art 1201 - newfoundland and labrador · technology; to help them ... or as a practical guide to...

Art 1201

Curriculum Guide

Art Technologies 1201: Perception, Art and Technology

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FOREWORD

To evoke in oneself a feeling one has experienced, and havingevoked it in oneself, then by means of movement, line, color,sounds or forms expressed in words, so to transmit the samefeeling - this is the activity of art.

- Leo Tolstoy

rt Technologies 1201 is designed to expose students to the relationships amongAperception, art and technology. It seeks to enhance their awareness of how these threespheres of knowledge interconnect, and to assist students in becoming more

comfortable when manipulating the conceptual tools of image making. Its principal objectivesare to help students develop a greater awareness of the relationship between art andtechnology; to help them understand the importance and implications of images andimage-making in our society; and to increase their fluency in creating and using visual images.

This guide was designed with the classroom teacher in mind. It can serve as a generalreference for specialists, or as a practical guide to delivering Art Technologies 1201 for thosewith less experience in art or design. Because of the broad focus of this course, teachersexperienced in a variety of disciplines, including art, will be highly effective. Whereverpossible a variety of ways of exploring topics are suggested. This was done to ensure thatschools with different types of equipment, and teachers will different combinations of skills canparticipate, while ensuring that students receive a meaningful exposure to the topics beingexplored.

The development of this course was driven by several priorities. One was to introduce studentsto the complexities of human perception, with the artistic process as the focus. Another was toexamine artistic activity from the standpoint of technology. How does technology influenceartists, craftspeople and designers, and how does the presence and use of technology influenceour perceptions? The third was to introduce students to the process by which art, design, andcraft objects are made. This course fosters a thoughtful awareness and understanding of theprocess by which ideas are developed, given physical form, and subjected to critical analysiswithin the context of human perception and technological development. The skills developedby students in this course will provide them with the background they need to succeed inmedia-based art programs in later years.

Students will come to Art Technologies 1201 with different aptitudes, experiences, andperspectives. This course has been designed to be flexible, and to encourage students to be


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creative, independent thinkers. The course requires students to be accountable and responsiblein their actions, but in return, encourages self-expression and individual solutions to problems.

The committee wanted to ensure that this course could be modified to suit local needs andperspectives. They want to encourage local schools, teachers, students, and the community todevelop new ideas and approaches that meet course objectives. Extensive project ideas havebeen included, but teachers should feel free to develop their own ideas, projects, and resources.

The art world, like almost all other aspects of the emerging “global village”, is influenced bynew technologies. A few years ago, the dominant tools of art making were the pencil, brush,hand printing press, and the camera. Now, video equipment and computers must be added tothe list. Artists, designers, and craftspeople today are using new technologies in startling andinnovative ways. In the process, they are redefining the role of those professions in our society,and are challenging old definitions of art and craft. Art Technologies 1201 encourages a broadand inclusive approach to art media. Project suggestions will include ideas for using bothtraditional and new tools. However, students must have access to these new computer-basedtechnologies to ensure that the full scope of this course is available to them.

This guide has been designed to give teachers every possible assistance in the teaching of ArtTechnologies 1201. Wherever possible, simple, straightforward descriptions have beenoffered. Specific projects have been suggested, and objectives and evaluation methods havebeen clearly defined. The committee members hope that this guide will become a useful toolfor teachers of Art Technologies 1201.


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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

he Department of Education, Newfoundland and Labrador expresses sincereTappreciation to the following members of the Senior High Art Curriculum Committeefor their contribution to the development of this handbook.

· Jay Barry, Visual Art Instructor, College of the North Atlantic, St. John’sCampus

· Alex Hickey, Program Development Specialist - Fine Arts, Department ofEducation, St. John’s

· Caroline Bungay, Art Educator, Clarenville High School, Clarenville

· Heather Moore, Art Educator, Mount Pearl Central High, Mount Pearl

· Anne Marie O’Leary, Art Educator, Father Berney Memorial High, Burin

· Angela Baker, Visual Arts Instructor, Grenfell College of the Fine Arts,Corner Brook

The Department would also like to express thanks to Ms. Rosalind Priddle, Word ProcessingEquipment Operator II for typing and preparing this document for printing and all of theteachers who either reviewed or piloted this course during its preparation.


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viiIntroduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix

The Importance of Visual Literacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xTeaching Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiiiThe Art Room . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvCurriculum Outcomes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvii

Essential Graduation Learnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xviiVisual Art Education in Newfoundland & Labrador . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xviiiSpecific Curriculum Outcomes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xix

Section 1: Perception, The Eye, Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.1 Perception and Sensation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31.2 The Biology of the Eye . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91.3 The Visual Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131.4 Perceptual Biases of the Eye/Brain Relationship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191.5 Optical Illusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231.6 Perception and Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Section 2: Perception, Art, Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372.1 Art as Illusion: Space and Depth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 392.2 Art as Illusion: Motion and Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 452.3 Art and Perception: Art Movements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 492.4 Technology and the Visual Arts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

2A The Vocabulary of Image Making . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 632A.1 Dot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 652A.2 Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 692A.3 Shape and Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 732A.4 Texture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 792A.5 Tone or Value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 832A.6 Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 872A.7 Colour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

2A.71 The Visible Spectrum: Additive Colour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 932A.72 The Subtractive Theory of Colour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 972A.73 The Vocabulary of Colour: Hue, Value, Saturation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1012A.74 The Use of Colour to Create Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1052A.75 Objective and Subjective Colour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1092A.76 Colour as Symbol; Colour as Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

2B Manipulating the Tools: The Principles of Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115


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2B.1 Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1172B.2 Proportion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1212B.3 Composition: Harmony and Contrast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Section 3: Perception, Culture, Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1313.1 Culture and Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1333.2 Perception and Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1373.3 Perception and Cultural Bias . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1413.4 Style and Fashion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1453.5 Cultures and Subcultures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1493.6 Cyberspace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155


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OVERVIEW

rt Technologies 1201 was developed so that students could learn about the process byAwhich images are perceived, created, and evaluated. It will give them an historicalperspective on the close relationship between perception, technology, and

image-making. It will introduce students to a working method that can be expanded andelaborated upon in studio courses at further grade levels. It will consolidate explorations begunin previous grades.

Art Technologies 1201 is divided into three sections: CC Section 1, entitled Perception, the Eye, and Technology, deals with basic principles

and concepts vital to the creative process. The function of the human eye, interactionbetween the eye and brain, and the basics of visual perception are covered.

CC Section 2, entitled Perception, Art, and Technology, has a focus on technology and itsrelationship to image-making, as well as, the basic perceptual tools artists use to createimages.

C Section 3, entitled Perception, Culture, and Technology, explores the influence thatvisual imagery and new technologies is having on our culture. By the end of thecourse, students should possess a broad and informed understanding of therelationships between perception, technology, works of art, craft, design, and culture.

This guide is not intended to be a static text. It was designed to be used as a reference, aresource, and as a workbook. Teachers may find it helpful to work through some of theexercises to experience the creative process for themselves. Some exposure to the creativeprocess is essential in order to convey the excitement of creating, or understand the pathcreative people take to move from concept through to completed object.

Each section is divided into a number of specific topics, each of which includes:

C a general explanation of the sectionC discussion topicsC suggested projects

Teachers are encouraged to expose their students to new technologies. Computer-basedtechnologies are becoming the new tools of the art world, and are just as relevant as thetraditional tools and materials of the art classroom. Exposure to these new approaches benefitstudents. In addition to classroom-based technologies, students will access Internet as aninvaluable learning and reference resource for this course.


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Tod Machover, “On Information Overload,” in Cyberarts: Exploring Art and Technology, ed. 1

Linda Jacobson (San Francisco: Miller Freeman, Inc., 1992), p.5

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INTRODUCTION

“Our art, and our aesthetic visions, serve to convey our truestknowledge of the world we live in, of our own times, and ofour hopes for the future. Therefore, technology must beacknowledged as a primary shaper of our contemporaryexperience, and as a fundamental tool for the interpretation ofour world.”1

rt Technologies 1201 addresses several issues central to an understanding of theAcreative process, and to the perception of images in society. Art Technologies 1201investigates the relationships between human perception, technology, and the creative

process. It seeks to clarify the complex web of connections that exist between these threefields of knowledge. The significance of visual and technological literacy, as critical skills intoday’s information- and image-saturated society, are implicit in all of the activities containedwithin the course.

Our changing world brings the ability to make and understand images into an ever-greaterprominence. Imagery, as a communication tool, and as a social phenomenon, now plays agreater role in our society than it did a few decades ago. All evidence suggests that this trendwill continue. Few suggest that imagery will replace our written languages of communication. However, it is now apparent that the “languages” of image-making are growing in importance,reaching a level of significance in, and penetration of our society that has not been seen before.

In this new world, our “literacy” in visual imagery will allow us to differentiate between whatis important and what is not; what we are shown versus what is really happening. To acquirethis knowledge, a thorough grounding in theories of human perception, coupled with anawareness of technology, and an understanding of the creative process, is essential.


Donis A. Dondis, A Primer of Visual Literacy, (Massachusetts: Massachusetts Institute of2

Technology, 1973), p.x.

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The Importance of Visual Literacy

Literacy means that a group shares the assigned meaning of acommon body of information. Visual literacy must operatesomewhat within the same boundaries....Its purposes are thesame as those that motivated the development of writtenlanguage: to construct a basic system for learning,recognizing, making, and understanding visual messages thatare negotiable by all people, not just those specially trained,like the designer, the artist, the craftsman, and theaesthetician.2

The twenty-first century is here. Transformations did not occur, like clockwork, at thechanging of the millennia. This metamorphosis began slowly, long before the appointed hour. The world we are in now, and will soon be living in, is very different from the one it replaces.

Every generation believes that the one before, and the one that follows, is different. We use theterm “generation gap” to describe the feelings of alienation these groups of people feel fromeach other. As time passes, we often discover that the differences that appeared so great werenot as substantial as we had imagined. Style, more than content, was the measurement. Freedfrom the constraints of the moment, we discover more similarities than differences. In thisinstance, however, the changes are real. If we survey the world around us, we will discoverthat forces are already reshaping our society. To prosper, even to survive, will demand newskills, and new perspectives.

Human history is marked by a desire to expand the limits of our abilities. Many of ourdiscoveries have involved extending our sensory, physical, and intellectual capabilities. Someinventions augmented our physical skills. Basic tools and weapons greatly expanded people’srange of physical abilities, and therefore, their chances for survival. Other inventions, such asthe telescope and the microscope, enhanced our sensory capabilities. Still others improved ourability to store, retrieve, communicate, and manipulate information.

Technology, the inventions that are born from the tension between imagination and necessity,has expanded our abilities beyond our biological heritage. Even though we have acquiredremarkable abilities, our awareness and understanding of them are often limited. In the daysbefore digital technology, bodies of knowledge were often thought of as distinct from eachother. Today, we are beginning to realize that insights are to be found in the relationshipsbetween those distinct bodies of knowledge. Nowhere is this lesson more pertinent than in thevisual arts, design, and craft.


Ibid., p.23

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Today’s young people need strong visual skills. All of our communication tools are becomingmore visually based. The ability to communicate using technology requires advanced languageand visual communication skills. Already we have seen the office computer evolve from atext-based device to an image-based tool. Computer programs offer greater ease of use by theaddition of “icons”—symbols that stand for complex actions or groups of actions. These icons,when effectively designed, can convey meaning faster, and with less confusion than text. As aresult, how information is composed, arranged, and structured becomes increasingly important.

More information is being presented in visual form than ever before. All of us are immersed invisual imagery. It is present in entertainment, such as films, television dramas, or video andcomputer games. It is found in professional information such as reports, profit and lossstatements, or presentations on business performance. One sees it in general information, suchas during news and weather reports, or advertisements for products or services. Travelinformation such as flight schedules, vacation “hot spots”, or directions on how to get the mostout of your visit to the Louvre are conveyed visually. Instructional videos, computer programs,and books that tell you how to do everything from cooking a shortcake to building a planter todiagnosing illnesses utilize visual imagery. More and more information is being presented invisual form. But, what lies underneath what is being said? Does the six o’clock news tell thewhole story? Is the sales picture more believable because it is visually enticing? Does life reallyresemble a beer commercial? Awareness of visual “language” is an important defense againstbeing overwhelmed by a sea of visual information. A skilled understanding of visual imageryand contemporary media can provide necessary skills to discriminate among competinginformation in the visual world.

Donis A. Dondis, in A Primer of Visual Literacy, described the importance of the visualsense:

A bias toward visual information is not difficult to find inhuman behavior. We seek visual reinforcement of ourknowledge for many reasons, but primary among them is thedirectness of the information, the closeness to the realexperience.3

Art Technologies 1201 is an investigation of the world of our primary information-gatheringsense. It is an inquiry into the basics of human perception, an exploration of the technologies ofart and design, and a call to awaken the inner creative voice of students. The world of thefuture will be a world awash in images, both good and bad, instructive and manipulative,liberating and constraining. Art Technologies 1201 begins a process of learning essential to anunderstanding of this powerful new reality.


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TEACHING STRATEGIES

his course was designed to be taught by either a non-specialist or a specialist teacher. TIts focus is on the individual student, engaged in the art making process. The role of theteacher has been carefully considered in the design of the course. Whenever a concept

is introduced it should be experiential, involving a minimum level of skill. The teacher willthen bring to the attention of the students examples of how artists have used this concept. Students should be faced with explorative, open-ended activities to make sense of throughdiscussion, research, and comparisons. Assignments should be open-ended, and have aninteresting “hook” to get them started.

Cooperative learning strategies should be employed in the delivery of this course. Discussionand reflection should be an integral part of every activity since problem solving from a personalperspective is always at work.

Students in this course will need to access as many different sources of information as possible. This may mean traditional research from books, through the use of CD-Rom, the Internet, orthrough doing primary research in the local environment. It may entail creating objects orproducts through which they learn from the process of doing. They may assemble displays orexhibitions of primary artifacts to support the topic under study. They may experiment withconcepts in other disciplines. For example, in the section on optics, a joint initiative may beundertaken with the science teacher, the technology education teacher, or the physics teacher. Resource people from outside the school should also be considered to lead discussions or act asfacilitators in dealing with issues. One of the first things students could become involved in, isestablishing a visual file, which all might draw upon as a resource. This could include stillimages clipped from print sources, videos, computer graphics, or images generated bystudents.

Whenever possible, structure the exploration of topics or themes to events or situations that thestudents can, or have experienced. Information will be retained if a connection can be drawnbetween the concept being explored and the students’ lives.

DiscussionsAt the beginning and end of a topic, the group should be involved in discussion. Students’ perspectives on the topics and themes should be solicited, and encouraged. Students should be allowed considerable latitude when discussing topics.


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Challenging PerspectivesEncourage students to look at familiar things in new ways. Challenge them to becritical in their evaluations and observations. Compare reactions, draw parallels, andsearch for new examples of the topic under discussion.

Learning by DoingAlthough this is not a media exploration course, students will learn more about theissues and concepts being discussed, if they are able to work with their new knowledgein an experiential way. It is recommended that a broad range of art media be madeavailable to students, both traditional and contemporary. Students should beencouraged to explore, and experiment with different art technologies in the completionof assignments. All forms of visual media are acceptable.

CollectionsStudents should be encouraged to develop “image files”, which include any items ofpersonal visual interest. These collections can be used as source material forassignments, and as alternative visual material for class discussions. Students shouldbe encouraged to keep their work in a portfolio. Their work should be displayedwhenever possible.

Sketchbook/JournalStudents are required to keep a sketchbook as well as their “image file”. The sketch-book should function as a visual journal. A sketchbook and image file may containcomputer disks, cassette or video tapes, slides, photographs, or digitally generatedimages in addition to traditional art or design media.


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THE ART ROOM

ow is teaching art different from other subjects? How is an art class different fromHmathematics or biology?

The art class should be an exciting and organized environment. While it is true that informalitycan be beneficial, too much, damages a student’s ability to focus, concentrate, and learn. Mostprofessional artists are highly disciplined people. Their studios are usually well organized andclean. The same should be true of art rooms. It is primarily a work place, regardless of howmuch fun can be had there! Communication between students is important, but too muchtalking disrupts the high level of concentration necessary for productive and creative work. The art room should not become the social “drop in centre” for the school. The art room is aplace of serious academic and technical study, as well as a place where students can exploreand experiment.

What should an art room be like? It should be well laid out, to minimize congestion aroundspecific tools or equipment. It should have a good source of natural light, because makingcolour decisions with fluorescent light is difficult, and working under them exclusively can betaxing. It needs to provide a large working space for each student. The ideal art room willhave areas available for students who need a quiet space in which to work, and it will beflexible enough that large spaces can be created for group activities. Tools and equipment willbe stored away carefully, so that they are not subject to damage through accident. A sinkshould be in the room, as large quantities of water are often needed.

Traditionally, art rooms featured technology that had its origins anywhere from 100 to 30,000years ago. Aside from the problems that dust and dirt cause to photographic darkrooms, orprinting equipment, few art room tools had special needs. Now that artists’ tools include videocameras, scanners, and computers, the specific environmental needs of this equipment must beconsidered. Compared to traditional art media, the new technology is often more fragile, andmore sensitive to the milieu in which it is located. Where this type of equipment is located inthe art room, great care must be taken to protect it from accidental damage, or fromcontamination by other materials. Liquids and computers do not mix! Almost all electronicequipment is sensitive to humidity, temperature, dust, static electricity, and direct sunlight.

Successful art classes have an atmosphere that is immediately recognizable. The students areactive and enthusiastic. The teachers facilitate, rather than dictate. Everyone has a sense ofpurpose. There is a feeling of openness, where students are encouraged to experiment andexplore, and where their feelings and ideas are respected and encouraged. Discussionsbetween teacher and students are frequent, both individually and in groups. Topics discussedinclude both technical points, and broader philosophical, psychological, or spiritual issues.


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Much of this atmosphere is facilitated by the teacher. Enthusiasm is contagious. A teacherwho perceives artistic activity as inherently worthwhile will be highly effective.


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CURRICULUM OUTCOMES

Essential Graduation Learnings

he Essential Graduation Learnings describe the knowledge, skills, and attitudesTexpected of all students who graduate high school. Achievement of these will preparestudents to continue to learn throughout their lives. They confirm that students need to

make connections and develop abilities across subject areas to be ready to meet the shiftingand ongoing demands of life, work and study, today, and in the future.

The Essential Graduation Learnings:

AESTHETIC EXPRESSIONCITIZENSHIPCOMMUNICATIONPERSONAL DEVELOPMENTPROBLEM SOLVINGTECHNOLOGICAL COMPETENCEMORAL DEVELOPMENT

Graduates will be able to:

Aesthetic ExpressionC respond with critical awareness to various forms of the arts and be able to

express themselves through the arts.

CitizenshipC assess social, cultural, economic, and environmental interdependence in a local

and global context.

CommunicationC use the listening, viewing, speaking, reading, and writing modes of

language(s), and mathematical and scientific concepts and symbols, to think,learn and communicate effectively.

Personal Development C continue to learn and to pursue an active, healthy lifestyle.


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Problem SolvingC use the strategies and processes needed to solve a wide variety of problems,

including those requiring language, and mathematical and scientific concepts.

Technological CompetenceC use a variety of technologies, demonstrate an understanding of technological

applications, and apply appropriate technologies for solving problems.

Moral DevelopmentC demonstrate understanding and appreciation for the place of belief systems in

shaping the development of moral values and ethical conduct.

Visual Art Education in Newfoundland and Labrador

Visual Art education in this province builds itself around three strands:

1. Creating, Making, Presenting2. Understanding and Connecting Contexts of Time, Place and Community3. Perceiving and Responding

Visual Art education in Newfoundland and Labrador is described in terms of thirteen GeneralCurriculum Outcomes. These outcomes relate to the entire art education program fromkindergarten to level three and are connected to the three strands around which art education inthis province is organized. These strands are not intended to separate the domains which areintrinsically intertwined, but to help clarify the curriculum.

The general curriculum outcomes for art education are:

Creating, Making, PresentingStudents will be expected to· explore, challenge, develop, and express ideas in and through the arts.· present and/or perform creative products in the arts.· use the necessary skills, language, techniques and processes of the arts.· create collaboratively and independently in the arts for a range of audiences and

purposes.

Understanding and Connecting Contexts of Time, Place and CommunityStudents will be expected to · demonstrate critical awareness of the arts and cultural production in daily life.· understand and value the influence of the arts in creating and reflecting culture.· respect and value the contributions of cultural groups to the arts in local and global

contexts.


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· understand and value the arts as a record of human experience and expression.· examine the relationship between the arts, society, and the physical environment.

Perceiving and RespondingStudents will be expected to· respond personally, creatively, and critically to their own and others’ expressive works.· understand the role of technology in creating and responding to expressive works.· apply critical thinking and problem solving strategies to understand and respond to

their own and other’s expressive work.· analyze the relationship between artistic intent and the expressive work.

Curriculum Outcomes - Art Technologies 1201

1. Creating, Making, Presenting

By the end of this course the student will be able to:C demonstrate facility in working with a variety of technologies in image/object creationC apply the visual structures of design to art makingC use visual structures in art making to communicate a personal viewpointC discriminate between additive and subtractive color theoriesC demonstrate an understanding of and facility with the use of space/depth perception

and image constructionC demonstrate the ability to manipulate ideas, materials, and skills when making visual

imagesC apply planning strategies which guide them through the artistic processC show technical competency in carrying out decisionsC demonstrate a working knowledge of the elements and principles of designC show an ability to use the elements and principles of design in creative waysC demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the elements and principles

of design, and the creation of visual imagesC articulate the functional relationships of the elements and principles of design as they

are used in an art workC demonstrate increased ability to imagine as an integral part of the creative processC understand the relationship between design and visual communicationC demonstrate an increased ability to distill thoughts and ideas into succinct visual

messageC demonstrate the ability to make decisions about the appropriateness of a technique in

achieving their creative/communicative/expressive intentionsC create visual structures that communicate intentionsC demonstrate the ability to work creatively C distinguish between the physical side of seeing (sensation) and the conceptual side of

seeing (perception)


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C describe how we see; the physical nature of sight (sensation) and the conceptual natureof sight (perception)

2. Connecting to Contexts of Time, Place, and Community

By the end of this course the student will be able to:C demonstrate an ability to reorganize information, materials and ideas to arrive at new

configurationsC apply research skills in acquiring information to build a knowledge base from which to

make decisionsC evaluate the context of images they produceC demonstrate an understanding of and sensitivity to cultural bias when creating imagesC understand the role of cultural bias in the depiction of spaceC show empathy towards other people’s ways of seeingC identify point of view in their own work and the work of othersC assess the impact an image might have on a given audienceC evaluate the context of images they produceC anticipate the impact the use of particular tools might have on an image

3. Perceiving and Responding

By the end of this course the student will be able to:C demonstrate an understanding of the value of looking for alternative solutionsC review the entire artistic process from beginning to end each time they engage in

making artC show the ability to make appropriate decisions among alternative choices about how to

visually construct or present ideasC demonstrate facility in evaluating the degree of success of an outcome in relation to the

makers intentionC demonstrate the intellectual and verbal ability to articulate intentions in light of

outcomesC demonstrate the ability to continuously assess their progress throughout the creative

processC demonstrate the ability to assess the degree of knowledge, skills and abilities necessary

to carry out a projectC display a willingness to experiment with ideas and test out possibilitiesC use analytical skills to creatively assess their own work and the work of othersC conduct a comparative analysis of intention versus outcomeC use analytical skills in assessing the impact of color on communicationC assess/ speculate on the impact a new technology might have on art and on societyC recognize visual forms in the physical and built environmentsC understand how visual illusions function


xxi

C examine both internal and external influences when creating visual imagesC conduct both formal and informal self-evaluationC accommodate previous and current experiences in decision making for future initiativesC understand the visual process and its relationship to art makingC evaluate the relationship between technology and art makingC apply knowledge of how vision works in creating effective visual imagesC appraise the role of optical technological aids in image creationC recognize the significance of the relationship between the technology used in the art

making process and the look of the final visual objectC show the ability to make informed judgements about the presentation of visual imagesC discriminate between one-of-a-kind images and machine reproductionsC demonstrate the ability to scrutinize visual forms to determine how and why they are

effectiveC use skill in visually discriminating between works produced with different technologies

of image making


xxii


1

SECTION 1: PERCEPTION, THE EYE,TECHNOLOGY

All the mighty world of eyeand ear, both what theyhalf create, and whatperceive.

William Wordsworth Lines Composed a Few MilesAbove Tintern Abbey [1798],l. 105

Introduction

lthough eyes are part of our sensory equipment, perception is a process that occurs inAthe complex interactions between eye and brain. Perception is not static–it changes inthe individual over time, and within society. People are born with sensory tools such

as sight, taste, hearing, smell and touch. There are many others too, from the sense of balanceto the ability to sense temperature. Perception, or the process of perception, is partly a learnedskill.

