Principles of ArtRhythm, Movement, Balance, Proportion,

Variety, Emphasis, Harmony & Unity

Balance

• Balance refers to the visual weight in a picture and how it is divided.

• A composition works when the elements are equalized.

• How are the soldiers in the photograph by Elliot Erwitt arranged? Is it balanced?

Symmetrical Balancesymmetrical=same

• This photograph by Jerry Uelsmann is symmetrically balanced.

• The right and left sides of the composition are nearly identical.

• Would you describe this composition as still or energetic?

Asymmetrical Balance

• This photograph by Gary Winogrand is arranged asymmetrically.

The right and left sides, as well as the top and bottom are different.

• Does the picture still feel balanced to you? Why?

Rhythm• Rhythm is a type of movement seen in repeating of shapes and colors. Alternating lights and darks also give a sense of rhythm.

• What rhythms and patterns can you find in this photograph by Olivia Parker?

• Does this make the picture more visually striking? Explain.

• How is rhythm created in this *abstract photograph?

• Abstract (AKA non-representational, non-objective) A type of artwork that is not meant to be realistic.

QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

• Movement is a principle of art related to rhythm: How is the movement created in this series of photographs?

• Describe the movement of your eyes when looking at these photographs.

• Do you think the images work better individually or as a group? Why?

Variety/ Emphasis

• Variety in art refers to the use of contrasting or different types of Elements in a work of art.

• An artist knows that adding contrast to a work of art adds interest. Sometimes an artist wants the viewer to look particularly close at a specific area of the work. The artist will manipulate the Elements of Art so that your eye is drawn to a particular area. This is called Emphasis.

• Variety or Contrast can refer to nearly every component in a work of art including tone or color, subject matter and size.

• How many examples of variety/ contrast can you find in this photograph?

QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

• Who or what is given Emphasis in this photograph?

• Can you identify examples of variety and difference?

QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

Proportion• The word "Proportion"

means one part in relation to another.

• All people have a sense of proportion concerning themselves as compared to others. "My nose is too long for my face". "She has long legs".

• All of these comments reinforce the idea that we see and have opinions about the relationships between one thing compared to another.

• The proportion between the structure and figure is dramatically different.

• What do you think is the subject? Why?

Harmony

• "Harmony" in music results in pleasing tones to the ears.

• "Harmony" in art results from a combination of related (but often different) Elements of Art creating a pleasing work for the eye.

• In music, harmony can be described as different tones that are pleasing when blended.

• What differences and similarities (harmonies) are seen in this portrait of a mother and her child?

QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

Unity

• "Unity" infers that the work of art is presented as a " whole".

• When a work of art has "Unity", the viewer sees the work as a whole, not in separate sections.

25¢ Word… Gestalt: configuration or pattern of elements so unified as a whole that it cannot be described merely as a sum of its parts

• Do you see this photograph as 2 separate parts or as one whole image?

• By showing this 2 groups as one unified image, what is the photographer implying?

The End