‘abstract art’ - office of educational...

‘ABSTRACT ART’QUICK DEFINITION OF TERMS… Here is where we get tricky in the art world! For the purposes of this text we will be defining abstract as art that is derived from the real world….there is at the core of the image an object tangible.

Is one of them better?

Matisse La Desserte 1897 Matisse Harmony in Red 1908-9

McGraw-Hill Higher Education, Inc. ©2008

Living with Art: Abstraction

• It allows for universal ideas.

• It gives the essence or pure form of a concept like: birth, kiss, flight, dream.

Brancusi’s Bird in Space, 1928-30.

Munch. The Scream. 1893

Duchamp. Nude Descending a Staircase # 2. 1912.

Dynamism of a Cyclist (Dinamismo di un ciclista) 1913 (oil on canvas) Creator Boccioni, Umberto (1882-1916) Nationality Italian

38 Chilkat Blanket Tlinget.

39 Van Doesberg Cow (an evolution)

ART AND IDEAS

‘R. Mutt’ (Duchamp) Fountain 1917

36 William Harnett Mr. Huling’s Picture Rack 1888

37 René Magritte Ceci n’est pas une pipe (La Trahison des Images, the treason of Images) 1928-9 23 5/8x37” f.37

Georges Seurat. Sunday Afternoon on La Grande Jatte. 1884-6

Braque. Man with Violin

ANALYTIC CUBISM

25.12 Picasso. Guernica. 1937. oil on canvas. 11’ 5 ½” x 25’ ¾”.

NON-REPRESENTATIONAL ART

Nancy Graves Footscray from Australian Series 1985

24.8 Kandinsky. Panel for Edwin R. Campbell No. 4 (Formerly Painting No. 201, Winter.) 1914.

27.11 Kline. Mahoning. 1956.

COMPOSING ARTVocabulary of Art

Principles of Design

UnityVariety RepetitionRhythmBalanceEmphasis/Focal PointEconomyProportion/Scale


The organization of Elements is

called Composition or

Design.


Unity:The sense of oneness, of things belonging together and making up a coherent whole.

Variety:Differences that provide interest and contrast.

Unifying Principles of Design

Fig. 111 Lawrence Going Home. 1946

Unity and Variety: Color and Shape

Lines of Rhythm

de Hooch. Interior of a Dutch House 1658.

Unity and Variety: Pattern and Design

Structural Lines


Balance Visual Weight

Symmetrical Balance: Mirror imageof Shapes/Forms on either side of an imaginary axial dividing line.Elements correspond to one another in size, shape, and placement.

SYMMETRICAL BALANCE

Mandala of Jnanadakini ,late 14th century

Tibet (a Sakya monastery)

Distemper on cloth; 33 1/4 x 28 7/8 in. (84.5 x 73.3 cm)

Fig. 121 Luster Painted Bowl

Design, Color and Pattern: Contrast

Port. Of the Hung-Chih Emperor. Ming Dynasty 15th C.

Symmetrical Design

Deer's Skull with Pedernal1936Georgia O'Keeffe, American, 1887–1986


Balance

Relieved Symmetry: orApproximate Symmetry: Slight differences between axial areas of a work.

Frida Kahlo, The Two Fridas,1939.


Approximate Symmetry

Luo Brothers Welcome the World Famous Brand

Asymmetrical Balance: Two sides that do not correspond to one another in size, shape, and placement.

Gustav Klimt,Death and Life, Before 1911-1915.

Assymetrical Balance

Haranobu. The Evening Glow of the Ando. Edo Period (Japan).


Emphasis: The viewer’s attention will be centered more on certain parts of the composition than on others.

Focal Point: A specific spot to which one’sattention is directed.

Subordination: A less visually interesting area.

Emphasis and Subordination

Degas Jockeys before the Race 1878-9.

Emphasis: Directing our Eyes

Poussin Holy Family on the Steps. 1648.

Harmony and Emphasis

Raphael. Madonna of the Chair. c.1514 (Renaissance). Oil on Wood. 2’4” diameter.

