This document defines key terms related to form and visual ordering in art. It discusses form as the arbitrary organization of visual elements according to principles that develop unity. The vocabulary terms cover concepts like balance, symmetry, repetition, and harmony. Principles of organization are outlined as seven guidelines for using elements of art, including harmony, variety, balance and others, to achieve unity. Form and visual ordering are discussed as the structural principles that create order from chaos in a work of art.

1. Art Fundamentals
Chapter 2
Form

2. Art Fundamentals
Chapter 2
THE VOCABULARY OF
INTRODUCTORY TERMS

3. THE VOCABULARY OF
INTRODUCTORY TERMS
Form:
1. The arbitrary organization or
inventive arrangement of all
the visual elements
according to the principles
that will develop unity in the
artwork.
2. The total appearance or
organization.

4. THE VOCABULARY OF
INTRODUCTORY TERMS
Form:
1. The arbitrary organization or
inventive arrangement of all
the visual elements
according to the principles
that will develop unity in the
artwork.
2. The total appearance or
organization.

5. THE VOCABULARY OF
INTRODUCTORY TERMS
 academic
 Art that conforms to
established traditions and
approved conventions as
practiced in art academies.
 Academic art stresses
standards and set procedures
and rules.

6. THE VOCABULARY OF
INTRODUCTORY TERMS
 allover pattern
 The repetition of
designed units in a
readily recognizable
systematic
organization covering
the entire surface.

7. THE VOCABULARY OF
INTRODUCTORY TERMS
 allover pattern
 The repetition of
designed units in a
readily recognizable
systematic
organization covering
the entire surface.

8. THE VOCABULARY OF
INTRODUCTORY TERMS
 allover pattern
 The repetition of
designed units in a
readily recognizable
systematic
organization covering
the entire surface.

9. THE VOCABULARY OF
INTRODUCTORY TERMS
 approximate symmetry
 The use of similar imagery
on either side of a central
axis.
 The visual material on one
side may resemble that on
the other but is varied to
prevent visual monotony.

10. THE VOCABULARY OF
INTRODUCTORY TERMS
 asymmetry
 Having unlike, or non-
corresponding, appearances -
"without symmetry."
 An example: a two-
dimensional artwork that,
without any necessarily visible
or implied axis, displays an
uneven distribution of parts
throughout.

11. THE VOCABULARY OF
INTRODUCTORY TERMS
 balance
 A sense of equilibrium
achieved through implied
weight, attention, or
attraction, by manipulating
the visual elements within an
artwork to achieve unity.

12. THE VOCABULARY OF
INTRODUCTORY TERMS
 closure
 A concept from Gestalt
psychology in which the
development of groupings or
patterned relationships occurs
when incomplete information is
seen as a complete, unified whole;
the artist provides minimum visual
clues, and the observer brings
them to final recognition.

13. THE VOCABULARY OF
INTRODUCTORY TERMS
 composition
 An arrangement and/or
structure of all the art
elements, according to the
principles of organization,
that achieves a unified whole.
 Often used interchangeably
with the term design.

14. THE VOCABULARY OF
INTRODUCTORY TERMS
 concept
I. A comprehensive idea or
generalization.
2. An idea that brings diverse
elements into a basic
relationship.

15. What can you make from the
elements on the left?

16. THE VOCABULARY OF
INTRODUCTORY TERMS
 design
 The underlying plan on
which artists base their total
work.
 In a broader sense, design
may be considered
synonymous with the term
form.

17. THE VOCABULARY OF
INTRODUCTORY TERMS
 dominance
 The principle of visual
organization in which certain
elements assume more
importance than others in the
same composition or design.
Some features are
emphasized, and others are
subordinated.

18. THE VOCABULARY OF
INTRODUCTORY TERMS
 economy
 The distillation of the image
to the basic essentials for
clarity of presentation.

19. THE VOCABULARY OF
INTRODUCTORY TERMS
 Gestalt (Gestalt psychology)
 A German word for "form"; an
organized whole in experience.
 Around 1912, the Gestalt
psychologists promoted the
theory that explains
psychological phenomena by
their relationships to total forms,
or Gestalten, rather than by
their parts.
 “The whole is greater than
the sum of its parts.”

20. THE VOCABULARY OF
INTRODUCTORY TERMS
 golden mean, golden section
I. Golden mean - "perfect"
harmonious proportions that avoid
extremes; the moderation between
extremes.

21. THE VOCABULARY OF
INTRODUCTORY TERMS
 golden mean, golden section
2. Golden section - a traditional
proportional system for visual
harmony expressed when a line or
area is divided into two sections so
that the smaller part is to the larger
as the larger is to the whole.
 The ratio developed is 1: 1.6180 ...
or roughly 8:1 3.

