THE ELEMENTS OF ART

The artist utilizes the mediums and puts together elements to create a
work of art. The medium is the physical means through which he can come up
with a work of art, and the elements are its quantities or properties. An
element of art can be achieved through the use of a particular medium. To
create color, for example, the artists use and mix pigments.

Elements in Visual Arts

The elements of visual arts are line, color, texture, perspective, space,
form, volume, light, and shadow.

Line
Line is an important element at the disposal of every artist. Through the
lines, as in painting or sculpture, the artist represents figures and forms.

Lines always have direction. They are always moving. Lines are use in
any work of art, may either be straight or curved.

Man, usually lies prone when asleep or when at rest and stands erect
when in action. He stands stiff and straight when resistant or stern. In
contrasts, he relaxes when in playful mood, with the lines of his body falling
into easy curves. When a man is in motion, he bend forward; when he
encounters an opposing force, he braces against it. The greater opposing force,
the sharper will be the angle of his body and the straighter the line will be.

Man has learned that certain emotional states find expression in definite
positions. He associates these emotions with lines. When given a work of art
man calls upon his unconscious mind with its accompanying emotional state.
A straight line is the basic framework of many forms, but it lacks softness and
flexibility. Straight lines, however, suggest efficiency, simplicity, and strength.
Straight lines depict flexibility, buoyancy, and grace. The straight line moves in
one direction only. It may either be horizontal, vertical, or diagonal.

Horizontal lines are lines of repose and serenity. They express ideas of
calmness and quiescence. Horizontal lines are found in reclining persons, in
landscapes, calm bodies of water, and in the distant meeting of the earth and
sky in what is commonly called the horizon.

Vertical lines are lines that denote action. They suggest poise, balance,
force aspiration, exaltation, and dynamism. Vertical lines seen in a man
standing straight, a tall tree, and in statues of saints, and heroes give an
impression of dignity. Vertical lines also tend to express as well as arouse
emotions of exaltation and inquietude; this is evident in monumental
architecture. The Gothic cathedral express the aforementioned sentiments that
possessed the soul of Norther Europe in the later Middle Ages.

Diagonal lines suggest action, life and movement. They give animation
to any composition in which they appear. Almost every object in an action
assumes a diagonal line. A running person makes a diagonal line with his body
and legs. The degree of action is shown by the angle the diagonal makes in
relation to the ground.

As masters in any art, try to perfect their technique, they are able to
work more or less instinctively, and they begin to express themselves more and
more through the freedom, buoyancy, and grace of curved lines. They also
learned to restrict the use of straight lines to types of work, the structural
requirements of which are steadiness and force.

Curved lines suggest grace, subtleness, direction, instability movement,

flexibility, joyousness, and grace. They are never harsh or stern since they are
formed by gradual change in direction. they tend to impart these qualities to
any work where they are used. The restrained curved lines exemplified in the
woman's body and the bamboo stem where according to Philippine legend, man
and woman spring, is depicted in a mural by the late artist Carlos "Botong"
Francisco.

Crooked or jagged lines express energy, violence, conflict, struggle.

Lines may also be classified into three groups: lines which follow or repeat one
another, lines which contrast with one another, and transitional lines which
modify or soften the effect of others.

Repetition occurs when two or more lines are drawn within a corner.
Lines that are in opposition to each other form a contrast. When a curved line
cuts across a corner from an opposition line to another, it forms a transitional
line. Transitional lines modify the sharpness of vertical and horizontal lines in
giving a harmonizing effect.

In painting, there should be an organic unity of lines to produce balance

and symmetry, proportion of lengths and widths and rhythm.

Color Of all the elements of visual arts, color has the most aesthetic
appeal. Delight in color is a universal human characteristic. Color is a property
of light. When light goes out, color goes with it.
 The light of the sun contains all the colors of the spectrum; violet, indigo,
blue, green, yellow, orange, and red. These colors are so blended that they yield
no appearance of color. When a beam of light passes through a prism, the
different When light strikes a surface, some of the color rays are absorbed
while others rays of color are separated so we are able to see and identify them
from each other. are reflected. Others pass through, especially when the object
is transparent. Most surfaces absorb all the color rays except those which yield
a single-color sensation and therefore appear to be of that color. A blue dress
absorbs all the color rays except the blue ray which it reflects. A red ball
absorbs all the color rays except the red ray which it reflects. The color of an
object therefore is determined by the rays which are reflected to the eyes of the
beholder. Objects that appear to be black absorbed practically all the color rays
and reflect none, while objects that appear white reflect all the color rays
equally. gray is due to the partial reflection of the color rays. White, gray, and
black have no color quality. They are called neutral colors.

