ORGANIZATION - order in a work of art -the way elements are combined to make a whole -primary demands of organization: 1.

It must make sense - arrangement of parts, the overall design or plan of a work 2. It must be interesting. PLAN - also called the skeleton of the work of art - in music = forms - in literature = types - in visual arts = pyramidal , symmetrical and etc. - Holds the work together y Interest comes from the way form is used- from the elements of which the plan is made and from their interrelations. This may be called organic structure y If plan= skeleton then the organic structure is the flesh and blood with which the skeleton is covered. y The different elements play with and against each other as do the instruments of an orchestra; and so this organic structure or organic unity of a work of art is sometimes called its orchestration. BASIC PLANS IN THE VISUAL ARTS - 2 most common are: symmetrical and pyramidal; the vertical plan and the radial plan are less common. y SYMMETRICAL PLAN -2 sides of this plan are similar and relatively equal -used mostly in architecture y PYRAMIDAL PLAN - Used commonly in painting

- Broad base gives a sense of solidity, and the apex gives emphasis. It is the natural shape of a portrait. y VERTICAL PLAN - Consists of a single vertical figure or other object - Monuments usually follow this plan, as do some modern skyscrapers - Usually used in sculpture, especially in statues of a single figure y RADIAL PLAN - The lines of the picture form radii which meets at a point in the center  Plan is often harder to see in abstract and nonobjective art because these arts are not representational. The organization is based entirely on the repetition and variety of the elements. One color is balanced against another color, one line against another.  In abstract art, the artists are interested in formal aspects to the point where they have abandoned subject in order to concentrate exclusively on form. BALANCE - Sense of equilibrium - One way of getting balance: control of the direction of lines - Theoretically, every detail is necessary in a welldesigned composition, if the balance is perfect, a change in a single detail will upset it. - Asymmetrical balance is one of the beauties of landscape paintings. (occurs when several smaller items on one side are balanced by a large item on the other side, or smaller items are placed further away from the center of the screen than larger items. One darker item may need to be balanced by several lighter items) - Another form of balance: X shape, where two diagonal lines cross

PROPORTION - Aspect of plan that has to do with the comparative size of the parts of a single work - A matter of relative size, never absolute size - In visual arts, proportion at its simplest can be seen in the arrangement of objects on an indefinite surface or field. - Determines our judgments of the beauty of the human body in life and in art - In painting, proportion determines not only the shape of the frame-its height in comparison with its width-but also the placing of the subject in the frame. - Often change to indicate position and power POLYCLITUS -Greek sculptor - wrote a treatise on the proportions for the ideal human figure, which he called The Canon, or The Rule . -also made a statue to illustrate his principles, also called The Canon. It isn t certain just what this statue was, but it is believed to have been the Doryphorus, or Spear Bearer -had a mathematical formula for the figure: the head is one-seventh the height of the entire body, and all details are worked out in terms of fixed ratio LYSIPPUS -introduced a new canon with a smaller head and a slimmer body -head was only one-eighth the height of the body -statue was called Apoxyomenos, or Strigil Bearer (strigil-curved scraper which athletes used to remove oil and dust from the body after exercise FRAME - certain area or surface that is to be filled - within this area, the space should seem neither crowded nor empty

- the choice of shape of the frame partly determines the design of the picture - the lines of the enclosing shape strengthen or oppose the lines of the design - the square is difficult to work with because it is all center and corners; there is no neutral ground. So, rectangle is preferred. - Complex shapes are not always easily filled - Circle is a difficult shape. It is always the same; the eye tends to go around and around it without stopping, and there is a general tendency for a picture to seem to roll over if it is in a circular shape. Some of the best examples, the cyclix or drinking cup (Greek), was ordinarily ornamented on the inside - Another type of frame: Lunette or half moon (semi-circle), has the rich curve of the circle but is held steadily by its horizontal base UNITY AND VARIETY -repetition in sculpture and painting is normally not so exact as the repetition that is characteristic of the industrial arts and architecture -Parthenon: columns are smaller at the top than at the bottom (called entasis of the column)