the 7 basic elements of art. color warm vs. cool colors

The 7 Basic Elements of Art

COLOR

• Warm vs. Cool colors

Warm Colors

• Warm colors can evoke heat, passion, intensity and the like.

Alexander Calder, Four Arches, 1974.

Alexander Calder, Flamingo, 1974.

Dan Flavin, Untitled VIII.

Cool Colors

• Cool colors can evoke feeling that are calm, somber, or subdued.

Alexander Calder.

Dan Flavin.

Multiple Colors

• An abundance of bright colors together can create a festive mood.

Dan Flavin, Alternating Pink and Gold, 1967.

Bruce Gray.

Black & White

• Neither warm nor cool.• Black & white have strong associations, many

of which are culturally influenced.

Alexander Calder, Heads and Tails, 1965.

Monochromatic

• Louise Nevelson (1899-1988)

Louise Nevelson, Dawn’s Wedding Chapel II, 1959.

Louise Nevelson, Royal Tide IV, 1960.

LINE

• Curved vs. Jagged• Horizontal vs. Vertical• Diagonal

Curved lines

• May suggest calm.

Henry Moore,

Henry Moore, Recumbent Figure, 1938.

Jagged lines

• May suggest movement or menace.

Horizontal lines

• May suggest calm and quiet.

Henry Moore.

Henry Moore, Reclining Figure, 1929.

Vertical lines

• May suggest height or vertical aspirations.

Constantin Brancusi, Bird in Space, 1923.

Milan Cathedral, begun 1386.

Diagonal lines

• May suggest movement/action.

Alexander Calder, Flamingo, 1974.

Dave Rittinger, Color Pencil Tree.

Bruce Gray.

SHAPE & FORM

• 2-dimensional vs. 3-dimensional

TEXTURE

• Texture is the way the surface feels: smooth, rough, bumpy etc.

Constantin Brancusi, Sleeping Muse, 1908.

LIGHT

• Light has long been used to artistic effect.• The development of artificial light brought

new posibilites for the use of light in art.

Chartres Cathedral, Chartres, France, started 1193.

Bernini, The Ecstasy of St. Theresa, 1647-1652.

Louise Nevelson, Dawn’s Wedding Chapel II, 1959.

Artificial Light

• Dan Flavin (1933-1996)• Bruce Nauman (1941- )• James Turrell (1943- )

Dan Flavin, Untitled, 1973.

Bruce Nauman, Human/Need/Desire, 1983.

James Turrell, 2013.

James Turrell, Twilight Epiphany Skyspace, 2012.

SPACE

• Sculpture• Architecture• Installations

Movement in Space

• Alexander Calder (1898-1976)

Movement in Space

• Jean Tinguely (1925-1991)

*DESIGN*

• Design is how the elements of art work together.

• The way the elements of art work together creates the design of the piece.