Art 101 - Intro to Visual Arts Prof. Barbara Saromines-Ganne
Arts and Humanities Division

LINE
How is line used to depict the subject matter? As in some abstract works, lines themselves can be the subject matter. Are long, single lines used to enclose space, to outline or suggest forms, or is the work composed of a myriad of tiny lines? Are lines used to model forms or to create impressions of textures? Is the composition created by a discrete number of bold lines, or is it built around a more subtle use of delicate line? Does the use of line seem traditional for the medium, and the subject matter, or is it innovative? Are the lines horizontal, vertical or diagonal? Is their character expressive?
Here are some vocabulary words to help you describe various lines: zigzag, curvilinear, smooth, fluid, jagged, spiral, choppy, arabesque, implied, delicate, broad, brusque, thin, thick, long, short, smooth, jagged, horizontal, vertical, diagonal.
Never describe a line as being straight! You need to be more descriptive.
Expressive Line arouses emotion and has an effect on us. Here are some vocabulary words to help you describe these kinds of lines: agitated, lyrical, manic, serene, dignified, daring, dangerous, clumsy, seductive, nervous, fearful, majestic, stolid merry, playful, fierce, aggressive, sassy, proud, energetic, dynamic, animated. These are just a few examples. There are many others.

SHAPE
We tend to organize lines into figure-ground relationships and we tend to perceive shapes as figures against backgrounds. We refer to a shape if it is two-dimensional. We also tend to integrate parts into meaningful wholes, even when there are gaps in sensory information. Shape can be communicated by dominant lines that enclose specific areas in a work. Shape can also be communicated through patches of color or texture. In three-dimensional works such as sculpture and architecture, shape is discerned when the work is viewed against its environment. The edges, colors, and textures of the work give it shape against the background. How are shapes created or communicated in the work? What is their relationship to one another and the whole? Are the shapes predominant in the composition or subservient to it? Are the shapes biomorphic? Think of shapes in terms of geometry.
Here is some other vocabulary to help describe shapes: Rectangular, Triangular, Columnar, Cylindrical, circular, square, hexagonal, biomorphic, anthropomorphic, oval, trapezoidal, convex, concave, diamond, amorphous, hexagonal, polygonal.

LIGHT
How important is light to the composition? Is it uniform, or is a spotlighting effect employed? Can you identify a light source? If two-dimensional, like a painting, is it in the work, or is the light source outside of the work? Is it a natural light, or is it unnatural and distorting? Is chiaroscuro employed, such as a subtle adaption of light and shade create a sense of three-dimensionality on the two-dimensional surface? How do gradations in light give rise to a sense of texture? Do severe contrasts create plunges in depth or heighten the emotional impact of the work?
In a three-dimensional work, how do changing lighting conditions affect the perception of the work? How does the depth of carving (shallow or deep) work with light to create the illusion of reality? What happens to the light or lighting as well as the surface details as you walk around or through the work? How does the play of light or the use of dramatic contrasts affect your response to the work?

COLOR
Describe the palette the artist employs. Is it light or dark? Is it monochromatic or polychromatic? Are the colors highly saturated (pure)? Are they analogous or complementary? What are the colors used? Primary colors? secondary colors? tertiary colors? Complementary Colors?
Are the colors true to nature? If not, how do they differ? What is the effect of the departure from nature? In some works, as in color-field paintings, color seems very much to be the subject of the work. What is the role of color in the work you are observing? Does the color seem to be subordinated to the forms and the content of the work, or does the color dramatically create its own form or content? How does the color affect your emotional response to the work? What does the use of color suggest about the intentions and emotions of the artist? Does the use of color appear to contribute to or detract from the aesthetic aspects of the work? Is the use of color innovative? Are the materials used to create the color innovative?
Some words to describe emotional color might be cheerful, exciting, sad, calm, angry, dangerous, passionate, hopeful. There are many others.

