Rhythm, Pattern and RepetitionDefinitionCharacteristicsPlates and Creative Output

By DefinitionRepetition refers to one object or shape repeated;

Pattern is a combination of elements or shapes repeated in a recurring and regular arrangement;

Rhythm is a combination of elements repeated, but with variations.

Visual interpretation of the definition

As applied in a real work of art…

Taizokai (Womb World) mandala, Second half of ninth century. Hanging scroll, color on silk.

The center square represents the young stage of Vairocana Buddha.source http://www.mandala.hr

This scroll includes all three of these elements: repetition, rhythm, and pattern. Repetition is seen throughout the mandala in the repetition of figures. This is most evident in the center and the area immediately surrounding the center of the mandala. Pattern can be found in the areas where there are repeated figures that are different in size but follow a regular, ordered arrangement in their recurrence. Rhythm can be seen in the two outermost layers, especially the second one from the edge, with a black background. Differing sizes of similar figures are repeated, with variations in their order and grouping.

RepetitionRepeated use of a shape, color, or other art element or design in a work can help unify different parts into a whole. The repetition might be limited to only an instance or two: not enough to create a pattern or rhythm, but enough to cause a visual echo and reinforce or accent certain aspects of the work.

Effect of Repetition in an art work

There appears to be two boxes. In the first box, there is one colored circle.

The second box is overflowing with multicolored circles, so many that they cannot all be contained within the box.

What words do you think of when you look at the two different boxes?

Repetition as a Minimalist

Donald Judd, untitled (1969/1982)anodized aluminium each of 10 boxes 6 x 27 x 24 inchesWalker Art Center Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Edmond R. Ruben, 1981From the Walker Art Center website: "One of the foremost practitioners of Minimal Art, Donald Judd is best known for his sleek, boxlike constructions made of industrial materials such as aluminium, plywood, sheet metal, and plexiglass. Through these works, he sought to create a depersonalized art in which the exploration of space, scale, and materials served as an end, rather than as a metaphor for human experience. Emphatically concerned with pure forms, Judd’s works become statements about proportion and rhythm as well as three-dimensional space. His stacked boxes seem to come directly out of the wall rather than projecting from a backing surface. This creates the impression that the artwork shares the observer’s space instead of being set apart like a sculpture on a pedestal".If Judd's concern is with pure forms, how does the repetition of a single form --shape, dimensions, spacing and color--affect your respsonse? Does it strengthen Judd's intent? Are you able to experience this work as pure form only, or do you look for metaphoric references that relate to human experience?

Repetition as an IntimidationAhu Tongariki on Easter Island. c 1250-1500 CEMoai restored in the 1990's by a Japanese research team after a cyclone knocked them over in the 1960's.Photo taken by Ian Sewell, July, 2006. source IanAndWendy.com Photo gallery from Easter Island

Moai are monolithic human figures situated on platforms called ahu on Polynesian Easter Island. They were carved from rock and have overly large heads. They represent the faces of deified ancestors.(aringa ora ata tepuna).

Imagine encountering this row of 15 moai, overwhelming in size and able to be seen from a far distance. The height of the moai is more than twice the height of the average human. The largest one is 33 feet high. Imagine seeing one lone moai on the coast, compared to a row of 15 of them.

Repetition as an On-Site Art Work

Christo und Jeanne-Claude Umbrella Project (Japan) 19911,340 blue umbrellas in Ibaraki Japan, and 1,760 yellow umbrellas at the Tejon Ranch in southern CaliforniaPhoto taken by Dddeco 27 December 1991, image under the GFDL

Another massive project by Christo and Jeanne-Claude was the installation of large scale blue and yellow umbrella sculptures, 1,340 blue ones in Japan, and 1,760 yellow ones in the U.S.

Besides covering a large area geographically in each site, the sites also linked one country to another. Imagine a field with one large umbrella sculpture. Now imagine more than a thousand of them, in the same field. What is the effect of repetition in this project?

