ART APPRECIATION- REVIEWER
MODULE 5- ELEMENTS OF ART: The visual components of color, form, line, shape, space, texture, and value.
Line -An element of art defined by a point moving in space. Line may be two-or three-dimensional, descriptive, implied, or abstract.
Shape- An element of art that is two-dimensional, flat, or limited to height and width.
Form- An element of art that is three-dimensional and encloses volume; includes height, width AND depth (as in a cube, a sphere, a
pyramid, or a cylinder). Form may also be free flowing.
Value- The lightness or darkness of tones or colors. White is the lightest value; black is the darkest. The value halfway between these
extremes is called middle gray.
Space- An element of art by which positive and negative areas are defined or a sense of depth achieved in a work of art.
Color- An element of art made up of three properties: hue, value, and intensity.
• Hue: name of color
• Value: hue’s lightness and darkness (a color’s value changes when white or black is added)
• Intensity: quality of brightness and purity (high intensity= color is strong and bright; low intensity= color is faint and dull)
Texture- An element of art that refers to the way things feel, or look as if they might feel if touched.
ELEMENTS OF ART: The auditory components of rhythm, dynamics, melody, harmony, timbre and texture.
Rhythm- Often associated to the terms beat, meter, and tempo, rhythm is the element of music that situates it in time. It is the pulse of
the music. Beat is basic unit of music while tempo refers to its speed (beats/second), Beats can organize into a recognizable recurrent
pattern called the meter.
Dynamics- The element of music that refers to the loudness or quietness of music is Dynamics. Classical terms are used to refer to the
different levels pertaining to this
Melody - refers to the linear presentation (horizontal) of pitch. By horizontal, it means that in musical notation, it is read in succession
from left to right.
Pitch- is the highness or lowness of musical sound.
Harmony -If melody is horizontal, harmony is vertical, it arises when pitches are combined to from chords. When several noted are
simultaneously played. Harmony can be described in terms of its “harshness” dissonance or a harsh-
sounding combination; or consonance, the smooth-sounding combination.
Timbre - is often likened to the color of music. It is a quality that distinguishes a voice or an instrument from another.
Texture -The number of melodies, the type of layers, and their relatedness in a composition is the texture of music. It may be:
a. Monophonic- single melodic line
b. Polyphonic- two or more melodic lines
c. Homophonic- main melody accompanied by chords to artworks whose
style, medium, and technique emphasizes the elements of music outlined
above.
ELEMENTS OF ART: Dance, Drama and Theater
DANCE
Music - plays an important role in the dance to which it is closely related. It should be melodic and harmonious and fits into the
movements of the dance. Music motivates the dancers to move in-tune with its rhythm
Movements - is how the dancers use their bodies to move and create organized patterns
Choreography - refers to how the steps and movements are connected for it to be performed in an organized manner
Technique - the skill of the dancer in executing the movements. A good dancer has complete control over the muscles of his body
thus creating grace and fluidity of movements.
Theme - is the content or the main ingredient of the dance. It tells what a dance is trying to convey. It has to do with the message of
the dance
Design - is the planned organization or patterns of movements in time and space. Pattern in time, is provided by rhythm to be executed
in space on a stage or dance floor.
Costume - the type of dance performed and the costumes were related closely to the customs, beliefs and environment of the people.
Costumes enhance the effect of dance.
MODULE 6- PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
The “principles of design” are mechanisms of arrangement and organization for the various elements of design in artwork.
Please note that different sources might list slightly different versions of the “Principles of Design,” but the core fundamentals are
essentially the same.
BALANCE
A feeling of equality in weight, attention, or attraction of the various visual elements within the pictorial field as a means of
accomplishing organic unity.
1. Symmetrical Balance-Symmetrical balance is when both sides of a piece are equal; that is, they are identical or almost identical.
2. Radial Symmetry-Radial symmetry is a variation of symmetrical balance in which the elements are arranged equally around a
central point, as in the spokes of a wheel or the ripples made in a pond where a stone is dropped.
