The Visual Elements

Lecture 2B and 2C

The 6 Main Visual Elements in the

Visual Toolbox

1. Line

2 Shape/Mass

3. Light/Value

4. Color

5. Space

6. Time/Motion

“The language of art is

…the visual elements.”

“ I found I could only say

things with color that I

couldn’t say in any other

way—things I had no words

for.”

Georgia O’Keeffe

1. LINE

Lines are our basic means for

recording and symbolizing

ideas, observations, and

feelings.

Begin your examination of

every work by looking at and

describing the lines you see.

Please refer to figure 2.4 in

your textbook and become

familiar with all the lines and

descriptors illustrated.

1. LINE: cont.

Functions:

To Outline and Shape (Contour lines)

To Express Emotion (Psychological lines)

Can imply volumes or solid masses (Hatching or Cross-hatching)

To Suggest Direction and Movement

How do the lines function in this

work?

Lines to imply volumes or solid masses

Kiki Smith, Ginzer, 2000.

Etching on paper, Figure 2.11

Lines to Suggest Movement or Stillness

Fig. 19-4 Theodore Gericault, Raft of the Medusa, 1818-1819

Horizontal and Vertical = Stillness, Stability

Diagonal = Movement, Chaos

What emotions are suggested by these works? What adjectives?

2. SHAPE and MASS

Shape: a 2D form that occupies area with identifiable boundaries.

Mass: a 3D form that occupies a actual space.

Mondrian, 1930 and Sennefer, Figure 2.16

As you begin to look at a work, describe the

shapes and masses you see.

The Pyramids of Giza

Emmi Whitehorse, Chanter

Positive and Negative Shapes

Positive shapes (Figures): the dominant shapes, usually the subject matter.

Positive and Negative Shapes

Negative shapes (Ground): the background.

Since we are used to filtering out the background, we have to shift our awareness and learn to see everything the artist has included.

Implied shapes

Implied shapes are created by the viewer’s perception. These

optical illusions are used by artists to unify or stabilize their

compositions.

Raphael, The Madonna of the Meadows and Chagall, I and the Village

3. LIGHT

Artificial and natural light is used today by some artists as a medium.

James Turell, Live Oak Friends Meeting House, Houston

Daniel Chester French (1850–1931). Abraham Lincoln. 1911–1922.

a. As originally lit by daylight.

b. With the addition of artificial light. Figure 2.36

3. VALUE

Values: shades of light and dark.

Contrast: the degree of difference between shades of gray.

Chiaroscuro

Chiaroscuro: Italian term

meaning light/dark; shading

from light to dark that gives

a 3D appearance.

Pierre Paul Prud’hon, The Source

4. COLOR

What we perceive as

color is actually white

light being reflected off a

surface.

Black, white, and

shades of gray are not

colors; they are

achromatic or neutral.

The human eye can

distinguish between

millions of colors.

The 3 Color Properties

Hue: the name of the color.

Value: the relative lightness or darkness

Tint: A color lighter than the normal value

Shade: A color darker than the normal value

Intensity: the relative purity of a color (sometimes called saturation)

The Color Wheel

Primary Hues (1): can’t be

created by mixing pigments.

Secondary Hues: (2):created

by mixing two primary colors

Tertiary or Intermediate

Hues: created by mixing one

primary hue with one

secondary hue.

Color and Emotions

Color can trigger strong

emotional responses in a

viewer. In our culture we

are:

Green with envy

Red with anger

Blue with sorrow

White with fright

Many color associations

are culture specific.

Study by Tom Wesselmann, 1964.

5. SPACE

Actual space: space of the real world occupied by 3D arts. To

fully understand a work of art in actual space, the viewer must

walk around or in the artwork.

Ara Pacis Augustae

Implied space/depth

Implied space: the illusion of space created on a 2D surface. The space can appear shallow/flat or expansive.

Figure 2.21 Clues to Spatial Depth

-Overlapping -Diminishing Size -Vertical Placement -Linear Perspective -Atmospheric Perspective

Linear Perspective

A technique based on the observation that parallel lines seem to

converge as they recede from the viewer, finally meeting at a

vanishing point. Linear perspective relies on a fixed viewpoint.

Figure 2.24a and 2.24b Raphael, School of Athens, 1509-1511

Linear Perspective

Atmospheric Perspective

A technique based on the observation that objects appear paler and/or bluer, and less distinct the further away they are from the viewer due to the way moisture in the intervening atmosphere scatters light.

Fig. 2.26 A.B. Durand, Kindred Spirits.

Does this space seem deep or shallow?

Figure 2-11 Botticelli, The Birth of Venus, 1482

6. TIME and MOTION

Artists throughout the ages have sought to represent the passage of time and the movement of objects through space.

Scenes from Genesis in

the Moutier-Grandval

Bible, ca. 840

Registers: bands of

decoration. Can contain

narrative scenes.

Implied Motion

The viewer infers

motion is occurring

through diagonal lines

and/or repetition.

Fig. 2.32 Dancing Krishna

Actual motion

Kinetic art:

art that moves

Fig. 2.35 Alexander Calder, Untitled, 1976

Illusion of Motion

In the 20th century, new technologies and media allowed for new ways in which to include the elements of time and motion in the arts.

Motion Pictures (and TV shows!)