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Developing a Visual Vocabulary

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Developing a Visual Vocabulary 2 Developing a visual vocabulary ave you ever made a color wheel? Have you used lines or colors to H create a picture? Examine closely the painting shown in Figure 2.1. What words or phrases do you think of to describe the parts of this artwork? Exactly how did the artist create a painting that is complex, visually appeal- ing, and carefully balanced? In order to understand and appreciate the artist’s work more fully, you must learn the visual vocabulary employed by all artists when creating works of art. Once you are familiar with that visual vocabulary, you will be able to recognize how this artist created the artwork and be able to discuss the work with others. Read to Find Out As you read this chapter, remember that the main purpose is to develop your visual vocabulary. Pause at each artwork and ask yourself: What did the artist use to create the people, objects, and events depicted? Did he or she use lines, colors, or shapes? Read to find out the terms that are used to describe the basic parts of an artwork. Discover the elements of art and the principles of art. Focus Activity Take a closer look at Emily Carr’s painting (Figure 2.1). Note that it is a painting made up of colors, values, lines, textures, shapes, and spaces. These terms are part of a visual vocabulary. Study the boldface vocabulary terms and definitions in italics as you read the chapter. Using the Time Line Consider the variety of artworks you see on the Time Line on these pages. Use the visual vocabulary terms as you examine each one. 1153–1260 1788 1912 1936 Stained-glass Marie-Louise-Élisabeth Marcel Duchamp paints Antonio M. Ruiz window (West Vigée-Lebrun Marie Nude Descending a paints School Rose Window) Antoinette and Her Children Staircase #2 Children on Parade of Chartres (Detail) (credit, p. 44) (Detail. Credit, p. 45) Cathedral, France 1000 1500 1900 1930 Color adds interest in Texture gives flat paintings medieval churches a rich surface 24 9 ■ FIGURE 2.1 Emily Carr. Abstract Tree Forms. 1931–32. Oil on paper. 61.1 ϫ 91.1 cm (24 ϫ 35 ⁄10Љ) Vancouver Art Gallery, Emily Carr Trust, VAG 42.3.54. 1947 Marie Laurencin 1971 paints Woman 1953 Jessie Oonark with Hat Henry Moore creates the bronze paints A Shaman’s (credit, p. 32) Large Interior Form Helping Spirits (credit, p. 33) (credit, p. 40) Refer to the Time Line on page H11 in your Art Handbook for 1950 1970 more details. Line can also create moods Balance in any artwork and feelings in art provides stability 25 LESSON ONE The Elements of Art Vocabulary orks of art are unique arrangements of the obvious and the not so ■ elements of art W obvious. In order to understand any art object, you must be willing ■ principles of art to go beyond the obvious and examine the not so obvious as well. You need ■ unity to know what to look for; you must understand the language of art. Art has ■ color a language of its own: words that refer to the visual elements, or basic parts, ■ intensity ■ value and the principles, the various ways of putting these parts together. ■ line ■ axis line ■ texture Elements and Principles of Art ■ shape One of the most important things to look for in works of art is the way ■ form those works have been designed, or planned. This involves knowing what ■ space the elements and principles of art are and how they are used to create art objects. Discover The elements of art are the basic components, or building blocks: color, After completing this lesson, you will be able to: value, line, texture, shape, form, and space. Artists use the elements of art ■ Discuss the importance of know- to express their ideas. These elements are not the media the artist uses— ing the language of art. paint or clay or stone, for example—but the visual vocabulary used by ■ Identify the elements of art. the artist. The principles of art are the different ways the elements can be used in a work of art: balance, emphasis, harmony, variety, gradation, movement, rhythm, and proportion. We can make a comparison with writers who must do more than just select and randomly arrange words if they are to communicate their ideas to others. The elements of art can be compared to words. How writers organize those words is similar to using the principles of art. Writers form phrases, sentences, and paragraphs. Then they must carefully arrange these into meaningful sequences. The words must be organized so that readers can understand and appreciate their ideas. Unity When organizing their works of art, artists use the principles of balance, emphasis, harmony, variety, gradation, movement, rhythm, and proportion. They select and use these art principles to arrange the elements. In this way, they are able to achieve unity in their works. Unity is the look and feel of wholeness or oneness in a work of art. In works where unity is evident, the elements and principles work together. Where unity is lacking, the works may look disorganized, incomplete, or confusing. When artists recognize that a color, a shape, or some other element does not contribute to unity in a work, they eliminate or change it. Artists strive to make their works appealing to viewers, and few people are will- ing to view and respond favorably to disorganized works of art. 26 Style fact that a painting is made up of colors, Artworks owe much of their uniqueness to values, lines, textures, shapes, and spaces the ways artists have used the elements and (Figure 2.2). principles. No doubt you have heard people In a realistic landscape painting, for exam- talk about an artist’s “style.” More often than ple, the art elements are combined to look like not, they are referring to the special way an trees, hills, fields, and sky. Although you may artist uses the elements and principles to orga- admire the realistic scene, you should not nize a work. Just as there are different styles in limit your attention to the subject matter writing, there are different ways to achieve alone. If you do, you might miss other impor- unity in painting, sculpture, or architecture. tant and interesting things, such as the man- Some artists deliberately select and orga- ner in which the elements of art are used to nize the elements using the principles. These create that realistic scene. If the subject matter artists are not satisfied until a certain combi- in a painting is not apparent, you should be nation of elements and principles looks right prepared to examine what is shown in terms to them. Other artists choose to use the ele- of color, value, line, texture, shape, and space. ments of art in a more spontaneous or intu- You are already familiar with the elements of itive manner. They do not make deliberate art, even if you have never taken an art course decisions regarding the principles of art. or read a book about art. Imagine that, in a Rather, these artists instinctively select and phone conversation, you are listening to a organize the art elements in their works. description of an object. Could you guess what that object is after hearing a description that includes the following list of art elements? The Elements of Art • It has height, width, and depth and occu- People looking at a painting or other work of pies actual space. art often stop looking once they have examined • Abrupt changes in light and dark values the subject matter. They recognize the people, indicate that it is made up of flat planes at objects, and events shown, but they pay little right angles to each other. attention to the elements of art to create the • It is a flat, three-dimensional form with people, objects, and events. They overlook the six sides. ■ FIGURE 2.2 Works of art like this one are made up of the elements of color, value, line, tex- ture, shape, form, and space. Can you identify the different colors, lines, shapes, and forms in this painting? Thomas Hart Benton. The Sources of Country Music. 1975. Acrylic on canvas. 1.8 ϫ 3 m (6 ϫ 10Ј). The Country Music Hall of fame and Museum, Nashville, Tennessee. © T.H. Benton and R.P. Benton, Testamentary Trusts/UMB Bank Trustee/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY. Chapter 2 Developing a Visual Vocabulary 27 • It is rectangular in shape when viewed Hue directly from any side or from the top or Hue refers to the name of a color. The term bottom. is used to point out the difference between a • Three sides are a rich, leather-brown blue and a green, or a red and a yellow. color; the remaining three sides are white. Imagine that you have gone into a department • Three sides are hard and smooth in tex- store and have asked to see a selection of blue ture; this contrasts with the fine ridged sweaters. The word blue should be a clear texture of the remaining three sides. enough description for the salesperson to • The three sides with the ridged texture are know what color you have in mind. Examples made up of a series of thin, parallel lines. of 12 different hues are shown in the Color Did you correctly identify the object as Wheel in Figure 2.4. a book? There can be problems of interpretation with Intensity any language; this seems to be especially true Now assume that, while checking the with a visual language.
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