LES 6.3: Elements & Principles of Art (Principles of Art & Combined or Hybrid Art)

Principles of Art

Provide explicit ways in which these elements are used, how they are manipulated, how they interact, and how they inform the overall composition of the artwork to assist the artist in conveying his intention

Influence the effect achieved by the elements, and the linkages of other principles

1. Balance

2. Scale & Proportion

3. Emphasis

4. Contrast

5. Unity

6. Variety

7. Harmony

8. Movement

9. Rhythm

10. Repetition

11. Pattern

11 Principles of Art

Balance

One of the principles of art

Refers to the distribution of the visual elements in view of their placement in relation to each other

Symmetrical, Asymmetrical, & Radial

3 Forms of Balance

Symmetrical

One of the forms of balance

Elements used on one side are reflected ot the other. This refers the most stable visual sense to any artwork.

Asymmetrical

One of the forms of balance

Elements are not the same (or of the same weight) on each side, putting the heaviness on one side

Radial

One of the forms of balance

There is a central point in the composition, around which elements and objects are distributed.

Scale

One of the principles of art

Pertains to the size in relation to what is normal for the figure or object in question

Proportion

One of the principles of art

Size of the components, or of objects in relation to one another when taken as a composition or a unit

Can also refer to values such as amounts or number of elements or objects in the composition.

the human body

One of the most common cannons asserted relates to the proportion of what?

Egyptian Artists

For them, the human form follows a square grid and is informed by the palm of the hand as a unit of measure. To complete a standing human figure, 18 units (squares) are needed from head to foot.

Greeks

For them, held that numerical relationships-the golden ratio-was the key to beauty or to perfection. In the golden ratio, the figure is divided into two unequal segments wherein the smaller is the same ratio to the larger segment, and that the longer segment is the same ratio in relation to the whole. In figures, it can be valued at 1:1.618.

Leonardo da Vinci’s “Vitruvian Man”

Example of artwork exhibiting proportion

An exploration on the ideas of the Roman architect Vitruvius, in which the human body is an example of a classical proportion ni architecture.

For the artist, man's body can be used to better understand the symmetry that exists in nature and the universe.

Natural, Exaggerated, Idealized

3 types of proportion

Natural

One of the types of proportion

Relates to the realistic size of the visual elements in the artwork, especially for figurative artworks.

When it is the accuracy in relation to the real world that the artist is after, this is now referred to as the principle of scale.

Principle of Scale

Under the natural proportion

Refers to when the accuracy in relation to the real world that the artist is after

Exaggerated

One of the types of proportion

Unusual size relations of visual elements, deliberately emphasizing the immensity or minuteness of an object.

In relation to this, there are notions in scale that differentiate when an element is smaller than expected (diminutive), and when something appears to be larger than what is presumed (monumental).

Diminutive

Under the exaggerated proportion

When an element is smaller than expected

Monumental

Under the exaggerated proportion

When an element is larger than what is presumed

Idealized

One of the types of proportion

Most common to those that follow canons of perfection, the size-relations of elements or objects, which achieve the most ideal size-relations.

Emphasis

One of the principles of art

Allows the attention of the viewer to a focal points), accentuating or drawing attention to these elements or objects.

This can be done through the manipulation of the elements or through the assistance of other principles, especially that of contrast.

Contrast

One of the principles of art

Disparity between the elements that figure into the composition. One object may be made stronger compared to other objects (hence, emphasis).

This can be done in many ways using the elements of art.

For instance, space, specifically the use of negative and positive space, is an example of contrast.

Another example is the use of complementary colors in a work of art.

Unity

One of the principles of art

When compositions are intended to imbue a sense of accord or completeness from the artwork.

Variety

One of the principles of art

Aims to retain the interest by allowing patches or areas that both excite and allow the eye to rest.

Harmony

One of the principles of art

Elements or objects achieve a sense of flow and interconnectedness

Movement

One of the principles of art

Direction of the viewing eye as it goes through the artwork, often guided by areas or elements that are emphasized.

These focal points can be lines, edges, shape, and color within the work of art, among others.

Rhythm

One of the principles of art

Created when an element is repeated, creating implied movement.

Variety of repetition helps invigorate this as depicted in the artwork

Repetition

One of the principles of art

Lines, shapes, colors, and other elements may appear in an artwork in a recurring manner.

There is a sense of predictability that is conveyed, which in turn imbues the feelings of security and calmness.

Pattern

One of the principles of art

Image created out of repetition

Interdisciplinarity

What is one of the buzzwords at the tail end of the 20th century century?

However, with the complexity of contemporary times in which experimentation and innovation are encouraged, the arts are not exempted from the increasing overlaps, merger, and fusion of different aspects of art production and their resultant consumption.

Combined Arts

In which themes, subjects, and the problematique addressed shaped and produced new kinds of articulation in which two or more art forms and styles are combined.

Dance, theater. documentary

Examples of combined art

Improvisation

In combined arts, ___ is often tapped in addition to practical and logical considerations of creating an artwork. From a specific vista of an art form, there is a seeming road map to creation. However, in combined arts, the artist is challenged to deconstruct an idea or stimulus, from which the content, narrative, technique, art forms, and styles will take form.

Hybrid Arts

In which another movement that is reminiscent of the motivations of the Renaissance, and whose emergence is hinged on the frontiers of science and technology.

Imagination

More than anything else, hybrid arts are driven by the expansion of the ___ and what is possible through the "blistering pace of scientific and technological development".