The document discusses key principles of visual art and design such as subject matter, form, content, and context. It explains that subject matter is the central topic or idea, form is how it is structured, content includes themes and meanings, and context considers the circumstances of its creation and viewing. Design combines subject matter and intent with materials and media to create meaningful artifacts. Form is the physical manifestation of an idea that can identify, inform, or persuade depending on its visualization and the viewer's interpretation within a given context.

1. Elemen dan Prinsip Dasar Senirupa dan Desain
(Design Basics 01)
Presented by Karna Mustaqim
@ Universitas Pelita Harapan
12 Juni 2012
03

2. INVESTIGATION & EXAMINATION
U
I
N N
QUESTIONING ITS QUESTIONING ITS
T SUBJECT MATTER D
CONTEXTS
E E
DESIGN ISSUES: THEMATICS
R VISUAL HERITAGE OR R
COMMERCIAL WORKS
P S
R T
E
A
T QUESTIONING ITS QUESTIONING ITS
FORMS MEDIUM N
A
T D
I
EXPRIMENTATION WITH
VISUAL DESIGN:
TRADITIONAL & NEW MEDIA
TECHNOLOGY
I
O TYPOGRAPHIC, TECHNIQUES N
PHOTOGRAPHY, TOOLS
N ANIMATION, ETC. EQUIPMENT G

3. Pendahuluan
The SUBJECT MATTER is the What
of a work of art—representation of
people, places, things, themes, proce
sses, ideas. The subject is identifiable
or at least reflects some sort of visual
experience.

4. Pendahuluan
If subject matter is the what in a work
of art, FORM is the How. It is the
general structure and overall
organization of a composition. It
signifies the totality of technical
means and materials employed by the
artist, as well as all of the visual
strategies and pictorial devices used
to express and communicate.

5. Pendahuluan
CONTENT comes close to being the
Why of a work of art in that it includes
what we might consider the reasons
behind its (choosen) appearance—the
visual elements, the subject
matter, and its underlying meaning or
themes.
Source: Lois Fichner-Rathus (2012: 12-
14). Foundations of Art and Design

6. Pendahuluan
CONTEXT. Meaning of artworks
depend on context, the circumstances
that form their setting.
Internal, Social, Political, Cultural, His
torical, Ecological, etc. Context’s
viewing from Artist or Designer, Client
or Stakeholder, and Audience or
Spectator.

7. Basic Visual Concept for Designer
In design studies, point, line, and
plane are the most basic and primary
of all the visual elements.
Both 2D & 3D compositions and forms
are created by combining the
SUBJECT MATTER, MEANING, or
INTENT with MATERIALS or MEDIA;
the result is a tangible figure or FORM

8. Basic Visual Concept for Designer
During the ‘generation’ of a FORM,
we produce meaningful art forms: the
artifacts of design
FORM (FORMA) ~ IDEATION ~ GAGASAN
In arts, Form in broadest sense
means to describe the total visual
organization of a work, called it
Design, or composition.

9. The conceptual or thinking process in
designing is a contestation between:
Form & Content
Form is the physical manifestation of
an idea, as opposed to the content,
which refers to the idea itself
Content is the meaning or
significance message of an artwork or
design.

10. MEANING MAKING
FORM CONTENT CONTEXT MEDIUM
MATTER MATERIALS
SUBJECT MATTER
FORMING
VISUALIZATION
FORMA ISI
(IDEAS) (WUJUD)
(KANDUNGAN)
ILUSTRASI
KAYU  KURSI  KEDUDUKAN 
FOTOGRAFI TEMPAT DUDUK

11. Visual FORM
Prinsip
GESTALT
- CLOSURE
- CONTINUANCE
- PROXIMITY
deSIGN - SIMILARITY
- FIGURE & GROUND
- Law of PRAGNANZ
MEANING MAKING
CONTENT CONTEXT
SEMANTICS
Denotasi / Konotasi
to IDENTIFY to INFORM to PERSUADE

12. Form sebagai
Idea - Gagasan
Bagaimana Penataan Bagaimana Visual
Komposisi Visualnya? akan di-persepsi orang?
Visual Form
:Desain: Bagaimana orang
Apa yang Desainer Kt. Benda mencerapi Desainnya?
Visualisisasikan? Kt. Kerja
Subject Matter – Content Placement – Context
Apa yang dikomunikasikan Dimana Desain ditempatkan
dengan Desain dalam ruang & waktu tertentu.
Tujuan Desain dibuat?
Seperti Apa & Bagaimana Pesan Visual
yang dikomunikasikan lewat Desain ingin
dipahami? Apa reaksi yang diharapkan?

13. James McNeil Whistler
(1834 — 1903)
Arrangement in Black and Gray
No. 1: Portrait of the Artist’s
Mother (1871)
Oil on canvas, 4 ft. 9 in. × 5 ft. 4. in. (1.45 × 1.64 m)
Musee d’Orsay, Paris, France

14. Theo Van Doesburg. Studies for The Cow (1917). Oil on canvas (14 3/4” x 25”). Source:
Lois Fichner-Rathus (2012: 13). Foundations of Art and Design

15. IKKO TANAKA. Nihon Buyo.
1981. Offset lithograph.
401⁄2 x 283⁄4“ (102.2 x 73 cm).
The Museum of Modern
Art, New York.