contemporary arts elements of art

line

• associated with the body’s axis as it moves toward different directions and adjusts to a point of reference through various positions and actions

• when they come together, they create texture, which can be very thin, washed, thick, very rough or fine

color

associated with our experiences of cold and warmth, and the quality of light in our tropical environment, the cycles of night and day, of darkness and light.

hue

• the name of the colors

• how light waves of various lengths and rapidity of vibrations bounce off objects and enter our eyes

• warm and cool

warm hue

• has longer wave lengths and is more distinct and easily discernible

• seem to advance toward us

cool hue

• has shorter wave lengths, and seem to merge into each other

• appear to recede

saturation

how ‘true’ the color is

intensity

the degree or purity of saturation of strength of a color

value or tone

brightness or darkness–

when a hue is mixed with black, it becomes more dim or heavy; when it is mixed with white or gray, it lightens

value

gradations of tone from light to dark, which can be an aspect of color but could also specifically refer to the play of light on an object or a scenet

texture

• how objects and surfaces feel, and in most associated with the sense of touch or tactility

• created when several lines combine

• Combinations described as – smooth, translucent, fine, silky, satiny, velvety, sandy, furry, feathery, slimy, gritty, rough, rugged, coarse, porous, irregular, jagged, thick, thin, and so on

shape

• forms that are two-dimensional or three dimensional

• 2D – exists as planes having length and width

• 3D – possesses length, width and volume

• either geometric (rectilinear or curvilinear), biomorphic, or free inventions

composition in space

• involves the relationship between figures and elements

• how the elements are organized and composed according to principles of organization, among them, balance, proportion, rhythm, unity in variety, dominance and subordination

movement

• may occur in 2D design as rhythm or through the recurrence of motifs, their alternation or progression unfolding in a series

• related to line and the direction of the eye

elements of art

• aspects of form

• they convey meaning and express ideas and feelings

brilliance

when we mix a brilliant blue with a neutral hue, such as gray, its hue or blueness does not change; it just becomes less intense or duller

representational painting

it is shading, blending, and chiaroscuro which lend the flat surface an illusion of depth and perspective

non-representational painting

black and white photography unique character–

artistic photography – meaning –

documentation – black and white ID photos– photojournalism – reportage practices

black

color that absorbs all

white

color the reflects all

positive

solid forms in a design

negative

space around the positive shape

organic

nature characteristics, that are free flowing, informal, or irregular

static

appears resting and stable

dynamic

appears moving and active

geometric

architecture and manufactured items

tint

adding white to pure hue

shade

adding black to pure hue

high-key

all light values in a picture

low-key

all dark values in a picture

value contrast

light value are place next to dark value to create contrast

value scale

gradual change in value from its lightest value to its darkest value black