Chapter 2: Pictures
45
Fing:3 Fol:0,2
F
Figure 2.19 Camera obscura. Engraving.
Source: © Bettmann/CORBIS.
COMPOSITION
In this section, we move to the study of
some technical elements of which works
of art are composed. These characteristics
may be found in all works of visual art and
architecture, and they constitute the build-
ing blocks that artists manipulate. In this
inclusive concept called “composition,” we
will examine five "elements”: (1) line, (2)
form, (3) color, (4) mass, and (5) texture,
and four “principles”: (1) repetition, (2)
balance, (3) unity, and (4) focal area.
over width can be seen in Dürer's wood-
cut (see Fig. 2.8) in which the entire
composition consists of a buildup of simple
lines. Second, as an edge, line defines the
place where one object or plane stops and
another begins. We see this clearly in Salas
de Lectura Baguette (see Fig. 2.5).
The third characteristic, implication,
appears in Figure 2.20. The three rectangles
create a horizontal line that extends across
the design. No physical line connects the
tops of the forms, but their spatial arrange-
ment creates one by implication. A similar
use of line occurs in van Gogh's The Starry
Night (see Fig. 1.10), where we can see a
definite linear movement from the upper
left border through a series of swirls to the
right border. Although composed not of
a form edge or outline but of a carefully
developed relationship of numerous color
areas, the implied line emerges quite clearly.
This characteristic of line also appears in
Jackson Pollock’s One (Number 31, 1950) (see
Fig. 2.21), although in a much more
subtle and sophisticated way. Artists use
Elements
Line
The basic building block of a visual de-
sign is line. To most of us, a line is a thin
mark: In two-dimensional art, line is
defined by its three physical characteristics:
(1) a linear form in which length domi-
nates over width, (2) a color edge, and (3)
an implication of continued direction. Line
as a linear form in which length dominates
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Chapter 2:
Pictures
that composes them; form cannot be sepa-
rated from line in two-dimensional design.
Color
Figure 2.20 Outline and implied line.
Color constitutes an additional aspect of
the composition of an artwork. We can
approach color in many ways. We could
begin with color as electromagnetic energy;
we could discuss the psychology of color per-
ception; and/or we could approach color
in terms of how artists use it. The first two
provide extremely interesting possibilities,
and the physics and psychology of color pro-
vide many potential crossovers between art
and science and life. Nonetheless, we will
limit our discussion to the last of these-use.
The discussion that follows focuses on three
color components: hue, value, and intensity.
line to control our vision, to create unity
and emotional value, and ultimately to
develop meaning. Raphael's The Alba Madonna
(Fig. 2.22) creates an implied line along the
eyes of Mary, Jesus, and John—a line that es-
tablishes one edge of a triangle which forms
the compositional basis of the painting.
In pursuing those ends, and by employ-
ing the three aforementioned characteristics,
artists find that line has one of two simple
characteristics: curvedness or straightness.
Whether expressed as a length-dominant,
linear form, a color edge, or by implica-
tion, and whether simple or in combination,
a line comprises a derivative of straightness or
curvedness.
Some people speculate whether line
can also be thick or thin. Certainly that
quality helps to describe some works of art.
Those who deny that quality, however, have a
point difficult to refute in asking. If line can
be thick or thin, at what point does it cease
to be a line and become a form?
Hue. Hue is a specific color with a
measurable wavelength. The visible range of
the color spectrum or range of colors we can
actually distinguish extends from violet on
one end to red on the other (Fig. 2.23). The
traditional color spectrum consists of seven
basic hues (red, orange, yellow, green, blue,
indigo, and violet). These are primary hues
(red, blue, and yellow) and secondary hues
that are direct derivatives of the primaries.
In all (depending on which theory one
follows) from ten to twenty-four perceivably
different hues exist, including these seven.
Assuming, for the sake of clarity and
illustration, twelve basic hues, we can ar-
range them in a series (Fig. 2.24) or turn
them into a “color wheel” (Fig. 2.25).
With this visualization, artists' choices with
regard to color become clearer. First,
an artist can mix the primary hues of the
spectrum two at a time in varying propor-
tions, which creates the other hues of
the spectrum. For example, red and yel-
low in equal proportions make orange,
a secondary hue. Varying the propor-
tions—adding more red or more yellow-
makes yellow-orange red-orange,
Form
Form relates closely to line in both defini-
tion and effect. Form comprises the shape of
an object within the composition, and shape
often is used as a synonym for form. Literally,
form defines space described by line. A build-
ing is a form. So is a tree. We perceive them
as buildings or trees, and we also perceive
their individual details because of the line
or
Chapter 2: Pictures
47
A Question of Style
Abstract Expressionism
Abstract expressionism (ab-STRAKT ehk-SPREH-shuhn-ihz-uhm). A mid-twentieth-cen-
tury visual art movement characterized by nontraditional brushwork, nonrepresentational
subject matter, and expressionist emotional values. The style originated in New York, and
it spread rapidly throughout the world on the wings of modern mass communication. Its
characteristics, as just noted, freed the artist to reflect inner life and led to the creation
of works with high emotional intensity. Absolute individuality of expression and the free-
dom to pursue irrationality underlie this style. Jackson Pollock (PAH-luhk; 1912–1956;
see Fig. 2.21) came upon his characteristic approach to painting only ten years before
his death. Although he insisted that he had absolute control, his compositions consist
of what appear to be simple dripping and spilling of paint onto huge canvases, which he
placed on the floor in order to work on them. His work, often called “action painting,”
conveys a sense of tremendous energy. The viewer seems to feel the painter's motions as
he applied the paint.