Over the centuries, perceptions of reality have been transformed by technology. Tools such asthe telescope, the Claude Glass, the daguerreotype, the camera, and the computer have openednew visual worlds, fostered a new range of perceptual skills, and encouraged the growth ofnew perceptual preferences in society. New technologies help to create new ways ofperceiving the world around us, and shape the way we interact with our environment and eachother.

Human perceptions change in relation to our visual and cultural environments. People oncelived in small communities for their entire lives. The world around them was familiar, andremained relatively stable, for long periods of time. Today, people are bombarded daily withhundreds or thousands of changing visual images. Our complex, visual environments cannothelp but influence the way we experience the world around us.


2

In this section, students will explore human perception from three different, but relatedperspectives: from the point of view of biology, optics, and technology. It begins with humanvision, and the complex interrelationships that occur between the eye and brain. Fromobserving and studying these relationships, people have formulated theories of perception. Those theories, and related concepts, are the keys to understanding how to interpret and createvisual images. Our perceptual abilities change as our visual environment is changed byadvances in technology.

Students should be encouraged to explore many of the ideas presented here through individualor group projects. Since human perception is learned, students should be aware that their ownexperiences of perception are highly relevant to this section of the course.

Hint: At the beginning of this section, much of the information presented could be“team-taught”, involving the biology and/or physics departments.


3

Figure 1.11 The eye is often thought to be the primarysense in humans, but many other senses are involved inproviding a complete picture of the world.

1.1 PERCEPTION AND SENSATION

Every man takes the limits of his ownfield of vision for the limits of the world.

Arthur SchopenhauerStudies in Pessimism [1851]. PsychologicalObservations

Specific Curriculum Outcomes

Upon completing this section, students will be able to:@ explain and illustrate the differences between sensation and perception@ describe, through examples, the process by which humans sense, and then perceive

objects in their environment@ describe and illustrate the relationship between works of art, style and perception@ create images which incorporate the concepts associated with perception and sensation@ demonstrate an ability to reorganize information, materials and ideas to arrive at new

configurations@ apply research skills in acquiring information to build a knowledge base from which to

make decisions@ evaluate the context of images they produce


4

@ demonstrate an understanding of and sensitivity to cultural bias when creating images@ understand the role of cultural bias in the depiction of space@ show empathy towards other people’s ways of seeing@ identify point of view in their own work and the work of others@ assess the impact an image might have on a given audience@ evaluate the context of images they produce@ anticipate the impact the use of particular tools might have on an image.

Introduction

s we begin to explore perception, it is important to understand what perception means,Aand how it is different from sensation. Human beings both sense and perceive. Knowing the difference helps us to make sense of our understanding of the world

around us, and the incredible diversity of human, creative expression.

Sensation is the beginning of our ability to understand the environment. Before we canperceive, we must sense something. Our senses equip us to gather information from and aboutour environment.

Sensations are the result of the activities of our senses. The ones we are most familiar with:sight, hearing, taste and smell, are not the only senses we possess. Others include what arecalled somatic sensations - touch, heat, cold, and pain. The receptors for these sensations lie inthe skin. We also sense hunger or thirst; those receptors are located within the body.

A sensation is a response to something. A stimulus activates a receptor. For example, thesmell of a baking pie activates receptors in your nose. The smell of fresh-baked pie is thestimulus. But being aware of the smell of pie is not so simple. Several things are needed. Oneis the smell itself. Another is the sense organ–a nose–that can react to the smell. A third is theability to transmit an impulse from the nose to the brain–what is called a nerve pathway. Andfinally, an area of the brain that can convert the message from the nose into a sensation. Without everything working together, you would not be aware of the smell of a fresh-bakedpie.

Human senses can be quite different from those possessed by animals. Few creatures can seein colour, but many can see better in the dark than humans. Some animals possess acutesenses of touch, smell, or hearing. In humans, the sense of sight is primary. It is estimated thatwe receive more than 85% of the information about the world around us, using vision.

How does sensation turn into perception? Sensation and perception are closely related. A sensation occurs when one of yoursense receptors, like the ones in your nose, are triggered by something...a smell. Once


The American Heritage Dictionary and Electronic Thesaurus, 1987. Houghton Mifflin4

Company.

Compton’s Encyclopedia, Online Edition, Downloaded from America Online, April 15,5

1994.

Compton’s Encyclopedia, Online Edition, Downloaded from America Online, April 15,6

1994.

5

you are aware of a sensation, your brain is involved. Your response to a smell mightbe something like this:@ What is that smell? @ How strong is it? @ Is it pleasant or unpleasant? @ Does it make me hungry? @ Should I do something as a result of this smell?

(Is it dangerous? Should I tell someone, like my parents or the police?).

PERCEIVE1. To become aware of, directly through any

of the senses, esp. To see or hear. 2. To take notice of; observe.3. To become aware of in one’s mind;

achieve understanding .4

It is your brain that interprets the signals sent by the receptors in your nose. Perceptionis “...a process that takes place in the brain, not in the eye. Information from the eye,like the piece of a puzzle, is analyzed in the brain and fitted into meaningful forms. ”5

But how does all of this happen? How does the brain know which impulses are which?No one is quite sure. An individual “...does not hear light, taste sound, or smellpressure. How the cerebral cortex converts virtually identical nerve impulses intospecific and distinct sensations is still a mystery...” . All we know is that perception6

occurs in the brain. We also know that perceptions can be learned. Many of theconclusions your brain comes to, in the course of a day, are things that you havelearned over many years. You look out the window, and see that it is raining. Is it agood idea to put on a raincoat? How do you know? You learned many years ago thatwhen going out in the rain, it makes sense to put on a raincoat. You were not bornknowing about the relationship between rain and raincoats. In a similar way, many ofyour perceptions about your environment, people, and things were learned. As peoplemature, they learn the behaviour of their society, their culture, their community, theircircle of friends, their families. Their perceptions are shaped in part by theserelationships.


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Perception and the Visual ArtsIn the visual arts, we might think of works of art as examples of an individual’s or asociety’s perceptions. Throughout history, cultures and civilizations have come andgone. Their art works reflect their beliefs, their ideals, their fears, and their desires. From their images, we can learn about their perceptions of the world.

Western society has a long tradition of image-making, spanning many different placesand cultures. In the study of art works, images are grouped according to the place andtime they were produced, and by the technology used to produce them. A general termfor these groupings is style. Styles of art show that people from similar places andtimes shared similar perceptions. The images they produced had much in common, somuch so that a person experienced in the study of art history can accurately place anunfamiliar image within the context of a particular civilization or culture.

The study of works of art shows that, over time, people looked at the world in verydifferent ways. Their perception of their environment was influenced by their beliefs,and by their society. The images produced by our society tell a lot about our beliefsand perceptions too.

Hint: Students could study images from all time periods and cultures for this section. Other resources could include the slides of Newfoundland art for the Intermediate Artprogram, images located at various sites on the Internet, and images from the massmedia.

Discussion

1. What do contemporary images tell us about our society? How are our society’sperceptions of the world shown in our visual images? Select images from a variety ofsources, and bring them to class for a discussion. Sources could include art works in avariety of traditional and contemporary media, magazine and newspaper photographs,advertisements, movies, and music videos.

2. What can we tell about other cultures’ perceptions from their visual images? Studentsshould research art works and visual images from other cultures, and present theirfindings in class.


7

Projects

1. Think of as many examples of perception as you can. Think of unusual ones as well ascommon ones. Write your answers on a piece of paper, and then discuss them as aclass.

2. What is your perception of a red stop sign? What do you see besides an octagonal redshape with some writing on it? What does it mean? How do you know? Is there anyrelationship between its colour and its meaning?

3. What do you see when you look at a family photograph? What if you look at a familyphotograph of complete strangers? Of cousins, aunts or uncles that you have not seenin many years or have never seen? How does your perception change in each instance?How much of what you see was learned?

4. Using any one of a variety of media, create an image on the theme of Perception.

5. Using a photographs and magazine advertisements, create a collage on the theme ofour society’s perception of the environment.


8



Company.

The Concise Columbia Encyclopedia, 1991. Columbia University Press.8

9

1.2 THE BIOLOGY OF THE EYE

Figure 3: A cross-section of the eye.7

Imagination is the eye of the soul.8

Joseph JoubertFrench essayist, moralist


Upon completing this section, students will be able to:@ describe the structure of the human eye@ describe the process by which the eye functions@ describe some of the conditions associated with vision problems@ demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between human vision and technology

designed to enhance the sense of sight@ create images associated with the physiological characteristics of vision.


10

Introduction

nderstanding human visual perception begins with the eye. The working relationshipUbetween eye and brain is a key aspect of how and what you see. The eye has specificstrengths and weaknesses. These aptitudes evolved over millions of years, to assist

humans to survive. One of the special features of human vision is our ability to see colours. Few other creatures have the ability to do so.

The human eye is not large. In adults, it is approximately 2.5 centimetres (1 inch) in diameter. It sits in a special cavity in the skull, which protects it from injury, while providing a broad fieldof view. The basic components of the eye can be seen in tissues.

The human eye works in a manner similar to a camera (or perhaps it is more accurate to saythat the camera was modelled after the human eye). It uses a single lens to focus an image. The lens on a camera is usually made of glass, and is a fixed shape. The lens in your eye istransparent like glass, but it is flexible—it can change its shape to help you focus on objects atdifferent distances. The lens in a camera focuses light on special film made to be lightsensitive. The lens in a human eye focuses light on a group of light-sensitive cells, calledphotoreceptors. They consist of two types: rods and cones, and exist in an area at the back ofthe eye called the retina. Cones are used for colour vision, while rods help you to see at night. Rods are only capable of transmitting information in black and white, which is why you cannotsee colours when there is very little light. The amount of light entering a camera is controlled by an opening in the lens that can bechanged in size. In your eye, the opening is controlled by the pupil. Another mechanism usedto control the amount of light entering a camera is the shutter. A light meter in the camerameasures the amount of light needed to produce a picture, and then adjusts the shutter speedand the size of the opening in the lens. In your eye, your eyelid functions like a shutter,controlling the amount of light that enters the eye. The eyelid and pupil work together toensure that enough light for proper vision is allowed to hit the retina.

Images are focused through the lens in your eye onto the photoreceptors in the retina. It createsan upside-down image composed of minute dots, much like the dots used to create anewspaper photograph (only much smaller!). Do you see an image made up of dots when youlook at things? No, you see a continuous image. And you see it right side up, too! Why?

Once the photoreceptors in the retina of your eye react to light, they send a signal from your eyeto your brain. There, the brain changes the image in a variety of ways, including turning it rightside up. No-one is sure exactly what happens, but it is known that the image you “see” hasbeen strongly modified by your brain. The modifications can take many forms, fromadjustments of contrast, to subtle cultural and psychological interpretations.


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Common Vision ProblemsIn most people the process of visual perception is similar but there are situations, aswith colour blindness and night blindness, where the ability to perceive is influenced byother factors. Others may be caused by damage to the eye, such as looking directly atthe sun. Although people with these conditions can see, what they see may be verydifferent.

Colour blindness is a term we use to describe a condition in which a person hasdifficulty distinguishing between some colours. A common form of colour blindness iswhere people have difficulty distinguishing between the colours red and green. Colourblindness is hereditary—it is passed from parents to their children. Men are morelikely to have colour blindness than women.

People who cannot see well in low levels of light are said to have night blindness. It isbelieved to be caused by a vitamin deficiency. People who see well close up but havedifficulty seeing objects at a distance are nearsighted and those who have difficultyseeing objects near to them but see well at a distance are farsighted. Both of theseconditions are caused by defects in the shape of the lens which cause difficulty infocusing. Other problems can include damage to the rods and cones caused by lookinginto the sun, a laser, or an eclipse of the sun.

The Technological EyeHumans have created technological “eyes” to perform specific jobs. Satellites, like theHubble telescope, relay pictures of our planet, and the vast distances of space, back toEarth. Remote controlled devices equipped with stereoscopic cameras such as thePathfinder vehicle which landed on Mars, send us back 3-dimensional images makingthe experience of viewing them almost like being there. Underwater cameras transmitinformation on life many hundreds of feet below the surface. Special tools like nightvision goggles allow people to see in very low light. Telescopes and microscopesassist in seeing objects far away, and objects too small to see. Special films make itpossible to “see” images outside of the visible spectrum. Cameras andcommunications technology make it possible to see things happening many thousandsof miles away. People have used technology to enhance vision, to make it possible tosee much better, and in different ways, than eyes were designed to do.


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Discussion

1. How many things can we see that our eyes were not designed to do? Research variouskinds of vision extending and enhancing technologies, and discuss the results of theresearch in class.

2. How do human eyes function differently than other species’? Research vision in theinsect and mammal worlds, and report back to class with your findings.

Projects

1. Find a partner. Hold a pencil or finger in front of your partner’s eyes. Move it slowlyback and forth to observe the tracking motion of the eyes, and how they work inparallel. Move the pencil or finger in and out to observe how the eye tracks objects atdifferent distances from the eye. Notice how someone will appear cross-eyed when anobject is close to the face.

2. Work with a partner. Using a weak light source such as a “pencil” flashlight, observehow the iris of your partner’s eyes contract in the presence of increased light, andexpand when the quantity of light is decreased.

3. Examine the lens of a camera. Compare how it is similar to, or different from the eye. Create an image that explores the differences.

4. Investigate how technology is being used to help people “see”; to simulate vision.

5. Virtual reality relies on “tricking” our eyes into believing we are seeing threedimensions (height, width, and depth), when only two dimensions (height and width)are present. Find out how this works.

6. Using a camera, take pictures of a number of familiar scenes. Compare them to yourview of those scenes with your eyes. How are they different? Are the differencesobvious or subtle?

7. Using any media, create two images on the theme “What My Eyes Can See”. Use oneimage to express the properties of human vision, and another to describe thecharacteristics of insect vision.

Hint: Conduct a search of the Internet to locate resources about the Eye, colour theory,and perception.


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Figure 1.31 A stylized impression of the visual field

1.3 THE VISUAL FIELD

`Tis distance lendsenchantment to the view, And robes the mountain inits azure hue.

Thomas Campbell Pleasures of Hope [1799], pt. I,l.7


Upon completing this section, students will be able to:@ explain and illustrate binocular vision, the visual field and the cone of vision@ describe and demonstrate the processes by which the eye perceives depth in the visual

field@ describe the process by which the eye scans images@ demonstrate an understanding of some of the psychological and cultural factors

affecting scanning@ create images which utilize knowledge of how the visual field functions.


14

Figure 1.32 Cone of Vision

Introduction

hen people look at the world, they see two similar, but slightly different views. WThat is because human vision usually involves both eyes, working together with thebrain. This is called binocular vision. If you close one eye and then the other, you

will see that your left eye gives you more information about things to the left and in front ofyou, and your right eye gives you information about thingsto the right and in front of you. The total area that you cansee—from the far left to the far right, and from top tobottom—is called the visual field. It is extensive. If youwant to test its outer limits, try looking straight ahead, andholding your left arm out straight in front of you, graduallymove it to your left in a horizontal arc. You should find itdifficult to see your fingers somewhere at right angles to theside of your face. If you think you cannot see your fingersor hand any more, try wriggling your fingers. Human eyesare sensitive to movement.

There is a space in front of you where the vision from yourtwo eyes overlaps. That is where your vision is mostaccurate, and your ability to perceive depth is greatest. It iscalled the cone of vision. Your ability to distinguish shapes,detail, colours, texture, and depth are sharpest there. Because this area of your vision is so important, most oftenyou keep whatever interests you within it. You move your

head and eyes to make sure that whatever you want to look at stays inside the cone of vision. The muscles surrounding your eyes work together, so that when you have to move your eyes tofocus on something, they move at the same time.

The image you see in the visual field is not all in focus. It is only the relatively narrow cone ofvision where sharp, clear images are maintained. In order to gain an accurate picture of animage in front of you, your eyes must be continually moving, building a picture piece by piece. Your brain works to assemble this information into a stable view of the world.

People from Western society tend to look at bland visual information the same way they readbooks: they scan from left to right, and from top to bottom. There is a bias towards images,and large images are preferred over small ones. This pattern may not be the same for peoplefrom other cultures or backgrounds.

Interest plays a large part in how a person scans images. Someone with an interest in cars willpay more attention to them than someone who cares little. A person interested in dance willpay attention to a performance of Swan Lake, while someone who finds it uninteresting willnot. When we are motivated, we see more. It is also true that when we have seen something


15

Figure 1.32 The general patternof scanning a page of informationin Western cultures

repeatedly, or for a long time, we lose interest. This meansthat visual interest declines over time, and with familiarity.

Scanning done by people works differently than the scanningdone by machines. Scanning by humans is highly dependenton subjective factors like culture, or interest in the subject. Scanning by machines is an objective process that is alwaysthe same, regardless of subject matter.

Depth Perception

In order to move around in, and interact with the world, it isimportant to be able to perceive depth. Depth perception relies heavily on a variety of sensesbesides vision, including hearing, and touch. When you move through space, all of your sensesare working together to provide you with information about the world. Your perception ofspace and depth does not rely on sight alone, although your visual sense, is by far, the mostdominant. Your ability to perceive space is formed by a complex interaction of senses. Yoursense of scale in any space is partly derived from your sense of hearing. Your perception of thesolidity of objects is, in large part, due to your sense of touch.

People have several ways of perceiving depth. Several exist because we possess two eyes thatprovide slightly differing views of objects. Others compare views of two different objects.

One of the tools used, is called accommodation. Your eye can see only one thing, or a smallgroup of things, in focus at any one time. When you look at something close to you, distantobjects appear blurred. When you focus on something distant out a window, the windowframe appears blurred.

Another depth tool is disparity. This means that each of your eyes produces a slightly differentview of the world. Make a circle with your thumb and forefinger, and look at an object withboth eyes so that it is within the circle. Now close one eye, and then the other. Did the objectseem to move? Did it move more when you closed one eye than another? Did you know thatyou favour your left or right eye, just as you can be right or left handed? That experiment ispossible because of disparity.

The third tool used by binocular vision is convergence, which involves the relative angle of theeyes to each other when focusing on an object. Try holding a pencil at a distance fromsomeone's face. Notice that their eyes are almost parallel while focused on the pencil. Nowmove it toward their face and carefully watch their eyes. As the pencil moves nearer, their eyeswill converge, or move closer together, in order to stay focused. This eye movement providescues to the brain for depth perception. Although not noticeable most of the time, it is a subtledepth cue of great importance.


Tom Porter and Sue Goodman, Designer Primer, (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons,9

1988), p. 6-7.

16

Motion parallax is a depth cue that you have encountered many times. When you move yourhead and eyes, those objects nearer to you will seem to move further and faster than objectsfurther away from you. You experienced this when traveling in an automobile. When you lookout the side window, the scenery nearest you seems to rush past. The scenery in the distancehowever, seems to move much more slowly . Motion parallax creates problems for perceiving9

depth in two dimensional images. Although many depth cues are present, the effect of motionparallax is not. If you move your head back and forth, different parts of the picture do notmove at different rates. This helps to defeat the optical illusion of depth in the image.

Although the traditional still image of a painting or a photograph contains some, but not alldepth cues present in the visual field, movies and videos include the effect of motion parallax. Some film technologies, such as the large-screen IMAX systems, have screens high and wideenough to encompass a very large part of the visual field. Even in this case though, a simplemovement of the head to the left or right will reveal the image to be an illusion. Newtechnologies, such as virtual reality, will take the optical illusion of spatial depth within thevisual field to new levels of accuracy. Head movements will result in changing views of theenvironment, just as in reality. What will then happen to our definition of reality, and ourperception of what is real?

Discussion

1. What is real? If the visual field can be accurately duplicated with the advent of newtechnologies like virtual reality, how can anyone tell fact from fiction? Students couldresearch new technologies and how they affect our conventional ideas of reality anddiscuss the results.

2. How does the human visual field differ from those of other creatures? Students canselect an animal or insect to study, and report to class on the results.

3. How do people react to the rapid image changes of music videos, and somecontemporary television programs? Is it easy to follow what is happening, or doesinformation move too rapidly?


17

Projects

1. Using any one of a variety of media, create an image of the visual field. Include all ofthe information that a person could see within his or her visual field.

2. Have one student stand in the middle of the room. Have two other students stand ateither side, a few feet away. Have those two students move until the student in themiddle can just see them at the edge of her peripheral vision. Mark their position onthe floor with chalk. Then have the two students move by, waving their arms. Canthey move even further back and still be seen by the student in the middle? Their newposition should be marked with chalk too. An arc, representing the total field of view,can then be drawn on the floor.

3. Using a camera, take a number of pictures of a scene in the community. Take thepictures so that parts of them overlap. When developed, assemble the pictures togetherto represent all of the scene that would be in a person’s visual field. A panoramiccamera will reduce the number of images necessary to do this.

4. Using any one of a variety of media, create an image that reflects the way people scanthe visual field.

5. Try to identify as many different technologies of scanning as possible. How does thescanning of the human eye compare with that done by scanners for digitizing visualimagery? How do they differ from the human eye? Do they scan for the same kinds ofinformation?

6. Try to discover how many ways you can describe an environment. Can you describe itthrough touch, hearing, smell, sight, taste. Are there any other ways to describe it?

7. Try to discover how many parts of your body help you to know that you are in amoving car.

8. How do technological inventions describe space? Do they provide different kinds ofinformation? Consider various forms of technology such as a camera, a microscope, atape recorder, a smoke detector, radar, and an x-ray machine. Can you think of othertechnological devices that describe space to us? How many of them capture or expressmovement?


18


The Concise Columbia Dictionary of Quotations, 1990. Columbia University Press.10

19

Figure 1.41 What and how we see can be influenced by both biologyand psychology

1.4 PERCEPTUAL BIASES OF THEEYE/BRAIN RELATIONSHIP

[Man] does not see the realworld. The real world ishidden from him by the wallof imagination.10

George Gurdjieff Russian mystic, author


Upon completing this section, students will be able to:@ describe the biological and perceptual biases of the eye/brain relationship@ describe the subjective nature of sight@ demonstrate an understanding of the psychological and cultural factors affecting

perception@ create images which utilize the perceptual biases of the eye/brain relationship.

Introduction

hen you see, you cannot help but be involved in perception; an act that involvesWyour brain. But what you see can be affected by several factors. One of them isbiological. There are some things your eyes cannot see, such as gamma waves,

x-rays, radio waves, infrared waves. Your eyes are capable of seeing only those wavelengthsof light that fall within what is called the visible spectrum. You see images only when they arepositioned in front of the face; some species can see in front and behind at the same time. People do not see well in low light, but owls, cats, and dogs do. Some of the things yousee—and do not see—are the result of the unique physical characteristics of human vision.

Another consideration is psychological. Some of the things you see—and do not see—are theresult of the interaction between your eyes and your brain. You might pay more attention tosome things than others because you are interested in them. You might find black depressing


20

because you associate it with funerals. Many perceptual biases exist that depend on thesociety, culture, or group to which you belong. Some of those biases may be unique to you,depending on your own personal history, background, and experience.

What impact do these perceptual biases have? They influence the way you look at the world,and the sense that you make of it. They direct your attention in some areas, and reduce it inothers. They may lead you to different conclusions about things than someone from a differentculture, society, or group. But they are perceptions, and perceptions can be learned—orchanged.

Sometimes, all of society can share the same perceptions. These can be due to people’sbeliefs, such as their religion, or faith in something, like their political system. In Westernsociety, technology has become one of the most important transformers of perception. Beforemass communications media such as radio, television, the telephone, and the computer,people’s way of looking at the world was different. As the result of familiarity with television,and its constantly changing images, attention spans are shorter now than ever before. With theadvent of new media such as computers, computer networks, and high-speed communications,how will our perceptions change in the future?

Discussion

Students should be engaged in a discussion about the ways in which people’s view of theworld has changed over the past hundred years. Does living in an age of instantcommunication mean that they look at the world differently from their parents, or great-grandparents?

Projects

1. Look at music videos, either individually or in groups. What contributes to their style? Consider lighting, editing, and camera angles.

2. Using a stopwatch and a notepad, follow television programs and commercials. Countthe number of times images are changed (a new image, or a change in cameraposition). Record how long the camera remains in the same position. Now rank thethings you saw in terms of your interest in them. Is there any relationship between thefrequency of change and your level of interest?


21

3. As a group, discuss your attitudes towards a variety of visual issues. Does a politician,or a policeman look honest and competent to you? How much of your opinion is basedon fact, and how much on appearance? Name people you think are role models. Why? How much of your admiration for them is based on what you know to be true aboutthem, and how much is based on appearance? Do you base some of your opinionsabout others on the way they dress? Why? Try to examine how much of youreveryday opinions are based on perceptions, rather than reality.

4. Create a series of images, in any one of a variety of media, on the theme of perception. Some ideas include writing a performance with costumes, and recording it on video;the creation of an animated film using a computer animation program; a series ofcollages using images from the media; or a large mural in the hall.


