Art Appreciation, Day 2:Line, Shape, Contrast, etc.

Professor Paige PraterT, R, 9:30-10:50AM

10 ELEMENTS of Art:

1. Color 2. Form 3. Line4. Mass5. Shape6. Space7. Texture8. Time/Motion9. Value10. Volume

10 PRINCIPLES of Art:1. Unity 2. Variety3. Balance4. Emphasis5. Focal Point6. Pattern7. Proportion8. Rhythm9. Scale10. Contrast

Two-dimensional art:

• Line• Shape

• Contrast

Line

Mel Bochner, Vertigo, 1982. Charcoal, conte’ crayon, and pastel on canvas, 9’x6’2”. Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY.

Line

• Regular/irregular• Actual/implied• Vertical/Horizontal/Diagonal

Regular/Irregular Line

Andre Masson, Automatic Drawing, 1925-6. Ink on paper, 12 x91/2”. Muse’e National d’Art Moderne. Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France.

Actual/Implied LINE

Vertical/Horizontal/Diagonal LINE

SHAPE

• A 2D area with boundaries (line, value, color)

Rectilinear vs. curvilinear

Implied SHAPE

Example:

Positive/Negative SHAPE

Positive/Negative SHAPE

• Contrast!– M.C. EscherSky and Water I, 1938, woodcut, 17 1/8 x 17 3/8. The M. C. Escher Company, Netherlands

Kara Walker, artist

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6t-S_DFxCI

Biographical analysis: what experiences/opinions does she share that influence her subject matter?

Other types of analysis:

• Formal: elements and principles of art• Psychological: interprets artist’s mental state• Contextual: historical, religious, political

economic, social, etc.• Feminist: role of women in the artwork as

subjects, creators, patrons, and viewers• Iconographic: objects and figures as signs or

symbols (often religious or historical)

Three-dimensional art:

• Form (vs. SHAPE)• Height, width, depth

– Volume – amount of space occupied– Mass- solidity (small or massive)

• Texture – tangible (3D) or imaginary (2D)

Form Volume Mass

Great Pyramid of Kuhuf, c. 2560 BCE, Giza, Egypt

Texture• http://www.moma.org/collection/object.php?object_id=80997

Me’ret Oppenheim, Object, 1936. Fur-covered cup, saucer, and spoon, 2 7/8” high, MOMA, New York.

Analyze• Otto Dix, Kriegeskrueppel (War Cripples), 1920. Drypoint, 12 ¾ x19 ½”, MOMA,

New York.

Group Work: AnalyzeShepard Fairey, Obey, 1996.

Georgia O’Keeffe, Music—Pink and Blue II, 1919. Oil on canvas, 35x29 1/8”. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.