly as vibrant as complimentary ones.

Hopper used the triadic harmony of red, yellow, and blue (primary colors) to create abrupt shifts in value and color.

Note the difference in the effect on the viewer between the color schemes of these two environments.

There are numerous other color harmonies, but artists also speak generally of working with a “restricted palette” or an “open palette.” An example of an “open palette” consist of numerous hues, tints and shades, whereas with a restricted palette, artists limit themselves to a few hues, tints and shades.

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Figure 4.30 Complementary color afterimage.

Light Value and Color

Optical Effects

Afterimage: Simultaneous contrast

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Certain colors can fool our visual perception. Stare at the black dot until your eye receptors are fatigued. Then stare at the white square with your eyes unfocused. The colors will appear to reverse. Impressionist painters studied these scientific concepts of color and applied them in their paintings.

Warm colors tend to advance, and cool colors tend to recede. These artists used these concepts to enhance spatial illusions.

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Pointillism: Dots of pure color that tend to mix in our eyes to produce the illusion of color mixtures

Seurat, A Sunday on La Grande Jatte, 1884-86.

Detail of A Sunday on La Grande Jatte

Light Value and Color

Optical Effects

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Seurat was fascinated with the new scientific concepts of color. He did not blend his colors on the palette or the canvas, but painstakingly laid many thousands of dots next to each other. Up close, each dot is seen distinctly. As the viewer moves away from the canvas, these dots seem to merge to produce mixtures of tones.

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Figure 4.35 Edvard Munch, The Scream, 1893.

Emotional responses

to color are both

cultural and personal.

Light Value and Color

Emotional Effects

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Consider the associations with the color blue. It is a “cool” color that has been proven to have a calming effect. In America we use this color to refer to feeling sad. In India blue is associated with the god Vishnu, the god of order and stability. It is also the color associated with the goddess Kali, a dark and disturbing power.

This Norwegian artist wrote about this painting, “I sensed a shriek passing through nature…I painted this picture, painted the clouds as actual blood.”

Red can be associated with warmth, love, and passion, or with horror, blood, and anguish. Ask students for other devices Munch has used to produce the effect of this silent scream projected onto nature (diagonals; thick, swirling lines).

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Chapter Four, Part A

The Visual Elements

Line: path of moving point Actual & Implied (contour/outline; direction & movement; hatching, cross-hatching, stippling)

Shape: (2-D) enclosed line Actual & Implied

Mass/Form: (3-D) depth, height & width

Figure (positive) & Ground (negative)

Figure-ground reversal

Light: digital & electronic Actual & Implied

Value: relative light & dark Chiaroscuro (light & dark)

Color: Hue

Analogous (warm & cool) Primary Secondary Complementary Pointillism: optical mixing

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This chapter is divided into two parts, as there are a lot of terms. This also allows lecture time to be divided by an activity. Students will find the need to take notes on individual slides, so they should save more room beneath each term. While there aren’t a lot of cross-cultural examples, there is a mix of contemporary and historical images students will see on the final test.

Activity: Non-objective design using line, shape, and color to convey meaning: Write several adjectives on the board (anger, exuberance, alienation, passion). Students must use nonobjective lines, shapes, and colors to convey the meaning. Remind students to bring supplies (paper, pencils, range of color media).