THE FORMAL ELEMENTS Line – · Includes actual lines, implied lines, lines formed by edges, directional lines, and lines forming pattern, texture, shading, and contour lines creating modeling · Strictly defined: a line is a path traced by a moving point · Can be organic or straight · Popular among artists utilizing contour lines such as Matisse · Shape – · A two-dimensional area having identifiable boundaries, created by lines, color or value changes, or some combination of these · Form: deals with composition and the physical appearance of a work of art relating to materials and style Mass – · Three-dimensional form, often implying bulk, density, and weight Light – · Actual light, illusion of light · The contrasts created by light and darkness (related to value) · The origin of light and how that effects the interpretation of the work · Rembrandt is well known as a painter of light.  He uses small beams of light as emphasis in his paintings, creating shadows.  He plays with light in such as way so that the light itself actually becomes a character in the painting. Value – · Refers to light and dark, chiaroscuro (movement or gesture of light and shade) · The gradation of a gray scale or hue, tint and shade Color – · Local color, emotional qualities of color (the mood), color schemes · Analogous color, monochromatic color, triads, polychromatic color, absence of color Texture – · Can be actual or implied through medium, style, composition, value, color, pattern, etc. Pattern – · Any decorative, repetitive motif or design · Can create visual texture Space – · Can be 2- or 3-dimensional, may refer to the illusion of space or depth on a 2-dimentional surface (i.e. perspective) · The area behind the shape, the background · Architecture:  appreciating the sculptural masses from the outside, while walking through the shaped space from the inside · The void within boundaries · “The works of art take their character from the ways in which they carve out volumes of space within and around them.” (Gilbert’s Living with Art – 6th ed.) Time – · Variations of light to indicate a time of day · Popular with Impressionists like Monet (He enjoyed making studies of the same environment or object at different times of day.  He believed that each shift in light created a different subject, as though there were no continuing reality but only a collection of moments.) Motion – Implied or actual kinetic energy, dynamism Popular with Futurists in the early 20th century such as Balla, Calder, and Boccioni due to inventions such as the automobile and airplanes. PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN Unity – · A sense of oneness, a coherent whole · Appears almost always with Variety.  Artists strive to find just the right point on the spectrum – the point at which there is sufficient visual unity enlivened by sufficient variety. Variety – · Differences that create interest Balance – · Can refer to symmetrical, asymmetrical, radial, or actual physical balance, such as in sculp ...

1. THE FORMAL ELEMENTS
Line –
· Includes actual lines, implied lines, lines formed by edges,
directional lines, and lines forming pattern, texture, shading,
and contour lines creating modeling
· Strictly defined: a line is a path traced by a moving point
· Can be organic or straight
· Popular among artists utilizing contour lines such as Matisse
· Shape –
· A two-dimensional area having identifiable boundaries,
created by lines, color or value changes, or some combination
of these
· Form: deals with composition and the physical appearance of a
work of art relating to materials and style
Mass –
· Three-dimensional form, often implying bulk, density, and
weight
Light –
· Actual light, illusion of light
· The contrasts created by light and darkness (related to value)
· The origin of light and how that effects the interpretation of
the work
· Rembrandt is well known as a painter of light. He uses small
beams of light as emphasis in his paintings, creating shadows.
He plays with light in such as way so that the light itself
actually becomes a character in the painting.
Value –
· Refers to light and dark, chiaroscuro (movement or gesture of
light and shade)
· The gradation of a gray scale or hue, tint and shade
Color –
· Local color, emotional qualities of color (the mood), color
schemes
· Analogous color, monochromatic color, triads, polychromatic

2. color, absence of color
Texture –
· Can be actual or implied through medium, style, composition,
value, color, pattern, etc.
Pattern –
· Any decorative, repetitive motif or design
· Can create visual texture
Space –
· Can be 2- or 3-dimensional, may refer to the illusion of space
or depth on a 2-dimentional surface (i.e. perspective)
· The area behind the shape, the background
· Architecture: appreciating the sculptural masses from the
outside, while walking through the shaped space from the inside
· The void within boundaries
· “The works of art take their character from the ways in which
they carve out volumes of space within and around them.”
(Gilbert’s Living with Art – 6th ed.)
Time –
· Variations of light to indicate a time of day
· Popular with Impressionists like Monet (He enjoyed making
studies of the same environment or object at different times of
day. He believed that each shift in light created a different
subject, as though there were no continuing reality but only a
collection of moments.)
Motion – Implied or actual kinetic energy, dynamism Popular
with Futurists in the early 20th century such as Balla, Calder,
and Boccioni due to inventions such as the automobile and
airplanes.
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
Unity –
· A sense of oneness, a coherent whole
· Appears almost always with Variety. Artists strive to find just
the right point on the spectrum – the point at which there is
sufficient visual unity enlivened by sufficient variety.
Variety –
· Differences that create interest

3. Balance –
· Can refer to symmetrical, asymmetrical, radial, or actual
physical balance, such as in sculpture
· Also refers to the visual weight of a piece, the distribution of
parts around an axis or point
Emphasis and Focal Point –
· Can be a center of interest, an area emphasized by directional
forces, color, proportion, etc.
· Works with Subordination
Subordination –
· Certain areas of the composition are purposefully made less
visually interesting, so that the areas of emphasis stand out
· Can be just as visually stimulating as the Focal Point, but
fades to create an atmosphere or backdrop to the subject matter
Proportion –
· Relative sizes of objects within the image itself
Scale –
· Size of the work of art in relation to external objects in its
environment
· Outrageous scale is evident in the work of Claes Oldenburg
and Coosje van Bruggen – Plantoir.
Rhythm and Repetition –
· Refers to visual rhythms, repetition of elements in color,
shape, size, etc.
· Can be related to Pattern
· An example would be to try to paint music, what kind of
patterns and rhythms would need to be present to convey that
message? – Lorna Simpson’s Easy to Remember
Sculpture Choices Fall 2012
#1. Yayoi Kusama, Flowers That Bloom at Midnight, 2009,
fiberglass reinforced plastic, metal, urethane paint

4. #2. Richard Deacon, What Could Make Me Feel This Way (A),
1993, bent wood with glue, screws, and cable ties
#3. Robert Irwin, Who’s Afraid of Red, Yellow and Blue? 3,
2007, lacquered aluminum panels as installed in the Museum of
Contemporary Art
#4. David Nash, Ash Dome, started in late 1970’s, twenty-two
ash trees
#5. Artist Unknown, Shiva Nataraja, Chola Period-India, 11th
Century C.E., bronze
#6. Artist Unknown, Pair Statue of Nebsen and Nebet-ta, New
Kingdom-Egypt, c. 1400-1352 B.C.E.
#7. Artist Unknown, Statue of Poseidon, from island of Melos,
c. 130 B.C. E., marble
#8. Henry Moore, Hill Arches, 1973, cast bronze
#9. Dale Chihuly, Carnival Boat, 2005, blown glass and boat

5. #10. Alexander Calder, The Star, 1960, kinetic—aluminum
sheet metal, steel wire and paint