Module 2: Line as a Visual Element

Question 1

In visual art a point which has no measurable size becomes a ___

Answer 1

Dot

Question 2

In an art artist’s vocabulary, ___ is a moving dot: put the point of an instrument to a surface, move your hand, and the result is a line.

Answer 2

Line

Question 3

refers to its length and width.If we conceptualize a line as a moving dot, the dots it comprises can be of any size (creating of line with greater width) and any number (creating a line of any length).

Answer 3

Measure of line

Question 4

can be also be segments or arcs –parts of circles or ovals. Circular and oval lines that turn even inward on themselves can create dizzying spirals.

Answer 4

Curved lines

Question 5

The variety of line –types of line –would seem to be as infinite as the number of dots that can determine it. Lines can be straight or curved. They can be:

Answer 5

Vertical, horizontal, or diagonal

Question 6

straight line stops and changes course becomes a _____

Answer 6

zigzag

Question 7

The location or placement of line in a composition can divide or unify the pictorial space,or it can do both.

Answer 7

Location of line

Question 8

in a two-dimensional work of art, illusionary space that seems to recede from the picture plane into the distance; provides a sense of depth.

Answer 8

Pictorial space

Question 9

are physically present in a work of art. They are concrete. They have length, width, and other describable characteristics.

Answer 9

Actual lines

Question 10

refer to the “sense” of line created by the perceptual tendency to connect a series of points.

Answer 10

Implied lines

Question 11

also referred to as a psychic line–is an even less concrete impression of line.
are suggested of linear direction formed by, say, the glance of one person toward another, or an arm gesturing toward an object in a composition.

Answer 11

Psychological line

Question 12

when we consider the relationship or interaction between line and shape, we speak of two types of line and shape, we speak of two types of line:

Answer 12

Outline and contour line

Question 13

from those that have traditionally separated mediums to the distinctions of elements and principles of art.

Answer 13

the blurring of boundaries

Question 14

the mass or bulk of a three –dimensional work; the amount of space it contains.

Answer 14

Volume

Question 15

the lightness or darkness of a color.

Answer 15

Value

Question 16

the creation of shading in a drawing or etching through the use of intersecting sets of parallel lines.

Answer 16

Cross-hatching

Question 17

Artists create the illusion of ____, or _____ itself, by using thick and thin or rough and smooth lines and by changing the elements and applications of their media.

the surface character of materials as experienced by the sense of touch.

Answer 17

Texture

Question 18

is the psychological tendency to perceive a broken figure as being complete or whole.

Answer 18

Closure

Question 19

is the tendency to perceive a series of points or a broken line as having unity. When the edge, or contour, of a figure or object is interrupted or trails off, the observer tends to fill the in the missing parts.

Answer 19

Continuity