Emphasis and Subordination

Tanner. Banjo Lesson. 1893.


Scale: Size in relation to a constant or “normal” size.

Proportion: Refers to size relationships between parts of a whole or between two or more items perceived as a unit.

Proportion and Scale



Egyptian. Palette of Narmer. Canon of hierarchic proportion


Leonardo daVinci, The Study of Human Proportions According to Vitruvius, c. 1485-90.


Doryphorous. Polykleitos

Rembrandt Self Portrait. 1630. 2” x 1 7/8”

ACTUAL SIZE VERSUS PERCEIVED SIZE

Oldenberg & van Bruggen. Shuttlecocks. 1994.

Unexpected Proportion and Scale

Michelangelo Pieta 1501. Master of the Beautiful Madonna. Pieta. 1415

Compositional Impact of Scale


Visual Rhythm: Depends on the repetition of accented elements, usually shapes.

Rhythm

det 100 Geese 1270-1300

Orozco Zapatistas. 1931

Repetition and Rhythm


Elements and Principles:A Summary

UnityVariety BalanceEmphasis/

SubordinationScale/ProportionRhythm

Pablo Picasso, Girl Before a Mirror

Figs. 130-31 Matisse Large Reclining Nude 1935.EVOLUTION OF A DESIGN


PART 1: FUNDAMENTALSThe Vocabulary of Art

Edward Hopper, Rooms by the Sea, 1951.

Line: path of moving pointActual & Implied

(Contour/OutlineDirection & MovementHatching, Cross-hatching, Stippling)

Shape: (2-D) enclosed lineActual & Implied Mass/Form: (3-D) depth, height

& widthFigure (positive) & Ground

(Negative)Figure-Ground Reversal


The Visual Elements

Light: Digital & electronicActual & ImpliedValue: Relative light & dark

Chiaroscuro (light & dark)Color: Hue

Analogous (warm & cool)PrimarySecondaryComplementaryPointillism: optical mixing

TYPES OF LINE

Duane Preble Blue Ginger ’93 Pencil 13 ¾ x 11”

Contour and Outline

Calder Acrobats ’28

Brasswire Height with base 34”

Judy Pfaff, Cirque, Cirque, 1992-1995. Construction of steel and aluminum tubes, handblown glass orbs, and other materials.

Expressive Line

Ansel Adams Rails and Jet Trains, Roseville, CA., 1953

LINE: Direction and Movement


Gericault, The Raft of the Medusa, 1818-19.

Implied Line

Direction & Eye Movement


Direction

Vertical linesseem assertive, or denote growth & strength.

Horizontal linesAppear calm.

Diagonal lines are the most dramaticand imply action.

Eakins, The Biglin Brothers Racing, 1873-74.

Line: Direction and Movement

Cartier Bresson. Aquila, Abruzzi, Italy. 1951

LINE: Direction and Movement


Figure (positive shape)Ground (negative shape)

Shape: an enclosed line; A two-dimensional area with identifiable boundariesie; circles or squares

Mass/FormA three-dimensional area with identifiable boundariesie: spheres and cubes

Shape and Mass


Implied Shape

Raphael, The Madonna of the Meadows, 1505.

Implied Shape

1.23a Shepard Fairey, Obey, 1996. Campaign poster

M.C. Escher Sky and Water I ’38 Woodcut 17 1/8 ” x 17 ¼”

Figure Ground Reversal


Light:Actual Light

Importance for 3-dimensional work

James Turrell, Live Oak Friends Meeting House, HOUSTON 2001.

Light Value and Color

Head of Lincoln. 1922. with daylight. With addition of artificial light.

Impact of Light

Figs. 93-4 Chiaroscuro=gradation of light and shade to create form

Carracci Head of a Youth. 17th C. Charcoal and white chalk on colored paper.

Chiaroscuro.

Caravaggio Amor.

Charles White. Preacher. 1952. Ink on Cardboard.