Three-Dimensions of Color
Color has three dimensions or attributes: hue, value, and intensity.

Hue
Hue is the dimension of color that gives color its name. When we say, the
flower is yellow, we're naming its hue. Color names such as red, blue green,
violet, and yellow indicate hue. Blue, red, and yellow are primary hues. If these
primary hues are mixed in equal parts, the secondary hues are produced. The
secondary hues are orange, green, and violet: Orange is produced by mixing
red and yellow; green by mixing yellow and blue; and violet by mixing blue and
red.
Colors may either be warm or cool. Red, orange, and yellow are the warm
hues. They are associated with objects like the sun, fire, and other sources of
heat. they tend to impart warmth to any composition in which they are used.
They are conspicuous, cheerful, stimulating, vivacious, joyous, and exciting.
They are suggestive of impetuous or instinctive action. They are called
advancing colors because they have an effect of advancing or coming towards
you. The cool colors are those where blue predominates like green, blue-green,
blue, and blue- violet. They cause surfaces covered with them to appear or
recede. They suggest distance. They are calm, sober, restful, and
inconspicuous.

Red, the color of fire and blood, is the warmest, most vigorous, and most
exciting of the colors. It stands for passion and energy. yellow, the color of
light, is the most brilliant, cheerful, and exultant of the colors. It suggests
cheerfulness magnificence, life, and splendor. It serves to balance the warm
colors like red and orange. Green is the color for vegetation and symbolizes life
and freshness. Violet represents shadows and mysteries; black, despair, death
and pain; orange suggests deliciousness and warmth. Blue, the color of the sky
and of deep and still water, is the coolest and the most tranquil of the colors. It
arouses the feelings of peace and quietness.

Color and line should not evoke an emotion as much as express it. The
painting must express the emotion intended by the artist. Unless the spectator
is made aware this emotion as truly there in the canvas, the painting is not
aesthetic at all (Panizo and Rustia, 1995). Through color and line, painting
moves the spectator.

Value
Value sometimes called chiaroscuro, refers to the lightness or darkness
of a color. It is a quality which depends on the amount of light and dark in
color. They give the expression of depth and solidity and lend form to paintings.

An understanding of values will help the artist use colors to the best
advantage. It will offer important suggestions for the arrangement of color
values in interior decoration. The floor should be the darkest in the room, the
walls should be lighter, and the ceiling, the lightest. If the color of the floor is
lighter than the wall, it will not give the feeling of being a solid foundation.

Tints are value above the normal and shades are values below the
normal. Pink is a tint of red, maroon is a shade of red. Sky blue is a tint, navy
blue is a shade.
The value of a hue can be changed. We raise hue by adding more light so
that it reflects more light it can reflect.

Intensity
Intensity, another dimension of color, refers to its brightness or
darkness. It gives color strength. Difference in intensity may be described as
full intensity, two-thirds intensity and two-thirds neutral. Two colors may be
both blue but one is more intense than the other. When it is dulled, it is said to
be partly neutralized. The more black or white is added, the weaker the
intensity becomes.
Color plays an important role in the works of artists. Painters use one
color to balance and enrich the other to awaken the emotional responses of the
viewer. Although painting is known as the art of color, color is also important
in sculpture and architecture. Buildings are painted; bronze is selected for its
rich brown color and marble for its whiteness.

Color Hamonies
 There are two kinds of color harmonies related color harmonies and
contrasted color harmonies.

Related color harmonies

Related color harmonies may either be monochromatic or adjacent.

Monochromatic harmony is made up of several tones of one hue, like for
instance orange, tan, brown, and other tones from the orange family.
Monochromatic harmonies are simplest and easiest to use. Different tones of
the same hue all have something in common, so it is easy for them to agree.

In adjacent or neighboring harmony, two or three neighboring hues on

the color circle are used together. For example. tones of green, yellow, and
orange can produce delightful harmony. They have something in common
because there is yellow in green and in orange. Good adjacent harmonies can
be produced by using other groups of neighboring colors like yellow, orange,
and red orange, red, and violet.

Contrasted color harmonies

Colors which lie directly opposite to each other in the color circle are
called complementary colors. Red and green, orange and blue, and violet and
yellow are complementary colors. They contrast which each other strongly;
therefore, they are more difficult to use harmoniously than related color
combinations.

