Shape and Space in Art | World of Art (PDF)

WORLD OF ART EIGHTH EDITION CHAPTER 4 Shape and Space Copyright © 2016, 2013, 2010 World of Art, Eighth Editio...

WORLD OF ART EIGHTH EDITION CHAPTER 4 Shape and Space Copyright © 2016, 2013, 2010 World of Art, Eighth Edition by Pearson Education, Inc. or its affiliates. Henry M. Sayre All rights reserved.  Learning Objectives 1. Differentiate between shape and mass. 2. Describe how three-dimensional space is represented on a flat surface using perspective. 3. Explain why modern artists have challenged the means of representing three dimensions on two-dimensional surfaces.  Introduction 1 of 2 Shape is a two-dimensional area. § Julie Mehretu's Berliner Plätze features layers of place, space, and time that emerge from the flat shape of the canvas. Perspective is a system that allows the picture plane to function as a convincing window into its subject.  Julie Mehretu, Berliner Plätze. 2008–09. Ink and acrylic on canvas, 10 × 14'. Commissioned by Deutsche Bank AG in consultation with the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation for the Deutsche Guggenheim, Berlin. © Julie Mehretu, courtesy of Marian Goodman Gallery. [Fig. 4-1]  Introduction 2 of 2 The Deutsche Bank and Guggenheim Museum commissioned a group of works known as Grey Area, meant to display ambiguous spaces. Space has become an increasingly contested issue, especially in an age where the Internet and cyberspace dominate our daily lives.  Shape and Mass 1 of 2 Ellsworth Kelly's Three Panels: Orange, Dark Gray, Green applies the shapes to the gallery wall as though it were the canvas. § The wall became the ground in the figure–ground relation. § Shapes between figures are known as negative shapes, and the figures themselves are positive shapes.  Ellsworth Kelly, Three Panels: Orange, Dark Gray, Green. 1986. Oil on canvas, overall 9' 8" × 34' 4-1/2 in. Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of Douglas S. Cramer Foundation, 776 © 2015 Ellsworth Kelly. [Fig. 4-2] Rubin vase [Fig. 4-3]  Shape and Mass 2 of 2 A mass is a solid that occupies three- dimensional volume. § It can be measured with height, width, and depth. § For example, a circle is a shape but a sphere has mass. Martin Puryear's Self appears to possess weight and density, but is lightweight and made from wood.  Martin Puryear, Self. 1978. Polychromed red cedar and mahogany, 5' 9" × 4' × 25". Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha. Museum purchase in memory of Elinor Ashton, 1980.63. © Martin Puryear. [Fig. 3-4]  Martin Puryear, Untitled IV. 2002. Soft-ground and spitbite etching with drypoint and Chine-collé Gampi, 8-5/8 × 6- 7/8". Paulson Bott Press, San Francisco. © Martin Puryear. [Fig. 4-5]  The Creative Process 1 of 2 From Two to Three Dimensions: Umberto Boccioni's Development of a Bottle in Space § Marinetti's Futurist movement called for the beauty of speed. § Umberto Boccioni asserted that no object exists in space by itself, and is rather coexistent with its surroundings.  The Creative Process 2 of 2 From Two to Three Dimensions: Umberto Boccioni's Development of a Bottle in Space § A drawing of a glass bottle resting on a table renders the bottle and glass in volumetric spirals. § The three-dimensional bronze version lures viewers from all sides. Further versions explored form and color.  Umberto Boccioni, Table + Bottle + House. 1912. Pencil on paper, 13-1/8 × 9-3/8". Civico Gabinetto dei Desegni, Castello Sforzesco, Milan. © Comune di Milano. All rights reserved. [Fig. 4-6]  Umberto Boccioni, Development of a Bottle in Space. 1913. Bronze, 15-1/2 ×23-3/4 × 15-1/2". Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Bequest of Lydia Winston Malbin, 1990.38.© 2015. Image copyright Metropolitan Museum of Art/Art Resource/Scala, Florence. [Fig. 4-7]  Negative Space 1 of 2 Standing vertical masses in Barbara Hepworth's Two Figures have negative spaces carved into them. § The left-hand figure especially seems to represent anatomical features. The Feast-making spoon represents the generosity of the hospitable wunkirle woman in the Dan people of Liberia, its belly "pregnant with rice."  Barbara Hepworth, Two Figures. 1947–48. Elmwood and white paint, 38 × 17". Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum, University of Minnesota. Gift of John Rood Sculpture Collection. © Bowness. [Fig. 4-8] Feast-making spoon (Wunkirmian). Liberia/IvoryCoast. Wood, Height 18-1⁄8". Private collection. Photo © Heini Schneebeli/Bridgeman Images. [Fig. 4-9]  Negative Space 2 of 2 In architecture, buildings surround and frame empty space. The 125-foot tall nave of the Reims Cathedral in France elicits a sense of awe, particularly with the way that light fills the space. Olafur Eliasson's installation Suney featured a gallery bisected with a yellow sheet of Mylar.  Nave, Reims Cathedral, France. Begun 1211; nave ca. 1220. View to the west. © Art Archive/Alamy. [Fig. 4-10]  Olafur Eliasson, Suney. 