22. THE VOCABULARY OF
INTRODUCTORY TERMS
 golden mean, golden section
The ratio developed is 1: 1.6180 ...
or roughly 8:1 3.

23. THE VOCABULARY OF
INTRODUCTORY TERMS
 golden mean, golden section
The ratio developed is 1: 1.6180 ...
or roughly 8:1 3.

24. THE VOCABULARY OF
INTRODUCTORY TERMS
 golden mean, golden section
The ratio developed is 1: 1.6180 ...
or roughly 8:1 3.

25. THE VOCABULARY OF
INTRODUCTORY TERMS
 golden mean, golden section

26. THE VOCABULARY OF
INTRODUCTORY TERMS
 harmony
 The quality of relating the visual
elements of a composition.
 Harmony is achieved by the
repetition of characteristics that
are the same or similar.
 These cohesive factors create
pleasing interaction.

27. THE VOCABULARY OF
INTRODUCTORY TERMS
 interpenetration
 The movement of planes,
objects, or shapes through
each other, locking them
together within a specified
area of space.

28. THE VOCABULARY OF
INTRODUCTORY TERMS
 motif
 A designed unit or pattern
that is repeated often
enough in the total
composition to make it a
significant or dominant
feature.
 Motif is similar to theme or
melody in a musical
composition.

29. THE VOCABULARY OF
INTRODUCTORY TERMS
 movement
 Eye travel directed by visual
pathways in a work of art.

30. THE VOCABULARY OF
INTRODUCTORY TERMS
 pattern
 I. Any artistic design (sometimes
serving as a model for imitation).
 2. A repeated element and/or
design that is usually varied and
produces interconnections and
obvious directional movements.

31. THE VOCABULARY OF
INTRODUCTORY TERMS
 principles of organization
 Seven principles that guide the
use of the elements of art in
achieving unity:
 harmony,
1. variety,
2. balance,
3. proportion,
4. dominance,
5. movement, and
6. economy.

32. THE VOCABULARY OF
INTRODUCTORY TERMS
 proportion
 The comparative relationship
between the parts of a whole
or units as to size.

33. THE VOCABULARY OF
INTRODUCTORY TERMS
 radial
 Emanating from a central
location.

34. THE VOCABULARY OF
INTRODUCTORY TERMS
 repetition
 The use of the same visual
effect a number of times in the
same composition.
 Repetition may produce the
dominance of one visual idea,
a feeling of harmonious
relationship, an obviously
planned pattern, or a rhythmic
movement.

35. THE VOCABULARY OF
INTRODUCTORY TERMS
 rhythm
 A continuance, a flow, or a
sense of movement
achieved by the repetition of
regulated visual units; the
use of measured accents.

36. THE VOCABULARY OF
INTRODUCTORY TERMS
 scale
 The association of size
relative to a constant
standard or specific unit of
measure related to human
dimensions.

37. THE VOCABULARY OF
INTRODUCTORY TERMS
 symmetry
 The exact duplication of
appearances in mirror-like
repetition on either side of a
(usually imaginary) straight-
lined central axis.

38. THE VOCABULARY OF
INTRODUCTORY TERMS
 transparency
 A visual quality in which a
distant image or element
can be seen through a
nearer one.

39. THE VOCABULARY OF
INTRODUCTORY TERMS
 unity
 The result of bringing the
elements of art into the
appropriate ratio between
harmony and variety to
achieve a sense of oneness.

40. THE VOCABULARY OF
INTRODUCTORY TERMS
 variety
 Differences achieved by
opposing, contrasting,
changing, elaborating, or
diversifying elements in a
composition to add
individualism and interest;
the counterweight of
harmony in art.

41. Art Fundamentals
Chapter 2
Form
THE VOCABULARY OF
INTRODUCTORY TERMS
End

42. Form and Visual Ordering
A completed work of art =
Subject + Form + Content

43. Form and Visual Ordering
 Form: The structural
principles of visual order.
 When we see images, we
take part in visual forming.
 The mind instinctively tries to
create order out of chaos.
 Artists are visual formers
with a plan.

44. Form and Visual Ordering
 Principles of Organization:
1. Harmony
2. Variety
3. Balance
4. Proportions
5. Dominance
6. Movement
7. Economy
= UNITY

45. Form and Visual Ordering
 The PLAN  Composition or Design
 The plan will effectively
communicate the
artist’s feelings.
 How the elements
are organized.

46. Form and Visual Ordering
 One must know about
the individual elements
in order to use them to
harmonize a work.

47. Art Fundamentals
Chapter 2
Form
End