Visual Art & Culture Assessment #1

The Principles of Design

The Principles of Design are a set of guidelines that help to create aesthetically pleasing and effective visual compositions. They include balance, contrast, emphasis, movement, pattern, rhythm, and unity.

• Balance

Refers to the distribution of visual weight in a composition, creating a sense of stability. It can be symmetrical or asymmetrical.

• Contrast

The principle of contrast refers to the difference in elements such as color, shape, or size in a design. It is used to highlight differences and create visual interest.

• Emphasis

The focal point or area of interest in a design that draws attention and creates significance. Emphasis can be achieved through various elements such as color, size, and placement.

• Pattern

Refers to the repeated use of shapes, colors, or textures in a design, creating visual coherence and interest.

• Scale/Proportion

The relationship between the sizes of different elements in a design, often used to create balance and harmony. Scale refers to the size of an element in relation to its context, while proportion relates to the relationship between different elements within the design.

• Rhythm

The repetition of visual elements in a design to create movement and guide the viewer's eye. Rhythm can be achieved through patterns, colors, and shapes, enhancing the overall composition.

• Unity

Refers to the cohesion and harmony of a design, achieved by combining various elements to create a cohesive visual experience. It ensures that all components work together to convey a single message or impression.

• Variety

Achieved when design elements are varried in size, color, shape, texture, or other attributes.

• Movement

The way in which the viewer’s eye is directed in a work. It can imply motion, hint at a narrative or simply create a pleasing effect.

The Elements of Art

Physical parts of artwork. Includes line, shape, form, space, texture, value, color, and time.

• Form/Mass

Three-dimensional element of art and has volume (length, width, and height).

• Line

Infinite series of points that are arranged in a direction.

Contour Lines

Define the edges of objects, or where differing areas meet.

Implied Lines

Series of points that are connected by the viewer’s eye.

Vertical Lines

Communicate strength, stability, and authority.

Horizontal Lines

Communicate calm, peace, and passiveness.

Diagonal Lines

Communicate movement, action, and drama.

Directional Lines

Draw our attention to something the artists want us to notice to help to enhance the illusion of space or depth in an image.

Geometric Shapes

Shapes with mathematically regular contours, like circles, rectangles, and octagonal.

Organic Shapes

Are irregular, asymmetrical, and often found in nature.

• Space

Overlapping, size, placement, & shading.

Overlapping

The object that is closest will overlap and obscure objects that are further back in space.

Size

Larger objects appear to be closer while smaller objects appear to be in the distance.

Placement

Objects higher in the picture appear to be further away.

Shading

Light and shadow create the illusion of form and three-dimensional.

Linear Perspective

Geometrically constructed illusion of the recession of space. (Uses a vanishing point and horizon line)

Atmospheric Perspective

The use of color to simulate the illusion of space. (Has a background, middle ground, and foreground).

Foreshortening

A method for rendering a figure or object in perspective. Things that look closer look bigger, while parts further back look smaller or hidden.

• Texture

The tactile quality of a surface.

Actual Texture

The condition in which texture is created, not represented.

Simulated Texture

The visual representation or illusion of a tactile surface, common in 2-dimensional works.

• Value

Refers to the lightness or darkness within a work of art.

Hue

What the color is.

Saturation

How pure the color is.

Brightness/Value

Lightness/darkness of it.

• Identity

The use of creative expression to explore, question, and reflect who we are as individuals and members of society.

• Iconography

The visual symbolism, imagery, and study, of symbols used art to convey deeper meanings, hidden in messages, or cultural narratives.

• Carving

A subtractive method. The only changes are those that remove material.

• Weaving

Process of making fabric by interlacing two sets of threads, warp (vertical) and weft (horizontal).

• Casting

The process of making metal sculpture/objects, using models first modeled in clay, wax, etc.

• Labor

Can change the way we view art, ie. the more labor someone uses in a piece we can perceive it to be more skillfully made.

• Still-life

Non-living.

• Narrative art

The visual way an artwork tells a story, captures an event, or suggests a sequence of actions.

Narrative Art

Art that tells a story.

Genre Art

Art that represents everyday life.

Expressionism

A movement in the arts in which the artist does not depict objective reality, but rather the subjective expression of inner experience.e

Nonrepresentational

Not intended to represent a physical object in reality.

Intaglio

A printmaking technique where the image is etched or carved into surface, and ink fills the grooves to make the print.

Impasto

Applying thick layers of paint so that the brush-stokes or texture stand out from the surface.

Lithography

A printmaking process that uses a flat surface, usually limestone or a metal plate, where ink sticks to the drawn areas.

Fresco

A painting technique where pigment is applied to wet plaster, allowing the paint to become part of the wall as it dries.

Encaustic

A painting technique using pigments mixed with heated wax as the binding material.

Iconography

The study of content of images, including identification, description, and interpretations.

Symbolism

The practice of using an object, word, or action to mean something deeper than its literal sense.