Post on 31-Dec-2015
description
Robert Wilson/Philip Glass’ Einstein on the Beach 1975
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmX_GgozpQs
Composition in Visual Art
…is made up of Variety (individual parts)
& Unity (unification of those different parts)
Vija Celmins’ Ocean Series, Graphite Drawing
http://c4gallery.com/artist/database/vija-celmins/vija-celmins.htmlhttp://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/vija-celmins
“Excessive unity can be monotonous, while excessive variety can be chaotic”
–Mary Stewart
We are looking for a delicate, yet charged balance between the two.
Sol Lewitt’s Wall Drawing #65, National Gallery of Art, DC“Lines not short, not straight, crossing & touching, drawn at random using four colors, uniformly dispersed with maximum density, covering entire surface of the wall.” 1971: 1st installation
Gestalt Theorypsychology that visual information is identified all-at-once,
before it is examined by individual parts.
• Grouping• Containment• Repetition• Proximity• Continuity
• Closure
Proximity
The distance between forms: the more space creates isolation, the less space
creates tension. Some forms can be so close together, they merge or fuse, resulting in
shared edges.
Continuity
Fluid connection from one component into another, suggesting
movement or visual pathways.
Closure
Our mind fills in the blank, closes the gap, completes the information an
artist leaves out—invites viewer participation.
Jim Dine’s Untitled (C Clamp) from Untitled Tool Series. Graphite, charcoal, and crayon on paper, 25 5/8 x 19 3/4"1973
In-Class Exercises
Exploring new terrain: discovering a variety of Textures, inventing new Marks, and unifying those textures
1) Revisit Name: create All-Over GESTALT 2) Go on a hunt. Explore our room, the hallway & outdoors,
identifying & collecting 20 different textures. Are you
viewing it from the micro level or macro? Invent a new MARK for each new TEXTURE.
Media: artist pen/markers/ink pen & pencil in sketchbook.
3) On a scratch piece of paper, delineate 12 spaces (diagonal, vertical, horizontal, spiral, circular etc.). This will be the UNITY part of your composition: organizing your textural motifs in a Repetitive GRID-like system.
4) Choose 12 different TEXTURES and assign them to their own space. Set your textures in motion, moving them across their space allowing them to repeat and grow, creating a PATTERN of evolving marks. This is a visual unit that REPEATS itself—aka MOTIF
5) Create one value scale inside your sketchbook: 2” tall and 9” wide. Each value should be 1”wide X 2”tall. Make a smooth transition from light to dark, excluding pure white and black.
*Tip: use any texture you’ve collected or use simple straight lines, overlapped with straight lines to create varying degrees of darkness.
Media: Artist Pen / Marker / Ink
INTRODUCTION TO: Project #2: Textural Signature