22


Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations, 1980. Little, Brown and Company, Inc.11


Company.

23

Figure 1.51 Optical illusions fool the eyeand brain into believing that depth - forexample - is present on a flat page

1.5 OPTICAL ILLUSIONS

What is called a sincere work is one that isendowed with enough strength to give reality to anillusion.11

Max JacobArt Poétique [1922]


Upon completing this section, students will be able to:@ illustrate and describe how optical illusions occur@ provide examples and demonstrate common optical illusions in the environment and in

art works@ create images which demonstrate an understanding of optical illusions.

Illusion1(a). An erroneous perception of reality. (b). An erroneous concept or belief.2. The condition of being deceived by a false

perception or belief.3. Something, as a fantastic plan or desire,

that causes an erroneous belief orperception....12


The Academic American Encyclopedia, online edition, Grolier Electronic Publishing,13

Danbury, CT, 1993.

The Academic American Encyclopedia, online edition, Grolier Electronic Publishing,14

Danbury, CT, 1993.

24

Figure 1.52 Two examples of closure

Figure 1.53 Figure 1.54A figure/ground illusion The Necker Cube

Introduction

hat are illusions? According to the Academic American Encyclopedia, “illusionsWare systematic, characteristic errors in perception” . In other words, illusions13

happen again and again. They are fundamental to your perception of the visualworld. It is the nature of your sight, and the relationship between your eye and brain, thatcause optical illusions to occur.

What are the types of optical illusion? One of themore common can be seen by holding a stick half in,and half out of a bucket of water. If you hold it at aslight angle, you will see that the part of the stick thatis under the water, and the part of the stick you areholding, do not seem to meet. This illusion is causedby the bending or refraction of light.

Another common illusion is your eye and brain’s ability to fill in the missing details of animage. This is called closure. The ability to fill in missing details accounts for our ability tosee movies as continuous motion, rather than a jerky series of still images . 14

Figure/ground is another common optical illusion. Init, the difference between an image and itsbackground are ambiguous. Your eye can jump backand forth, sometimes seeing the figure as the figure,and sometimes seeing the background as the figure. A classic example of this is the figure 1.53. If youlook at it one way, it appears to be two faces lookingat each other. Looked at from another perspectivehowever, it appears to be a vase.

There are many other common optical illusions. One is the famous Necker cube (figure 1.54). With a little practice you will find it easy to see the front of the cube as the back and vice versa.


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Figure 1.55 An example of convergenceand divergence

Figure 1.56 An exampleof the use of linearperspective to create theillusion of depth

Figure 1.56 An exampleof Simultaneous Contrast

A common illusion of size is based on the opticalprinciples of convergence and divergence (figure1.55). The two lines seen below are the same size,but the arrows at each end of the two lines fool youinto thinking the lines are different sizes. The linesat each end lead your eyes either inwards oroutwards, modifying your perception of the length ofthe lines.

The use of linear perspective in works of art is another example of a powerful optical illusion.When you see a road or train tracks receding into the distance, they appear to get narrower, thefurther away they are from the eye. By duplicating that phenomenon on a piece of paper orcanvas, an artist can fool your eye into thinking that there is depth in a picture, even when youknow it has been produced on a flat surface. Figure 1.56 is a good example.

What about other kinds of illusions? Brightness contrast occurs whenyou go from sunlight into a dark room. After the brightness ofsunlight, the dark room will appear darker than it actually is.

Simultaneous contrast is an illusion involving the perceived tone,value, or colour of a figure and ground in an image. If you surround aneutral grey square with a black square, it will appear light. The samegrey square suspended within a white square will appear dark. Placethe two enclosed squares beside each other and the centre greysquares will appear different, even though they are the same. Asimilar effect occurs with colour. A neutral grey square placed in alarger red square, takes on a slightly greenish tint (the opposite colour

of red). The same grey square, in a larger green square, will take on a slightly reddish tint (theopposite colour of green).

A negative afterimage is a similar illusion. If you look at a colouredsquare, such as yellow, for approximately one minute, then look at awhite wall, you will see a ghost image of the square you were justlooking at. The colour of the square will not be yellow, it will bepurple. Again, purple is the opposite (or complement - see chapter2.6) of yellow.

It is important to remember that optical illusions are everywherearound you. The television screen is flat, yet, through a variety ofmeans, it appears to have depth. Movies and television programs appear to have continuousmotion, yet are made up of a sequence of still images. Paintings, posters, magazine covers,advertisements, all operate at one time or another on the basis of illusion. It is almostimpossible to look anywhere in the world without being subject to some kind of illusion at


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work. Special effects in the movies and on television fool our eyes into thinking thatintergalactic space flight is possible, that people can fly, that magic is real, that robots made ofliquid metal can exist. All of these are illusions, but are so skillfully created that they appear tobe real.

Illusions are common, but that does not make them ineffective. They are useful forcommunication and entertainment. Learning how to create and manipulate optical illusions isone of the key skills of the artist, craftsperson, or designer.

Discussion

What kinds of optical illusions do we encounter every day? Students should investigateoptical illusions on their own, and bring examples of what they have found to class fordiscussion. What kind of illusion is present? How does it work? Is it effective?

Projects

1. Search out different kinds of illusions in both still (newspapers, magazines, etc.) andmotion (commercials, videos, etc.) media. Create a collage of illusionistic images fromyour collection.

2. Use a computer drawing program to create an image made up of several shapes. Usefeatures in your drawing program to create the illusion of depth. Create severalvariations in the organization of these shapes. Use overlap to make one shape appearas though it is in front of another. Change the order so that other shapes are in frontand behind.

3. Using any one of a variety of media, create images that incorporate some or all of theoptical illusions presented in this section.

4. Create an image, in any one of a variety of media, entitled “Life is an Optical Illusion”. Interpret the title in the finished work.



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Figure 1.61 What will the future hold asthe human imagination interacts with newtechnology?

1.6 PERCEPTION AND TECHNOLOGY

The virtue of the camera is not the power it has totransform the photographer into an artist, but theimpulse it gives him to keep on looking.15

Brooks AtkinsonAmerican critic, essayist


Upon completing this section, students will be able to:@ demonstrate an understanding of the historical relationship between perception and

technology@ provide examples of how optical devices and technology have influenced human

perception and explain how this has occurred@ create images that explore the relationship between perception and technology.


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Introduction

p to this point in the course, human perception has been the focus, and some of theUspecial characteristics it possesses. Now it is time to examine perception from anotherviewpoint—technology.

Technology is, above all, a human method of problem solving. For good or ill, humans inventtools to solve a variety of problems. There are many examples of technology in the visualworld. Whether you realize it or not, most of them have changed the way you—and society atlarge—perceives the world. The following is a list of significant visual inventions.

Inventions and Discoveries

105 Paper Lun Chinese1447 Type, movable Gutenberg German1590 Microscope, compound Janssen Dutch1608 Telescope Lippershey Neth.1609 Telescope Galileo Italian1611 Telescope, astronomical Kepler German1758 Lens, achromatic Dollond English1780 Bifocal lens Franklin U.S.1792 Gas lighting Murdoch Scottish1816 Photography Niepce French1817 Kaleidoscope Brewster Scottish1829 Braille printing Braille French1835 Photographic paper Talbot U.S.1835 Photography Talbot English1835 Photography Daguerre French1838 Pen, ballpoint Biro Hungarian1838 Stereoscope Wheatstone English1845 Printing press, rotary Hoe U.S.1847 Lamp, arc Staite English1852 Engraving, half-tone Talbot U.S.1865 Printing press, web Bullock U.S.1867 Typewriter Sholes, Soule, Glidden U.S.1878 Cathode ray tube Crookes English1879 Lamp, incandescent Edison U.S.1884 Linotype Mergenthaler U.S.1884 Pen, fountain Waterman U.S.1884 Photo film, transparent Eastman, Goodwin U.S.1887 Monotype Lanston U.S.1888 Camera, Kodak Eastman, Walker U.S.


The World Almanac and Book of Facts, 1992. Pharos Books.16

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1889 Kinetoscope Edison U.S.1892 Photo, color Ives U.S.1893 Photo film, celluloid Reichenbach U.S.1894 Movie machine Jenkins U.S.1908 Lens, fused bifocal Borsch U.S.1909 Lamp, neon Claude French1911 Lamp, Klieg Kliegl, A.&J. U.S.1912 Lamp, mercury vapor Hewitt U.S.1913 Lamp, incand., gas Langmuir U.S.1913 X-ray tube Coolidge U.S.1923 Television, iconoscope Zworykin U.S.1923 Television, (mech. scanner) Baird Scottish1924 Lamp, incand., frosted Pipkin U.S.1927 Movie, talking Warner Bros. U.S.1927 Television, electronic Farnsworth U.S.1928 Teletype Morkrum, Kleinschmidt U.S.1931 Microscope, electronic Knoll, Ruska German1938 Lamp, fluorescent General Electric, Westinghouse U.S.1944 Computer, automatic sequence Aiken et al. U.S.1948 Camera, Polaroid Land Land U.S.1951 Microscope, field ion Mueller German1952 Movie, panoramic Waller U.S.1955 Fiber optics Kapany English1960 Computer, mini Digital Corp U.S.1969 Cassette, videotape Sony Japanese1972 Disk, video Philips Co Dutch1972 Video game (“Pong”) Buschnel U.S.1973 CAT scan Hounsfield English1975 Video home system (VHS) Matsushita, JVC Japanese1979 Disk player, compact Sony, Philips Co Japan, Dutch16

Technology does not change just the things you see. It changes the way you see. Much of theway you perceive the world is learned—from your parents, friends and community; from yoursociety and culture; from your moment in time. One of the most important technologicaldevelopments that has helped to shape the way we see is the lens.



Company.

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Figure 1.62 The basic operation of a lens

Optical Devices and Lens Technology

Although technology in the visual world is thousands of years old (brushes, pencils, paint andpaper are all examples of older technology), much of the technology that has shaped ourperception of the contemporary world began in the 18th century.

LENS1(a). A carefully ground or molded piece of

material with opposite surfaces either orboth of which light rays are refracted sothat they converge or diverge to form animage.

(b). A combination of two or more suchpieces, sometimes with other opticaldevices such as prisms, used to form animage for viewing or photographing.17

People have been curious about looking at the world in different ways for hundreds—orperhaps thousands—of years. Most of the early experiments were to extend the capabilities ofour senses. In the case of the visual world, it was to make distant objects appear nearer (thetelescope), and small objects to appear bigger (the microscope). All of the optical devices,such as the telescope, the microscope, and the camera, use lenses.

The image created through a lens has alwaysinterested people. Not only does itsometimes bring distant objects closer, ormake small objects larger, it also changesthe way things look. Nature, for example,looks different when seen through a lens. Itis sharper, clearer, and simpler. A devicethat has a lens transforms images. It editsand simplifies the world into a series ofsmall images that can be appreciated for

their perfection and beauty. Those images were there all along, but an optical device separatesthem from the general view of nature.

Society’s fascination with images seen through lenses began around the time of theRenaissance, in Europe. It was at that time that the telescope was invented. Suddenly, itbecame possible to see distant objects as though they were much closer. The type of imageseen through a telescope is also different from something seen with the eyes. It has sharper


Ibid., p. 1818

Ibid., p. 1919

Ibid., pp. 20-2120

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edges, and everything is in focus with a narrow depth of field. By the late 18th century,people—particularly artists—became fascinated with the way optical devices changed theperception of nature. Eyes keep a relatively small area of the visual field in focus; areasoutside of the cone of vision are blurred. Optical devices can keep much, if not all of theirvisual field, in focus at all times; they accentuate edges, making the image appear crisp anddistinct.

In the early 1700's two devices were in common use among artists: the Camera Obscura andthe Claude Glass. The camera obscura was “...a lightproof box with a lens at the front thatproduces an image reflected by an inclined mirror onto a glass screen on top. The image canthen be traced onto light translucent paper and transferred to heavier paper or canvas, or it cansimply be appreciated for itself.” The Claude Glass (named after the French landscape18

painter Claude Lorraine), was a convex piece of glass, which was darkly tinted. The viewerwould face away from the scene she wished to contemplate, and consider its reflection in theClaude Glass. Both of these optical devices had one thing in common. They produced simple,dramatic images. They reduced contrast, and simplified visual structures. It came to bebelieved that somehow they presented a vision of the environment that was beautiful andcompelling. Some even preferred their view of nature to human vision!19

People at that time were amazed by these optical devices, and loved the way they could alterthe way nature looked. They liked the way optical devices could create “scenes”. Think aboutlooking through the viewfinder of a camera. When you do, it places a frame, or border aroundthe image you are viewing. This image might be called a “scene.” The limit is the size andshape of the film in the camera. Generally, this is an image longer than it is tall. The framesimplifies nature by making it smaller. As the person using the camera, you can choose whichparts to keep in the picture, and which parts to omit. If you see a scene and want to take apicture of it, but do not like the house to your left, you can move the camera so that the house isnot in the picture. The ability to edit a scene is one of the special features of optical devices. Your eyes show you the world around you; an optical device allows you control over whatimage you choose to see.

Besides the Claude Glass and the Camera Obscura, there were other early devices thatchanged the way people looked at nature. One was the Camera Lucida, that allowed the userto trace a scene onto a sheet of paper using a series of lenses. Another was the Patent GraphicTelescope. Within a few decades, the camera, halftone printing, and photoengraving allfollowed.20


Ibid., p. 2221

Ibid., p. 2422

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There was a spirit of investigation in the air. New ideas and inventions were being discoveredat a rate the world had never seen before. The challenge was there: to produce—andreproduce—images. Gutenberg, with the invention of the printing press had made thedissemination of books possible. The technology of reproducing images in a basic form hadexisted since the fourteenth century, when woodblock, and other forms of relief printing hadbeen developed. Senefelder, in the 18th century, developed the process of colour lithography, aprinting technique that is the root of many of our current printing technologies.

The invention of photography was the culmination of the desire to produce images identical tonature using optical technology. It produced striking images that had a visual appeal. But thephotograph was a different visual experience from a painting. It was looked at differently, andappreciated in a different way. “ Photography further encouraged the eye to accept the lens asthe mediator of objectivity and, to expect an optical clarity of edge, and a fixity of image withinits frame that, unaided or untrained, the human eye, itself constantly in motion and constantlychanging its depth of field, simply cannot convey.” Society’s preference for the optically21

“enhanced” image is still with us. Today it seems hard to imagine, but one hundred years agopeople did not have experience looking at photographic images the way you do now. It was astrange and new experience for them. People today are brought up looking at photographicimages: on calendars, on television, in books and magazines, in the movies, on videotape, andon computer screens. Looking at a painting and looking at a photograph can be two verydifferent experiences:

The instant of a photographic glance is not the same as the contemplativetime in which the painter moves and which is shared by the trained viewer ofpaintings.”...this aspect of time related to apprehending images has changedwith photography...we now expect to apprehend images at a glance.22

In the past seventy years our experience of the photographic images has changed again. Television made it possible to transmit visual images from one part of the world to another. Movies made it possible to see photographic images that appeared to move like real life, andthey could show us things that were not possible in real life. In the past few years, computershave made it easier than ever to create, duplicate, distribute, and view images from anywherein the world. These images can be still or moving, and can combine images with sound. Theidea of looking at the world through an optical device is not just an interesting idea any more, itis probably the most common way we have of looking at images.


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Today, we are on the threshold of a telecommunications revolution. The near future promiseseven more fundamental change in the way we communicate and the way we create andmanipulate images. The technology of the artist is evolving to meet the demands of this newage. New tools not only alter the way things are done, they alter the type of images that aremade.

The Camera and its ImpactThe camera, and the technologies related to it, are at thecore of the changes we have seen in image making in thevisual world. At its simplest, the camera is easy tounderstand, and bears remarkable similarity to thefunction of the human eye. A camera consists of alightproof box with a hole in it, much like the inside of thehuman eye. Inside the box is placed film, which is verysensitive to light. At the opposite side of the lightproofbox, there is a hole to admit light, much like the pupil inyour eye. The amount of light entering the hole can be controlled two ways. One iscalled a shutter, which is something like a door that can be opened and closed veryquickly. The other is by controlling the width of the hole. A device called the aperturecontrols the size of the hole. When working together, the shutter speed and aperturework to provide just enough light hitting the film to ensure a good image. In the earlydays of photography the length of time that the shutter was open, and the size of theaperture were left to the experience of the photographer. Now, light meters and smallcomputer chips in cameras can decide what amount of light is necessary, and adjusteverything automatically.

Different Types of CamerasMost people use single-lens reflex or rangefinder cameras that use negative film. Some use a Polaroid camera, which does not require separate processing of film. Digital cameras save images on a computer chip installed in the camera. When youwant to see the picture, the camera is attached to a computer and the images areviewed using an image-editing program.

Why is the camera so important in the creation of contemporary visual images? Because most of the images we see in our society have been created with cameras ofone kind or another, or rely on processes that began with the camera. Not only doesphotography rely on cameras, but so does the film industry, the advertising industry,television, the sports industry, news; in fact, just about every human activity.

Movie film consists of hundreds of thousands of still images, on a long continuous stripof film. A movie camera takes roughly 24 pictures per second. That speed is fastenough to create the optical illusion of motion, so you believe that what you are seeingis people moving, when in fact they are not. Video cameras do much the same thing,


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but they create 30 images—or “frames”—per second. A lot of animation, frommorning cartoons to special effects similar to those used in the movie, Titanic, use thetechnique of many still images seen rapidly.

The ComputerComputer technology is in the process of transforming our lives. Once, many of theprocesses used to create visual images were difficult to master, requiring talent,dedication, motivation, and many years of formal study. The computer has broughtnew techniques into this world; now it is possible for people to do things thatpreviously were only possible for a specialist. Using a computer, people who lack skillin drawing can create images. Animation is possible without the use of a film camera,or a costly special effects studio. Music can be added to visual presentations, whetherrecorded, or created at home.

What is a computer? Without going into too much detail, a computer is like a strangecombination of two things: a high speed calculator, and a huge filing cabinet. Computers can do a several things very well. They can store, retrieve and manipulatedata, and they can perform mathematical calculations very quickly. All of the specialeffects you see coming from computers can be traced back to those basic abilities. Computers consist of a few important parts: a keyboard, where you can type ininformation or commands; a mouse, so that you can perform commands by clicking abutton, or to use it as a drawing tool; a monitor—like a television set—so you can seewhat you are doing; a printer, so you can print out what you have done, and a big boxwith a few buttons or switches on it. Inside the box is the computer’s memory, ormemories (it usually will have a hard drive, where data is stored, and RAM—randomaccess memory—which it uses to manipulate data from the hard drive and thekeyboard/mouse), a “motherboard” which houses its processor, and a number of“cards” that are used to connect other things to a computer, like sound, a scanner, or aCD-ROM drive. All of these tools make it possible to create your own images,animation, and sound effects without costly equipment (other than the computer), orspecialized skill. Of course, as computers and software grow in complexity, just usingone to produce images is becoming a specialized skill in itself!

All of the technologies we have discussed create images of reality that are differentfrom those seen with the eyes. All of these technologies transform people’s view of theworld, nature, and the human body. Our ability to change the speed of motion picturesto include high speed and slow motion images changes our perception of time. Theability to transmit images across the world in fractions of a second affects ourperception of time. The ability to see what appears to be impossible, happening on atelevision or movie screen, affects our perception of reality and movement. And theability to create false images through collage or other techniques, and make themappear to be real, affects ideas about content. The end result is that our ability tofathom visual images is challenged. People cannot know with certainty, about scale,


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content, original subject...all of us wander in a land of fleeting images of uncertainreality.

Discussion

How has the advent of photography, movies, and special effects changed our definition ofreality? We can see things that are impossible, but they can be made to seem real. Doesthat change your definition of reality?

Projects

1. Investigate how new technologies in the arts can manipulate reality. Research aparticular tool, such as a computer scanner, or an image-manipulation or paintprogram. Create an image with that tool that represents how it can transform theperception of reality.

2. Using any one of a variety of media, create an image which has as its theme, “TheRelationship of Perception and Technology”.

3. Build a camera obscura. Conduct research to discover how they were made, and buildit, based on your findings. Produce a number of drawings based on the images seen init.

4. Using a camera, take a series of photographs on the theme of “Scenes”. These scenesshould point out the ability of the camera to edit and manipulate reality.

5. Research the use of optical devices by artists from the 18th to the 20th centuries. Present the results of your findings, including examples of their work, in class.

6. Using video, create a short film that explores the optical capabilities of the videocamera.

7. Explore the image-making capabilities of the computer. What can it do with imagesthat were impossible before its invention?


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SECTION 2: PERCEPTION, ART,TECHNOLOGY

What is called a sincerework is one that isendowed with enoughstrength to give reality toan illusion.

Max Jacob 1876-1944,Art Poétique [1922]

In this section, students will learn about the relationship between perception, technology and artmaking. Central to the discussion will be three main points.

@ The idea of art as a series of illusions@ Understanding the relationship between technology and art making@ The tools artists use to create and manipulate visual images

The following separate topics will be covered:@ Art as Illusion: Space, Depth , Movement, Time@ Artistic Movements and Illusion@ Technology and the Visual Arts: An Exploration of Media@ The Vocabulary of Image Making 1: Elements of Design@ The Vocabulary of Image Making 2: Principles of Design

Introduction

ur perception of reality can be influenced by many factors. The senses provide aOcomplex picture of the world. Creative tools give us different ways of representingour environments.

People create a “picture” of the world based on the complex information sorted andsynthesized by the brain. Some tools, like the camera, provide a compelling illusion of theworld we see. Sometimes tools, like the electron microscope or a satellite image, offer a


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representation of reality that could not be seen unaided. Although these images are not ascomplete or complex as human perceptions, they expand and alter our view of the world.

All works of art are representations of reality, whether that reality is the world of the senses, orthe inner world of the artist. Over the centuries, artists learned to use their tools to createimages capable of fooling the eye into “seeing” depth, form, and light where none existed, suchas in a painting of a road disappearing into the distance. In recent years, technologies such astelevision, film, and virtual reality have begun to offer amazing representations of this world,and sometimes, of worlds that exist only in the imagination. All are optical illusions. Theywork because artists have learned a great deal about how people perceive space, light, andform.

To the extent that works of art correspond with a common experience of reality, they can becalled representational, or objective. Works of art that are based on reality, but distorted fromour common perception of it can be described as abstract or abstracted. Works of art whichhave no grounding in observed reality can be described as non-objective, although theboundaries between these terms can be blurred. Regardless of the terminology, almost allworks of art contain illusions.

Visual “cues” are used in all optical illusions, whether traditional, or new. A good example isthe painting “Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and his wife Giovanna Cenami”, by Jan VanEyck (active from 1422, and died in 1441). In this image, the artist created an illusion of aroom, with people present in it. Through his command of the medium of oil paint, which iswell suited to the portrayal of surface textures and light, the texture of clothes, the detail ofwood paneling, and the delicate fall of light on the objects in the room are all accuratelydepicted. It is important to remember that this painting, created with consummate skill, is anillusion. It uses the same methods that were discussed in the previous section, as well as somespecific techniques of representation unique to the visual arts.

All two dimensional images that suggest depth are illusions: television programs, virtual realitygames, photographs, films, works of art, cartoons. Sometimes the illusion is so convincing thatit seems real. Some have so much authority that it is easy to think they are the real thing. Yet,our image-making technologies are now so sophisticated that any image generated bytechnology cannot be assumed to have a real counterpart. What looks real can be an elaborateand compelling fiction.


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Figure 2.11 This image of an iceberg is a complex illusion that foolsthe eye into perceiving both space and depth

2.1 ART AS ILLUSION: SPACE ANDDEPTH

Painting is only a bridgelinking the painter’s mindwith that of the viewer.

Eugène Delacroix 1798-1863Journal [1893-1895]


Upon completing this section, students will be able to:@ demonstrate an understanding of four of the processes by which illusions are created in

visual images@ describe and explain, using examples, the importance of linear perspective in the

creation of the illusion of spatial depth@ create images that explore the relationship between space and depth.


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Figure 2.14 Varying intensity will cause shapes to appear toadvance or recede

Figure 2.13 Variations in scale create theillusion of depth

Figure 2.15 The scale of detail within anobject can be an important depth cue

Figure 2.12 Usingoverlap to create theillusion of depth

Introduction

s you learned in the previous section, there are techniques by which image makers canAfool the eye into thinking that flat objects possess depth. In this section you willdiscover how those techniques are used, as well as techniques to create a sense of

space.

There are several techniques that can be used to suggest depth in visual images. One of themis overlapping. If one object is obscured by the form of another, we assume that one is behindthe other. In figure 2.12 on the following page, you do not see it as a rectangle next to anupside down "L" shape. You see it as one rectangle in front of another.


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Figure 2.16

Figure 2.17

Another depth cue is size or scale. Upon seeing two similar objects of different size, you willtend to see them as the same type of object, but in different positions in space. Medieval artistsused this technique almost exclusively to represent depth. The three squares in figure 2.13appear to be receding in space.