TEXTURE
The texture of a work is its surface character as experienced primarily through the sense of touch. Artists often use line, color, and other plastic elements to create the illusion of textures in works of different media. When the surfaces of objects, real or imagined, are depicted in such a way as to create the illusion of actual textures (fur, feathers, marble, even globs of goo), the composition is said to possess implied texture.
Sculptors and architects, of course, deal with actual textures in their media such as stone, wood, plaster, clay, steel, and many other materials. Painters too have experimented with textural materials in their canvases in lieu of traditional pigments. All kinds of textures can be simulated. Some textures may be slimy, soft, impasto, velvet, sharp glossy, polished. What are the implied or actual textures of the work? How are the textures created? Through line? Through color and brushwork? Are the textures true to their subject or at odds with it? What kind of emotional response does the texture elicit?
Are the brushstrokes smooth and invisible (does the surface of the canvas have a mirror-like finish?) or are they thick or crusty? How would you define the strokes--daubs of paint, dots of paint, block-like strokes?Do you think the artist used a brush? A palette knife? The wooden end of the brush? Do you think the paint was dripped, spilled, spattered? Does it sit on the canvas or literally stain it?
If the work is a sculpture, what tools do you imagine the artist used to create the surface textures and details? Is the surface smooth or coarse, or a combination of the two? Has the surface become pitted, discolored, or otherwise worn with time? Are any sections of the surface in their original condition? What of the facade of a building? Is there a unity to the textures? A diversity? Do the textures seem to complement the dimensions of the building? Its relationship to the site, to the ground, to the sky?

MASS
Mass refers to bulk, size, or magnitude. In most two-dimensional works of art, the mass of a depicted object is implied and called a shape. In most sculpture or architecture the mass is actual. I say "most" because sometimes the artist will create a disconcerting effect in a painting by depicting a massive object that defies gravity; in spite of its actual mass, a glass-faced skyscraper can have an ethereal, or weightless quality.
Words that describe mass are: sphere, the mass equivalent of the circle, cube, the mass equivalent of the square, pyramid, the mass equivalent of the unilateral triangle and cone, How is mass conveyed, implied, reinforced, or denied in the work before you? Describe the masses that compose the image. Are they shapes, forms, blocks or areas of color? How do they relate to one another and the whole? Do they lend stability to the work? Do they threaten to throw the whole out of whack? In a sculpture or a building, how does its mass or massiveness relate to its aesthetic character?

SPACE
Space in art means depth. A large part of the history of painting has revolved around creating the illusion of actual, three-dimensional space on a two-dimensional surface. All types of perspective such as atmospheric/aerial and linear perspective were developed to give viewers the sense that the picture frame was comparable to the window frame: You could look through it, forever and ever, into the distance. Techniques for foreshortening were developed to relate figures and objects to this space. The simplest way to create a spacial depth on a flat surface is by overlapping. Other ways include vertical location. Sometimes diagonal lines take you into the distance. In linear perspective all lines converge on a single vanishing point. Atmospheric perspective uses the blurring and loss of detail of color, value, and texture to create distance or depth.
A large part of the history of modern painting, curiously, has revolved around the cancellation of illusionistic space and the assertion of the reality, or concrete nature, of the canvas's two-dimensional surface: No more window frame, no more foreshortening, no more subtle and realistic modeling of objects. The representation of space, or the deliberate destruction of it, makes you look not into the painting but at it.
Three-dimensional works such as sculptures and buildings have real volume and exist in and/or enclose real space. If you are looking at a sculpture, or perhaps a building, how does the artist or architect integrate or interrupt the space surrounding the work into its overall composition?
As you walk around it, how do the volumes relate to one another? Is the sculpture dense, or does it have openings? To what effect? (Sculptor Henry Moore commented that the open spaces within sculptures, or holes can have as much shape-meaning as the solid masses.) What kinds of spaces are enclosed by a building? Are these spaces suggested by the exterior or are they a surprise? Are these spaces aesthetic or are they the price that the architect pays to achieve some unusual exterior effect?

TIME AND MOTION
Artists have sought to represent movement and the passage of time in essentially static media such as drawing, painting, still photography, and sculpture. Only recently have art forms been developed that involve actual time and actual movement, such as kinetic sculpture and motion pictures.
How does the artist imply motion and/or the passage of time in the work? Are frames used to advance a narrative? Are several parts of a story incorporated into a single work? In other words,  does the work have continuous narration? Do lines, echoing shapes, or color reverberations suggest fluttering or other types of motion? Do things repeat to give the idea of movement? Does the posture of a figure suggest stopped action? Is a single moment isolated in time? Can you imagine the story or the action before and after the single moment as it is portrayed?
Here are some vocabulary words to describe movement: dancing, leaping, quivering, striding, running, rearing, reclining, perching, slithering, prancing, stalking flying,, immobile static.