Repetition as an Public Monuments

Public Figures Do-Ho Suh 2001, stone and bronze, 111.81 x 82.44 x 108.27 inches 284 x 209.4 x 275 cm Edition of 3, Lehmann Maupin Gallery New York For the lobby of City Hall, Do-Ho Suh turns the traditional monument upside down with his small-scale maquette for Public Figures. Instead of a single figure perched on a pedestal, Suh creates a pedestal supported by myriad miniature anonymous male and female figures, refocusing the viewer's attention from the individual to the collective masses. Challenging the established notion of the common citizen revering a monument to an important figure, Suh emphasizes the power of the individual within public space.“

Do-Ho Suh uses repetition in much of his work, as a profound statement about the value of each individual within a larger group. In this sculpture, each figure is different from the others although they appear as a single entity. As a group they carry the immense weight of history and the actions of every person, great or small.

PatternGroups of elements or motifs* that repeat

in a predictable manner.

*Motifs can be thought of as units of pattern. In visual arts, they are bounded areas or volumes that contain designs or any desired combination of art elements: stamps, tiles, building blocks, modules, etc. Motifs can be copied and arranged in multiple instances to create a desired effect, such as repetition, rhythm and pattern.

Symbolic uses of Pattern

Detail of hand-woven Asante (Ashante) ceremonial cloth featuring red and yellow (primary colors), green (secondary color, complementary to red), and black (neutral color and the darkest tone available).

From Color interactions: simultaneous contrast, Kente cloth on webexhibits.org: "One of the most sumptuously colored textiles used for clothing is Ghanaian kente cloth, made by Asante and Ewe weavers using specially designed looms. Kente was probably introduced from the western Sudan during the 16th century, when heavy, elaborate, labor-intensive versions of this fabric were designed for wealthy tribal chiefs and simpler designs became available for the general citizenry. Kente is woven in four-inch (9.5 cm) narrow strips that are sewn together. A characteristic Asante kente has geometric shapes woven in bright colors along the entire length of the strip, while Ewe kente often displays a tweed effect by plying together different colored threads in many of the warps. Ewe kente may also incorporate pictorial symbols...Colors convey mood, dark shades being associated with grief and used for mourning ceremonies, while lighter shades are associated with happiness. The symbolic significance of kente is located in the motifs (the elephant signifies kingship, the scorpion bitterness). The colors of the Ghanaian national flag – red, yellow, green and black – are popular in modern cloths."

Pattern is often used symbolically to represent many things: people, beliefs, the natural world, history, tradition.  Colors and shapes have specific meanings, and are passed down from generation to generation. The predictability of pattern is important in establishing a historical tradition and cultural practice.

Pattern as Decoration

Islamic spiritual art does not allow the incorporation of imagery, so pattern is used to convey spiritual principles. This is a detail of a wall from the Alhambra in Spain, one of many, each with complex multi-layered patterns that appear to mimic aspects of the natural world.

Pattern as Decoration

Victorian Philanthropist’s Parlour, Yinka Shonibare1996-1997.

From webexhibits: "Shonibare uses a batik fabric that has African characteristics. However, instead of originating in Africa, the fabric was invented in Indonesia, and the batik printing technique was industrialized by Dutch colonizers in the mid-19th century. Soon after, the British began to produce the fabric in Manchester for West African markets. Shonibare buys his batik from the Brixton market in London. Therefore, Shonibare addresses the (mis)perceptions and the questionable origins of art that is interpreted as “African.” In Shonibare’s work, the fabric comes to symbolize the complex history of Western colonialist exploitation in African countries."

RhythmRhythm is like pattern, in that the same elements

(i.e.shape, line) are repeated; however, with rhythm there are slight variations in the pattern.

Rhythm is easily perceived but complex and subtle. Think of water on a beach; it continually breaks on the shore in lines that are repeated, yet each one is different.

. Rhythms can be broadly categorized as random, regular, alternating, flowing, and progressive.

Kinds of Rhythm

Random Rhythm Groupings of similar motifs or elements that repeat with no regularity create a random rhythm. Pebble beaches, the fall of snow, fields of clover, herds of cattle, and traffic jams all demonstrate random rhythms. What may seem random at one scale, however, may exhibit purpose and order at another scale.