Another depth cue is intensity. Shapes that are intense in colour or value appear to be closerthan those that are not.

In figure 2.14, you can see that images that appear faint seem further away than those that aredark.

Another depth cue is detail or texture. Objects appear closer to the eye when they are moredetailed, or the detail is more distinct than other objects, as in figure 2.15.

Linear Perspective

What is linear perspective? It was invented at the time of the early Renaissance by thearchitects Brunelleschi and Alberti. It is a comprehensive system for creating the illusion ofspatial depth on a two dimensional surface. Central to the illusion of depth created by linear

perspective is the foreshortening (or shortening lines to create the illusion of distance) of objects as theyrecede in space, and the understanding that parallellines appear to converge to a vanishing point, whenthey are not perpendicular to the eye. If two parallellines exist at right angles to the viewer’s eyes, theywill appear to be parallel. However, according to thesystem of linear perspective, if the parallel lines are atany other angle than a right angle to the eyes of theviewer, they will appear to converge—that is, the farends of the two parallel lines will appear to be closer

together than the near ends. If the two parallel lines could be extended, they would appear toconverge at a point on the horizon (the eye level of theviewer), called a vanishing point. Anyone who hasstood in a flat area in the middle of the road, and seenit appear to converge in the distance, has witnessedthis effect. Since all objects, including irregular ones,can be encompassed within imaginary cubes orrectangles, the system of linear perspective made itpossible to determine the exact size of objects in acomposition relative to each other, and the position ofthe viewer. Masaccio was the first visual artistcredited with using a comprehensive system of linear


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perspective in his work, although the system has been used by many artists since then. Its’ useas an important tool in painting and drawing has declined in Western art in the twentiethcentury. A good example of a painting using linear perspective is The Last Supper byLeonardo da Vinci (1452-1519). In it, the artist uses an image constructed entirely aroundsingle point perspective.

At some points in history, artists have used perspective devices to help them understand themethods behind linear perspective. In a famous print by the German artist Albrecht Durer(1471-1528), an early attempt to understand perspective can be seen. The print is entitledArtist Drawing a Lute from Unterweysung, from Durer’s Treatise on Perspective. In thisimage, the artist and an assistant are using a vertical screen and some string to plot the image ofthe lute on a two dimensional surface. These kind of experiments were essential tounderstanding the general principles of linear perspective in the early years.

All of these tools can be used by artists to create the illusion of depth. Used together, theycreate a powerful illusion that turns the picture frame into a window from which to viewanother world.

The experience of space and depth is not just one of technical tricks; it is one of perception,and culture. The visual images of some cultures possess more spatial depth than others; theworks of specific time periods within a culture can contain greater spatial depth than others.

Artworks

Almost all artists, of all time periods and cultures, use some form of system to suggest spatialdepth. Sometimes it is as simple and elegant as a ground line in Egyptian art, or overlapping inprehistoric or medieval art. At other times, it is a full system of complex depth cues, as in theHigh Renaissance and baroque periods.

Students should research visual images from a variety of periods, cultures, and disciplines, todiscover the nature and use of the illusion of depth in visual images. All of them will use oneor more of the techniques described above. Everything from works of art, to music videos tofilm clips, photographs, and advertising images could and should be examined. Otherresources could include the slides of Newfoundland art for the Intermediate Art program, andimages located at various sites on the Internet, such as on the website of the Art Gallery ofNewfoundland and Labrador.


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Discussion

Using examples from a variety of sources, discuss how image makers have used varioustechniques described above to create the illusion of space and depth.

Is the experience of space and depth in a visual image different from the perception ofspace by the human body? How?

Projects

1. In a variety of media, create images that use the visual techniques described above forcreating the optical illusion of spatial depth.

2. Using a computer, create illusions in VRML software that appear to have depth, usingthe techniques described above.

3. Create two images of the same subject. One of them should be as flat as possible; theother should possess depth.

4. Research the techniques for creating depth and space in a particular culture or timeperiod. Did they use the techniques described above? Did they use others? Presentthe results of your work to the rest of the class.


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Figure 2.21 The blurred background creates the illusion ofmotion

2.2 ART AS ILLUSION: MOTION ANDTIME

“Glorious, stirring sight!”murmured Toad...” The poetry ofmotion! The real way to travel!The only way to travel! Heretoday—in next week tomorrow!Villages skipped, towns and citiesjumped—always somebody else’shorizons!

Kenneth Grahame 1859-1932The Wind in the Willows [1908], ch. 2


Upon completing this section, students will be able to:@ demonstrate an understanding of the processes by which motion can be created in

visual images, including line, serial structures, animation, fractals, and holograms@ explain the relationship between motion and space, and motion and time@ create images that explore the relationship between art, motion, time and space.


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Introduction

Motion

otion, in a visual image, can mean several things. One of them is motion throughMspace, such as the movement of a speeding train, or the flight of a bird. The othercould be motion through time, such as the aging of a person, or the growth of a

flower. In each instance, the representation of motion causes problems for the creator of visualimages, because the two dimensional surface is not only flat, it usually represents an imageglanced in a moment in time, and at a particular place.

New technologies, such as computer paint and animation programs, are gradually breakingdown the time and space barrier of two dimensional media. New technologies make it possibleto simulate motion in a variety of ways, from complex mapping and rotation of objects, tovirtual reality environments. The historical tradition of static images represented from a singlevantage point at a single moment in time is gradually being challenged.

How did artists of the past suggest movement? They used body position and facial expressionsto animate figures, thereby imparting a sense of movement or life to the composition. Aparallel might be made with mime, or live theatre. Extravagant body gestures were often usedto indicate emotions such as anger, sadness, love, or happiness. A good example is theBaroque painting, Annunciation (1623), by Orazio Lomi Gentileschi (1562-1647). In it, anangel speaks to the Virgin Mary about the birth of Christ. What is remarkable, however, is theextremely dramatic fashion in which it is painted. The two figures are posed in very eloquentfashion, and even the setting in which they are placed looks theatrical. A strong sense ofmovement or life is created in this way.

Another way of creating movement is also found in the theatre: increasing the sense of dramathrough lighting. An excellent example is The Calling of St. Matthew (1599-1600) by theBaroque painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1609). In it, he uses strongdramatic lighting at a low angle to add drama and movement to his work.

Other methods for creating movement in visual images are less dramatic, but equally effective. One is creating movement through line. The eye will tend to follow lines within a composition,thereby suggesting movement. The Swiss artist Paul Klee (1879-1940) often referred to hiswork as “taking a line for a walk”. His work, Song of Love During the New Moon (1939),shows his strong and dramatic use of line. (Curved, diagonal, broken, or irregular lines seemto suggest motion more than straight, even, continuous lines.)

Serial structures can also be used to suggest motion. A serial structure is something like acomic strip. A story, or narrative, is told through a number of panels of visual images. Comicslike Superman or Batman are serial structures. In this instance, motion is not being suggested


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in the individual panel as much as a linear progression of time is being described. In a similarway, works of art called diptychs or triptychs can be serial structures. A diptych is a paintingin two parts, and a triptych is a painting in three parts. A good example is The IsenheimAltarpiece (1513) by Matthias Grunewald (1470-1530). It consists of a number of panels of adevotional theme. A more contemporary example might be a painting by Roy Lichtenstein. He creates images that refer directly to comic book panels.

Eadweard Muybridge was one of the first to use photography to document the way people andanimals actually moved, providing an invaluable reference to artists, and paving the way for themodern day motion picture (many of his images show a series of images of people or animalsin motion—another example of a serial structure). Artists who were influenced byMuybridge’s investigations include the painters Degas and Marcel Duchamp. Serial structurescan be narrative, or simple progressions. For example, the growth of a flower could berepresented through a series of images showing the flower at different stages of development.

Animation is a powerful tool for suggesting movement. Although no actual movement exists,the illusion of motion is created. Animation begins with something as simple as a flip book,and extends into film and video, computer games, and virtual reality on computers. Taking aserial structure in which there is little variation between the images, and moving the images fastenough past the eye will create an illusion of motion. Today’s new animation packages forcomputers make it possible for anyone to create short animated images.

Fractals, through their connection with organic processes, make reference to movement. Based on fractal geometry, fractals are mathematical models expressed in visual form. Theyappear in many cases like sea shells, or cloud patterns, or beaches—forms that occur in nature.

Holograms also suggest movement. They do this by creating images through the use of a splitlaser beam. The resulting image can be see from more than one vantage point. The imageappears to “move”, as the viewer selects a new viewing angle from which to perceive it.


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Discussion

1. How does culture affect the depiction of movement and time? Research the visualimages of different cultures, and discuss them in class.

2. Do images produced by the mass media have a different movement and time sensethan art works produced a few hundred years ago? Does that tell us anything abouttoday’s culture?

Projects

1. Using any one of a variety of media, create an image that uses a serial structure toexpress an idea, or tell a story.

2. Using a computer animation program, create a short animated piece on the theme of“Time”.

3. Create an image where it is clear that time is passing, using the techniques describedabove.

4. Research the use of motion by artists from different time periods and cultures. Compare how motion is created. Are similar techniques used, or are there differences?

5. Use a video camera to express the ideas of time and motion. Now create images usingtraditional media that express the same ideas. Look at the two groups of work: whatare the differences?

6. Use a sense of the dramatic (poses of figures, lighting) to convey motion in acomposition.



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Figure 2.31 New technologies offer the possibility ofapplying artistic styles to photographic images. Thisphotograph of a butterfly was converted to a Pointillist imageby using a filter in Photoshop.

2.3 ART AND PERCEPTION: ARTMOVEMENTS

The history of an art is the historyof masterwork, not of failures, ormediocrity.

Ezra Pound 1885 - 1972The Spirit of Romance [1910]

Properly understood style is not aseductive decoration added to afunctional structure; it is of theessence of a work of art.23

Evelyn Waugh (1903-1966)British novelist


Upon completing this section, students will be able to:@ define and explain some of the artistic movements that explored new modes of

perception, including Impressionism, Post—Impressionism, Fauvism, Cubism,Symbolism, Futurism, Constructivism, Surrealism, Expressionism, Photo—Realism,Pop Art, Op Art, Earth Art, and Performance Art

@ create images that utilize the characteristics of art movements studied.


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Introduction

he art of a people is also the history of that civilization’s or culture’s perception ofTthemselves and the world. In Western culture, there have been art movements that haveperceived the world in different and striking ways.

Some of the artistic movements that have taken place show that the creative people of that timeperiod perceived the world in ways that are different from our own. A brief glance through anart history book will show that visual images from different time periods look different; thatthere is something identifiable that ties together the work from a particular culture, civilization,or time period. That distinctiveness is called a style. It reflects the beliefs of those people, theirrelationship to their environment, and their level of technology.

The past one hundred years has witnessed an extraordinary number of experiments in visualimage making, beginning at the time of the invention of photography. From that point on,visual artists in the West, explored new modes of perception in image making at a rate neverseen before. The following is a brief summary of some recent periods in Western art, andsome of the characteristics of each.

ImpressionismThis movement occurred in France near the turn of the century (1860's-1890). Its coremembers were the artists Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Camille Pissarro, BertheMorisot, Auguste Renoir, Alfred Sisley, and Mary Cassatt. The Impressionists wereinterested in the optical and dematerializing effects of light. Their images were lessrealistic than their predecessors, and shunned heavy applications of paint, glazes, or theuse of black. They took full advantage of the technology of artists’ materials of theirday, and often worked quickly, on location. Their paintings were colourful, and oftenfeatured daring visual compositions, such as aerial views, or extremely foreshortenedimages, which may have been influenced by Japanese art and photography. Thesubject matter of their works was largely the world around them. A good example ofan impressionist painting is Boating on the Seine, created in 1879 by Auguste Renoir. Renoir was well known for his rapid, loose brushwork that captured the shimmeringeffects of light.

Post-ImpressionismPost-Impressionism consisted of the works of four artists: Paul Cèzanne, PaulGauguin, Vincent van Gogh, and Georges Seurat. The movement took place between1880 and 1905. They were reacting against the soft, diffused works of theImpressionists. “The achievements of these four vastly different artists laid thegroundwork for a MODERN art based largely on concepts and emotions, rather thanon the more objective appearance of reality.” An excellent example of apost-impressionist painting is the work, Bathers at Asnières (Une Baignade, Asnières),


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by Seurat. Painted in 1884, Seurat’s use of dots of intense colour to construct apainting foreshadows the use of dots to create images in the contemporary printingindustry.

FauvismThe artists involved in Fauvism included Georges Braque, Albert Marquet, Jean Puy,Maurice de Vlaminck, Henri Manguin, Henri Matisse, André Derain, Raoul Dufy, andOthon Friesz. Their work used intensely vivid and highly expressive colour, unrelatedto the objective colour of the subject. They moved painting towards a flatter, lessillusionistic surface. A good example of a Fauvist painting is Henri Matisse’s Interiorat Aubergines, painted in the early 1900s. His dramatic use of colour and strongbrushstrokes are typical of the style.

CubismArtists involved in Cubism included Jacques Lipchitz, Pabo Picasso, Georges Braque,Juan Gris, Jean Metzinger, Alexander Archipenko and Albert Gleizes. Cubistsexplored new approaches to space and time in their work. Cubism investigatedmultiple viewpoints and fragmentation of objects. Inspiration for Cubism came fromseveral sources, including the paintings of Paul Cezanne, and the work of so-called“primitive” peoples. A good example of a Cubist work is the painting Bowl of Fruit,Bottle and Violin (1914) Pablo Picasso.

SymbolismSymbolists took their inspiration from the myths and legends of primitive peoples, andthe inner world of dreams and fantasy. Closely associated with the Symbolistmovement in French poetry, Symbolism flourished iduring the 1880's and 1890's. Notable Symbolists were Paul Gauguin, Ferdinand Hodler, Odilon Redon, EdvardMunch, Jean Delville, and Albert Pinkham Ryder. Symbolists rebelled against theprevailing trend in Western society, which emphasized the rational, scientific, andtechnological. A good example of a symbolist painting is the work, Scream (1893) bythe Norwegian artist Edvard Munch (1893-1944).

FuturismIn contrast to the Symbolists, Futurists welcomed the new world, with its emphasis ontechnology and its ever—increasing speed. Members included Fernand Leger,Giacomo Balla, Carlo Carrà, Umberto Boccioni, Luigi Russolo, and Gino Severini. Futurist manifestos were common; they suggested new approaches for everythingfrom painting to architecture, to dance. Some credit them with pioneering not onlytheir own art form, but heralding the advent of performance art and twentieth centurypublic relations too. An example of futurist work is the painting Elasticity (1912), bythe artist Umberto Boccioni (1882-1916). The free form sense of movement andspeed, combined with the cubist fracturing of images, is powerfully evident.


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ConstructivismConstructivism was another artistic movement that embraced technology, and the newworld that it was helping to shape. The Constructivists were all from Russia, andincluded Aleksandr Rodchenko, Vladimir Tatlin, and Naum Gabo. The movementexisted from 1913 through to the 1920s. The Constructivists rejected the tradition ofeasel painting, preferring to use industrial materials such as glass, and metal, toproduce abstract art that reflected modern machinery and technology. Their work doesnot include any reference to the world we see with our eyes. Instead, the forms arebased on principles of geometry, and are concerned with geometric forms: the square,circle, triangle, cube, pyramid, and sphere. Constructivists were influenced by some ofthe collage and assemblage work being done in France by Picasso and Braque. A goodexample of a constructivist work is the piece Monument to the Third International(1919-1920), a model produced by Vladimir Tatlin.

SurrealismSurrealism was at its peak from 1924-1945, and featured the artists Jean (Hans) Arp,Salvador Dali, Max Ernst, Alberto Giacometti, Arshile Gorky, Frida Kahlo, Joan Miro,Henry Moore, Man Ray, and Yves Tanguy, among many others. Surrealism wasinterested in the world of dreams, and the investigations into the subconscious that hadbeen pioneered by Sigmund Freud. Dreams, madness, the absurd, the irrational, theinsane, and the importance of accident and luck; all of these were of interest to thesurrealists. Surrealist work was interested in representing ta fantastic or super-realism. It was a conceptual approach rather than a visual one with no set type of image. Anexample of a surrealist image would be Forest (1900s), a painting by Max Ernst(1891-1976). It has a dreamlike quality, with deep blues and greens of the forestcolours, and the lyrical forms of figures.

ExpressionismExpressionism was an approach to making visual images, rather than a particularmovement. It concerns the use of distortion and exaggeration of line and colour tocreate an emotional effect rather than using an itellectual or rational approach. Anumber of artistic movements have explored expressionist ideas, including GermanExpressionism, Der Blaue Reiter group, the American Abstract Expressionists, and themore recent Neo-Expressionists. All had as part of their program a search for thespiritual and emotional, and their work was often characterized by aggressive painthandling and vibrant colours. An example of this type of work is the painting Merce(1961) by American artist Franz Kline (1910-1962), or White Zigzag (1900s) byRussian artist Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944). Both feature a visual structure withlittle reference to the viewed world, and a strong, aggressive use of form and colour.


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Photo-RealismPhoto-realism was a movement that gained in importance in the 1960s and 70s. Itfocused on the highly realistic rendering of objects, in such a way that the boundarybetween painting and photography became blurred. Images were often highlycomplex, with an emphasis on the textural quality of surfaces. The artists involved“...agreed on two principles: first, that the picture be painted, unaltered, with anairbrush from a photographic slide projected on the actual canvas; and, second, thatthe subject be as banal as possible.” An example of this type of work would be theartist Richard Estes, in his piece Hotel Empire (1987).

Pop ArtPop art evolved in part as a reaction to Abstract Expressionism. It took as its influencemass media and advertising images of popular culture, often to conduct a critique ofthe values inherent in consumer society. Flourishing in the 1950's and 1960's, Pop Artoften involved appropriation and collage techniques. Appropriation involves takingalready existing visual images, and inserting them into other work, often in such a waythat their original meaning is altered or subverted. Andy Warhol is one of the bestknown practitioners of Pop art. An example of a Pop art image would be his work,Marilyn Monroe (1962). It shows a portrait of the legendary film star, in a way thatechoes advertising imagery.

Op ArtOp art was a brief movement in the early 1960s that focused on creating visual imagesthat were optical illusions. Two of the most important Op artists were the painter,Victor Vasarely and the painter/designer, Bridget Riley. Op artists manipulated opticaltechniques of visual illusion to create images that appeared to flicker, vibrate, orundulate. The work is often characterized by the impression of movement in patterncreated with controlled variation in size, shape, and placement of same or similar visualunits. An example of Op art is Drift 2 by British painter Bridget Riley.

Earth Art/Land Art This form of artistic expression is an aspect of contemporary sculpture. It involvescreating some kind of large scale form in the landscape so that the land itself is formedinto the work. It is often reminiscent of the art and architecture of so—called“primitive”peoples. They are often based on simple organic or geometric forms,although some artists’ work in this field is incredibly complex and ritualistic. One ofthe most notable practitioners of earth art was the American sculptor Robert Smithson. Of all his works, the best known was probably Spiral Jetty (1970), a large spiral formbuilt in the Great Salt Lake in Utah. This poetic work evokes some of the magical orreligious symbols of ancient peoples around the globe.


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Performance ArtPerformance art is part of a long tradition of human activity that combines elements ofmusic, dance, theatre, and the visual arts, and involves a sense of drama and ritual. Performance art frequently operates outside of the notion of art as a commodity. As aperformance based activity, performance art cannot be bought or sold the way apainting might be. Performance art, as an activity, is meant to shock us out of ournormal ways of thinking, feeling, and acting. Performance artist Laurie Andersonprovides many examples of this in her video "Home of the Brave". The performancecan take many forms, but tends to include activities that challenge our normal sense ofhow things should be.

All of these styles or forms of art making suggest different ways of looking at the world. Someartists were interested in representing the world the way they saw it—as closely as possible. Others were interested in portraying their personal impressions of reality, their feelings, ordreams. New technologies, such as the computer, allow a blending of the personal and thepopular in ways that could not have been imagined even a few years ago.

Discussion

1. What is the connection between the way a work of art looks, and the perception of theartist? Do artists make pictures of things they see? Can art be about feelings? Can artbe about ideas? Does art have to look like something we see to be meaningful?

2. Does art from different cultures look different? Is there a reason for that difference?

Projects

1. Research a particular style of art. Find out why it looks the way it does. What werethe artists trying to express? How did the public receive their work? Did anyonecomplain? Prepare a presentation for the class on the artist or style you chose.

2. Create two images, in any one of a variety of media. One should be based onsomething you saw. Attempt to recreate it as accurately as possible. In the secondimage, select one of the styles discussed above, and create an interpretation of the firstimage in that style.

3. Using a computer, create an Expressionist or a Constructivist style image.4. Using collage, create a Surrealist style image.5. Using a fine point drawing object, create a Futurist style image.6. Using assemblage techniques, create a Cubist style image.7. Using a paint program, create an Impressionist style image.


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Figure 2.41 Will new technologies change the artisticprocess?

2.4 TECHNOLOGY AND THE VISUALARTS

There are Six Essentials inpainting. The first is called spirit;the second, rhythm; the third,thought; the fourth, scenery; thefifth, the brush; and the last is theink.

Ching Hao fl. 925Notes on Brushwork


Upon completing this section, students will be able to:@ demonstrate an understanding of and explain the relationship between technology and

artistic production@ describe and demonstrate the relationship between technology and artistic production in

the following media: painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, film and video andcomputer

@ create images that explore the issues surrounding technology in the visual arts.


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Introduction

hroughout the history of art making, artists have been involved in a complicated danceTwith technology. Often, it is thought that art and technology do not mix. That attitudereflects a narrow understanding of the meaning and role of technology. All tool making

and tool use is a form of technology. The French sociologist Jacques Ellul suggested thattechnology could be defined as “the totality of all rational methods in every field of humanactivity”. Such a broad definition includes just about everything invented by people throughoutthe millennia. Although technology is considered a distinct branch of human knowledge, itsinfluence can be seen throughout all aspects of society. In the arts, crafts, and design, all of theimages we see are shaped by technology. Each artist’s tool is an example of technology,whether it be a pencil, a brush, an etching press, a videotape machine, or a computer. Eachtool has a range of abilities, or potential for expression. The expressive potential of a tool, inthe hands of a sensitive image maker, help to determine the final “look” of an image. Oil paintand a bristle brush present the image maker with a range of creative options that are differentfrom a pencil and rag paper, or a computer and a digitizing tablet and pressure—sensitive pen.

As technology impacts on society at large, it also impacts on the visual arts. The arts are asmuch a part of human society as any other field of inquiry. For better or worse, technologyimpacts on society’s perceptions of itself, and of the world around it. Likewise, technologyoffers new challenges and opportunities in the visual arts. Just as in society at large,technological advances quickly find enthusiastic artists willing to experiment with them.

Tools and techniques are used by artists, designers, and craftspeople in the creation of images. Tools are the materials that can be used. They can be traditional, such as pencil, brush, paint,clay, chisel, or contemporary, such as a computer, an electronic scanner, a video recorder, or adigital drawing tablet. Techniques are the design elements and principles that are used toconstruct visual images. At their most basic level, all visual images can be reduced to anumber of important visual concepts. From these concepts, an infinity of visual images can becreated. Image makers are constantly working with both techniques, and the creativepossibilities of their tools. The two interact with each other in highly individual and complexways to help shape the images we see.

The earliest tools were the ones we now call “traditional”: paint and brush, charcoal, graphite,and the sculptural media: clay, and stone. Within each of those media are further divisions,representing specific types of paint, or brushes, or softnesses of pencil. Some brushes can dosome things well. For other techniques, a different brush is needed. Oil paint performsdifferently than gouache, or tempera, or acrylic, or watercolour. In order to use toolseffectively, a visual artist must be familiar with what they can, and cannot do. Effectivedecision making about how to create an image often begins with selecting the correct tools forthe job. The following is a brief summary of some of the standard tools of the artist.


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PaintAn early form of technology that is still relevant in the art, craft, and design world todayare the raw materials from which we produce the colours, paints, and dyes that add somuch to our world. Our ancestors discovered raw materials such as vegetable, plants,minerals, and other substances that could be manipulated to create colour, and couldthen be applied to clothing, skin, or hard surfaces such as walls. The term we use inthe visual arts for the useable form of these pigments is paint.

Paint consists of three parts—pigments, which are the colour in powdered form, avehicle which provides a stable liquid for the pigment, and a binder which holds thepigment and vehicle together. The combination of the vehicle and binder is oftenknown as the medium. In acrylic paint, the medium is an acrylic polymer. In oil paintit is boiled linseed oil. In watercolour it is gum arabic. In egg tempera it is egg yolkand vinegar. Each medium modifies the paint’s drying time, transparency, resistanceto damage from the elements, as well as other properties. Watercolour is excellent forproducing light washes of colour that are fairly transparent. Gouache and tempera aregood at producing flat areas of colour without much blending. Oil paint is good forblending, and for glazing layers one on top of another. Acrylic paint is good forproducing layered effects, or painting one colour directly over another. It producesrelatively flat colour that is vibrant and intense. Each of these materials requirespractice in order to learn to manipulate it well.