Texture
Texture is an element that deals more directly with the sense of touch. It
has to do with the characteristic of surfaces which can be rough or smooth,
fine, or coarse, shiny or dull, plain or irregular. Texture is best appreciated
when an object is felt with the hands.

Texture is found in all the visual arts. A painting, a building, or a piece of

sculpture have textures which can be felt and described in a variety of ways.
Texture is due primarily to differences in medium. In architecture, the varied
feels of wood, concrete, and metal determine the texture of building. The
sculptor can also produce differences in texture in works. He can leave marks
on the surfaces of a statue or he can polish it to give it a shiny and smooth
texture. Together with the other elements, texture can contribute to the total
effect of the finished work of art.

In painting, texture is exhibited through the representation of the skin,

clothes, jewelry, furniture, and others. Texture can add richness and vitality to
paintings. Contemporary painters have realized the important effects of texture
on their work.

During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, a high premium was

placed on very smooth surfaces and forms. A group of painters including
Cezzane, Picasso and others emphasized texture by purposely making portions
of the painting rough.

The aesthetic value of texture lies first of all in the fact that it makes
gradation of color possible. Texture gives unevenness to a surface which causes
the color of the surface to be broken into gradations of light and shade.

Texture is very real to the sculptor and architect because wood, stone,
brick concrete, and metal feel differently. To the painter, texture is an illusion.
He must make an object look the way it would feel when one touches it.

Perspective

Perspective deals with the effect of distance upon the appearance of

objects, by means of which the eye judges spatial relationships. It enables us to
perceive distance and to see the position of objects in space. There are two
kinds of perspective: linear perspective and aerial perspective. To get depth or
distance, an artist uses both linear and aerial perspective.

Linear perspective is the representation of an appearance of distance by

means of converging lines. The tracks of a railroad appear to the viewer as
seeming to rise and meet in the distance. Linear perspective involves the
direction of lines and the size of objects. Painters usually show the effect of
space and distance by using converging lines and diminishing size. Parallel
lines below eye level seem to rise to a vanishing point in the horizon, while
those above eye level seem to rise to descend to the vanishing point. Near
objects are seen in full intensity of color. Objects appear smaller as they recede
into the distance. People or objects appear smaller as they recede into the
distance. People or objects at the background of a painting seem to be shorter
than those in front.

Space
In painting, as in architecture, space is for great importance. The exterior
of a building is seen as it appears in space, while interior is seen by one who is
inside an enclosure. Painting does not deal with space directly. It represents
space only on a two-dimensional surface. Sculpture involves very little space
relationship or perception of spaсе.
Form
Form applies to the overall design of a work of art. It describes the
structure or a shape of an object. Form directs the movements of the eyes.
Since form consists of size and volume, it signifies visual weight. Every kind of
form has its own aesthetic effect. All the visual arts are concerned with form.
Sculpture and architecture deal with three-dimensional forms. Sculpture,
however, deals with exterior form alone because one cannot get inside a statue.
The sculptor is restricted to masses in relation to other masses as a means of
interpretation. Michelangelo's "David" idealizes and conventionalizes forms and
features, like the best of the Golden Age Greek sculpture.

Good architecture allows outward forms to be governed by what goes

inside them. A house is a place for a family to live in, therefore, the inside
should be carefully designed to meet the needs of the family. If the exterior
form of the house expresses clearly the interior form, the house becomes a
good piece of art. A church must express on the outside that the inside is a
place of worship for it to become a good work of art. Architecture therefore lives
by guiding principle "form follows function." This means that the inner content
of purpose or function governs the outer appearance.

In addition, to function, another factor in determining form is the way in

which a building is constructed. Skyscrapers would not have been built had it
not been made necessary by rising land values resulting from urban
congestion. Great architecture, therefore, is produced only when elements of
function and construction are integrated into creative design.

Triangles, circles, and rectangles are favorite designs used by painters.

Tables, buildings, picture frames, and furniture are usually composed of cubes
or rectangular solids. Oranges, electric bulbs, lakes, and domes are shaped as
spheres, trees, mountains, and flowers are cones. The trunk of trees, human
arms or legs, and pencils are cylinders.

Architecture is also concerned with shapes of planes, openings, and

silhouettes of building forms.

