LESSON 1: ART AND ITS VISUAL ELEMENTS

ART AND ITS VISUAL ELEMENTS

● Line ● Texture
● Shape and Mass ● Space
● Color ● Time and Motion
● Value

The Visual Elements have a relationship to one another:

● Most images begin their life as line drawings.

● Lines cross over one another to form shapes.
● Shapes can be filled with tone and color, or repeated to create patterns.
● A shape may be rendered with a rough surface to create a texture.

Line

– is the foundation of all drawing.

– refers to a prolongation of a point or a mark on a surface.
– suggests shape, pattern, form, structure, growth, depth, distance, rhythm,
movement and a range of emotions.
Shape and Mass
– an area with boundaries identified or drawn using lines.

SHAPES CAN BE:

• natural • organic
• man-made • transparent
• regular • opaque
• irregular • positive
• flat (2-dimensional) • negative
• solid (3-dimensional) • decorative
• representational • symbolic
• abstract • colored, patterned or textured
• geometric

Color
– is the visual element that has the strongest effect on our emotions
– creates the mood or atmosphere of an artwork

THE COLOR WHEEL - is an arrangement of primary, secondary, and tertiary colors.

COLOR SCHEMES
Value
– refers to lightness or darkness of an area
– gives an illusion of depth to a two-dimensional object

Texture
– refers to the feel or appearance of a surface
– may be described as actual or implied

Space
– refers to the distance between or the area
around and within shapes, forms, colors and
lines.

– can be positive or negative

Time and Motion

– movement in the visual arts which can either be an illusion or an actual motion
 LESSON 1: THE SUBJECT OF ART

THE SUBJECT OF ART

● the matter to be described or to be portrayed by the artist
● any person, animal, thing, or issue that is described or represented in an
artwork

Two kinds of art as to subject

1. Representational art or objective art

● Recognizable subject
● Attempt to copy, even if in a subjective manner, something that's real
● uses “form” and is concerned with “what” is to be depicted in the artwork.

2. Non-representational art or non-objective art

● not recognizable subject (non- objective)
● doesn’t represent real objects (abstract)
● uses “content” and is concerned with “how” the artwork is depicted

What are the 9 subjects of art?

1. Landscapes
● focus on the “Physical Environment”.
● most often outdoors.

2. Still Life
● using inanimate objects arranged indoors to control the source of the light
and for the artist to use techniques to create the illusion of depth and
dimension when drawing or painting the objects.

3. Animals
● artists emphasize the naturalness of an animal.

4. Portrait
● artistic representations of people and can be in the form of paintings,
drawings, sculptures, and photographs.
 ● can be measured from the top of the head and usually ends on the chest,
focuses on the face, and shows recognizable features.

5. Figures
● created in sculpture or drawn and painted on a canvas,the chief subject is
the human body.
● may also be clothed or in the nude.

6. Everyday Life or Genre

● depicts everyday life.

7. History and Legend

● verifiable events in a country’s history

8. Religion and Mythology

● used to aid in worship or inspire.

9. Dreams and Fantasy

● explores the subconscious wherein the artist focuses on their imagination for
imagery.
● features the vague and focuses on the impossible and fantastic.

REALISM /REALISTIC
● presented in the most natural state of the subject looks like.
● done the way it actually looks.

Untitled Artwork (2003) By: Araceli Dans

 A. Miñaturismo
● art technique in which artists meticulously apply attention to detail.

B. Trompe-l’oeil
● art technique applied to create an optical illusion and give the impression of
dimension.

DISTORTION
● change or alter the appearance of a subject.
● involve deforming or stretching the subject.

Fiesta (2017) By: Norma Belleza

A. Abstraction
● breaks apart a subject and rearranges it in a different manner.

B. Cubism
● the subject appears as if it is fragmented into geometric shapes.

Candle Vendor (1980) By: Vicente Manansala

NON OBJECTIVISM
● the elements of art, particularly shapes and colors, are simplified.
● deliberate attempt not to include details and shadows of the subjects

Landscape (1969) By: Roberto Chabet

LESSON 3: CONTEMPORARY ART

WHAT IS CONTEMPORARY ART?

● “Art made and produced by artists living today.” - J. Paul Getty
Museum
● It is not restricted to individual experience but it is reflective of the
world we live in.
● Artwork that is created by today’s contemporary artists and has a
world view, and is sensitive to changing times.

ELEMENTS/PRINCIPLES OF CONTEMPORARY ART:

● Appropriation
● Performance
● Space
● Hybridity
● Technology
APPROPRIATION
● Existing artworks are appropriated to produce
another artwork.
● Usage of prints, images, and icons to produce
another art form.
● Combines the past from the present.
● Revives interests to existing forms of art.

PERFORMANCE
● Interpreting various ordinary human activities such as chores,
routines and rituals, to socially relevant themes such as poverty,
commercialism and war.

SPACE
● Arts transforming space. For example, flash mobs, art installations in
malls and parks.
HYBRIDITY
● Usage of unconventional materials, mixing of unlikely materials to
produce an artwork.
● For example, coffee for painting; miniature sculptures using crayons, etc.

TECHNOLOGY
● Usage of technology in the creation and dissemination of
art works.
● Video phenomenon from MTV to Youtube.
● Recording performances, video posting, sharing, live streaming.