BrushesBrushes can be composed of a number of different materials, from natural animal hairto synthetic fibres. The type of hair, and its length, help to determine what kind ofmarks it makes. Animal hair brushes with long bristles are excellent for flowing,spontaneous marks. A good example is a Japanese brush. Used in Japan for paintingwith ink on rice paper, it makes wonderful expressive marks with just a flick of thewrist. Short haired brushes are good at pushing paint around—they make small, quickmarks and are often good for aggressive techniques. Particular types of paint brushesare meant to be used with particular paints. This is not to say that you cannotexperiment, and find new combinations that work for you.

PencilPencils come in different thicknesses, as well as different levels of hardness or softness. The harder pencils are those with an “H” on them, such as 2H, 4H, or 6H. The higherthe number, the harder the graphite in the pencil. Likewise, softness in a pencil isdesignated by the letter B, such as 2B, 4B, or 6B. The higher the number, the softerthe pencil. Most pencils are round, and the graphite is set within wood. However,there are pencils without any wood around them, making a broader mark. There arecarpenters’ pencils, that have a rectangular block of graphite. There are graphite sticks,that come in the same levels of softness as a pencil, but do not have any woodsurrounding them. All of these variants on a pencil make different types of marks. All


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of them can be used to make lines, tonal areas, rubbings, or to create visual textures,but each one does it differently.

Charcoal, Conté, and PastelEach of these stick based media has a different feel, and makes different kinds ofmarks. Charcoal has a very dry feel, and is excellent for smudging. Chalk Pastel issimilar to charcoal, but comes in a variety of colours, and is wonderful for blending. Conté is like chalk pastel, but not as dry. It comes in a variety of colours, and isslightly greasier than charcoal. It does not blend as easily as chalk pastel, but isexcellent for creating expressive lines. Oil pastel is the greasiest of the stick media. Itcan be used in a variety of ways, but is good for situations where a vibrant use ofcolour is needed.

Printmaking MediaAs well as the traditional two dimensional media, another type of tool was developed ataround the time of the Renaissance. Printmaking is based on the concept that a surfaceis inked, pressure is applied, and the inked surface is transferred to another. Thesurface to be inked can be made from a variety of materials, including wood(woodblock), metal (etching and engraving), stone (lithography), silk (serigraph or silkscreen), or a variety of other materials. Usually each colour must be transferred to thepaper separately, and usually a press of some kind is needed, to generate enoughpressure to transfer the image from the plate to the surface. The printmaking media arequite diverse. The type of image needed often determines the specific printmakingprocess to be used. Some, such as lithography, silk screen, and woodblock, requireyou to put only one colour on per plate. An image with four colours would require fourdifferent plates, one for each colour. Some processes—such as etching—can placemore than one colour on the press at the same time. Printmaking media generate richimages than can be easily produced in multiples.

CameraThe camera captures an image on film. The end result appears completely differentfrom a painting or a drawing, or a print. It is perceived as a moment in time. Aphotograph captures a moment, while a painting is painstakingly compiled over time. Each has a different sensation of time. Usually there are no blurred edges, noundefined boundaries. Everything is neatly composed within the rectangle of thepicture frame, and the objects within it are crisp and clear. The human experience ofthe world is quite different. Our eyes must move frequently to compile an image, andsome of the image that is seen is always out of focus. The camera can be used in manysituations, from objects moving with speed to detail work. It is a versatile tool thatexcels as a medium of documentation.

Different types of film will help to create different images. Regular daylight film isused for outdoor photographs. Tungsten film is used for documentation of artworks, or


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fashion photography under special lights. Some types of images seem more effectivein colour, while others need to be produced in black-and-white. Infrared film createsvery unusual images, in which colours are not where we expect to see them.

The light sensitivity of film is an important part of the creative process. Films with ahigh number on them are more light sensitive than films with a low number on them. Along with a greater sensitivity to light usually comes a higher degree of graininess onthe film. Films with a low number on them (such as ISO 25) can only be used with astrong light source, but can be enlarged many times without seeing any grain. Highspeed films (such as ISO 1600) are very sensitive to light, but are quite grainy.

Photographers looking to create a special visual effect may use filters, which attach tothe lens of the camera to enhance or distort the image. Special lenses can be used tocreate interesting visual effects. A fish-eye lens will create an image with a highdegree of distortion at the edges, and will capture a large viewing area on the film. Atelephoto lens will bring distant objects much closer, but will also tend to flatten theperceived spatial distance between objects in the picture. Once in the darkroom, thephotographer can further manipulate the photograph by use of special tools andtechniques. The end result may bear little in common with the original image taken bythe camera.

Film and VideoImages captured on film or video have a quality unlike a painting or a photograph. Attheir most basic level, they move. Motion suggests a level of reality that is quitedifferent from still images like paintings or photographs. Films are made in differentsizes, to be used in different situations. Small films produce a small image, whichcannot be enlarged too far without distortion. At the other end is the kind of film usedin an I-MAX camera, which is quite large. It allows for the image to be projected ontoa very large screen.

Special lenses and films are also used in the film industry for special purposes. Inaddition, the film industry has created extraordinary special effects, such as highlydetailed models, computer animation, and puppetry to create sophisticated illusions thatappear to be real. Highly detailed models have been used in films like the Star Warsmovies, or the science fiction movie Blade Runner. Puppetry was used in fantasy filmslike the Labyrinth. Computer animation was used to great effectiveness in films likeTerminator 2, The Mask, Titanic and in fact, in most recently produced films requiringspecial effects.

ComputersComputers can be used to generate a wide variety of visual images, from still images toanimation. Much depends on the type of software that is being used, and on theperipheral equipment that is available. One of the most important types of peripheral


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tools is a scanner. This device, which can be either black and white or colour, is usedto transfer drawn or photographed images (or any two dimensional form), and enter itinto the computer, where it can then be manipulated by one of a number of softwareprograms. The scanner reads information at a number of levels of sensitivity, whichcan be adjusted by the user. When a photograph, drawing, or other object is scanned,the image is translated into a dot pattern, much like a newspaper photograph. The termused to designate sensitivity is dots per inch. The higher the dots per inch, the higherthe level if sensitivity of the scan. Hand held scanners usually can scan anywhere from100-400 dots per inch. Flatbed scanners can usually scan anywhere from 400-2400dots per inch. Drum scanners, which are used in the printing industry, can scan beyond3500 dots per inch.

Once entered into a computer, the scanned image can be manipulated by a variety ofimage editing programs. Sophisticated ones allow you to do an almost endless numberof things, from adjusting tonal values to complicated special effects. Because of theversatility of the available software, it is impossible to list all of the things a computermight do to an image. It is important to remember however, that a computer image isalways different from a photograph, painting, print, or drawing. It has a different lookand visual “feel”. The decision to use a computer should be based on the suitability ofcomputers for the kind of image you want to create.

The decision to use a particular tool should be based on its intrinsic properties. Inorder to know these properties, you must experiment, using a variety of media indifferent situations to discover how they can best be used.

How does technology affect image-making?Technology affects image-making in many ways. One is by the actual process ofcreation, the natural give and take that occurs when someone is working with aparticular medium. In that instance, the image maker responds to the natural qualitiesof the materials. The direction and nature of the image is modified by the interplaybetween the artist’s ideas and his or her materials. Another way is when an artistdecides upon a particular medium at the beginning of the creative process. Theparticular characteristics of the medium will then help to shape the idea. The formeraffects the process of creation only, while the latter affects the idea as well.

The decision to use a particular medium should be based on using that medium’sparticular properties to best advantage. In other words, you might have an idea for animage, and you might have some definite ideas already about what that image shouldlook like. Those ideas should help you to select which medium would work best. Onthe other hand, if you have made the decision first to work on the computer, you shouldunderstand that the choosing of the computer will help to shape the final product youmake. Visual images are a complex dialogue between the maker’s intention, orbeginning idea, her or his materials, and their strengths and weaknesses, the culture or


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time in which the maker lives, and the context in which the final product is exhibited. All of those things work together to shape the idea for the work.

It is important to understand that it is not only the artist who is influenced by her or hischoice of materials. Society’s perception of the final product is also influenced byprevailing opinions about types of images. In other words, how a work is received hasa lot to do with what people are used to seeing. If you produce something that isoutside of their familiar perceptual world, it will appear strange and uncomfortable tothem.

A final way that technology can influence image making is by opening new avenues ofcreative experimentation. Sometimes a new tool is developed, and that tool transformsthe types of images that artists make. The development of oil paint in the fifteenthcentury caused major changes in the nature of visual images. The invention of thecamera in the nineteenth century caused a similar upheaval in the type of imagesprevalent in society. The computer is having as great an impact as either oil paint orthe camera on contemporary art.

Discussion

Using images from a variety of sources as examples, discuss why the artist might havechosen to use that particular medium. Is there some intrinsic property of that medium thatmight explain the artists choice? How would the image look different if it were producedin another medium?

Projects

1. Using the same image, experiment with a variety of media and techniques. How doeschanging media change the image you are using?

2. Take a drawing or a photograph, and scan it into a computer. Manipulate the imageusing a paint program. How does the switch from one medium to another create newpossibilities?

3. Explore the possibilities of a variety of tools to make lines. Which ones work the bestfor you?

4. Explore the possibilities of a variety of tools. Which ones are easy to use? Which onesoffer you the most creative freedom?

5. Use a variety of brushes with paint. Observe how different brushes create differenteffects.


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Figure 2A.i The elements of design: dot, line,shape, texture, and tone or value

SECTION 2A: THE VOCABULARY OFIMAGE MAKING

Introduction

he basic tools of the artist, designer,Tand craftsperson are the elements andprinciples of design. These concepts

are used to simplify and understand thenatural complexities of our visual world. They are a kind of language, or the buildingblocks from which many languages can arise. They are the means by which Western culturedescribes our visual reality.

In Art Technologies 1201, the elements andprinciples of design are discussed separately. Although there is some debate about whichtopics should be included in the elements and principles of design, the topics included here aregenerally accepted as part of basic design training. The elements of design are discussed first. We cover the dot, line, shape/form, space, texture, tone or value, and colour. The elements ofdesign are the elemental perceptual structures that we use to deconstruct and construct ourvisual world. The principles of design are made up of balance, proportion, and composition.

The section entitled Composition: Harmony and Contrast, p. 125 includes information ontopics often included separately in the principles of design—repetition and variation, emphasis,and rhythm/movement. The principles of design are the processes by which the elements arecombined. Together, the elements and principles of design can be used to analyze any existingvisual image, or to construct one. A thorough understanding of them gives the artist,craftsperson or designer an invaluable tool; what might be called “visual literacy”. From thatknowledge, the world of imagination can be transformed into a compelling visual reality.


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Figure 2A.11 The image of a tiger reproduced ina pattern of dots.

2A.1 Dot

The choice of a point of view is the initialact of a culture.

José Ortega y Gasset 1883-1955The Modern Theme [1923], ch. 7


Upon completing this section, students will be able to:· understand that the dot is the most basic visual structure· describe and provide examples how the dot is used in contemporary image-based

technologies· demonstrate the effect of grouping dots so that they are perceived as patterns· create images that explore and respond to the qualities of the dot.


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Figure 2.12 A box of apples as an example of dots.

Introduction

he starting point of visual structures is the dot. It is the simplest, most elementary markTthat can be made. It is also the smallest mark that can be made. It is without dimensionor direction. A dot has no up or down, no left or right, no obvious orientation or

suggestion of movement. Although it is a basic mark, it is also at the heart of some of today’smost sophisticated image-making technology.

When dots are placed close together, we tend to see them as a group, not as a bunch ofindividual dots. That is how we are able to take patterns of dots and see them as recognizableimages. This image of a tiger is made of nothing but black and white dots. Because they aregrouped closely together, you do not see them as a bunch of random dots, you see them as apattern. That pattern is the image of the tiger. The ability to group similar objects into patternsis one of the key perceptual tools of the human eye and brain.

Many contemporary techniques for generating images rely on the use of dots. Look at anewspaper photograph, or a comic book page with a magnifying glass. You will see that all ofthem are composed of dots. So is the image on your television set. Computer-generatedimages are constructed of dots too. They are called pixels, which is an abbreviation of pictureelement, the smallest structure used for creating a picture.

In order to generate images for magazines or computer screens, images must be transformedinto complex patterns of dots. The size of the dots used depends upon a variety of factors. Choices range from very coarse to veryfine patterns, which have a big impacton the way the image looks in the end. Colour printing requires that a separateplate, consisting of a fine pattern ofdots, be created for each of the fourprimary printing colours: cyan,magenta, yellow and black.

To create a full colour image on acomputer screen or a television set, youneed dots made up of the threeprimaries of light: red, blue, and green,which is known by the short form RGB. To print a full colour image on paper, from one oftoday’s full-colour printing presses, you need dots made up of four primary colours: Cyan,Magenta, Yellow, and Black, or CMYK. These two processes, RGB and CMYK, areresponsible for almost all of the visual images we see today. (For more information on additiveand subtractive colour theories, please see section 2A.71, page 93, and section 2A.72, page97.)


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Figure 2.13 Cows can have a dot pattern!

One important aspect ofimage-making using dots is the abilityto make many copies. Working byhand is often slow. Using mechanicalmeans to reproduce images meansthat hundreds, thousands, or millionsof copies can be made, often at greatspeed. Dot-based image technologieshave been responsible for flooding ourworld with images, in ways that wereinconceivable a century ago.

Discussion

1. How many visual images in our society are constructed using dots?

2. What has the impact been of this technology on our society?

Projects

1. Collect examples of images created using dots, from a variety of sources. Possibilitiesinclude magazines, newspapers, flyers, or books.

2. With a magnifying glass, look at the surface of a computer screen or a television set tosee the dot structure.

3. Create an image in a computer drawing program. Using the magnify feature, zoom into see the dot structure the image is composed of. Alternatively, expand the imagemany times. The dot or pixel structure of the image will become visible.

4. Make a rubbing, using pencil and a sheet of bond paper, of any textured surface. Placethe rubbing in a photocopier that has an enlargement feature. By expanding the copiedimage over and over again, a dot structure is created.


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5. Using a felt pen, roller ball pen, or technical pen, create a drawing using nothing butdots. Try creating two kinds of images: one with dots all the same size, and anotherwith dots of varying sizes. What difference is there in the images produced? Now trycreating the same kind of image using a computer paint program. Is there a differencein the way the two media work. Can you do things in one medium that cannot be donein another?

6. Using peel-and-stick dots, drawn dots, dots produced by a stamp and ink pad, cut-outdots, or dots created on a computer, experiment to find out how close together dotsmust be before they form an image. Your perception of the distance between the dotsmay be changed by moving further away from the image. Experiment with this factor.

7. Use the pixelated nature of the computer screen to compose images dot by dot. Experiment with colour placement, changing the colours in the final image to assesshow colour impacts on the relationship.

8. Is there a difference between the round dot of a felt tip pen and the square dot of thecomputer screen? If there are differences, how do they impact on the final image?

9. Experiment with irregular dots as a building block for images. Search out examplesfrom artists. Is modular design architecture any different from this? Could you use aletter of the alphabet?

10. Some computer paint programs allow you to create a brush. This can be anything onyour screen that you want it to be - a single pixel or a complete image. You can thenuse this “brush” to perform a number of tasks, including using it as a dot. Experimentand arrive at a final product on screen. Output, save to disk animate, or photograph.


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Figure 2A.21 The rhythmic lines of wavesbreaking on a beach.

2A.2 LINE

A work that aspires, however humbly, to thecondition of art should carry its justification inevery line.

Joseph Conrad 1857-1924


Upon completing this section, students will be able to:· understand that line is the simplest visual element that expresses direction and

dimension· demonstrate the effect on human perception of lines made by different tools, or lines

made by different techniques· demonstrate how line can be used as a boundary in images· utilize the difference between real and implied line in an art work· demonstrate how lines can be perceived to have different visual “weights”· create images that explore and make use of the qualities of line.


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Figure 2A.22 Examples of different types of lines.

Figure 2A.23 Using lines to define theboundaries between things.

Introduction

ine is the simplest visual element that expresses direction. A single line representsLmovement, and several lines together can be used to create the optical illusion of spatialdepth on a two-dimensional surface. Lines can also exist in three dimensions, as in the

case of wire sculpture.

Lines are very expressive; they canhave many different looks. Lines varyin thickness, surface characteristics,tone (or value), and expressiveness. How a line looks is determined by therelationship between the artist and herchoice of materials. An artist createslines to achieve an effect, whateverthat may be. The range of choices theartist has is in part determined by thechoice of tool and medium. Pencil,brush, pen, computer, sponge, branch,leaf: all of these will produce verydifferent lines, with great variation inthe way they look, and feel. A brushdipped in water paint, oil paint, oracrylic paint mixed with aquariumsand will create very distinct lines aswell. These examples of lines werecreated with a variety of the differentline-making tools in the computerprogram Fractal Painter. Once limitedin their abilities, computer paint programs can now mimic a variety of traditional artist's tools.

Some of the lines above are thicker than others. Some possess a rounder shape, or fuzzier edges. Each one appears different. We might even say thatthe lines have individual personalities. What are thecreative and expressive possibilities? Smooth,straight lines remind us of mechanical things, like anarchitect’s or draftsperson’s drawings. Because oftheir potential for expressiveness, lines can representemotional states (anger, happiness, fear), physicalforms (clouds, tree bark, ice), or the properties ofthings (brittle, elastic, sharp). How do these linesappear to you? What kinds of objects might you use


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Figure 2A.24 Lines of different visualweights.

Figure 2A.25 Two examples of line being used tosuggest depth.

those lines for? What emotions might they express? Could you make lines like these, using avariety of tools? Could you make other, different lines?

Besides the way they look, lines have otherimportant properties. Lines are often used to createboundaries between one thing and another. In thereal world we use them this way too. Lines aredrawn to show where you can park a car, and whereit is illegal to do so. Lines are drawn on a playingfield to show what is in bounds, and what is out ofbounds. In visual images, lines can be used thesame way. Often, lines are drawn around the edgesof things: the purpose of the line is to say, “this isthe edge of the house”, or “this is the edge of thehill”. In addition to being drawn, lines can beimplied. Where two different surfaces meet, a lineoften appears to exist. Lines are implied when we perceive them to be present, but are notactually there. Boundaries between things are often seen as implied line.

Lines can be used to suggest other things too. Thicker lines appear stronger and bolder thanthinner lines. They feel heavier too: artistssay that they have greater visual weight. Thismeans that several thin lines may be needed tobalance one thick one. Lines of different toneor value, when seen together, can create theillusion of depth.

Discussion

1. Look at images from a variety of sources, such as art books, magazine advertisements,music videos, or computer-generated illustrations. Discuss how the person who madethe image used line in the work. What kind of energy do the lines have? How do theymake you feel?


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Figure 2A.26 Lines created by fallingwater.

Project

1. Search for a variety of objects, both naturaland made by people. Using ink or waterypaint, use the objects you collected to createlines. Observe how the tool impacts the quality or weight of the line.

2. Use a pencil and paper from a sketchbook, tomake rubbings from a variety of texturedsurfaces. Try to describe in words the waythe lines look (rapid, organic, sharp, heavy,etc.)

3. On a computer, use a variety of tools in apaint program to create a variety of lines. What physical objects (clouds, waves, rocks)would these types of lines be most suitablefor. Which lines have the most energy? Which seem strong? What kinds of feelingsdo they express?

4. Using reference material, do a study of theuse of line in historical and contemporaryartists’ work. Do the lines used by artistsdiffer? Can a particular period in art be distinguished by the use of line? Canexamples of artworks be found that suggest the following properties: fancy, strong,organic, delicate, open, simple, congested? Does the use of line by the artist influencethe way you feel about the work?

5. Using a brush, how many different lines can you make? Which would be more suitablefor representing ice? Which would be better for depicting rock? Which look fluid,which look dry?

6. Using a variety of traditional and non-traditional drawing tools, create lines that expressthe following words: fast, angry, brittle, happy, serious, cold, rough, warm, slow, sad,and smooth.

7. Using a flashlight in a dark room and a video camera, create lines in the air by movingthe flashlight quickly or slowly while facing the lens. Experiment with lights ofdifferent types.


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Figure 2A.31 The repeated shapes of ahoneycomb.

2A.3 SHAPE AND FORM

One must not always think that feeling iseverything. Art is nothing without form.

Gustave Flaubert 1821-1880 Letter to Madame Louise Colet [August 12,1846]


Upon completing this section, students will be able to:· understand how shapes can be described as lines that enclose space· describe and demonstrate the effect on human perception of lines made by different

tools, or lines made by different techniques· demonstrate how shapes can function as symbols or signs· classify shapes as either geometric or organic· illustrate the difference between shape and form· explain and illustrate why the ability to give ideas physical form was considered

through much of Western history to be one of the prime skills of the artist· create images that explore and make use of shaped form· demonstrate the effect both real and implied textures have on human perception.


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Figure 2A.32 The repeated organic shapes of logs.

Figure 2A.33 One example of the use ofgeometric shapes - a pyramid of ancientEgypt.

Figure 2A.34 Examples of anorganic shape (top), ageometric shape (middle), anda shape that we read as asymbol (bottom).

Introduction

hape can be defined as a line, real or implied, that returns to its point of origin. If youSthink about it, this definition makes sense. Unless an artist or designer uses specialtechniques, a shape has no illusion of depth, just like a line. Shapes enclose space.

Shapes, like lines, can vary in size, tone or value, real or implied texture, and expressivequality. Like lines, their character changes when created with different tools. For example, acircle created with a Japanese brush is very distinct from a circle created in a computerprogram. A circle created by drawing with a piece of charcoal is very different from a circlecreated by cutting a piece of construction paper with a pair of scissors. And laying a piece ofstring in a circle is unlike creating a circle by cutting into a copper plate with an engraving tool. Each one will be unique, and each one is the result of a complex relationship between the handof the artist and the tools he uses.


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Form & Shape

Form or shape can sometimes referto the ideas that exist in the mind ofthe artist. The artist gives form tothese ideas, thoughts, and emotionsthrough the use of tools andmaterials. In the renaissance, theability to form an idea in the mindwas considered one of the highestachievements of the artist. From the15 - 18 centuries, artists believedth th

in perspective - the absolute illusionof spatial depth - much as today’sfilmmakers pursue realism.

In the 19 and 20 centuries - artiststh th

began to challenge illusion as basisfor image-making. Why illusion? Why a fixed space, with a singleviewpoint? What about art based onspirituality, on emotion, on innermeaning? As the idea of what artmight be under - went radicalchange, so did the form or shapethat art took.

Figure 2A.35 The soft flowing shapes of clouds.

Shapes mean different things. Some function as signs;that is, they have a meaning that is specific, and standfor a larger concept. The hexagon for example, isalmost always recognized as the shape we use for stopsigns. Sometimes shapes have a personal meaning,rather than a public one. You might look at an abstractpainting, and see shapes in it that remind you of thehillside near the community in which you grew up.

“Shape” and “form” mean two different things. Shape refers to two-dimensional objects, whileform refers to three-dimensional ones. Shape has two dimensions, height and width, whereasform adds the third dimension, depth. If you were to measure a photograph of a person, youcould only measure height and width—depth is not present. If I measure a living person, I canmeasure height, width, and depth.

Shapes can be geometric or organic, and can exist in two or three dimensions. Geometricshapes come in combinations and distortions of several basic forms: circle, square, triangle. When created with three dimensional form, they may become a cylinder, a sphere, a pyramid,or a cone. Organic shapes are the forms of nature: the shapes of grass, rocks, tree branches,clouds. There are an infinite number of shapes. They form the basis of all of the objects weperceive.


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Figure 2A.36 The delicate shapesof a fern.

Discussion

Any artist’s work can be examined for the use of shapeand form. Look at a selection of historical andcontemporary works of art from a variety of differentcultures. Is there something similar about the kinds ofshapes or forms used at different periods of time, andwithin cultures? What kinds of shapes and forms arecharacteristic of specific artists?

Projects

1. Conduct an analysis of an artist’s work. What kindsof shapes does she or he use? Does he or she use thesame shapes over and over, or are they varied? Ifthey are not recognizable as objects, what kinds offeelings do they suggest?

2. Look at advertisements for different products, eitherin print or on television. What kinds of shapes are associated with the products that aresold? What feelings do they suggest? What kind of associations are the advertiserstrying to create in your mind with their product?

3. Using a variety of materials, such as a brush and paint, a pencil and paper, a leaf andink, clay, and wire, and a computer paint program, create shapes or forms that relate tothe following words: angry, brittle, soft, hard, fluid, light, heavy, alive, dead. How dothe different materials change the way you created the shapes or forms? How dodifferent materials impact the look and feel of your product?