Analyzing the Principles of Art
How is the work composed? How are the pieces put together? Principles of design such as unity and variety, contrast, proportion and scale, emphasis and subordination, balance, directional forces, rhythm and repetition are all used in the creation of compositions.

UNITY AND VARIETY
Unity is oneness or wholeness. But how is that achieved in a work of art? A work of art achieves unity when its parts seem integral to the success of a composition. Unity can also be achieved through sameness, or the repetition of like or similar elements throughout a composition (as in a pattern, for example). Artists also sometimes work with the principle of variety within unity, creating compositional interest through marked contrasts. In general, unity and variety must coexist in a work of art. The artist must strike a balance between the two. How does the work achieve a sense of unity? (Or why does it not do so?) What are the unifying elements in the work? Do you feel that you can switch around any of the compositions components and have an equally successful work? In what ways do unity or variety within unity create visual interest?

CONTRAST
Contrast is related to variety. Dissimilarities are exaggerated by contrast when opposing elements are juxtaposed or placed in proximity, such as red against green or extreme dark against light. Contrast can cause visual excitement and make an area dominant.

PROPORTION AND SCALE
Scale refers to size. Is it smaller or larger than life size? What is its size in relation to people? What is it in relation to the original object that it depicts or in relation to the objects around it? A miniature would be a small scale portrait, or a big mural would be a large scale work. Proportion refers to the parts to the whole. How do the parts of the work, or the images within, relate to one another and to the whole? Are the proportions realistic or distorted? If distorted, what is the emotional effect? If something is out of proportion one part may be bigger for emphasis or smaller intentionally.
Does the artist cram a wealth of intricate detail within a confined space, or overwhelm you with enormity? If you are looking at architecture, is the size of the building or structure an important element in its aesthetic impact?

EMPHASIS AND SUBORDINATION
Any work of art that strives for interest must have differences that emphasize the degrees of importance of its various parts.
Is there isolation or separation of one part from the others? For example, placement, does one object have "center stage"? Are there contrasts in color, value, or texture that makes one thing stand out? Is there a focal point and how is your eye drawn to it? Was it done by manipulating light and/or color? Was it done by directional lines or by hierarchical scale?

BALANCE
A symmetrical image is a mirror view, the simplest form of artistic balance. Symmetrical works can be aggressively confrontational because they stare at us and can be intimidating. Approximate symmetrical balance has components that are not identical but different on either side while still maintaining balance. The differences add variety. In asymmetrical balance, balance might be achieved between a small area of strong color and a large empty space. There are no rules for achieving asymmetrical balance. The artist senses the opposing forces and their tensions so that they balance each other so it becomes an interesting visual experience.
Balance in a work can be achieved through the manipulation of any number of plastic elements and design principles: shape, color, mass, even scale. Balance can be symmetrical (objects on the left match objects on the right), or asymmetrical (objects on the left differ from objects on the right, but they have equal weight or emphasis on the whole). Is there a sense of balance in the work? What type of balance? Which plastic elements are used to achieve it? If the work is not in balance (as when a portion of a three dimensional work is cantilevered), where is the center of gravity? Do compensating elements create a visual balance?

RHYTHM AND REPETITION
Rhythm in a work of art or architecture implies repetition and orderly progression, echoing shapes or lines. Are there natural rhythms or orderly progressions that contribute to the aesthetic features of the work? What is the emotional effect of these rhythms? Is there a repetition of shapes? Colors? Only repetition can be boring so is there some variety and contrast? Repetition and rhythm are used by artists in order to unify the different elements in the work of art.

DIRECTIONAL FORCES
These are related to the principles of emphasis and subordination and to rhythm and repetition. Where is your eye being drawn?
Are there implied lines that direct us or make us look at one part of the work over another? The directional forces in a work of art help to give it stability and balance.

ICONOGRAPHY
Iconography is the systematic investigation of subject matter. It concerns the identification, description, categorization, and explanation of themes and symbols found in a work of art. The interpretation of subject matter, its actual meaning of the work of art in light of its symbolism, as well as its cultural and historical background is called iconology.