3. Asymmetrical Balance- In asymmetrical balance, the two sides of a composition are not the same but appear to have an equal
visual weight nonetheless.
4. Unity and Harmony-Harmony is a bit vague compared to some of the other principles. Generally speaking, it refers to how well all
the visual elements work together in a work of art.
5. Variety- refers to the use of differing qualities or instances of the visual elements. Variety can be used to break up monotonous or
repetitive areas.
6. Rhythm-is the visual tempo set by repeating elements in a work of art or architecture.
7. Pattern -Visual arrangement of elements with a repetitive form or intelligible sequence.
8. Scale- refers to the size of an object compared to the rest of the surroundings.
9. Proportion-concerns the relationship between the sizes of different parts in an artwork.
10. Emphasis-is a way of using elements to stress a certain area in an artwork. Emphasis is really just another way to describe a focal
point in your artwork.
11. The Rule of Third-In photography, the rule of thirds is a type of composition in which an image is divided evenly into thirds,
both horizontally and vertically, and the subject of the image is placed at the intersection of those dividing lines, or along one of the
lines itself.
MODULE 7-
READING THE IMAGE
A. THE BASIC SEMIOTIC PLANE.
Semiotics is the study of “signs”-here the work of art is the iconic or pictorial sign. A sign consists of a “signifier” or its
material/physical aspect and its “signified” or non-material aspect as concept and value.
The basic semiotic plane covers the elements and the general technical and physical aspects of the work with their semantic (meaning-
conveying potential). It includes:
1. The visual elements and how they are used: line value, color, texture, shape, composition in space, movement.
2. The choice of medium and technique. In contemporary art, medium enters more and more into the meaning of the work.
3. The format of the work. The very format of the work participates in its meaning.
4. Other physical properties and marks of the work.
B. THE ICONIC PLANE OR THE IMAGE ITSELF.
But here it is not that material elements of the work that are dealt with as in the
basic semiotic plane, but this has to do with the particular features, aspects, and qualities of the
image which are the signifiers.
READING THE IMAGE
A. THE BASIC SEMIOTIC PLANE.
Semiotics is the study of “signs” --here the work of art is the iconic or pictorial sign. A
sign consists of a “signifier” or its material/physical aspect and its “signified” or non-material
aspect as concept and value. Related to these is the “;referent” or object as it exists in the real
world. A visual work.
CAVE ART
Cave art, generally, the numerous paintings and engravings found in caves and shelters dating back to the Ice Age
(Upper Paleolithic), roughly between 40,000 and 14,000 years ago. See also rock art.
CHINESE PAINTING
Mural paintings in caves were popular in China, as they were in South Asia but Chinese artists also employed several other materials
and formats for their works.
UKIYO-E (JAPANESE PRINT)
Ukiyo-e, often translated as “of the floating world,” refers to Japanese paintings and woodblock prints that originally depicted the
cities pleasure districts during the Edo Period, when the sensual attributes of life were encouraged amongst a
tranquil existence under the peaceful rule of the Shoguns.
RENAISSANCE AND MANNERISM, BAROQUE, AND ROCOCO
Renaissance and Mannerism. The art and architecture of 16th-century (Cinquecento ) Italy (map 9 - 1 ) built on the foundation of the
Early Renaissance of the 15th century, but no single artistic style characterized Italian 16th-century art and regional differences
abounded, especially between central Italy (Florence and Rome) and Venice.
Rococo. The death of Louis XIV in 1715 had important repercussions in French high society. The grandiose
palace-based culture of Baroque France gave way to a much more intimate and decentralized culture based in the
elegant hotels (townhouses) of Paris.