4. Using a computer paint program, create shapes using a variety of drawing tools. Expand and contract them to produce different effects.

5. Using your sketchbook, keep a visual diary of interesting shapes you see in yourcommunity. They do not have to be complete drawings, just quick impressions, orwhat are called “working drawings”. Combine them in a collage when you havecollected seven or eight shapes.

6. Using geometric shapes, create a new series of road or street signs.


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7. Using an animation program on a computer, work with shapes to transform them. Canyou turn one shape into another? Can you make geometric shapes turn into organicones? When you transform a shape, how is its character changed?

8. Make a collection of three organic and three geometric shapes. Use a variety of mediaand techniques to create the illusion of form for each of the six shapes. Computer paintprograms, blended paint or charcoal, pen and ink stipple, and pencil hatching andcross-hatching are some possibilities. Can you make a point or shape appear to recedeor come towards you? Can you make a shape appear to undulate?


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Figure 2.41 The rough visual texture of a brick wall.

2A.4 TEXTURE

Art should simplify à finding whatconvention of form and whatdetail one can do without and yetpreserve the spirit of thewhole....24

Willa Cather (1876-1947)American Author


Upon completing this section, students will be able to:@ illustrate that texture in an image can be physical or visual@ demonstrate and describe that the creation of visual texture is dependent on the artist’s

tools and approach@ create images that explore and make use of texture.

Introduction

exture exists in two forms: the way a surface feels to the touch, and the way a surfaceTlooks to the eye. The first one is an object's real surface quality, while the second one isa perception which may or may not be true. The presence of texture in an image

creates interesting visual effects, which can be put to many uses. One such use is as a deviceto help fool the eye into perceiving depth where there is none. An artist might also use textureto provide contrast in an image, or to give the viewer a focal point.


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Figure 2A.42 Examples of delicate texture(left) and rough texture (right).

Figure 2A.43 Six examples of textures generatedon a computer.

All objects have texture, even if it is hard to feel. An artists use of visual textures can suggestphysical objects (rocks, trees, grass, clouds), physical properties (smooth, brittle, soft, sticky,hard), or emotional states (inviting, dangerous). Individual artist’s tools have their ownintrinsic textures. Brush strokes with oil paint, charcoal on rough paper, or crayons on glass allcreate very different textures. Many popular computer paint programs can simulate hundredsof textures that used to be available only in traditional media. These new tools are providingdifferent creative opportunities to artists, by expanding the range of expressive capabilitiesavailable to them.

Texture can be created many ways, frommaking marks with a variety of tools, tomanipulating the surface characteristics ofsome media, to using the texture of realobjects. One example of the latter is arubbing. A sheet of paper is placed over atextured object, and rubbed with a pencil orother soft tool. The raised portions of theobject transfer to the paper, creating arepresentation of its surface texture.

Throughout history, different surface textures in works of art have been in and out of favour. In the Baroque period, the surface of paintings was manipulated so that no trace of brush workremained. Contemporary painters have frequently incorporated vigorous mark-making in theirwork, where the texture of brushstrokes and paint have been an important part of the image. Inboth cases, the presence or absence of texture reflected general attitudes about the making ofart, its role and purpose in society.


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Discussion

Bring to class visual images from a variety of sources. These sources could includeadvertising images, photographs, reproductions of artworks in books or magazines, orphotographs and sketches made in the community. Discuss the use of texture in theseimages. How is texture used? Does it contribute to the “feel” of the final product?

Projects

1. Find an assortment of objects (approximately 6), with different surface textures(examples might be silk, sandpaper, tin foil, wood, metal, and stone). Using a varietyof media (traditional and new technologies such as brush and ink, pencil, computer,camera, photocopier), try to recreate the surface textures of the objects on atwo-dimensional surface.

2. Using the same shape, try inserting a variety of different textures, to see how thepresence of texture changes the perception of the object.

3. Looking at music videos, what kind of visual textures are present? How do theyconnect with the meaning or mood of the song?

4. Explore the range of visual textures you can create from one tool, such as a brush. Tryto use it in both traditional and experimental ways (including the back end of thebrush). Using new technologies, see how many textures it is possible to create using acomputer paint program.

5. Create a collage, using found objects with a variety of textures and drawn impliedtextures to create a mixed media collage.

6. Have a group of students contribute objects brought from home. Place them one at atime in a box so they cannot be seen. Have each student reach into the box and feelone of the objects (not the one they brought from home!). They should then create, inany one of a number of media, an image of the surface texture they felt. Their effortscan be compared to the real objects at the end.

7. If your software permits a variety of texture emulations, experiment for the variety ofeffects you can simulate.


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8. Working from in and around your community, create several drawings of familiarlandscapes or other objects. Now draw them several times, each time drawing them sothat the landscape or object is created out of a different material than the original. Forexample, if the drawing was of a cliff, how would you render it so that the cliffappeared to be made out of feathers, or bubble gum, or sand, or wood?


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Figure 2A.51 The contrast of tone lends dramatic impact to thisimage.

2A.5 TONE OR VALUE

There is strong shadowwhere there is much light.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1749-1832Götz von Berlichingen [1773],Act I


Upon completing this section, students will be able to:@ demonstrate an understanding that tone is the relative position on a grayscale between

(and including) black and white@ demonstrate the difference between high and low contrast compositions@ demonstrate in their own work and in the work of others how varying contrast can

effect the mood of an image@ demonstrate and describe how variations in contrast can create the illusion of spatial

depth@ demonstrate and describe the relationship between tone or value, and the effect of light

in an image@ create images that explore and make use of tone and value.


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Figure 2A.53 A basicartist’s tonal scale, fromblack to white.

Introduction

one is the relative position on a grayscale between white andTblack. All compositions, including those in full colour, havetone or value. All colours can be converted to a shade

somewhere on a grayscale. Because they are light colours, yellowswould convert to light greys. Dark colours, such as some blues andviolets, would convert to dark greys that are almost black. Digitalphoto-retouching and paint programs, make it easy to convert betweencolour and grayscale images at the touch of a button.

High contrast compositions have very few shades of gray betweenblack and white. Low contrast compositions use groupings of valuesthat are close together on a gray scale. High key compositions use anarrow group of values close to white. Low key compositions use anarrow group of values close to black.

Tone or value can be used to express mood. High contrastcompositions can be stark and impersonal. Low contrastcompositions can be murky or soft. High key compositions canappear light and optimistic, while low key compositions can appeardark and forbidding, or depressing. A control of value in acomposition often helps create the illusion of spatial depth. One of theimportant principles of atmospheric perspective is that graduallylightening the values of distant objects will help to create the illusionof spatial depth. The use of similar values in different locations in animage can help the viewer’s eye to move around the composition.

What do artists represent when they use value or tone? They areusually representing the perceptual effects of light. In most twodimensional images, light is a solid material, responsible for thecreation of highlights and shadows, which are some of the principalmeans of depicting three-dimensional forms on a two dimensionalsurface. Artists must physically add light and shadow to acomposition, through blending and mixing colours. For the artist,light takes on a degree of solidity beyond the way people normallyperceive it.


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Projects

1. Using any one (or more) of a variety of media:@ Create a high contrast composition@ Create a low contrast composition@ Create a full contrast composition@ Create a high key composition@ Create a low key composition

2. Use a photographic darkroom, or a computer, or use a scanner to scan an image into acomputer to manipulate the tone of photographs or digital images. How is the mood orfeeling of the image changed? Do each of these tools create the same visual effect?

3. Watch music videos. How do their creators use tone to help set a mood?

4. Create several drawings of an object. Vary the tone in each one, and see how thevisual effect changes from one drawing to another.


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Figure 2A.61 Variations of scale suggest the illusion of space.

2A.6 SPACE

Rhythm is a form cut intoTIME, as a design isdetermined SPACE.

Ezra Pound, Treatise onReading, I


Upon completing this section, students will be able to:@ understand the basic approaches to representing space on a two-dimensional surface@ create images that explore and respond to space-related concepts.


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Introduction

here are many approaches that can be used by the artist, designer or craftsperson toTsuggest the illusion of space on a two-dimensional surface. Some of these topics havealready been covered in other spaces in this document, particularly in the section on

optical illusions (Section 2.1, Art as Illusion—Space and Depth). However, the manipulationof the illusion of space is an important tool, and will be briefly reviewed here.

One of the most common approaches to suggesting the presence of space in a composition is tovary the scale or size of objects. In figure 2.13, some objects appear closer than others becausetheir size is different. This approach works because the human brain perceives that objectwhich appear similar in shape but different in size to be at different distances from the eye. Context can play a part in this approach as well. If we see a photograph in which a personstanding in front of some mountains appears larger than the mountains, human perception willtend to see the person as closer and the mountains as farther away.

Another common approach is to overlap one shape with another. In figure 2.12, one shapeappears to be closer than another because one partially obscures the other. This technique wascommonly used in illuminated manuscripts from the Medieval period.

Another set of techniques for creating the illusion of space could be grouped under the generalheading of perspective. These can range from simple one-point perspective, to complex three-point images. The development of perspective in Western culture is discussed briefly insection 2.1 on pages 30 and 31. For a fuller discussion of perspective systems, a book such asPerspective for Artists by Rex Vicat Cole would be useful as a reference (now published inCanada by General Publishing Company, Ltd., Toronto, 1976, ISBN 0-486-22487-2).

Other tools used in the creation of space include texture or detail and tone or value. In somecultures, depth or space is suggested by position in the composition. Objects closer to thebottom of the image are considered closer, while those nearer the top are farther away. Persianminiatures are an example of this approach.

The use of space in a composition can be more than creating the illusion of depth. Evenvisually “flat” compositions contain space. In a “flat” composition, we can distinguish betweenpositive and negative space. Positive space is created by actively creating shapes or forms. Negative space is the resulting shapes or forms created by the unmarked areas around andbetween the positive space. A skilled artist will consider the aesthetic qualities of both thepositive and negative spaces when developing an effective composition.


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Discussion

Students could examine works of art, craft and design from many cultures and time periodsfor this topic. Their investigation could focus on the strategies used by individual artists,stylistic periods, and cultures to use space in visual compositions.

Projects

1. Using illustration software, draw a number of shapes. Selecting different shapes withthe selection tool, rearrange their order to create the illusion of different depth effects.

2. Experiment with varying the sizes of shapes in a composition to suggest depth.

3. Using collage techniques, create a composition out of materials with varying degrees ofsurface detail. Does the amount of detail in the materials influence your perception ofdepth?

4. Create a composition using the techniques of linear perspective to suggest the illusionof space.

5. Create a composition using a paint program that consists of two or more shapes. Change the scale of the shapes to increase or diminish the amount of negative space. How does the amount of negative space influence the composition?

6. Using the same basic shapes and lines, create three compositions. The first shouldsuggest the illusion of extreme spatial depth. The second should suggest shallowspatial depth. The third should suggest no depth at all.

7. Experiment with shapes in a composition. Vary their tone or value to create the illusionof depth.


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Figure 2A.7i The brilliant colours of a butterflyare easily imagined.

2A.7 COLOUR

Colour is life; for a world withoutcolours appears to us as dead.

Johannes IttenColour, 1990

The gray-green stretch of sandy grass, Indefinitely desolate; A sea of lead, a skyof slate; Already autumn in the air, alas! One stark monotony of stone, The longhotel, acutely white, Against theafter-sunset light Withers gray-green, andtakes the grass’s tone.

Arthur Symons 1865-1945Colour Studies [1895]. At Dieppe

olour vision is one of our most important senses. It was crucial to our survival as aCspecies, and is still our primary means of gathering information about the world. Within the visible spectrum (the range of light wavelengths visible to the human eye),

we can see an incredible number of colours. Current computer screens offer what is called truecolour, which is supposed to offer colour the way we would normally see it in the world. Truecolour on a computer is composed of 16.7 million variations. That figure is arbitrary as far ashuman vision is concerned. How many variations of colour within the visible spectrum canhumans see? The number is probably infinite.

Colour is a critical tool for the artist, designer, or craftsperson. Through it, emotions, moods,and feelings can be expressed, and realistic depictions of objects can be rendered.

There are many reasons for a creative person to use colour. It can be descriptive, showing thecolours of objects as they appear to the eye. It can be interpretive, expressing the feelings ofthe artist. It can be symbolic, referring to concepts and/or ideas outside of itself. In the bookArt Fundamentals (1992), the possible uses of colour in a two-dimensional image aredescribed as:

· To give spatial quality to the pictorial field....· To create mood and symbolize ideas· To serve as a vehicle for the expression of personal emotions and feelings· To attract and direct attention as a means of giving organization to a composition


Johannes Itten, The Elements of Colour (Toronto: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company,25

1970) p. 12

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· To accomplish aesthetic appeal by a system of well-ordered colour relationships· To identify objects by describing the superficial facts of their appearance.

Colour is a complex subject. People have devoted their lives to its study. In Art Technologies1201, the following aspects of colour are examined: the difference between additive andsubtractive colour; the vocabulary of colour (hue, value, and saturation); the use of colour tocreate space; the difference between objective and subjective uses of colour; and the use ofcolour as symbol. An important concept in this section is that colour is a language, or a seriesof languages, that can be manipulated to add meaning to a visual image. Although colour canbe studied from a variety of perspectives, from the fields of chemistry, biology, and physics, topsychology and art, it is the perspective of the maker of images that is of greatest concern inthis section.

The physicist studies the nature of the electro-magnetic energyvibrations and particles involved in the phenomena of light, theseveral origins of colour phenomena such as the prismatic dispersionof white light, and the problems of pigmentation. He investigatesmixtures of chromatic light, spectra of the elements, frequencies andwave lengths of coloured light rays. Measurement and classificationof colours are also topics of physical research.

The chemist studies the molecular structure of dyes and pigments,problems of colour fastness, vehicles, and preparation of syntheticdyes. Colour chemistry today embraces an extraordinarily wide fieldof industrial research and production.

The physiologist investigates the various effects of light and colourson our visual apparatus - eye and brain - and their anatomicalrelationships and functions. Research on light- and dark-adaptedvision and on chromatic colour vision occupies an important place. The phenomenon of afterimages is another physiological topic.

The psychologist is interested in problems of the influence of colourradiation on our mind and spirit. Colour symbolism, and thesubjective perception and discrimination of colours, are importantpsychological problems. Expressive colour effects - what Goethecalled the ethico-aesthetic values of colours - likewise fall within thepsychologist’s province.

The artist, finally, is interested in colour effects from their aestheticaspect, and needs both physiological and psychologicalinformation.25

Johannes Itten


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Figure 2A.711 Everything we can see falls within the visiblespectrum.

2A.71 THE VISIBLE SPECTRUM -ADDITIVE COLOUR

Physics is experience,arranged in economicalorder.

Ernst Mach 1838-1916The Economical Nature ofPhysical Inquiry [1882]


Upon completing this section, students will be able to:· explain why white light is the source of the colours we see· explain the electromagnetic and visible spectrum· explain and demonstrate the additive theory of colour· create images that explore and respond to colour.


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Introduction

olour and its relationship to light has fascinated scientists and artists for hundreds ofCyears. Our contemporary understanding of the properties of light began with Sir IsaacNewton in the eighteenth century, when he observed that white light, when passed

through a prism, would refract into coloured light. He found that as the wavelength of lightchanges, so does its colour to human eyes. Those bands of coloured light are the range ofcolours the human eye can see, and are therefore called the visible spectrum. The visiblespectrum is a narrow band of light on the electromagnetic spectrum. Outside of that narrowband, we cannot see light. Beyond our ability to see is infrared and ultraviolet light, and x-rays. Other creatures, with eyes and brains structured differently than ours, can see different parts ofthe electromagnetic spectrum.

Coloured light is additive; that is, all colours, when combined together, form white light. Thiscan be demonstrated by shining three lights with different coloured filters, or gels, so that thelight overlaps on the wall. The three lights must be the three primary colours of light: red,blue, and green. If they are properly balanced, where all three colours overlap will be whitelight. Overlapping any of the other two colours will create other colours, like yellow, orange,or violet. Black is the absence of light. The additive colour system of light is used bytelevision and computer screens, and in digital photography.

Some things in nature display the existence of the visible spectrum. Rainbows, for example,recreate the visible spectrum, due to the refraction of light through water droplets in the air. Aprism separates white light into its various colours. Looking at the surface of a CD from anangle displays the visible spectrum too.

Discussion

What might our world look like if the visible spectrum were different? When we look atinfrared satellite pictures, for example, we see our world in a very different way. What ifwe could see x-rays, or ultraviolet light? Would we still see blue as blue? Students couldresearch the visible and electromagnetic spectrum on the Internet, and report back to theclass on their findings.


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Projects

1. Using coloured filters, or gels, in the colours red, green, and blue, shine three lights ona wall to create white light. A good place for this is a local theatre, either in the schoolor elsewhere in the community. They will have coloured lights, controlled by a lightboard, which can show the various properties of light.

2. Using a paint program on a computer, modify colours using the RGB colour settings. The colour settings can be found wherever a palette of colours is displayed. Double-clicking with a mouse on the colour palette usually allows you to changescolours using the RGB system. Experiment with increasing the ratios of red, green,and blue to create all of the colours of the visible spectrum. All of the combinations ofadditive colour can be created. Some of these programs allow you to change from anRGB system to other colour systems, such as CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow andBlack), used in printing magazines. Try switching from one to the other to see how itaffects colours in your image.

3. Using a prism, observe how white light is refracted into the colours of the visiblespectrum. If you pass the coloured light through a second, upside-down prism, whathappens?


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Figure 2A.721 Artists use the subtractive theory of colour whenmixing paint.

2A.72 THE SUBTRACTIVE THEORY OFCOLOUR

With the colour thatpaints the morning andevening clouds that facethe sun I saw then thewhole heaven suffused.

Dante Alighieri 1265-1321The Divine Comedy [c. 1310-1320]. Paradiso, cantoXXVII, l. 28


Upon completing this section, students will be able to:@ explain and illustrate the difference between ambient and reflected light@ explain and demonstrate the subtractive theory of colour@ explain the nature of pigments@ demonstrate and explain the primary, secondary, and intermediate colours on a basic

colour wheel@ create images that explore and respond to subtractive theory of colour.


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Introduction

olour can be described in a variety of ways. We have seen how the colours we see areCmade up of different wavelengths of light within the Electromagnetic Spectrum. Wehave also learned that the position of the Electromagnetic Spectrum that we can see is

called the Visible Spectrum. We know about the additive theory of colour; how light ofdifferent wavelengths can be combined to produce white light. Do the colours used by artists,craftspeople, and designers work the same way? To understand how artists, craftspeople, anddesigners use colour, we must look at the subject from a different perspective. We must askthe important question: what colour is a red apple? And we must explore the concept ofsubtractive colour.

Objects, such as trees, mountains, people, cars...none of them have colour the way we normallythink of it. Under white ambient light, an apple is not red. What really happens is that theapple’s surface absorbs all colours of the visible spectrum, except red. The red wavelength isreflected back to your eye, showing you that the apple is red. In reality, the apple is not red; itis reflecting red light. Likewise, a blue car is not blue; it absorbs all wavelengths of the visiblespectrum except blue, which is reflected back to your eye. A black object is one whose surfaceabsorbs all wavelengths of the visible spectrum.

The colour of reflected light can depend on the colour of ambient light, or the colour of lightthat is falling on an object. A yellow light shining on a blue car will make it appear green; ablue light shining on a red object will make it appear violet; a green light falling on a red objectwill make it appear black. Why black? This effect is caused by the interaction of ambient andreflected light. If the light falling on an object only includes a narrow portion of the visiblespectrum, and the object only reflects a narrow portion of the visible spectrum, your eyes will“see” one of the odd colour effects described above. White ambient light is light falling on anobject that includes all of the wavelengths of light within the visible spectrum, and is thereforeseen as white.

Subtractive colour is the name sometimes given to the theory of reflected light. Because allcolours of light added together create white light, it is called additive. In pigment (the materialthat creates colour in objects), all colours added together create black.

pig·ment(píg’ment) –n. 1. A substance used as colouring. 2. Dry colouring matter,usually an insoluble powder to be mixed with water, oil, or another base toproduce paint and similar products. 3. BIOLOGY A substance, such aschlorophyll or hemoglobin, that produces a characteristic colour in plant oranimal tissue.



Company.

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–tr. v.-ment·ed., -ment·ing., -ments. To colour with pigment. [Lat. pigmentum < pingere, to paint.] pig’men·tar’y (pígm n-tér’ë) adj.26

That is because each colour absorbs some of the light from the visible spectrum, and onlyreflects a small portion. Adding together all of the pigments would mean that no light isreflected, so the object would appear black. Pigments subtract colour from the full spectrumwhite light, hence they are called subtractive.

Pigments are the materials we use to create colour. All of our materials that can apply colour: paint, crayons, coloured pencils, fabric dye...all use pigments. Pigments can occur in twoways. They can occur naturally, as in a pigment called yellow ochre. This exists in nature, andonce dug up, refined, and combined with a binder, can be used to make the colour known asyellow ochre. Binders are used to form the loose, powdered pigments into a mass that we callpaint, ink, or dye. Others have been developed by chemists in laboratories. A colour known asquinacridone violet is an example of a colour created by people. There are dozens of pigments,which means that in addition to the primary colours, there are lots of other colours to choosefrom - they do not all have to be mixed! Many pigments have been used in the art and craftworlds for many hundreds of years. They often have exotic-sounding names. Some commonnames of pigments used in art are:

azure barium yellow bistreburnt sienna carmine cobalt bluegamboge viridian lamp black

The primary colours of light are red, green, and blue. They are called primary colours becausethey are the three colours essential to mixing all of the other colours of the visible spectrum. Because of the different natures of additive and subtractive colour, each has different primarycolours. In light, the primaries are Red, Green, and Blue. White is the presence of allwavelengths of light, while black is the absence of light. In pigment, the primaries are red (ormagenta), blue (or cyan), and yellow. From these three primaries can be created the secondarycolours: orange, green, and violet. From a mixture of the primary and secondary colours, theintermediate colours are created. Often, the primary, secondary, and intermediate colours ofpigment are expressed on a colour chart. One of the most popular formats is a colour wheel. They usually have twelve divisions, as shown on the colour wheel below and listed at right.. With the addition of white and black to the yellow, cyan, and magenta pigments, the full rangeof the visible spectrum can be created. There are many variations on the colour wheel. Eachone represents a different aspect of colour theory. A basic colour wheel with twelve divisionsis shown opposite.


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The colours represented on the colour wheelare (clockwise from the top):

@ yellow (primary)@ yellow-orange (intermediate)@ orange (secondary)@ red-orange (intermediate)@ red (primary)@ red-violet (intermediate)@ violet (secondary)@ blue-violet (intermediate)@ blue (primary)@ blue-green (intermediate)@ green (secondary)@ yellow-green (intermediate)

Mixing colours on a computer can be muchdifferent, depending on the colour systembeing used. Most drawing and photo-retouching programs allow the user to select the coloursystem being used to make colours. Some, such as Adobe Photoshop, Corel Paint, Corel Drawand Painter, allow the user to select between several systems, the most popular being CMYKand RGB. Comparing the two systems can be a valuable experience in understanding colour,and how it operates.

Projects

1. Try mixing as many colours as possible between two primaries. Try mixing thecolours in paint, and then try mixing the colours in a computer paint program. Whatdifferences did you discover between the two?

2. Create a composition using nothing but the three primary colours. What kind of visualimpact does it have?

3. Create a composition with two primary and two secondary colours. What is the visualimpact of this piece?

4. Research colour systems such as colour wheels, and share the results with the class.5. Colour a piece of paper with a variety of different colours. Shine light of varying

colours on the paper, and observe how the colours change.6. Research colour theory through the Internet. Create a presentation illustrating the

variety of theories that exist.7. Build a webpage on the school’s Internet linking resources on Colour Theory.


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2A.73 THE VOCABULARY OF COLOUR: HUE, VALUE, SATURATION

Why make so much of fragmentary blue In hereand there a bird, or butterfly, Or flower, orwearing-stone, or open eye, When heavenpresents in sheets the solid hue?

Robert Frost 1874-1963Fragmentary Blue [1923], st. 1


Upon completing this section, students will be able to:@ distinguish among and explain the meaning of Hue, Value, and Saturation@ demonstrate an understanding of and explain complementary colours@ create images that explore and make use of hue, value and saturation.


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Introduction

o describe colour, three specific terms are frequently used. Colour can be described inTmany ways, using any number of what are often called colour models. One commonmethod is to describe colour in terms of Hue, Value, and Saturation. Using these three

terms, we can objectively describe just about any colour within the visible spectrum. This ismuch more useful than trying to describe colours with words such as pink, teal, or amber. People have different interpretations of those words, so achieving a consensus is often difficult. Using Hue, Value, and Saturation helps make the description of colours more objective, andtherefore more useful as terms of communication. These terms are also important in thetechnology of image-making. They are important in many fields, particularly in the field ofcommercial printing. You will see terms like this used in most computer paint programs. Anunderstanding of colour begins with these three concepts.

