Visual Elements
An element is one of those most basic visible things.
These are the basic things that can be seen in art
Visual Elements
FORMALISM
ART is the FORM or combination
of perceptual elements.
Line
Shape
Value
Texture
Color
FORM = ART
What are the basic THINGS seen (elements) in Visual Arts?
1. COLOR
3 ATTRIBUTES OF COLOR
Hue
Value
Intensity
Color is present in painting and is one of its most important elements. However, it is of less importance in sculpture where black or white, natural wood, marble, stone, or metal can be used as well.
2. LINE
Line is found in all the arts. It is defined as path of a moving point through space. Line is the simplest, the most primitive and most universal means of creating visual arts. (Dudley)
Kinds of Lines
Horizontal Line
Vertical Line
Diagonal Line
Curved Line
Types of Curved Lines
Circle
Lunet
Oblong
Ellipse
MARANAO SARIMANOK
Materials: Painted Wood, Dimensions: Height -20.0 cm
Weight – 3.0 cm, Length – 28.0 cm, Provenance: Lanao del Sur
The best illustration of the use of the curve lines is in the “Sarimanok” –a specimen of Maranao’s art, a symbol of bravery
and courageous spirit.
Leonardo,
The Mona Lisa, 1501
Chinese
Painting,
Ink on paper
A Wheatfield, with Cypresses
From 1888 until his death in 1890, Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh painted his most important works. In these paintings, mostly landscapes such as A Wheatfield, with Cypresses (1889), van Gogh, like other postimpressionist artists, rejected the impressionists’ aim of depicting subjects naturalistically. Instead he made his paintings subjective through the expressive use of color and line.
CESAR LEGASPI
3. SHAPE
Shapes are limited to TWO dimensions – length and width
Geometric Shapes
They are made with a ruler or drawing tool. The square, the circle, the triangle, the rectangle and the oval are the five (5) geometric shapes
Organic shapes also called free form
These are shapes which are not regular or even. Their outlines may be curved or angular or may be a combination of both
Artist: Stuart Davis
Title: Radio Tubes
Medium: Gouache
Year: 1940
Method: Cubism
4. FORM
Like shapes, forms have length and width. They also have a third dimension - depth
Architecture and Sculpture are both three – dimensional, occupying space while painting is only two dimensional; a flat surface.
Painting is only two dimensional; a flat surface.
IMITATION FORM
pine tree
green
isosceles triangle and
brown
vertical rectangle
5. SPACE
In both two and three-dimensional
works of art, the shapes or forms are
This element pertains to the distance between, around, above, below and within things or objects
Positive Space
The empty spaces between the shapes are
Negative Space
Main object
Objects around the main object
6. TEXTURE
Generally referred to as the tactile element or the use of the sense of touch
It has something to do with character of surface
Rough
Smooth
Shiny
Dull
Plain
irregular
In painting, texture can be felt with the artist’s thick paint and in modern time added objects such as screws and bolts to scraps of cloth or metal. Texture may also reveal itself when it catches or reflects the light.
Pollock
Black and White (1948) by American abstract expressionist Jackson Pollock is painted in the style, sometimes called action painting, for which he became famous. The compositions of these pieces were not connected to the size or shape of the canvas, which Pollock sometimes trimmed down after finishing the piece.
Norberto Carating
ELEMENTS OF VISUAL ART�(SUMMARY)�
LINES
SHAPE
Form
Space
Texture
The elements of color, line, shape, form , space, and texture are fundamental to all works of art.
Artists may use these elements in different ways and in varying degrees, but an artist cannot create art without them
Principles of Arts (Designs)
1. BALANCE�
2. VARIETY�
3. HARMONY
4. EMPHASIS
5. PROPORTION
6. MOVEMENT
7. RHYTHM
The principles of design are the rules by which an artist uses the elements of design.
BALANCE
Is concerned with arranging elements thus no one part of an artwork overpowers any other part.
VARIETY
Variety is concerned with combining one or more elements to create interest or enthusiasm by adding some dramatic changes.
War by Otto Dix
This dark vision of the horrors of war by German artist Otto Dix reflects the artist's experience as a soldier in World War I (1914-1918).
Human nature accede the popular saying: “variety is the spice of life.”
Too little variety can become dull and boring.
Too much variety may also project disorder and chaos.
HARMONY�
Harmony is the art of blending elements to create a calm, soothing, and restful appearance.
In music, harmony is the arrangement of two or more melodies sounding together at the same time.
EMPHASIS
Emphasis is the art of making an element in a work stands out. To attract and gain the viewer’s attention to salient aspects of an artwork, artists use the principle of emphasis.
Proportion is concerned with the relationship of one part to another in creating the whole.
PROPORTION
MOVEMENT
Movement is used to create the appearance and feeling of action and to guide a viewer’s eye through the work of art. It encourages the viewer to scan, visualize, and investigate the artwork.
L’Etoile (The Star)
1878
Edgar Degas
Oil on canvas
Raft of the Medusa
French romantic painter Théodore Géricault
RHYTHM
Rhythm is concerned with repeating elements to make an artwork seem active. To create rhythm, an artist can repeat not just an element but also the same exact objects over and over.
The Goddess Durga as Slayer of the Buffalo-Demon Mahisha (Mahishasuramardini), 14th–15th century Nepal
Gilt copper alloy, inlaid with semiprecious stones