Elements of Auditory Arts and Combined Arts

 Poetic devices such as
 rhythm
 image
 metaphor
 Properties of musical sound such as
 pitch
 duration
  volume
 timbre

Graffiti are writings or drawings which have been scribbled, scratched,

or painted on walls or other surface materials, often within public view. Graffiti
ranged from simple written words of drawings to elaborate wall paintings.
Graffiti existed since ancient times dating back to Ancient Egypt, Greece and
the Roman Empire.

In the contemporary society, spray paint and marker pens are usually
used as graffiti materials. Graffiti do not only express stylistic and artistic
expression. More often they express socio-political messages. In a hip-hop
culture, graffiti have evolved alongside hip-hop music, b-boying and other
elements. Gangs also use their own form of graffiti to mark territory or to serve
as indicator of gang-related activities.

In the Philippines, marking of painting private and government

properties without the owner's consent is considered defacement and
vandalism, crimes punishable by law.

Poetry-performance is specifically composed for or during a

performance before an audience. In the 1980's, poetry performed was very
popular to describe poetry written or composed for performance rather than
print distribution, mostly open to improvisation.

Performance art is a performance which is presented to the audience. It

can be presented in many ways. Performance may:
 either be scripted or unscripted
 either random or carefully orchestrated
 be spontaneous or carefully planned
 be with or without audience
 be live or via media

Likewise, performance can be present of absent. Performance can be any

situation where the four (4) basic elements are involved: time, space, the
performer's body, or presented in a medium and the relationship between
performer and audience.

Performance can take place anywhere, in any type of venue or setting

and for any length and duration of time.

The actions of the performance or group of performance at a particular

place and time contribute the performance.
Digital art
This art introduces the digital artists to the world of possibilities for
putting their artistic and creative skills to work online in any number of fields.
Artistic expression covers rules governing images, where to find them and how
to manipulate images and word art, logos, and banner. Digital Art Technologies
include 3D computer modelling, powerpoint presentations, web design, film,
video and film making.

Modified Art Expression

It is a range of techniques, manipulating and experimenting with all
aspects of the works. This can be done by calligraphic text, deconstructed
books, intricately hand-cut paper, and recycled and re-sculptured materials.
Modified art expression is a fascinating collection of artworks that
demonstrates each artist's personal interrelation of the texts, transforming
literary works into visual ones and creating powerful new forms of expression.

Transcreation (creative translation)

This is the process of adapting a message from one language to another
while maintaining its intent, style, tone, and context. A message that was
successfully transcreated evokes the same emotions and carries the same
implications in the target languages as it does in the source language.
Nowadays, transcreation is widely used in global marketing and advertising
campaign as advertisers seek to transcend the boundaries of culture and
language. Transcreation takes account of images which are used within a
creative message to ensure that they are suitable for the target local market.
In other words, transcreation is taking the essence of a message and re-
creating it is another language or dialect.

Purpose of Transcreation

The purpose of transcreation is to transfer the intent, style, vocal tone,

and emotional salience of the message from the source language to that of the
targeted audience. To do this process, it requires expertise in marketing,
linguistic skills and knowledge of targeted cultures. Thus, to produce effective
transcreation, local language copywriters need to have extensive knowledge of
their market, excellent language skills and the ability to creativity adapt
message for the target market.

Transcreation and Translation

These two terms are not identical but are related processes. In
translation, a word for word translation is inadequate. The best translation
takes into account the vocabulary, grammar, syntax, idiom and local ways of
the target audience while remaining faithful to the text as well as to the context
of the original document.

On the other hand, transcreation expands the translation by focusing

not so much as the literal text but on discerning the emotional response by
viewers in the Source language and working to elicit the same response from
viewers in the target market. In short, transcreation is taking a concept in one
language, and completely recreating it in another language.

Transcreation of text to music

In novel or poetry, one can generate music with emotional feeling.

Example: Recite the poem "Tree" by Joyce Kilmer and transcreate it to music.

Transcreation of text to dance

Its using a dialogue or text to influence and enhance dance performance.
According to Karin Barber, when words are uttered, it captures a prominent
instance in the performance. She further said that "the text is a permanent
artefact, handwritten or printed, while the performance is the unique, never-to-
be-repeated realization of the text, a realization that 'brings the text to life but
which is itself doomed to die on the breach in which it is uttered."

Transcreation of dance to visual art

The great majority of the evidence for dance occurred in Ancient Greek
which come from visual art. Sculptures and paintings on pots represented
dancers. Relief sculpture in tombs included scenes of dancers. The canon for
artistic representation was in place because the deceased and his or her family
needed to be depicted in a very specific way in order to activate the magic that
transported them to the next world.