HueA colour’s hue can be found on the outer circle of a colour wheel. It is the pure colour,without either black or white added. A colour’s hue is its proper name, such as red, oryellow, or blue, or green, or violet. In light, a colour’s hue refers to its wavelength inthe visible spectrum.

ValueIn pigment, when white or black are added to a hue, its value is changed. Starting witha pure hue, such as red, adding black or white to it will change its value. Sometimes,adding white to a pure hue is called “tinting”; while adding black is called “toning”.

Saturation/IntensityThe less neutral gray that is present in a colour, the greater its saturation. Coloursrepresented on a standard colour wheel are fully saturated. The more neutral grey ispresent relative to the amount of the pure hue, the less saturated the colour is. What isneutral gray? If you mix opposites on a colour wheel together, the resulting theoreticalmixture at the centre of the colour wheel should be neutral gray. As you move fromthe periphery of the colour wheel to the centre, hues lose their saturation.

Colours on opposite sides of a colour wheel are called complementary, because theycan be combined to form neutral gray. Complementary colours are used together whenartists want to increase the visual impact of their work. The presence of red and greentogether, or orange and blue together, or yellow and violet together, create vibrantcompositions, often perceived as visually jarring. The artistic movement known asImpressionism frequently used complementary contrasts to create vibrant visualeffects.


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Discussion

Have students select either an artist’s work, an image from the media, or a coloured object. Have them describe its colour in terms of hue, value, and saturation. Precise descriptionsmight be impossible, but students should be able to tell if the colour is a pure hue; if thereis any black or white in the colour (value), and if the colour is fully saturated. An importantaspect of colour is how it makes the viewer feel. How do the colours in the works thestudents have chosen make them feel? Do saturated colours look more vibrant? Doimages with low saturation look muted and somber? Are images with a lot of black andwhite added to colours more dramatic? Attempt to develop a correlation between the typeof colour used, and its visual impact.

Projects

1. Using paint, mix a colour with white to see how its value changes. Mix the samecolour with black to see how it changes. Now mix gray, and add it to the colour toreduce its saturation. Cut these experiments out into squares, and place them on apiece of paper to form a chart of the value and saturation variations of that particularcolour.

2. Using a sophisticated computer paint program in CMYK mode (colour mixturescreated by a combination of Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black), experiment withpercentages of a single colour, and the use of black to alter the value and saturation ofthe colour.

3. Using paint, mix as many variations as possible from one primary colour to another.

4. Choose two primary colours of paint. Mix these to create as many variations of hue aspossible.

5. Mix two opposite colours on the colour wheel together. Observe whether theycombined together to form a neutral gray. If not, why not?

6. Create a colour wheel, including the three primaries, 3 secondaries, and sixintermediate colours.

7. Research the works of specific artists, or time periods in art, to observe their use ofcolour. Do some artists or styles use more pure hues in their palette than others? Areindividual artists prone to using a specific range of colours? Do some artists use highlysaturated colours, while others use a more muted palette?


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8. Observe the use of colour in the mass media: magazine advertising, televisioncommercials, music videos. Are there styles of colour in the way that there are stylesof painting?

9. Explore the artworks of other cultures to determine if they have a dominant use of oneor more colour systems.

10. Go on a walking tour around your community. How many examples of colourcontrasts can you find (in nature, in buildings, in people’s clothing)?

11. Pick a day when everyone will wear clothes to school that illustrate one or more colourcontrasts.

12. Using a variety of media, create images that express one or more colour contrasts.

13. Using a camcorder, create a short film that shows the use of colour contrasts.

14. Look at music videos. How do they use colour contrasts?

15. Examine your room at home, or your house. What colour range are you using todecorate? What mood does it express?

16. Create a visual composition using your favourite colours. Does it incorporate any ofthe colour contrasts?

17. Create a composition with a strong use of complementary contrasts. Use any one of avariety of media.


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Figure 2A.741 A strong contrast betweenforeground and background colour oftenhelps to suggest depth.

2A.74 THE USE OF COLOUR TOCREATE SPACE

Our bodily eye findeth never an end, but isvanquished by the immensity of space.

Giordano Bruno 1548-1600On the Infinite Universe and Worlds [1584], FifthDialogue


Upon completing this section, students will be able to:@ demonstrate an understanding of how colour can be used to create the illusion of spatial

depth on a two-dimensional surface@ create images that explore and make use of colour to create space.


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Introduction

olour can be used for a variety of purposes. One of them is the creation of the illusionCof spatial depth in a composition. On a white background, those colours closest towhite will appear to recede. In order, on a white background, yellow will appear to

recede the most, followed by orange, red, green, blue , violet, and black. On a blackbackground, the colours are reversed.

Jan and Hubert van Eyck were among the first to create the illusion of great spatial depth intheir paintings. They did so by using a technique known as atmospheric perspective. Theynoticed that colours appear to fade as objects get further away. They also appear to take on aslightly blue tint, becoming more pronounced as the distance increases. In a painting, graduallyreducing the saturation of a colour as the object recedes into the distance, and adding a slightblue tint, will fool the eye of the viewer into thinking that the image has depth.

Other artists produced work that did not attempt to create an optical illusion of spatial depth. They emphasized the flatness of the surface.

Discussion

1. Investigate the use of spatial depth in the works of various artists, styles, or cultures. Do they create images with a large amount of spatial depth, or a little? Does it varyfrom work to work, or is it consistent across a large body of works? Students shouldpresent the results of their research to the class.

2. Look at advertisements in magazines. Is there a greater or lesser degree of spatialdepth created? Did the creators use colour to help them create a feeling of depth?

Projects

1. Using a variety of materials, create images on different colour backgrounds thatsimulate the appearance of spatial depth.

2. Create a likeness of an existing work: it could be a painting, a magazineadvertisement, or a photograph. Try manipulating the colours in the image to reversethe effect of spatial depth (so that the objects in the background appear to advance, andvice-versa). Try changing the colours so that the image appears very flat, or so that theimage has more spatial depth than the original.


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3. Using a computer paint program, create an image using simple shapes. Experimentwith the use of colour to alter the perception of spatial depth in your work.

4. Create a multimedia presentation, video, or a performance in the school. Try makingcostumes that are formed from simple shapes, and solid colours. Create a movementor dance piece that works with the idea of spatial depth. Depending on the location ofthe participants in the performance, the appearance of the actual depth of theperformance space can be maintained, enhanced, or denied. Relating the colours usedto movement or music would add extra dimensions to the performance.


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Figure 2A.751 The negative image of trees in winter.

2A.75 OBJECTIVE AND SUBJECTIVECOLOUR

Judge not according tothe appearance.

St. John, [7:24]


Upon completing this section, students will be able to:@ demonstrate an understanding of the objective and subjective use of colour@ create images that explore and make use of objective and subjective colour.

Introduction

olour is used in visual images in many different ways. When looking at pictures ofCrecognizable forms—what is generally called representational art—there are two waysin which colour is usually employed. It can be used to simulate the appearance of

things, or it can be used to express personal feelings, ideas, or impressions. In the first case, atree’s bark might be represented as brown, and it’s leaves green. In the second instance, theartist might choose to represent the bark as orange, and the leaves violet. The former is calledobjective, or representational use of colour. The latter can be described as subjective, ornon-representational use of colour. Sometimes artists may want to change the colour of objectsas we know them, to make a statement, express a mood, or shock our sensibilities. Increasingly, the photographic image is being transformed by the artist through the use of


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digital imaging. The presence of new media is providing artists with new tools with which toexpress the richness of their imaginations.

Discussion

Students should be asked to look for examples of images that use subjective colour andobjective colour, and bring them to class. What reasons might the artist have had to colourthings subjectively? How do the colours affect the viewer’s perception of the image?

Projects

1. Using any one of a variety of materials, create two images that are structurally thesame. In one, colour the composition using objective colours. In the other, use asubjective colour scheme. Analyze the difference in the impact each one has. Whichdo you prefer, and why?

2. Research and analyze the use of colour of a variety of artists from different timeperiods and different cultures. Did they use colour subjectively, or objectively?

3. Select a variety of images where the artist has used objective colour. What reasonsmight the artists have had for doing that? Choose one image from your collection andscan it into a computer. Manipulate the colour to change the mood. Save each versionto compare when complete. How do your choices change the mood, meaning, ormessage of the original work?

4. Select a variety of advertisements from popular media. Is there any connectionbetween the subject of the advertisements and the use of objective or subjectivecolours? What do you think the advertiser is trying to make you feel?



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Figure 2A.761 The intense greenof a fern.

2A.76 COLOUR AS SYMBOL; COLOURAS LANGUAGE

Green how I love you green.Green wind. Green branches.27

Federico Garcìa Lorca (1898-1936)Spanish lyric poet, dramatist


Upon completing this section, students will be able to:@ demonstrate and explain how colour can be used to express feelings and ideas@ illustrate, using examples, how colour can have different meanings in different cultures@ create images that explore and make use of colour as symbol and colour as language.


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Introduction

olour is part physics, part biology, and part psychology. From physics we learn aboutCthe wavelengths of light and the visible spectrum. From biology we learn about theoperation of the human eye, and the relationship between eye and brain. However it is

in the field of psychology that we begin to learn about the effect or impact that colours can haveon people.

There are many examples in our society—and others—of the use of colour as a language, tocommunicate larger concepts. The “green” movement is a good example. In it, the use of thecolour green signifies a commitment to the ecological movement. There is a generalunderstanding in our western society that green is a colour associated with nature, so anecological movement using that colour as its name makes sense. Others could use the name“green” for different reasons, but it would not have the same level of acceptance orunderstanding in society.

Many religions use colour symbolically, to represent important spiritual concepts. In oursociety, we also use colour symbolically every day. Emergency signs, like exit or stop signsare usually a bright red colour. Warning signs are usually yellow. Fire trucks are usually red. Businessmen normally wear blue or gray suits. Artists often wear black. What do thosecolours represent? Is there any connection between the colour of something like a fire truckand its function? Would a blue or green fire truck be equally acceptable? The symbolic use ofcolour varies considerably from culture to culture. In western cultures, black is often a colourreserved for funerals. In Japan, the colour of mourning is white. What examples of thesymbolic use of colour can you think of?

Colour can mean many things. It can represent objects as they exist in the real world: blue forsky or water, yellow for the sun, brown for earth or rocks, green for grass or leaves. Colourscan also be used for their expressive potential. They can suggest moods, feelings, andemotions. How? Because within a culture, there is usually some agreement—howeverunspoken—about the relationship between colours and ideas, feelings, or emotions. If thecreator of images and the audience for those images are from the same culture and background,there can exist a high level of correspondence about the meanings of colours. Colours, andsome of the associations they have to people in western culture, are shown below. Can yousuggest other associations for these colours?

Redenergy, excitement, emotion, danger, passion...fire trucks, exit signs, warnings...red isalways intense, and demands to be noticed.

Pinkhappy, carefree, young


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Orangewarm, active/contemplative, soft...

Yellowenergetic and bright, with a light quality

Greenvariable, from the associations with growth and the environment, to sickness and poison

Bluecontemplative, hopeful, deep, the colour of surprises, harmony

Violetroyalty, mysticism, passion

Brownearth, life, growth/decay

Blackdrama, death, elegance, seriousness

Whitepurity, innocence

Many artists have used colour symbolically throughout history, sometimes in a way that isgenerally understood by their culture, and sometimes as a private language. Often, medievalartists in Europe used the colour symbolism of Christianity in their works. Artists fromdifferent cultures might use colour systems of their tribe, region, or country. Artists such asKandinsky used colour in a highly personal, and symbolic way. Designers of informationsigns, and other public information media, need to understand the colour symbolism of theircultures.


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Discussion

Students should be engaged in discussions about the meaning and role of colours from theirexperiences, to fully illustrate the implications of colour as a visual language. Somediscussion topics might be: 1. How do music videos use colour to create mood?2. Can someone be taken seriously if they are wearing a yellow suit? 3. Which looks faster—a brown car or a red car? 4. Why do we choose pink for little girls, and blue for little boys?5. What kinds of colours are most often seen in advertisements aimed at young people?6. What is the predominant colour of men’s suits on a television news telecast? Why?

Projects

1. Research the use of colour by artists and designers of different cultures. Is there asymbolic use of colour at work, particularly in their religious objects?

2. Examine advertisements in the print, television and World Wide Web media. Are theyusing colour symbolically to suggest qualities that would make you think favorablyabout their products?

3. Develop a poster for an organization of your choice. Select colours that will be inharmony with the purpose and aims of the organization.

4. Create an image that uses colour to convey emotions and feelings, without usingrepresentational imagery. You might try to create an image that interprets one of thefollowing words: anger, love, sadness, fear, joy, peace.

Further Discussion Topics

The following topics would be useful for further class discussion or research by students:@ How different species experience colour@ Colour and survival (camouflage)@ Colour in psychology@ Colour in healing@ Colour and emotions@ Colour as symbol@ Colour as taste@ Colour and different cultures


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Figure 2.7i A spider’s web can be seen as an example of theprinciple of balance (radial approximate symmetry).

SECTION 2B: MANIPULATING THETOOLS - THE PRINCIPLESOF DESIGN

The principles of design are the ways in which the elements of design are combined to createeffective visual images. There are an almost infinite number of ways that the principles ofdesign can be combined to create visual images.


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Figure 2B.11 Visual balance created through approximatesymmetry.

2B.1 BALANCE

The most importantpsychological as well as physicalinfluence on human perception isMan's need for balance, to havehis two feet planted firmly on theground and to know if he is toremain upright in anycircumstance, in any attitude,with some reasonable certainty.

Donis A. DondisA Primer of Visual Literacy


Upon completing this section, students will be able to:@ demonstrate an understanding and explain the concept of balance as representing order

and stability@ explain and demonstrate different types of balance: symmetry, approximate symmetry,

asymmetry, and radial@ demonstrate an understanding of and explain how balance can be described as

corresponding to, or varying from a horizontal/vertical axis@ create images that explore and make use of balance.



Company.

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Figure 2B.12 Repetition of forms as anexample of symmetry.

Introduction

alance refers to the orderly creation of an arrangement of forms in a visual composition. BBalance represents harmony and order. It is stability; a sense that things are as theyshould be.

Although there have been systems, such as the Golden Section developed to mathematicallybalance a composition, balance is difficult to subject to a mathematical model. It resides in theeye of the artist or designer, and in the eye of the viewer. There may not be absolute agreementon what constitutes a balanced composition, but there will be general agreement. An “out ofbalance” composition is not wrong; it does not conform to our expectations of reality, or ourgeneral experience of visual images. Sometimes an unbalanced composition can be visuallystriking.

golden section–n. A ratio, observed esp. in the fine arts,between the two dimensions of a planefigure or the two divisions of a line suchthat the smaller is to the larger as thelarger is to the sum of the two, roughly aratio of three to five.28

Balance can be achieved in at least three ways: using symmetry, using approximate symmetry,and using asymmetry. Symmetry means “the same”; patterns are symmetrical. That is, thesurface of the image is formed from repetitions of identical motifs.

Approximate symmetry means that repetition isemployed, but the motifs are not identical. Colourchanges, or slight form changes are possible. Asymmetry means that a variety of different motifsor objects are used in the composition, and they arearranged in no set pattern. The whole compositionwill be balanced, but not through repetition ofidentical or similar forms.


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Figure 2B.13 The shapes of these two birdsare an example of approximate symmetry.

Figure 2B.14 These varied shapes balance thecomposition through a symmetry.

Balance can also be described in another way. Itis our common experience as human beings thatthe world is ordered along a horizontal/verticalaxis. The earth is the horizontal axis. Trees,people, buildings;, they become the vertical axis. When the elements of a visual composition areorganized on a horizontal and vertical axis, wecould say that the composition is in harmony; itconforms to our expectations of reality.

When a composition is organized on thediagonal, we could say that it is not harmoniouslybalanced, because the arrangement of formscontradict our experience of reality.

Images of different types often appeal todifferent people. Some will prefer imagesbalanced on a horizontal/vertical axis, whileothers prefer the more unusual diagonalarrangement. Look in a selection ofmagazines, or watch television closely. Isthere a difference between the use of balancein various advertisements? Do those adsappeal to different age groups, genders, orincome levels?

Artists of the High Renaissance, such asMichelangelo, Raphael, and Leonardo da

Vinci, organized their compositions with harmonious balance. Artists of the Expressionists orNeo-Expressionist movements, often used non-harmonious balance. Most patterned objectssuch as wallpaper, quilts, floor tiles, and fabric are structured using symmetry or approximatesymmetry. Most works of visual art are constructed using asymmetry or approximatesymmetry.

Discussion

Using imagery from a variety of sources, discuss the impact of balance on a viewer. Howdoes the type of balance used impact on the meaning or feeling of the image? If anadvertisement is being viewed, does the type of balance reinforce the message of the ad? Ifa work of art is being viewed, does the type of balance enhance or detract from themessage?


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Projects

1. Using a variety of media, create images that illustrate the following concepts: symmetry, approximate symmetry, asymmetry, harmonious balance, andnon-harmonious balance, and radial balance. Materials could include traditional artmedia, performances, computers, camcorders, or slide presentations.

2. Examine advertisements in the media. What kind of balance is being used, and howdoes it relate to the product being sold? Is there a different kind of balance used to sellproducts to young people, as opposed to selling products to older people?

3. Create a photo display of images from your community that depict all of the aspects ofbalance discussed above.

4. Research the way balance is used by artists and designers from different time periodsand cultures. Do they use balance in a similar way? What are the differences?

5. Pick a single artist. How does she or he use balance in the majority of her or his work?

6. Scan an image/artwork into the computer and experiment with multiple arrangementsof the image to create different kinds of balance. How do these affect the impact of theimage? Do you see why the artists chose the balance he/she did?

7. Using cut and/or torn shapes of coloured paper or other material, arrange shapes tocreate each of the types of balance mentioned above. Determine which you prefer andwhy. Glue your creation to an appropriate surface.


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Figure 2B.21 Variations in proportiongive important depth cues to the viewer aswell as help to establish the main subjectmatter of the composition.

2B.2 PROPORTION

Tiger, Tiger, burning bright In the forests of the night, What immortal hand or eye Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

William Blake 1757-1827Songs of Experience [1794]. The Tiger, st. 1, 2


Upon completing this section, students will be able to:@ define and illustrate the use of proportion in the visual arts@ explain the stages, and describe the types of decisions artists make when using

proportion@ demonstrate through their own work and in the work of others how changes in

proportion in an image can be used to indicate the size and/or importance of an object@ explain the role of mathematics in the historical and contemporary use of proportion in

image-making@ create images that explore and make use of proportion.


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Introduction

roportion is the proper relationship of the size and scale of objects to each other. ArtistsPspend considerable time refining their ability to place objects within an image, and toensure that all objects in an image are in the appropriate size and scale relationship to

each other.

When creating a new image, the question should be asked: “How big or small is this imagegoing to be?”. Reaching a decision about the particular size of image is an issue of proportion. A decision such as “I will make it so big because that is the size of my paper” is not givingproper consideration to the size the idea needs to look right. Some ideas are small. That is tosay, they need to be produced as small images. They will look better, and make more visualsense. Some ideas need to be big. They almost demand big sheets of paper, or to be paintedon the wall of a building, or performed with a cast of dozens of people on a stage. Thinkingabout the size an idea needs is the first step in proportion.

The second step is arranging the objects in the composition so that they work together. Thisoften requires decisions about which things are important, and which things are meant to play asupporting role. Just as in life, not everyone can be in charge. In a visual image, if everythinghas equal importance, the viewer will not know where to look. Everything will be fighting forher attention. Deciding what is important helps to direct the viewer’s attention, and to limitconfusion. Adjusting the proportion of objects in a composition is a good way to indicate theirimportance. Creating a strong relationship between parts and the larger whole is one of thekeys to proportion.

In the past, there were attempts made to combine the study of proportion with mathematics. Leonardo da Vinci, and other artists of the Renaissance, were very interested in the relationshipbetween mathematics and proportion in works of art. There was a perception in society thatthere were rules underlying everything in the universe, including the proportions of objects. Since then, the desire to relate geometry or mathematics to proportion in visual images hasdeclined. Society itself is less likely to believe in a universal harmony of proportion. Artiststend to look for the unique, the novel, and the original; not uniformity, but variety. Now, mostartists tend to use intuition to determine the relative sizes of objects in a composition.

In the near future, society may see renewed interest in the relationship between visual imagesand mathematics. New technologies such as computers rely heavily on mathematics toperform their functions. Although some computer programs are designed to work in ways thatare already familiar to artists and designers, others, such as complex animation, drafting, andspecial effects programs function in a way that make their connection to mathematics obvious. Just as when looking at images produced in the Renaissance it is possible to see the influenceof mathematics, now it is possible in computer generated images to see the impact ofmathematics. New images, created through the manipulation of fractal geometry, are excellentexamples of the growing partnership between mathematics and visual images.


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Discussion

What impact does proportion have on a visual image? Look at a variety of visual images asexamples. How do the artists relate parts of their compositions to the whole? How doesthe use of proportion affect the mood or meaning of the image?

Projects

1. Using a computer, create a composition containing several objects. Change the sizes ofthe objects in the composition relative to each other. How do these changes affect themeaning and look of the image?

2. Select an existing image from a clip-art collection, or scan one into a computer. Usethe cut and paste tools to break the image into smaller parts, and then rearrange them. Add new parts yourself using other tools in the program. Try to come up with a newcomposition, using proportions different from the original.

3. Research the use of mathematics and proportion by the ancient Greeks, or artists in theRenaissance. Select one artwork as an example. Present your findings to the class.

4. Create a collage out of a variety of materials, that explores the idea of proportion.

5. Create fractal images using software that generates fractal compositions.

6. Using a pencil and a sketchbook, draw scenes from your community. Deliberatelydistort the relative sizes of objects. How do these changes affect the way the finalimage looks?


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Figure 2B.31 The contrast of light and dark,and the asymmetrical arrangement of forms addsdrama to this composition.

2B.3 COMPOSITION: HARMONY ANDCONTRAST

Composition is, for the most part, an effortof slow diligence and steady perseverance,to which the mind is dragged by necessity orresolution.29

Dr. Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)English author, lexicographer


Upon completing this section, students will be able to:@ define composition as it is used in the visual arts@ explain and demonstrate how composition is used to effectively organize a visual

image@ demonstrate how the terms “harmony” and “contrast” relate to composition@ create images that explore and make use of harmony and contrast.


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Introduction

omposition is the art of arranging and organizing forms. How various objects areCarranged play a large part in the visual impact of a finished work, whether it is apainting, a piece of pottery, or a well-designed room in a house. There is no single tool

for composition. It is a complicated process, involving perspective, colour, shape, texture,rhythm, symbolism, the special characteristics of the tools selected for the task and the uniqueabilities of an individual artist, craftsperson, or designer.

Every image—representational or not—requires organization. Even if a person is trying hardnot to be organized, it is possible that there could there be some kind of subconsciousorganization taking place.

There are many different ways of arranging objects, and many different thoughts on how itshould be done. The most important thing is to ensure that the arrangement of objects is asvisually interesting as possible, and that it enhances the meaning or intention of the work. Tocreate visually interesting compositions, artists tend to use contrast. Some examples ofcontrast include big/small, thin /thick, organized/chaotic, or bright/dark. Good compositionsalso tend to have a dominant mood or feeling. For example, most of the objects in an imagemight be bright colours, large shapes, or heavily textured. The artist might then include a fewdark, small, or lightly textured objects for contrast. The presence contrasting elements provides variety, as well as emphasizing the dominant mood of the image.

A visual composition is often described using one of two terms: harmony or contrast. Thesetwo terms refer to the visual impact of the composition: is the sense generally one of order andharmony or one of randomness and variety (contrast)? Almost all images can be categorizedunder one of these two terms. Harmonious images may have some or all of the followingcharacteristics:

@ balance: a regular and predictable arrangement of shapes and forms, that correspondto our experience of objects in the world

@ symmetry: a stable pattern of images, much like a traditional quilt@ simplicity: a composition that does not assault the eye with too much information@ unity: a feeling that all parts work together in a composition to create the whole@ predictability: a visual structure that follows an understandable and known pattern, as

in the appearance of objects in a landscape@ repetition: the use of visual elements over and over in a regular pattern.


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Viewers tend to perceive these images as harmonious. They suggest a sense of order, andcontrol. Images based on contrast may be described as having the following characteristics:

@ instability: a composition in which the shapes or forms are more or less autonomous,and do not work together in a logical or predictable pattern; the composition feels asthough it is about to break apart at any moment

@ asymmetry: a visual arrangement based on unequal distribution of shapes of differentsizes, textures, colours, etc.

