4.1: Organizing Art Elements

Figure 4.1: Artwork by a student.²³ (23: Artwork by student is used with permission.)

The principles of art are a way of organizing the art elements to make interesting images or objects. When looking at a work, we often generalize about how the principles are used to create a feeling or overall effect. You may also want to think about the elements of art as words and the principles are the sentences you can create in order to communicate your idea.

As you become a more experienced artist, the elements and principles of art will become a subconscious part of what you do. You will consider the entire artwork and make critically informed decisions about what would make it more aesthetically pleasing. Your personal approach to art making will evolve as you find new inspirations and build new technical skills.

Balance

Balance is the sense of visual equilibrium achieved through implied weight, attention, or attraction within an artwork. In 2D art and design, balance also applies to the physical construction of an artwork.

The three types of visual balance most often used are symmetrical, asymmetrical, and radial balance. An object has symmetry when it feels like all parts are a mirror image of the others, for example a round, straight sided cylinder. Asymmetry is when there is an uneven amount of visual weight on one side of the object.

The use of asymmetrical balance often creates more visually dynamic objects. Radial balance refers to a circular or wheel-like balance in the shape.

Here we see a symmetrically balanced composition that when divided down the middle is equal on both sides, a mirror image.

Figure 4.1: Symmetrical Balance.²⁴ (24: Symmetrical Balance by Wikimedia is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.)

Figure 4.2: Asymmetrical Balance.²⁵ (25: The Great Wave by the Metropolitan Museum of Art is in the public domain.)

Figure 4.3: Radial Balance.²⁶ (26: Radial Balance by Wikimedia is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.)

Figure 4.4: “Impression Sunrise” by Claude Monet 1872.²⁷ (27: Image by Wikimedia is in the public domain.)

The Orange sun against the blue grey fog creates an area of emphasis.

Emphasis

Emphasis (also known as visual dominance) is the creation of visual importance through selective tension. Parts of the object are differentiated from the other parts to enhance attraction and interest.

There are many ways to achieve emphasis, including contrasting or exaggerating size, shape, value, color, and texture. Parts of the object can be used to point the viewers’ attention to the specific element the maker wants to emphasize. This is done through the largest most exciting, or dominant element.

Proportion and Scale

Proportion refers to the relative size of an element measured against other elements or against some norm or standard. Proportion often refers to a ratio of the size of parts to the whole. The "Golden Mean" was a proportional system developed by the ancient Greeks that helped create harmony in Western design. It was based on and can be seen in many forms found in nature.

Figure 4.5: Proportion.²⁸ (28: Rubber Duck in Keelung Harbor is licensed under CC BY 3.0.)

Scale can be another word for size in a work. Scaling can refer to changing the size of an image or object. A comment often heard during critique is that the object would be more interesting if it was a different scale (larger or smaller). As a species, humans relate everything to their own size (life-size, miniature, and monumental). Small things like insects are tiny to us but we are the size of buildings to them.

For much of art history, artists were attempting to define the "perfect" human proportion. The problem with that idea is that there is no such thing as perfect. The human body and its parts have varied across time and space and what is seen as "beautiful" or pleasin

g changes constantly. As a self-absorbed species, the human form has infinite interest to viewer and artists alike.

Movement

Movement (also known as directional force) is the direction and degree of energy implied by the art elements in specific compositional situations and directions. In 3d artworks, the element of actual movement is also possible.

Figure 4.6: "Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash" by Giacomo Balla.²⁹ (29: Image is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.)

Ways to create movement can include lines, repeated figures, blurred outlines, illusions of growth, and multiple images. An object with implied movement creates the sense that the object has momentarily stopped but will continue. Some 3D artworks have implied movement as part of their concept.

Unity

Unity (also known as harmony) is the presentation of an integrated image or object achieved through visual similarity (see repetition).

Figure 4.7: Homage to the Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky.³⁰ (30: In the Black Circle Image by Flickr is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.)

A few ways to achieve unity include proximity of parts, coordination of all elements toward one concept, repetition of the same element in decoration, or a rhythm of slightly changing details. Unity can also be achieved by introducing an element of variety in parts that add up to an interesting whole.

Variety

A principle of art concerned with combining one or more elements of art in diverse ways to create interest. Too much variety can leave a composition feeling chaotic. Not enough variety can make the composition boring.

Figure 4.8: The Old Man sleeping on the Ship is an example of variety³¹ (31: The Old Man Sleeping on the Ship Image by Wikimedia Commons is licensed under CC BY 4.0.)

Rhythm / Repition / Pattern

Rhythm is the intentional, regular repetition of the elements of lines of shapes or color to achieve a specific repetitious effect or pattern and unity in an artwork. Rhythm can also be achieved through pattern, an element repeated in a predictable combination. Rhythm is used to move the viewer through a work of art.

Figure 4.9: Golconda - René Magritte 1953³² (32: Golconda Image by Flickr is licensed under CC BY 2.0.)

Economy

Economy is the elimination of elaborate details leaving only the significant essentials of the object or installation. The goal is to pare it down without making the work monotonous. Economy is often associated with the term "abstraction" in which unnecessary elements are eliminated to show the essence of something.