Art - chapter 2 ''picture" Definitions

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nygnjvy89

Humanities

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I need the definitions for the following:

line - form - color - mass - texture - repetition - balance - unity - focal area.

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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 46 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. 48 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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1

Running head: PICTURE DEFINITION

Picture Definition
Name
Institution

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PICTURE DEFINITION
Picture Definition
Line

Lines are marks or drawings placed against a plain background which represent two- or
three-dimensional points in art. A Line is described through its curvedness, straightness,
thickness or thinness, which is the width, length, and direction.
Form
A form is a physical nature of th...


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Excellent resource! Really helped me get the gist of things.

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