1995. Installation view, Künstlerhaus Stuttgart, Germany. Courtesy of the artist, Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York, and Neugerriemschneider, Berlin. [Fig. 4-11] Representing Three-Dimensional Space in Two Dimensions Stebe DiBenedetto creates the illusion of deep space in Deliverance. § Overlapping images, such as the helicopter atop a landing pad, imply that one object is in front of the other in space. A shadow provides another visual cue. § Finer lines on the landing pad draw the viewer inward.  Linear Perspective 1 of 4 One-point linear perspective relies on a single point, or vanishing point, on the viewer's horizon to represent parallel receding lines. When the vanishing point is directly across from the vantage point (where viewer is positioned), the recession is frontal; if it is to one side or the other, it is diagonal.  Steve DiBenedetto, Deliverance. 2003. Colored pencil and acrylic paint on paper, 30-1/8 × 22". © Steve DiBenedetto, courtesy of David Nolan Gallery, New York, Collection of Morris Orden, New York. [Fig. 4-12]  One-point linear perspective. Left: frontal recession, street level. Right: diagonal recession, elevated position. [Fig. 4- 13]  Linear Perspective 2 of 4 Duccio's Maestà Altarpiece contains large panels as well as smaller compositions, such as the Annunciation of the Death of the Virgin. § The piece, despite Duccio's attempt to create a realistic space via intuition, does not succeed in having a single vanishing point. Perspective analysis of Duccio, Annunciation of the Death of the Virgin, from the Maestà Altarpiece. 1308–11. Tempera on panel, 16-3/8 × 21-1/4". Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, Siena. Canali Photobank, Milan, Italy. [Fig. 4-14]  Linear Perspective 3 of 4 Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper employs convincing perspective. § The vanishing point is located behind Jesus, thus drawing all attention to him.  Leonardo da Vinci, The Last Supper. ca. 1495–98. Mural (oil and tempera on plaster), 15' 1-1/8" × 28' 10-1/2". Refectory, Monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan. © Studio Fotografico Quattrone, Florence. [Fig. 4-15] Perspective analysis of Leonardo da Vinci, The Last Supper. ca. 1495–98. © Studio Fotografico Quattrone, Florence. [Fig. 4-16]  Linear Perspective 4 of 4 Two-point linear perspective results in a more dynamic composition. Gustave Caillebotte's Place de l'Europe on a Rainy Day depicts an intersection of five streets through a series of vanishing points. § The canvas is divided into four equal rectangles formed by the vertical line of the lamppost and the horizon line. Two-point linear perspective. [Fig. 4-17]  Gustave Caillebotte, Place de l'Europe on a Rainy Day. 1876–77. Oil on canvas, 6' 11-1/2" × 9' 3/4". The Art Institute of Chicago. Charles H. and Mary F. S. Worcester Collection, 1964.336. Photo © 2015 Art Institute of Chicago. All Rights Reserved. [Fig. 4-18]  Line analysis of Gustave Caillebotte, Place de l'Europe on a Rainy Day. 1876–77. Charles H. and Mary F. S. Worcester Collection, 1964.336. Photo © 2015 Art Institute of Chicago. All Rights Reserved. [Fig. 4-19] Distortions of Space and Foreshortening 1 of 3 Photographs and media with perspective depict space as "real" because it is a monocular, or one-eyed, point of view. The stereoscope was invented in the nineteenth century to imitate binocular vision. § From close up, the difference is more discernable. Distortions of Space and Foreshortening 2 of 3 Man with Big Shoes was created with a stereoscopic view. Drawing to life a perspective such as that in Dürer's Draftsman Drawing a Female Nude would result in a figure whose lower body would be too large in comparison to her head. Photographer unknown, Man with Big Shoes. ca. 1890. Stereograph. Courtesy of Library of Congress. [Fig. 4-20]  Albrecht Dürer, Draftsman Drawing a Female Nude. 1538. Woodcut, second edition, 3 × 8-1/2". One of 138 woodcuts and diagrams in Underweysung der Messung, mit dem Zirkel und Richtscheyt (Teaching of Measurement with Compass and Ruler). Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Horatio Greenough Curtis Fund, 35.53. Photograph © 2015 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. [Fig. 4-21] Distortions of Space and Foreshortening 3 of 3 Mantegna's The Dead Christ applies foreshortening, adjusting the dimensions of closer extremities to make up for the distortion created by the point of view.  Andrea Mantegna, The Dead Christ. ca. 1480. Tempera on canvas. 26 × 30". Brera Gallery, Milan. DEA/G. CIGOLINI/De Agostini/Getty Images. [Fig. 4-22]  The Near and the Far 1 of 2 Japanese prints that flooded European markets after 1853 combined close-up views of nearby objects with views of distant landscapes. Utagawa Hiroshige's Moon Pine, Ueno contains a large gap between the pine in the foreground and the city behind. § This particular tree was named for its looping round branch. Utagawa Hiroshige (Ando), Moon Pine, Ueno, No. 89 from One Hundred Famous Views of Edo. 1856. Woodblock print, 14-3/16 × 9-1/4". The Brooklyn Museum. Gift of Anna Ferris, 30.1478.89. [Fig. 4-23]  The Near and the Far 2 of 2 Flattening of the distance between near and far became a lasting trend. Janine Antoni appears to walk along the horizon in Touch, a video work featuring the artist walking on a tightrope. § The horizon line can never truly be reached, yet it is a place that has been contemplated through culture over time.  