Type of Line Used: Hatching


Color; Hue:Name of the color.

Value:Relative lightness or darkness.

Intensity:Relative purity of a color.


Color Properties

PART 1

FUNDAMENTALS

Chapter 1.1 Art in Two Dimensions: Line, Shape, and the Principle of Contrast

Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields

1.72 Traditional color wheel (red, yellow, blue primaries)

PART 1

FUNDAMENTALS



1.74 Color–value relationships

PART 1

FUNDAMENTALS



1.76 High and low saturation in a red hue

Color Schemes• The color wheel displays important color relationships

• Complementary colors contrast strongly with each other

• Analogous colors do not contrast strongly with each other

Complementary Color• When two complementary colors are painted side by

side, these “opposite” colors create visual anomalies• They intensify one another• Each seems more saturated• As they have vastly different wavelengths, an illusion (in the

photoreceptors of the eye) is created of vibrating movement along adjacent edges of the two complementary colors

• When complements are set next to each other we tend to see color more intensely than when we see the colors separately



Optical EffectsAfterimage: Simultaneous contrast.

1.80 Henri Matisse, Icarus, from Jazz, 1943–7. Page size 16⅞ x 12⅞”. MOMA, New York

Haring. Untitled. 1982.

Complementary scheme.



Color HarmoniesColor conveys emotions.

Analogous:Adjacent hues on the color wheel.

Triadic:3 equidistant colors on the color wheel.

1.82 Mary Cassatt, The Boating Party, 1893–4. Oil on canvas, 35⅜ x 46⅛”. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

PART 1

FUNDAMENTALS



1.85 Two squares, one filled with red and blue dots and the other with red and yellow dots to create optical color mixing effect

1.86 Georges Seurat,The Circus, 1890–91.Oil on canvas, 6’⅞” x 4’11⅞”. Musée d’Orsay, Paris, France

Optical color blending. Det. Seurat. Grande Jatte. 1886.

PART 1

FUNDAMENTALS



1.89 Subtractive color mixtures using CMY primaries, CMYK color separation, and image with exaggerated print screen

Four color printing technique

Det. Boticelli Birth of Venus

1.93 Vincent van Gogh, The Night Café, 1888. Oil on canvas, 28½ x 36¼”. Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Connecticut


Emotional responsesto color are both cultural and personal.

Light Value and ColorEmotional Effects

Oppenheim. Object. (Le Dejeuner en Fourrure). 1936.

Actual texture. China Tang Dynasty. 9th C. Stoneware with Suffused glass.

Actual texture.

van Gogh. Det. Starry Night. 1889.

Actual texture. IMPASTO

van Eyck. Det. Arnolfini and his bride. 1434. Described texture.

Space


Three dimensional space has height, width, and depth. There exists both negative and positive space.

Giacometti, The Nose, 1947.

Frank Gehry, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Spain, 1997.

Implied Space


Two dimensional space has only height and width. There exists the picture plane and the illusion of the negative (ground) and positive

(figure) space.

1. Overlapping

2. Position (foreground, middle-ground, background)

3. Linear Perspective or Isometric Perspective

4. Atmospheric Perspective

5. Foreshortening

Illusion of Space

Atmospheric Perspective

• Distant objects lack contrast, detail, and sharpness of

focus because the air that surrounds us is not completely

transparent

• The atmosphere progressively veils a scene as the distance

increases

• Contemporary filmmakers use this atmospheric effect to give the illusion

of great depth

PART 1

FUNDAMENTALS



1.58 The effects of atmospheric perspective

1.59 Asher Brown Durand, Kindred Spirits, 1849. Oil on canvas, 44 x 36”. Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas

Isometric Perspective

• Arranges parallel lines diagonally in a work to give a sense of

depth

• Derives from the Greek meaning “equal measure”• It was particularly suitable for painting on scrolls, which can be examined

only in sections

1.60 Xu Yang, The Qianlong Emperor’s Southern Inspection Tour, Scroll Six: Entering Suzhou and the Grand Canal, Qing Dynasty, 1770 (detail). Handscroll, ink, and color on silk, 2’3⅛” x 65’4½”. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

anonymous. Detail of 18 scholars. Song Dynasty (960-1279). Hanging scroll. Ink and color on silk.

