Art Fundamentals: Principles of Art

Principles of Art

• Art principles organize elements to create balance, harmony, unity, rhythm, proportion, variety, emphasis, and movement.
• Contrast involves significant differences between two things to generate interest.
• Movement uses regular repetition of elements to create a sensation of motion.
• Pattern and Repetition characterize the uniform repetition of art elements.
• Unity and Variety balance together to create a pleasing composition; too much unity leads to monotony, while excessive variety results in chaos.
• Proportion refers to the comparative relationship of one part to another in terms of size or degree.

Elements of Color

• Color evokes experiences of warmth and cold, influenced by the quality of light and the environment.
• Hue relates to the light waves' vibrations that enter our eyes; varying saturation affects intensity.
• Value or tone indicates brightness or darkness; mixing hues with black darkens them, whereas mixing with white lightens them.
• Artists manipulate color schemes for representational or expressionist purposes to convey mood and atmosphere.

Value and Texture

• Value entails gradations of tone from light to dark, including the play of light on objects.
• Texture describes how objects feel, created by combining lines and can be actual (physical) or simulated (visual).

Shape

• Shape can be two-dimensional or three-dimensional, with stylized forms evident in local textiles.
• Examples of shapes include geometric precision in traditional crafts and varied forms in architecture.

Composition in Space

• Composition examines the relationship between figures and elements, organized according to principles like balance and rhythm.
• Notable works, like Guillermo Tolentino’s Bonifacio Monument, exemplify circular composition suited for their contexts.

Movement

• Movement in art can manifest through rhythm or dynamic line work and is related to how the eye is directed across the piece.
• Dance and cinema also utilize movement to create rhythms and compositions in space.

Literature

• Literature embodies the achievements of a culture, comprising prose and poetry as two primary forms.
• Poetry employs figurative language, imagery, sound, and rhythm to express feelings and ideas.
• Prose, distinct from poetry, encompasses informative and persuasive elements and relies on structure, characters, and themes for narrative flow.

Music

• Music arranges sounds for a cohesive composition, characterized by melody, rhythm (tempo, meter, pattern), harmony, and texture.
• Dynamics denote the loudness and softness of musical performance, while timbre represents the quality of sound from different instruments.

Dance

• Dance includes elements such as body movement, spatial awareness, energy dynamics, and the relationship between performers and stage settings.

Theater

• Theater is an art form depicting planned actions and emotions for an audience, characterized by performers, audience interaction, directorial oversight, performance space, and design elements.

Film

• Film combines sequences of moving pictures, emphasizing time, editing techniques, camera movement, and framing to create a balanced viewing experience.