Figure 2.21 Jackson Pollock (1912–1956), One (Number 31, 1950),1950. Oil and enamel on
unprimed canvas, 8' 10" X 17' 55%" (269.5 X 530.8 cm).
Source: Digital Image © The Museum of Modern Art/Licensed by SCALA/Art Resource, NY. Art © 2013 The
Pollock-Krasner Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
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Chapter 2: Pictures
A Question to Ask
In what ways does the artist utilize line in this work?
are
which tertiary (TUHR-shee-air-ee)
hues. Yellow and blue make green, and
also blue-green and yellow-green. Red
and blue make violet, blue-violet, and
red-violet. Hues directly opposite each other
on the color wheel constitute complemen-
tary colors. When mixed together in equal
proportions, they produce gray.
whiter, a color, the higher its value. Likewise,
the darker a color, the lower its value. For
example, light pink has high value while
dark red has low value, even though they
both have as their base the same primary
red. Adding white to a hue (like primary
red) creates a tint of that hue. Adding black
creates a shade.
Some hues appear intrinsically brighter
than others, a factor we will discuss momen-
tarily, but the possibility of a brightness dif-
ference in the same color also exists. The
brightness may involve a change in value, as
just discussed—that is, a pink versus a grayed
or dull red. Brightness may also involve sur-
face reflectance, a factor of considerable
importance to all visual artists. A highly
Value. Value, sometimes called key,
is the relationship of blacks to whites and
grays. The range of possibilities from black
to white forms the value scale (see Fig. 2.26),
which has black at one end, white at the
other, and medium gray in the middle. The
perceivable tones between black and white
are designated light or dark: The lighter, or
Ultraviolet
Violet
4000
Blue
4500
5000 – Green
Wavelength in angstrom units
5500
Yellow
Orange
6000
Red
6500
Figure 2.22 Raphael, The Alba Madonna,
c. 1510. Oil on panel transferred to canvas,
overall (diameter): 373/16" (94.5 cm), framed:
55" X 5314" X 52" (139.7 X 135.9 x 14 cm).
Source: National Gallery of Art. Andrew W. Mellon
Collection, 1937.1.24
7000
Infrared
Figure 2.23 Basic color spectrum.
Chapter 2: Pictures
49
Violet
more a property of texture than of color.
Nonetheless, the term brilliance is often used
to describe not only surface gloss but also
characteristics synonymous with value. As
just mentioned, some hues are intrinsically
darker than others. That situation describes
the concept we discuss next: intensity.
Blue-violet
Blue
Blue-green
Green
Yellow-green
Yellow
Yellow-orange
Orange
Red-orange
Red
Red-violet
Intensity. Intensity, sometimes called
chroma and saturation, comprises the
degree of purity of a hue. Every hue has
its own value; that is, in its pure state, each
hue falls somewhere on the value scale, as in
Figure 2.27. The color wheel (see Fig. 2.25)
illustrates how movement around the wheel
can create a change in hue. Movement
across the wheel also alters intensity, for
example, by adding green to red. When, as
in this case, hues reside directly opposite
each other on the color wheel, mixing them
grays the original hue. Therefore, because
graying a hue constitutes a value change,
the terms intensity and value are occasionally
used interchangeably. Some sources use
the terms independently but state that
changing a hue's value automatically
changes its intensity. Graying a hue by using
its complement differs from graying a hue by
adding black (or gray derived from black and
white). Gray derived from complementaries,
because it has hue, creates a far livelier color
than a gray derived from black and white,
which does not have hue. The composite, or
overall, use of color by an artist constitutes
palette. An artist's palette can be broad,
restricted, or somewhere in between,
depending on whether the artist has utilized
the full range of the color spectrum and/or
Figure 2.24 Color spectrum of the twelve
basic hues.
reflective surface creates a brighter color
(and therefore a different response from
the viewer) than does a surface of lesser re-
flectance, all other factors being equal. This
represents the difference between high-
gloss, semigloss, and flat paints, for exam-
ple. Probably surface reflectance represents
A Question to Ask
Has the artist used a broad or limited palette? How has that affected the composition of
the work and my response?
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