Principles of Visual Arts Flashcards
• describes how artists to create visual weight.
• works are _ by using the elements such as line, shape and color.
• elements of design are arranged to create the impression of equality in weight or importance.
• no one part of a work overpowers, or seems heavier than any other part.
Balance
• This balance means both sides of an imaginary line are the same.
• weight of a composition is evenly distributed around a central vertical or horizontal axis
SYMMETRICAL / FORMAL
• This balance means each side of an imaginary line are different yet equal.
ASYMMETRICAL / INFORMAL
• This balance means lines or shapes grow from a center point.
RADIAL
• Two things that are very different have a lot of it.
• creates excitement and interest in artworks.
• White and black have the greatest contrast. Complementary colors also have high _.
• Used for EMPHASIS.
• Artists use this to make something show up. In Wheatfields with Ravens, Vincent van Gogh used these colors to make the yellow wheat fields stand out against the dark blue sky.
CONTRAST
• describes the size, location or amount of one thing compared to the whole (size relationship)
• Many artists use the correct this to depict realistic works, while other artists exaggerate and distort to express moods and experiences.
PROPORTION
• regarded as an enduring symbol of ancient Greece and of Athenian democracy,
• one of the world’s greatest cultural monuments; most important surviving building of Classical Greece,
• built for the patron goddess Athena, in the 5th century BC on the Athenian Acropolis.
THE PARTHENON
• after the two initial numbers, each number is the sum of the two preceding numbers:
• appeared many times in popular culture. Fibonacci numbers have for example been mentioned in novels, films, episodes of television shows, and songs. They have also been used in the creation of music and visual art.
• Natural patterns, such as the spiral growth of leaves on some trees, often exhibit it.
THE FIBONACCI SEQUENCE
• Artists create this by repeating a line, shape or color over and over again.
PATTERN
• indicating movement by the repetition of art elements and creating patterns
• this can make an artwork seem active.
• this makes you think of the rhythms you hear in music or dance.
RHYTHM
- a repetition of elements that are evenly spaced. (like a pattern)
Regular rhythm
- elements that are repeated but not exactly.
Irregular rhythm
- as elements repeat, they increase or decrease in size.
Progressive rhythm
is shown in the art piece using the element of shape.
irregular rhythm
The artist uses a_____ of bold geometric shapes which guide the viewer’s eyes through the piece.
rhythmic pattern
- as elements repeat, they increase or decrease in size.
Progressive rhythm
• to make certain parts of their artwork stand out and grab your attention.
• The center of interest or focal point is the place the artist draws your eye to first.
• In this painting, “The Letter,” Mary Cassatt empasized the envelope by painting it white against the dark patterns of the woman’s dress. She also placed the envelope in the
center of the painting to draw your eye to it.
• Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper uses linear perspective as a tool for creating a focal point in the center of the work.
EMPHASIS
• the feeling that everything in the work of art works together and looks like it fits.
• the coherence of a work that gives the viewer the feeling that all the parts of the piece are working together.
UNITY
• refers to ways similarities in a work are accented to create an uncomplicated, uniform appearance.
• brings together a composition with similar units
• Gustave Caillebotte used shape to create unity.
• Repetition of shape and color can make an artwork unified.
Harmony
• occurs when an artist creates something that looks different from the rest of the artwork.
• adds interest to works of art, like designs, advertisements, etc.
• Jasper Cropsey painted a large tree to create variety in his landscape, “In
the Valley.”
• Look at the promotional posters of some of the blockbuster movies.
• Notice the advertising techniques and the use of varied elements
Variety
• creating the illusion of action or physical change in position. Leading viewers to sense action,
• the path the viewer’s eye follows throughout a artwork.
• eye is led through the work of art in a systematic way.
• is also the suggestion or illusion of motion in a painting, sculpture, or design.
MOVEMENT