Janine Antoni, Touch. 2002. Color video, sound (projection), 9 min. 36 sec. loop. Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York. [Fig. 4-24]  Modern Experiments and New Dimensions Modern artists utilize linear perspective and foreshortening to capture complex conditions of contemporary culture. § For them, disorienting and chaotic exemplify the modern. § Perspective seems to impose false order.  Experiments in Photographic Space Paul Strand's Abstraction, Porch Shadows was an unmanipulated photograph with no fully discernable objects. His later photograph, Geometric Backyards, New York, took further advantage of the abstraction of walls, pavement, and hanging sheets. § The overhead viewpoint was novel.  Paul Strand, Abstraction, Porch Shadows. 1916. Silver platinum print, 12-15/15 × 9-1/8". © Aperture Foundation Inc., Paul Strand Archive. [Fig. 4-25]  Paul Strand, Geometric Backyards, New York. 1917. Platinum print. 10 × 13-1/8". © Aperture Foundation Inc., Paul Strand Archive [Fig. 4-26] Experiments with Space in Painting 1 of 3 Painters explored the act of imagination that led to a painting rather than the realistic depiction of subject matter. Harmony in Red (The Red Room) by Matisse shows a flattened space with unified color and design. § Tree trunks within the frame of the window or painting mimic the winding designs on the wall and table.  Henri Matisse, Harmony in Red (The Red Room). 1908–09. Oil on canvas, 5' 10-7/8" × 7' 2-5/8". The Hermitage, St. Petersburg. © 2015 Succession H. Matisse/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photo: Archives H. Matisse, © 2015 Succession H. Matisse. [Fig. 4-27] Experiments with Space in Painting 2 of 3 Most notable in Cézanne's Mme. Cézanne in a Red Armchair is the lack of spatial depth. § The painting is almost entirely flat where the left side of the armchair meets the wall behind it. § The stripes on the figure's dress do not delineate the shape of her lap.  Paul Cézanne, Mme. Cézanne in a Red Armchair. ca. 1877. Oil on canvas, 28-1/2 × 22". Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Bequest of Robert Treat Paine II, 44.77.6. Photograph © 2015 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. [Fig. 4-28] Experiments with Space in Painting 3 of 3 Terry Winter, in Color and Information, uses a web of circuit-like squares around a central pole. § The artist transformed digital information from when he scanned in drawings for woodcuts, modifying their size and color. § The work brings order yet chaos, image yet abstraction, and information despite information overload.  Terry Winters, Color and Information. 1998. Oil and alkyd resin on canvas, 9 × 12'. Terry Winters, courtesy of Matthew Marks Gallery, New York. [Fig. 4-29]  Digital Space 1 of 2 Chinese artist Feng Mengbo created 42 paintings in the Game Over: Long March series that envisioned an imaginary video game. The project was later turned into an actual video game based on the Communist Party's Red Army under the command of Mao Zedong.  Digital Space 2 of 2 The work was retitled Long March: Restart and consisted of two 80-foot- long walls. § Viewers can take control of the Red Army soldier and move the avatar through five screens and 14 levels of play, each progressively faster and more difficult.  Feng Mengbo, Long March: Restart. 2008. Video-game installation, each screen approx. 20 × 80'. Museum of Modern Art, New York. © 2015. Digital image, Museum of Modern Art, New York/Scala, Florence. [Fig. 4-30] The Critical Process: Thinking about Space 1 of 2 Ten Thousand Waves by Isaac Julien, inspired by the drowning of 23 Chinese cockle pickers in England, shows tragedy juxtaposed with the Chinese fable, "The Tale of Yishan Island." A third story of a contemporary goddess adds to what seems like a chaotic landscape.  Isaac Julien, Ten Thousand Waves. 2010. Installation view, Nine-screen installation, 35 mm film, transferred to High Definition, 9.2 surround sound, 49 min. 41 sec. Edition of 6 plus 1AP. Courtesy of the Artist and Victoria Miro, London, Metro Pictures, New York, and Galería Helga de Alvear, Madrid. © Isaac Julien. Photography © Adrian Zhou. [Fig. 4-31] The Critical Process: Thinking about Space 2 of 2 However, a single, fixed viewpoint is an institutionalized one; the work suggests that a new perception of space may be like the typical sensory experience of daily life.  Thinking Back 1. Differentiate between shape and mass. 2. Describe how three-dimensional space is represented on a flat surface using perspective. 3. Explain why modern artists have challenged the means of representing three dimensions on two-dimensional surfaces.