Elements of Visual Arts

Media and Elements of Visual Arts

• Media of Art refers to the substance or materials used to create a work of art
• Examples of media include:
  • Painting: surface (canvas) and pigment (oil paint)
  • Sculpture/Architecture: stone, wood, metal, and glass
  • Music: human voice and musical instruments
  • Dance: motion of the human body
  • Literature: written or oral language
  • Drama: action and spoken language (theater), film (motion picture/cinema/movie)

Elements of Visual Arts

• Visual elements of painting:
  • Point: most basic visual element with no dimension
  • Line: one-dimensional, a path of a moving point or points in a series
  • Shape: boundaries or edges of an object
  • Value: application of light and dark in a painting
  • Texture: sense of touch
  • Color: produced by light striking a surface
  • Hue: distinguishes one color from another
  • Value: lightness and darkness of a color
  • Tint: adding white to a color
  • Shade: adding black to a color
  • Saturation: intensity of color
• Visual elements of sculpture/architecture:
  • Formal: lines, shape, size, color, space
  • Functional: roof, wall, floor

Principles of Design and Composition

• Principles applied to achieve formal design:
  • Harmony and Variety
  • Balance: equality in attention or attraction of visual elements
  • Dominance: emphasizing a particular element over others

The Application of Technology to Art Production

• Influence of mechanical or technological reproduction or presentation of art
• Examples: self-portrait, selfie, and groupie

Art and Mathematics

• Aesthetic Formalism: based on the principle of HYLOMORPHISM, combining matter and form
• Form of Beauty:
  • Fundamental Principle: order and structure
  • Specific Principle: proportion and integrity
  • Individual Principle: simplicity
• Harmony of Proportion: inspired by Marco Vitruvio's principles of human proportions

Mathematical Structure of Music

• Auditory elements:
  • Rhythm: LENGTH of tones
  • Pitch: HEIGHT of tones
  • Dynamics: VOLUME of tones
  • Tempo: SPEED of tones
  • Tone: Sound of music
  • Note: Written note

Art and Anthropology

• Cultural Relativism in Aesthetics: every culture has its own perception and concept of beauty
• Examples of cultural standards of beauty:
  • Suri People in Africa: plate in lower lip determines beauty and acceptance
  • Padaung People in Myanmar: long neck with spiral rings determines beauty
  • Chinese People (before 1917): foot binding determines beauty and status

The Art of Pleasure in Hindu Life and Religion

• Basic Concepts in Hindu Life and Religion:
  • Laws of Life: Samsara (Law of Reincarnation) and Karma (Law of Cause and Effect)
  • Goals of Life: Dharma (duty to family and society)