Elements and Principles

Elements of Art and Principles of Design

Ballenger

THE ELEMENTS AND PRINCIPLES OF ART

• Elements of Art: the basic components or building blocks: color, line, texture, shape/form, value and space.

• Principles of Art: describe the different ways artists can use each of the elements of art. The principles organize the elements: balance, contrast, emphasis, movement, pattern, proportion, rhythm, unity, harmony and variety.

THE PRINCIPLES OF ART• The Principles of Art organize the elements of

art. You cannot talk about one without the other.

• The different ways artists can use each of the elements of art

• The principles of art include: balance, emphasis, harmony, unity, variety, movement, rhythm, and proportion.

BALANCE

• Balance refers to a way of combining elements to add a feeling of equilibrium or stability to a work of art.

• Imagine the work is split in half.

Types of Balance

Balance can be of three kinds: Symmetrical: two halves of a work are identicalAsymmetrical: two halves are different Radial: objects are positioned around a central point

These two drawings are both balanced. How has the artist balanced them?

BALANCE• Symmetrical: two halves of a work are identical

African, Chibinda Ilunga, mid-19th century, Northeastern Angola, Chokwe people, Wood, hair, and hideFrida Kahlo, Self-Portrait, 1940, Oil on canvas

BALANCE

Precolumbian, Presentation of Captives to a Maya Ruler, c. A.D. 785, Limestone with traces of paint, Kimbell Art

Museum (Fort Worth)

• Asymmetrical: two halves are different

James Abbott McNeill Whistler, Arrangement in Grey and Black: Portrait of the Painter's Mother known as "Whistler's Mother," 1871, Oil on canvas

BALANCE• Radial: objects are positioned around a central point

Rose Window of the Cathedral of Notre Dame of Paris, interior view, 1163-1345

England, 17th century, Charger of Charles II in the Boscobel Oak, c. 1685, lead-glazed earthenware

with slip decoration,

CONTRAST• Contrast is a way of juxtaposing elements of art to stress

the differences between them.• Created when two unlike qualities are placed together.• Creates excitement and interest.• An artwork can have high contrast or low contrast (strong

or subtle). High contrast tends towards a more dramatic effect, while low contrast tends towards soothing and settling.

Mike Loudermilk, High Contrast Color Barn,

Photograph, 2010

Lee Miller, Untitled (Exploding Hand), 1930; c. Lee Miller Archives, England 2011

EMPHASIS• Emphasis is a way of combining the elements of art to give

importance or dominance to some feature (or features) of an artwork

• Contrasting elements often are used to direct and focus the viewer’s attention on the most important parts of a design.

• Could also be called to “focal point”

• Emphasis can be achieved by: increased size, strong colour, greater detail, sharp contrast, distorted shape, placement in the composition, movement of the image leading the eye to a focal point.

PRACTICE: EMPHASISDescribe the emphasis in this work of art. How does the artist use the elements of art to show emphasis?

Francesco Goya, The Shootings of May Third 1808, 1814, Oil on canvas

MOVEMENT

• Movement is the principle of art used to create the look and feeling of action and to guide the viewer’s eye throughout the work of art.

• Implied Movement is achieved through placement of elements so that the eye follows a certain path, such as the curve of a line, the contours of shape, or the repetition of certain colors, textures, or shapes.

• It creates a look of action and liveliness in the work of art.

PRACTICE: MOVEMENTDescribe the movement in this work of art. How does the artist use the elements of art to show movement?

Vincent Van Gogh, The Starry Night, 1889, Oil on canvas

Pattern

• A repeated form, or design especially that is used to decorate something.

• Something that happens a regular and repeated way.

Pattern

• Pattern can be created by using repeated shapes, colors, lines, or objects. In this work Klimt uses pattern in the background and on the dress the woman is wearing.

PROPORTION

• Proportion is the principle of art concerned with the relationship of certain elements to the whole and to each other.

• The use of proportion may tell about the relative importance of a particular object or symbol in a work of art.

• Scale is an element of proportion. It is a comparison of one entire object in relation to other like objects

PRACTICE: PROPORTIONIn the painting the house is smaller than the girl. This tells the viewer that the

house is far away. Artists often use proportion to create perspective within a work. This is a realistic proportion.

Andrew Wyeth, Christina's World, 1948, Tempera on gessoed panel

PRACTICE: PROPORTIONThe artist has used proportion to give this seemingly flat work a sense of

depth. The smaller people within the work seem farther away. We will discuss the proportion within this work further in the next assignment.

PRACTICE: PROPORTION

Ben Shahn (American) 1898-1969, Poster

RHYTHM

• Closely related to movement, rhythm is created by the careful placement of repeated elements in a work of art to cause a visual tempo or beat.

• These repeated elements invite the viewer’s eye to jump rapidly or glide smoothly from one to the next.

PRACTICE: RHYTHMThe artist has used red, yellow, blue, squares and rectangles in this work. The

colors and shapes vary throughout the work, which causes your eye to move around the canvas. This creates rhythm in this work.

Rhythm is created by the careful placement of repeated elements in a work of art to cause a visual tempo, or beat.

Piet Mondrian, Broadway Boogie Woogie, 1942-1943, Oil on canvas

Marsden Hartley (1877–1943)American Indian Symbols, 1914

Oil on canvasAmon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, Texas

HARMONY also “Unity”

• Harmony refers to a way of combining similar elements in an artwork to accent their similarities.

• Unity is the feeling that everything in the work of art works together and looks like it fits.

• It is accomplished through the use of repetitions and subtle, gradual changes. Complex, intricate relationships are avoided in favor of a more uncomplicated, uniform appearance.

PRACTICE: HARMONY and UnityThis work is unified in color, shape and subject matter. Can you describe this more thoroughly?

How is this work Unified?

This work is unified in color scheme and the placement of the objects within the work.

How is this work Unified?

VARIETY• Variety is a way of combining elements in involved ways

to create intricate and complicated relationships.

• It is achieved through diversity and change. Variety occurs when an artist creates something that looks different from the rest of the artwork.

• Artists turn to this principle when they want to increase the visual interest of their works.

PRACTICE: VARIETY

How did this artist use variety?

Wassily Kandinsky, Composition VII, 1913, Oil on canvas