Unity and Variety

2D_Thomas Green

Unity and Harmony

• Unity, the presentation of an integrated image, is perhaps as close to a rule as art can approach. Unity means that a congruity or agreement exists among the elements in a design; they look as though they belong together, as though some visual connec- tion beyond mere chance has caused them to come together. Another term for the same idea is harmony.

• In art, unity also implies harmony. It sug- gests that the parts of a composition are not there by happenstance; rather, they fit together to form a meaningful whole.

Variety

• Unity is powerful, but, as the British writer Aphra Behn said, “Variety is the soul of pleasure.” Without variety, life would comprise a bland sameness, a cookie-cutter existence from which we all shrink.Variety in art, as in life, is seductive. It demands our attention, turns the predictable on edge

• Two artists argue over a painting: • “This painting is great because of the unity of similar shapes,” says

the first. • “You’re crazy! It is the variety and contrasts that make it great!”

says the second. • And both might be right.

Harmony and Variety

Unity

Unity

Gestalt

Positive Negative space

Avoiding Chaos

Ways to achieve Unity_Proximity

Ways to achieve Unity_Proximity

Ways to achieve Unity_Repetition

Ways to achieve Unity_Repetition

Ways to achieve Unity_Continuation

Ways to achieve Unity_Continuation

Ways to achieve Unity_Continuation

Ways to Achieve Unity_color and value

Ways to achieve Unity_Color

Color and value

Unity through Line

The GRID

Ways to achieve Unity_Continuation

Unity with Variety

Using the grid

Using the grid

Unity with Variety

Unity with Variety

Things to consider_variety or Unity?

Motif

Emphasis on Unity

Emphasis on Unity

Emphasis on Variety

Emphasis on Variety