1. Songs of the Day
“Thriller”
by Michael Jackson
from 1982 album Thriller
“Video Killed the Radio Star”
by The Buggles
from the 1979 album The Age of Plastic

2. Announcements
Quiz 1 will be graded by Thursday, September 5th
Art Walks – first Saturday of every month
My office is still under construction – I’ll be outside of ART
243 during my office hours – blue couches!

3. Take Away from 8.29
What is Art?
Art is a human phenomenon that takes many
forms. Its definition is dependent on both
individual and societal values. Art can express
emotion; evoke reactions; be representative or
abstract; affect the world; be beautiful, be ugly
and interesting at the same time (in other
words not all art is beautiful).

4. Sayre
“Working with Words and Images”
• The process of writing should start as soon as you walk into the
gallery. What are your first impressions, initial reactions, what
artworks capture your attention?
• Focus your writing on a particular piece of art – not multiple
• Jot down the formal elements of an artwork and what they
communicate
• FORMAL DESCRIPTION IS KEY 1) Straight forward description of the
subject matter 2) A summary of the various elements and
principles of design at work it the art piece – begin with medium
or media.
• After formal description = analysis and interpretation often come
‘naturally’ or effortlessly

5. Form, Formalism, and Elements
of Art
Anoli Perera, Stitched and Stretched, 2010

6. FORM
What the artwork looks like
• Aspects of artwork
perceived with senses
• Medium/Materials
• Elements of art
• Principles of art
• The “facts” of the
artwork – one “right”
answer, not open to
interpretation
CONTENT
What the artwork means
• Depends on context
• Depends on viewer
• Multiple & changing
• Requires interpretation
• No easy formula to follow
• Aspects of artwork
perceived with senses
• Medium/Materials
• Elements of art
• Principles of art
• The “facts” of the artwork –
one “right” answer, not
open to interpretation
FORM
What the artwork looks like
!! KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THESE !!

7. Form
MEDIUM
What is the artwork made of ? (materials: oil paint,
pen & ink, watercolor, marble, neon lights, old tires, wire,
list any and everything that is in the artwork.).
How was it made? (applying paint to canvas, thick
layers / brushstrokes, fine detail, welded together, carved
out of a structure, printed off a laser printer)

8. Form
What is the artwork made of ?
How was it made?
MEDIUM
Charcoal on paper
98 x 77 1/8" (248.9 x 195.9 cm)
Diego Rivera, Pneumatic Drilling, 1931

9. Form
What is the artwork made of ?
How was it made?
Yinka Shonibare, Scramble for Africa, 2003
MEDIUM
Fourteen life-size fiberglass
mannequins, fourteen chairs,
table, Dutch wax printed
cotton, 52 x 192 x 110 in.

10. Form
What is the artwork made of ?
How was it made?
Richard Serra, Band, 2006
MEDIUM
Weatherproof steel, 12′ 9″ x
36′ 5″ x 71′ 9 1/2″, plate:
2″

11. Form
ELEMENTS OF ART
1. Shape
2. Line
3. Value (light and dark)
4. Texture & pattern
5. Color
6. Space

12. Form
ELEMENTS OF ART
1. Shape is defined by:
• Line
• Value and shading
• Color
• Texture
• Pattern
• Use of different media

13. Form
SHAPE

14. Form
ELEMENTS OF ART
2. LINE :
A line is long relative to its width. It can define a
space, create an outline or pattern, imply
movement or texture and allude to mass or
volume.

15. Form
LINE

16. Form
LINE – implied line
The marks are discontinuous – imply a line/shape

17. Form
LINE – indistinct lines / none

18. Form
ELEMENTS OF ART
3. VALUE refers to the lightness / darkness of a
surface :
Value
scale

19. Form
VALUE
Pablo Picasso
The Tragedy, 1903

20. Form
VALUE
High contrast (wide
range of values)
Low contrast
(narrow range of
values)

21. Form
ELEMENTS OF ART
4. TEXTURE AND PATTERN
texture = the surface quality that can be seen and felt
pattern = repeated visual form

22. Form
TEXTURE AND PATTERN

23. Form
TEXTURE AND PATTERN
M.C. Escher
Lizard
1942
tessellation
Op Art

24. Form
TEXTURE AND PATTERN

25. Form
TEXTURE

26. Form
ELEMENTS OF ART
5. COLOR
Color Theory
A set of principles and rules governing and
describing the understanding and use of color

27. Form
COLOR
The Color Wheel
Formulated by an
important 17th century
thinker who is better
known for other
accomplishments…

28. Form
COLOR
formulated by
mathematician and
physicist Sir Isaac Newton
(1642-1727) in 1666
Better known for:
• “Discovering” gravity
and laws of motion
• Modern telescope
• Contributed to the
development of
calculus

29. Form
COLOR
Monochromatic:
Various values of a single
color

30. Form
COLOR
Analogous:
Colors that are next to
each other on the color
wheel
These colors readily
harmonize and blend
together
Often found in nature

31. Form
COLOR
Analogous:
Leonardo da Vinci Ginevra deʼ’Benci
ca. 1474

32. Form
COLOR
Complementary:
Colors opposite each other
on the color wheel
When placed next to each
other, they look more intense
and brilliant
Creates energy, vitality, and
tension

33. Form
Vincent Van Gogh, The Night Café, 1888

34. Form
Vincent Van Gogh, Starry Night, 1889

37. Afterimage:
A perceptual phenomenon. Light
sensors in your eyes vibrate and
oscillate several seconds after visual
stimulation. has gone.

38. Form
COLOR
Warm colors: Vivid and
energetic; seem to advance in
space
Cool colors: Give
impression of calm;
soothing; recede in space
Neutrals: White, black
and gray

39. Form
COLOR
• Colors are associated with ideas, emotions, and
events
• Color associations are cultural and individual
• Colors have emotional effects

40. Form
ELEMENTS OF ART
6. SPACE is the area between and around
objects. The space around objects is often
called negative space; negative space has
shape. Space can also refer to the feeling of
depth.

41. Form
SPACE

42. Class Activity
Describe these two paintings in terms of their medium and the various
elements (shape, line, value, texture & pattern, color, space) – how
are these images similar how are they different?

43. Class Activity
What element (shape, line, value, texture & pattern, color, space) is most
prominent in either piece?

44. Suprasensorial Experience
FORM = aspects of artwork perceived with senses
Suprasensorial Experience, MoCA – Los Angeles 2010-11