Golconde, René Magritte oil on canvas, 81 x 100 cm

1953

Kinds of Rhythm Regular Rhythm 

Like a heart or song with a steady beat, regular rhythm is created by a series of elements, often identical or similar, that are placed at regular or similar intervals, such as in grids. Simple regular rhythms, if overused, can be monotonous.

Chuck Close - Self Portrait 2007 Screenprint, 2007, Screenprint in 187 colors, 74.5 x 57.8 in.

Kinds of Rhythm

Alternating Rhythm 

Two or more different motifs may be alternated, such as the black and red squares in a checkerboard; a single motif might be flipped, mirrored or rotated every so many iterations; or the placement or spacing between motifs can be alternated. This is essentially a regular rhythm that has more complex motifs, or meta-motifs. The added variety can help lessen the monotony of a regular rhythm.

Jasper Johns - Three Flags, 1958, encaustic on canvas, 30 7/8 × 45 1/2 × 5 in. The flag stripes have alternating rhythm, but the stars and flags themselves have regular rhythm.

Kinds of Rhythm Flowing Rhythm 

Flowing rhythm is created by undulating elements and intervals, bending and curving motifs and spaces. Natural flowing rhythm can be seen in streams and waterways, beaches and waves, sand dunes and glaciers, rolling hills and wind-blown grasses.

M.C. Escher - Lizard, 1942

Gloria Petyarre - Bush Medicine Dreaming, 2008, acrylic on canvas, 152 x 91 cm

Kinds of Rhythm Progressive Rhythm 

In progressive rhythm, each time a motif repeats it changes a little, transforming and translating in a steady sequence - the motif progresses from one thing to another.

Steven Hill - Melon Pitcher, 2010, 10.5 x 9 x 7.5 in.

Kinds of Rhythm

Flowing Rhythm  A flowing rhythm gives a sense of movement, and is often more organic in nature.

Marimekko - Pelimanni and Matkalla Maalle

Gustav Klimt - The Blood of Fish

PLATES for RHYTHM, PATTERN & REPETITION (6 to 10)Plate 6: Chart of Rhythm(brush, acrylic paint, HB pencil, ruler)Plate 7: Geometric Shape and Form(HB pencil, technical pen (3 points), ruler)Plate 8: Organic Shapes and Form(HB pencil, technical pen, acrylic paint, brush, ruler)Plate 9: Thumb Pattern (Regular Rhythm)(Ruler, Acrylic Pen, Pencil)Plate 10: Imprinting Leaves (Progressive Rhythm) (5 found leaves, acrylic paint)

Plate 6: Chart of RhythmPortrait or LandscapeCreate your own chart of the 6

different Kinds of Rhythm.Paint, ink and label your work

accordingly

Plate 7: Geometric Shape and Form2.5 in height, 1in for Principle of Art, 10 in width

Repetition

Pattern

Rhythm

Plate 8: Organic Shapes and Form

Repetition

Pattern

Rhythm

Plate 9: Thumb Pattern (Regular Rhythm)Portrait styleDivide into 5 columns

(measuring 1.5 in) by 11 rows (1 in)

Color each formed rectangle with different colors.

Paint your thumb with a color of your choice and press it on one of the formed rectangles.

Plate 10: Imprinting Leaves (Progressive Rhythm) Portrait or LandscapeLook for a set of 5 leaves of

nearly the same shape but different varying sizes around the school.

Color the background anyway you like.

Color the leaves and imprint it on your sketch pad and create a flow of progressive rhythm.

Creative Output: Stencil MakingMaterials:1/8 Illustration Board Cartolina Cutter Brush Acrylic PaintCutter board Pencil

Method:Create a design on the 1/8 Illustration board.

Leave a two inch margin on all sides of your illustration board

Be mindful on the parts of a stencil design (the bridge, the island and the safety border)

Using your cutter, draw out your design.Lay down your stencil on your cartolina and

using the dry on dry technique, brush your acrylic paint on your stencil.

Repeat the process until you fill up the entire cartolina.

Final Submission is on November 29, 2016.

Sources:https://www.sophia.org/tutorials/design-in-art-repetition-pattern-and-rhythm

http://flyeschool.com/content/repetition-rhythm-and-pattern

http://www.writedesignonline.com/resources/design/rules/rhythm-pattern.html