Baroque Art and Architecture. Art historians traditionally describe 17th-century European art as Baroque,
but the term is problematic because the period encompasses a broad range of styles and genres. Although its origin is
unclear, Baroque may have come from the Portuguese word barroco, meaning an irregularly shaped pearl. Use of the term can be
traced to the late 18th century, when critics disparaged the Baroque period’s artistic production, in large part because of
perceived deficiencies in comparison with the art of the Italian Renaissance.
Romanticism. Whereas Neoclassicism’s rationality reinforced Enlightenment thought, particularly Voltaire’s views, Rousseau’s ideas
contributed to the rise of Romanticism. Rousseau’s exclamation “Man is born free, but is everywhere in chains!”—the opening line of
his Social Contract (1762)— summarizes a fundamental Romantic premise.
Realism. Realism was a movement that developed in France around midcentury against
the backdrop of an increasing emphasis on science. Advances in industrial technology during the
early 19th century reinforced the Enlightenment’s foundation of rationalism. Both intellectuals
and the general public increasingly embraced empiricism (the search for knowledge based on
observation and direct experience).
Impressionism, both in content and in style, was an art of industrialized, urbanized Paris, a reaction to the
sometimes brutal and chaotic transformation of French life that occurred during the latter half of the 19 th century.
As the poet and critic
Charles Baudelaire (1821–1867) observed in 1860 in
his essay “The Painter of Modern Life”: “Modernity is
the transitory, the fugitive, the contingent.”
The Desperate Man
Accordingly, Impressionist works represent an attempt to capture a fleeting moment—not in the
absolutely fixed, precise sense of a Realist painting but by conveying the elusiveness and
impermanence of images and conditions. Claude Monet A hostile critic applied the label
“Impressionism” in response to the painting Impression: Sunrise by CLAUDE MONET
(1840–1926) exhibited in the first Impressionist show in 1874. Although the critic intended the
label to be derogatory, by the third Impressionist show in 1878, the artists had embraced it and
were calling themselves Impressionists. Artists and critics had used the term before, but only in
relation to sketches. Impressionist paintings do incorporate the qualities of
sketches—abbreviation, speed, and spontaneity. This is apparent in Impression: Sunrise, in
which Monet made no attempt to disguise the brush strokes or blend the pigment to create
smooth tonal gradations and an optically accurate scene.
Symbolism. The Impressionists and Post-
Impressionists believed their emotions and sensations
were important elements for interpreting the world, but
the depiction of reality remained the primary focus of
their efforts.
Art Nouveau was an innovative international style of
modern art that became fashionable from about 1890
to the First World War. Arising as a reaction to 19th-
century designs dominated by historicism in general
and neoclassicism in particular, it promulgated the idea
of art and design as part of everyday life. Henceforth
artists should not overlook any everyday object, no
matter how functional it might be.
Fauvism. The Fauves were a specific group of painters who
painted with a similar style. The Fauves painted spontaneously, with
bold brushstrokes and vivid colors. The colors did not have to be
true to nature, necessarily. They could be changed to show emotion.
Expressionism came “from within” being a reflection of the artist's feelings rather than
a portrayal of a scene. Two influential Expressionist artists were Emily Carr and Edvard Munch.
`Emily Carr (1871-1945) was a Canadian artist.
Cubism was an art movement meant to refresh art. The old
styles of painting were growing boring as photography took over
the realistic documentation of life. Cubism was split into analytic
cubism and synthetic cubism.
Futurism was created to celebrate the futuristic inventions of the time. Because Italy
was still in the past as far as technological advancements, a
group of painters decided to break free from the Italian art
movements and paint for the modern times. They wanted to
destroy art history, and when they became history, be
destroyed themselves.
Photorealism was a primarily American art movement that
emerged in the late 1960s and flourished in the 1970s.
Photorealist artists were reacting against Abstract
Expressionism, which for many years was the predominant
painting style in the United States.
Installation art is a relatively new genre of contemporary
art - practiced by an increasing number of postmodernist artists
- which involves the configuration or “installation” of objects in
a space, such as a room or warehouse. The resulting
arrangement of material and space comprises the “artwork”