Isometric perspective.

Isometric Perspective

LINEAR PERSPECTIVE

2 point perspectiveOne Point

One Point

1.65 Use of one-point perspective: Masaccio, Trinity, c. 1425–6. Fresco, 21’10½” x 10’4⅞”. Santa Maria Novella, Florence, Italy

Two-Point Perspective

• Uses two separate vanishing points

• Relies on horizon line

Raphael School of Athens 1509. Fresco. 18’x26’

Linear Perspective

Perspective Lines showing eye level, main vanishing point and left vanishing point.

Architectural perspective study

1.66b Applying two-point perspective: detail from Raphael,The School of Athens

Foreshortening

• Results when the rules of perspective are applied to represent

unusual points of view

• Especially applies to figures

1.69 Albrecht Dürer, Draftsman Drawing a Recumbent Woman, 1525. Woodcut. Graphische Sammlung Albertina, Vienna, Austria

1.70 Andrea Mantegna, The Lamentation over the Dead Christ, c. 1480. Tempera on canvas, 26¾ x 31⅞”.Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan, Italy

Illusion of Space


Hans Baldung Grien, The Groom and the Witch, c.1540.

Foreshortening

Wall ptg. From Tomb of Nebamun, Egypt, 1400 BCE, paint on Plaster

IMPLIED SPACE

Clues to Creating Spatial Depth

Mu Qi Six Persimmons. C. 1269. ink on paper.

Implied space, relative space and depth.

Durand Kindred Spirits. 1849. oil on canvas.

Shen Zhou Poet on a Mountain Top. Ming Dynasty, 15th Century. Ink on Paper. Handscroll.

Atmospheric perspective.

Atmospheric perspective

The Attributes of Time

• Time-based arts, such as film, embody six basic attributes of

time: duration, tempo, intensity, scope, setting, and chronology

1.97 Thomas Edison and W. K. Dickson, Fred Ott’s Sneeze, 1894. Still frames from kinetoscope film. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

Wheels of the Sun Chariot, Surya Deul Temple. Konarak, India 1240

Symbolic continuity of time.

Sassetta and Workshop. Meeting of SS. Anthony and Paul. C. 1440. Continuous narrative.

TIME AND MOTION

Illusion of Motion

• When artists imply motion, we do not actually see it occurring

• Artists can also communicate the idea of motion by creating an

illusion of it

• Artists create this illusion through visual tricks that deceive our

eyes into believing there is motion as

time passes, even though no actual motion occurs

1.98 Gianlorenzo Bernini,Apollo and Daphne, 1622–4. Carrara marble, 8’ high. Gallería Borghese, Rome, Italy

f. 88 Dancing Krishna. C. 13th C.

Illusionary or suggested motion.

1.100 Jenny Holzer, Untitled (Selections from Truisms, Inflammatory Essays, The Living Series, The Survival Series, Under a Rock, Laments, and Child Text), 1989. Extended helical tricolor LED, electronic display signboard, site-specific dimensions.Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York

1.101 Bridget Riley,Cataract 3, 1967. PVA on canvas, 7’3¾” x 7’3¾”. British Council Collection

1.106 Alexander Calder, Untitled, 1976. Aluminum and steel, 29’10⅜” x 75’11¾”. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Kristin Jones and Andrew Ginzel. Mnemonics.

Stopped time.Harold Edgerton. Milk Splash Resulting from Dropping a Ball. 1936.

Suspended motion.

Eakins, Man Pole Vaulting. 1884. Multiple-Exposure photograph.

Implied motion. Balla. Dynamism of a Dog on a leash. 1912. oil on canvas.

Implied motion.

Calder. Big Red. 1959. Painted sheet metal and steel wire. 74” x 114”.

Real motion

‘abstract art’ - office of educational...

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