@ irregularity or randomness: the apparent lack of a pattern or underlying sense ofstructure

@ complexity: a composition that may appear chaotic or busy; one that is very active tothe eye

@ fragmentation: a composition that has no sense of unity or underlying structure @ spontaneity: a composition that appears to have occurred without pre-planning; a lack

of an organizing principle in the work@ variety or variation: a composition that presents a number of different visual

strategies; a range of expressive techniques within the same composition.

These words may help us to understand, analyze and describe existing visual images, andmight help us to construct visual images of our own.

When looking at works of art, craft, or design, we could describe any work as projecting adominant feeling. On the one hand that feeling could be one of harmony, or order, or balance,or unity. On the other, the composition could suggest contrast, or variety, or randomness, orfragmentation. Each of these terms expresses a polarity; the truth of any one image may be acombination of both. Each of the terms listed above could also be considered a visual strategywhen creating a composition. An artist, designer, or craftsperson who wanted to work with theconcept of repetition, would develop a visual structure that used the same or similar visualelements over and over again. The decision to create a composition based on spontenaietywould dictate an approach that excluded pre-planning of some or all elements. Whenconsidered as a whole, the terms associated with harmony and contrast, can be used toencompass all of the nearly infinite possibilities of the human imagination.

Discussion

What impact does composition have on a visual image? Look at a variety of visual imagesas examples. How do the artists organize their compositions? How does compositionaffect the mood or meaning of the image?

Students should analyze works of art, craft, and design from different cultures and timeperiods. They should examine selected works to determine the compositional strategy thatwas used. Did works of the early twentieth century rely more on visual harmony or


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fragmentation? Were the colours used in the paintings of Die Blaue Reiter group basedmore on the use of violent colour contrasts, or a harmonious palette? Can we describe thefurniture designs of the Shaker style as symmetrical, or are they better described asexhibiting a pattern of irregularity or randomness? Once familiar with applying these termsto existing works of craft, art, and design, the students will be better prepared to use themin developing their own images.

Projects

1. Create a series of images, each one of which expresses one (or more) of the termslisted above, by rearranging a set of common shapes or forms.

2. Develop a technique of image creation that is truly spontaneous.

3. Using a computer, create a symmetrical composition based on a traditional quilt design. Experiment with changing the colours and observe how that changes the feel of thework.

4. Use the concept of rhythm to suggest movement in a composition.

5. Create a composition on the theme of “Life in My Community”. What do you want tosay about the topic? Choose a visual strategy from among the words listed above, thatrelates to your feelings on the topic.

6. Using a variety of media, try creating compositions on a number of geometricalmodels. Arrange objects in a square, or a circle, or on a diagonal, a curve, or an “x”shape. Now try arranging the objects randomly, without thinking. Looking at all ofthem together, how does the use of composition affect the way the final image looks? Could you say that the geometrically arranged images are more organized than therandom ones? Do the random ones look more spontaneous?

7. Use a computer program to combine existing images, or create a series of objects. Arrange them in a variety of ways, and save them in separate files. Print them out, andexamine the results. Which compositions appear more effective? Is the meaning ofthese works changed by the different arrangements?


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8. Using a variety of media, create an assortment of large and small objects. In somecompositions, arrange the objects so that all of the larger ones are in the lower half ofthe composition, and the smaller ones are at the top. In others, arrange the objects sothat most of the small ones are in the lower half of the composition, and the larger onesare at the top. How do these different arrangements affect the look of the images?

9. Research artists’ use of composition. Artists from different cultures and time periodsare all suitable subjects. Compare their compositions to others from their culture ortime period. Are there stylistic similarities? Are there similarities between theseartists, and other artists from other periods and cultures?

10. Analyze examples of work by artists from different time periods and different culturesin light of the examples of harmony and contrast listed above. Try to categorize thoseworks under one or more of the headings. Why would you choose that heading?

11. Produce an image, using any one of a variety of media, based on one or more of theterms associated with harmony and contrast.


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Figure 3.i The mass media - a new form ofconsciousness?

SECTION 3: PERCEPTION, CULTURE,TECHNOLOGY

Television is the first trulydemocratic culture—the firstculture available to everybody andentirely governed by what thepeople want. The most terrifyingthing is what the people do want.30

Clive Barnes (b. 1927)British drama critic

The choice of a point of view is theinitial act of a culture.

José Ortega y Gasset 1883-1955The Modern Theme [1923], ch. 7

Introduction

n this section of Art 1201, the impact of perception and technology on society is explored. IAn exhaustive analysis of media culture is not intended, but rather an introduction to theexamination of mass media, new media and its impact they have on our lives.

Throughout this course, the relationship between perception, technology, and the creativeprocess has been investigated . In the first section, we examined perception from the point ofview of the human eye and brain. In the second, we investigated the world of image creationand its relationship to perception and technology. In this third section, we expand ourinvestigation to include society as a whole.

Students should become familiar with the effect of perception and technology on the culture ofgroups, communities, nations, and societies. The individual is not immune from the impact ofsociety; the images students make are influenced by their friends, their peers, the communityin which they live, and their society in a national and global sense.


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3.1 CULTURE AND TECHNOLOGY

The medium is the message.

Marshall [Herbert] McLuhan 1911-1980Understanding Media [1964], title of firstchapter


Upon completing this section, students will be able to:@ explain and illustrate what is meant by the term “mass media”@ explain and illustrate the relationship between the mass media and society@ describe and explain the relationship between popular culture and the art world@ Create images that explore the issues surrounding culture and technology.

Introduction

hat is the mass media? It is a broad term, covering all forms of massWcommunication such as radio, television, newspapers, magazines, and now theInternet. The mass media are the means by which most of us gain our information

about the world. It is a conglomeration of enterprises that control the flow of and access toinformation in our society. Through their presence in our lives, they provide us withinformation, and reflect back to us ourselves. But they are more than that. They are a force inthemselves, that helps to shape our perceptions of ourselves and of the world which we inhabit.

A peculiar relationship exists between society and the mass media, for like everything else, themass media is a product of our society. But it is one with extraordinary power. Oneperspective suggests that the mass media simply reflect our interests and responds to society’sdemands. If we crave comedy, the mass media will respond by producing more comedies.



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The mass media’s successes and failures then become symptomatic of the successes andfailures of society as a whole. From this perspective, the mass media are like a mirror we holdup to ourselves.

Another point of view suggests that the mass media is not just a mirror of society, or if it is, it isa distorted mirror. This perspective suggests that the mass media is far from neutral. It has itsown agenda. That agenda is to deliver consumers to advertisers, and to do little that wouldchallenge the corporate view of our society. In this scenario, the mass media are subtle shapersof our lives, delivering a weighted message that ensures society will run in a way that is goodfor large corporations.

mass mediamass media, comprehensive term embracing television,radio, motion pictures, and large-circulation newspapersand magazines. It refers to much more than thejournalistic aspects of the instruments of popularcommunication. The mass media often function as thelocus of social control and the source of popular culture. They help create historical events, teach values, and byvirtue of the huge commercial enterprises they represent,affect the viability of free societies.31

Both the benign and the sinister view have their supporters, and it is not an issue that can beresolved here. What can be said with certainty is that the mass media are a powerfulcommunications tool, and a powerful instrument of culture. Many of us gain our perspectiveon the world from the mass media, and learn our perceptual strategies from their camera lensesand commentators. What do most of us know about the logging of old growth forests aroundthe world? What we learned from magazines, radio, and television. What do we know aboutthe complex issues surrounding peace in the Middle East? Again, what we have seen or heardin the mass media. What do most of us know about the physical landscape of the GalapagosIslands? Probably what we saw in National Geographic magazine, or in a special on television.

What does this reliance on the mass media for information mean? For the most part it is otherpeople’s experience that you see. If you were in the Galapagos Islands, where would youspend most of your time? You might choose to spend it looking at the unique birds that livethere. Someone else might choose to focus on marine life. As a television viewer or magazinereader, you do not have that choice. Whoever went to the Galapagos Islands makes the choicefor you. What if there is an environmental problem there, but the filmmaker chooses to focuson the landscape? Because you have not been there yourself, you have no way of comparingyour experience of that reality with the reality presented in the media. As a result, theirdecisions become your reality.


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What else does this reliance mean? All of the media have things they do well, and others theydo poorly. What we see in the media often reflects these issues. For example, the turtles onthe Galapagos Islands might be the most important story. However, watching slow movingturtles makes for uninteresting television. So a television crew might choose to spend moretime filming other things, so that a more exciting program results. In the end, all of us have ourperception of the Galapagos changed because of the technical demands of the medium.

Another possibility is political interference. The mass media are controlled by powerfulcorporations that operate within a particular political climate. Whether it be the Americannetworks today, or the old Soviet media of a few years ago, they learn to exist within thatpolitical framework. Often there is a sympathy for the existing system, and a suspicion, if nothostility towards systems other than the ones they function within. Does this mean that othercultures, with different values and political ideologies than ours, will be given fair coverage? Or does it mean that, despite good intentions, these media structures will tend to reinforce andprotect the status quo?

Art and Popular CultureThe relationship between art and popular culture is often an uneasy one, because theaims of the two are so frequently in conflict. Since the invention of photography, muchof contemporary art has been involved in a search for meaning that lies within thesubjective world of the individual artist. Many works of art therefore function muchlike a private language (perhaps with the exception of those artists who explore popularculture in their work). Popular culture has tended to embrace whatever is of interest tosociety as a whole. Popular culture is a confusing conglomeration of images, attitudesand of ideas both high minded and base. One of its central focuses is its accessibility. Popular culture is easily accessible to all of us, whereas much of contemporary art isnot. Likewise, many contemporary artists are uneasy with the notion of their work ascommodities to be bought and sold. Artists who feel this way have been turning toperformance art, installations, and other forms of image making that do not createcommodities. Popular culture on the other hand, embraces the idea of consumableobjects.

A variety of visual images are appropriate for this section, primarily from mass media sources. Students should be encouraged to search for relevant images in the mass media, and at varioussites on the Internet.


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Discussion

Are the mass media shaped by society, or is society shaped by the mass media? Studentscould do some research and then discuss their findings in class.

Projects

Students should be encouraged to actively explore the role of the mass media in oursociety, through the creation of images. These works could incorporate images taken frommedia sources, combined with their own work. They should explore a variety of artmaking technologies, including new technologies, to achieve this goal.


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3.2 PERCEPTION AND CULTURE

Racism is the dogma that oneethnic group is condemned bynature to congenital inferiorityand another group is destined tocongenital superiority.

Ruth [Fulton] Benedict 1887-1948Race: Science and Politics [1940], ch. 7


Upon completing this section, students will be able to:@ explain and demonstrate an understanding of the notion of style in image-making, as it

is influenced by technology@ describe and illustrate the relationship between art, representation, and the perception

of truth, as it is influenced by technology@ create images that explore the relationships among perception, culture and technology.

Introduction

hat is the relationship between perception and culture? We have learned that thereWis a strong relationship between perception, and how people make images. Whatabout groups? Is there a relationship between technology, and the way a whole

society looks at things?

In previous sections we examined how works of art from a particular time period share someaspects in common. We learned that it is those shared aspects that help us identify them asbelonging to the same group. Those shared perspectives we can call a style. What is a style,but a shared perspective on the role and purpose of art? It is not being suggested that peoplewho make art like the Fauves, for example, actually saw the world the way they painted it. However, they were making a statement about what purpose in society art should serve, and


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what its proper relationship to society should be. Since the beginning of the activity ofart-making, artists have been trying to make images with purpose and meaning. Whentechnology can easily capture lifelike images with the sophistication of the human eye, what isthe role of painting, sculpture, or drawing? Since the middle of the nineteenth century, onepurpose of art–the documentation of events has largely become the realm of the photograph. As a result, artists working in other media have explored new paths and directions.

Artists and TechnologySometimes artists cooperate with and embrace technology, as did groups such as theFuturists and the Constructivists. Artists also have rebelled against technology, orcelebrated what the camera and the motion picture could not do. Now, with computerprograms available than can emulate many of the traditional materials of the artist, willwe see another change in the role of art?

Art and RepresentationWhat of the history of the representational image? Since the middle of the eighteenthcentury, we have seen an explosion in the prevalence of the representational image. Itis everywhere, from calendars and magazines, to movies and television. Has therepresentational image changed since the days when painting and drawing were used todocument life? This is a difficult question to answer, because life itself has changeddramatically since then. We no longer live the same kind of lives. One of the dramaticchanges we have seen in the representational images, is the ability to distribute it tomillions of people. Prior to the mid eighteenth century, it was difficult to produceimages in multiples. Woodblock printing, etching, and engraving had been invented,but the technologies for reproducing and distributing images were limited. Thedevelopment of lithography, which made the production and distribution of colourimages easy, later the camera, the film, then television and video, and finally thecomputer have helped to accelerate the rate at which images can be disseminated. Until comparatively recently in human history, images were rare. People wanting tosee them often had to travel long distances. Now we can see almost any image in theprivacy of our homes. The notion of the image as a unique object that can be seen onlyin a particular place is no longer true. Images are now fluid and flexible. They canexist anywhere, at any time, and often in many different formats.

Representation and “Truth”Another way that images have changed is that we are no longer sure if they are true. Before photography, it was understood that a painting or a drawing was aninterpretation of events. One of photography’s advantages when it was first introducedwas that it was perceived as a new relationship between viewers and the image. Unlikea painting, which people knew to be a creation of an artist, photographs were seen as arepresentation of reality; a “snapshot” of the real world. It was taken for granted thatphotographic images were real, except in instances where we know they are not, suchas movies. News photographs, however, are assumed to be real, as are pictures of the


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earth from the moon. With the incredible advances in computer technology, and the artof special effects, we can no longer be so sure that the image we see is real. Is it aphotograph at all, or another amazing special effect? Does the picture really representwhat happened, or was it altered to look that way? Using contemporary filmtechnology, actors can speak their lines in a studio, and a background can be addedlater, to make it look like they were in New York, or the desert, or another planet. Twopeople can speak in two different locations at two different times, and the image can bepatched together to make it look as though they are engaged in conversation. Twoimages can be shown together that happened miles apart, or in different years, yet theirappearance together suggests a relationship between the two. No longer can weassume that a represented image is real, any more than we can assert that the image ina painting is real. Both might be true, and both might be artistic fabrications.

What does this mean for contemporary culture, and the perception of images? We areforging a new relationship with them, as the old interpretations change with the adventof new technology. New strategies must be developed for understanding andinterpreting images, based on the new questions posed by new tools.

Discussion

How much faith do you have in the images you see? Do you expect them to be real? In the age of computers, global communication, and elaborate special effects, is a newdefinition of reality needed?

Projects

Students should be encouraged to take an active role in exploring the role of the massmedia in our society, by the creation of images. These works could incorporate imagestaken from media sources, combined with their own work. They should explore avariety of art making technologies, including new technologies, to achieve this goal.


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Company.


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3.3 PERCEPTION AND CULTURALBIAS

bi.as

“..2. A. A preference or inclination, esp. One that inhibits impartialjudgement; prejudice. B. A specified instance of this...”

- tr. V.-ased., -as.ing., -as.es. Or - assed, -as.sing, -as.ses 1. To cause to have a prejudiced view.... [Ofr. biais, oblique.]

USAGE: Bias has generally been defined as “uninformed or unintentionalinclination; as such it may operate either for or against someone orsomething. Recently bias has been used in the sense of “adverse action ordiscrimination”32

A great many people think they are thinkingwhen they are merely rearranging theirprejudices.33

William James (1842-1910)American psychologist, philosopher


Upon completing this section, students will be able to:@ explain and demonstrate an understanding of the concept of cultural bias@ create images that explore the relationship between perception and cultural bias.



Company.

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Introduction

hat is cultural bias? In a general sense, it could be seen to be an unwillingness orWinability to perceive different viewpoints. One of the dangers of culturalperceptions is that they affect more than one person—they affect groups or whole

societies. Images can reinforce or counteract stereotypes, depending on how they are used. Ifpeople see the same type of image again and again, it is not too long before

Eth.no.cen.trism(éth’nö-sén’ tríz’ m) -n. 1. Belief in the superiority of one’s ownethnic group. 2. Overriding concern withrace. Eth’no.cen’tric (-trík) adj. Eth’no.cen’tri.cal.ly adv.34

that image is perceived to be real, that it has a “ring of truth” to it. Often cultural biasmanifests itself by the feeling that one’s own culture is superior to anyone else’s. There isnothing wrong with being proud of one’s heritage and culture but other heritages and culturesdeserve respect too. It is easy to see something different as wrong or misguided. It is easy tomake fun of things that are different. But everyone’s beliefs and attitudes deserve respect. Images can sometimes be very subversive in the way they put down someone or somethingwithout anyone being aware of it. If women are never shown in leadership positions in images,does this affect our opinions as to whether women make good leaders? If particular ethnicgroups are frequently shown to be in trouble with the law on television dramas, does this affectour opinions about their trustworthiness?

Sometimes the word ethnocentric can be used to describe images. These are images thatknowingly or not, suggest than one group of people is better than others. It is true that people,regardless of race, colour, sexual preference or national origin sometimes do things that arewrong. To continually depict groups of people in negative ways is racism. We are all human,with equal capacities for good, and evil. Throughout centuries, different races and cultureshave developed special ways of looking at the world and of celebrating their humanity. Thosedifferences should be fairly depicted. All of us should be watchful for abuse, for images thatcreate negative stereotypes of religions, groups, genders, or sexual preferences.


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Images, however well intentioned, are never neutral. They are always telling us something,whether on the surface so that it is obvious to everyone, or subliminally, so that the idea getsacross without us even being aware of it. In our increasingly multicultural world, everyonemust guard against images that are harmful or detrimental to groups or cultures.

Discussion

Can you think of groups of people who are consciously or unconsciously discriminatedagainst in our culture? Does any of the discrimination involve the media? Students shouldfind examples to support their arguments and discuss them in class.

Projects

1. Students should explore the theme of cultural bias in images they create.

Students should be encouraged to take an active role in exploring the role of the massmedia in our society, through the creation of images. These works could incorporateimages taken from media sources, combined with their own work. They should explore avariety of art making technologies, including new technologies, to achieve this goal.


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3.4 STYLE AND FASHION

Style consists in certain fashions, or certain eccentricities, orcertain manners, of certain people, in certain situations, andpossessed of a certain share of fashion or importance.35

Washington Irving (1783-1859)American author


Upon completing this section, students will be able to:@ demonstrate an understanding of the role of style and fashion in our society@ describe and illustrate the relationship between fashion and the mass media@ create images that explore the issues surrounding styled fashion.


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Introduction

e cannot escape fashion, or style. It is always with us. It is a focus and sometimesWa consensus on some issue that is “of the moment”. Think of individual ideas asbeing out in a big field. Style or fashion is like the beam of a spotlight. It picks out

one or two things, but leaves the others in darkness. It is society’s focus on one particularthing, often at the expense of another. That does not mean that a fashion cannot be important. Recently, the media have been focusing on issues relating to the environment. Society’sattention on the environment is not a bad thing! Sometimes however, fashion can be just anexercise in what is new–and sometimes not so new. Recent clothing fashions owe much to thestyles of the 1970s and 1980s. Prior to that, clothing styles owed much to the 1960s.

As a whole, society’s attention is taken up by what is new, or what is a crisis. Our mediaunderstand this, and act accordingly. How many things do we see on television that aresupposed to be new? New television programs, new personalities, new formats, newinternational crises ... everything has a sense of urgency to it. If people are constantly lookingfor something new, how does that affect the ability to share information about difficult issues,or to mobilize people to work on a long-term problem?

Having something in fashion sometimes galvanizes society into taking action. A new crisis willoften generate donations of clothing, and offers of help. But what about crises that last a longtime? Because the media focus our attention elsewhere, we tend to forget about last week’swar, or last year’s famine. We are too busy with something new.

Fashion is not just the clothing, makeup, and jewelry industry. Every year cars are restyled tomake them look more contemporary. Furnishings change shapes and fabrics every year. Music is very volatile–fashions seem to come and go almost every month. Hairstyles changeevery season. Works of art go through changes of style, although not as rapidly as clothing!Design and architecture have fashions. Today’s style of television, with its fast editing and itsreliance on computer animation and graphics, is very different than the television of the 1960s. In most walks of life, there are ways of doing things that change according to style. This doesnot mean that the change is frivolous, or of no consequence. Changes in the way things aredone are not just meaningless. They can signal a fundamental shift in thinking, from one wayof perceiving a situation to another. Some industries are volatile by nature - they rely onchange for the sake of change. Others change in response to shifting attitudes, and shiftingvalues. In each case, it is society’s perceptions that have changed, and as our perceptionschange, so do our actions.

Fads and fashions do not just affect society as a whole. Our society can be broken down intomuch smaller groups, right down to the students in a particular school, or the residents of aparticular community. Styles and fashions can be endorsed by the mainstream of society, as away of identifying members of that group. Other groups, adopting different styles ofbehaviour, speech, and dress, can identify themselves to each other, and at the same time


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signify their difference from the group. Thus style and fashion become not only a process ofshifting perceptions, but a means of identifying members of groups and subgroups in society.

Where do styles and fashions come from? Most industries have some kind of “headquarters”where important decisions are made. The fashion industry has Milan, Paris, and New York ascentres. The North American automobile industry has Detroit and California. Societyidentifies trendsetters–people and places that are quick to identify trends and make use of them. In today’s global marketplace, the number of places where new ideas and attitudes can comefrom is bigger than ever before. Strangely enough, many of our styles and fashions come fromplaces and groups that are out of the mainstream. A style that supplants another often began byrebelling against it. It, in turn, is the next style people rebel against.

How do ideas get out into the world? The mass media is now one of the most effective agentsof change. People interested in fashion, for example, can now watch television programs thatbring them the latest from the runways of the fashion centres. They can also hear most of thetop designers interviewed about their ideas and inspirations. Computers and the ability totransmit pictures and words from around the world mean that no-one is far away fromwherever new ideas are developing. Magazines are another source of ideas, and today thereare far more magazines on just about any topic imaginable than ever before. Technologyshrinks the amount of time it takes to send ideas out into the world, and to receive informationabout new things. However, technology can be extremely one sided.

Access to technology usually means the ability to receive information more quickly. It does notnecessarily mean that you can get your message out more quickly. Few individuals have theresources necessary to buy time on a major television network, or purchase a full pageadvertisement in a magazine. There is much talk now about the information superhighway,and what that will mean for the exchange of information in society. Up until now, most of thecommunication that has taken place in the mainstream media has been one way, frommanufacturers to consumers, from the large corporations and governments to the public. Willthere come a day when it is as easy to send a message out into the world as it is to receive one?


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Discussion

1. Can you think of styles, and ways of doing things that have changed in your school overthe past few years? Is there an in crowd, and an out crowd? Who decides what isfashionable?

2. Can the idea of fashion or style be extended to causes? Are some “in” and others“out”?

Projects

1. Create images that refer to the ideas of style and fashion in society. Try to take aposition in the work you create.

Students should be encouraged to take an active role in exploring the role of the massmedia in our society, by the creation of images. These works could incorporate imagestaken from media sources, combined with their own work. They should explore a varietyof art making technologies, including new technologies, to achieve this goal.



Company.


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3.5 CULTURES AND SUBCULTURES

sub.cul.ture

...2. A cultural subgroup differentiated by status, ethnicbackground, residence, religion, or other factors thatfunctionally unify the group and act collectively on eachmember. 36

The young always have the same problem–how to rebel and conform at thesame time. They have now solved this by defying their parents and copyingone another.37

Quentin Crisp (b. 1908)British Author


Upon completing this section, students will be able to:@ demonstrate an understanding of the differences and relationships between the concept

of cultures and subcultures@ create images that explore the issues surrounding cultures and subcultures.

Introduction

ociety is not a single, large organism. It is made up of many smaller groups ofSindividuals who share common interests and/or concerns. One person can belong tomany subgroups at different times. A person can be part of the single mother subgroup,

a member of a business profession subgroup, such as an engineer, a member of the localchurch group, a singer in the choir, and a dog breeder. All of us can be participants in manygroups in our lifetimes, each one reflecting different facets of our personalities and our lives.


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How do large and small groups interact? Most of the time, groups interact in invisible andcooperative ways. However, occasionally there is conflict. An example of this is the“generation gap”. Young people constitute their own group within society, with their ownsense of fashion, their own ideals and beliefs and their own heroes and villains. Sometimes theworld of adults comes into conflict with young people as they attempt to find their own voiceand their own way in the world.

When groups compete for public attention through the mass media, imbalances can occur. Onan issue that divides two or more groups, and where a change in public opinion is sought,access to mediums of communication can be vital. This means interesting the media in aparticular side of the story, and working hard to get it out. These days it is almost impossibleto achieve a change in public opinion without involving the media. And what of bias? What ifone side’s message is “better television”? What if the general perception of society is moresympathetic to one side than another? These distortions impact on the public, because theymake it easier to see one side than another.

Discussion

1. How many groups can you think of in your community, or your school? How do thesegroups relate to others?

2. Is it possible for small groups to be heard through the mass media? How?

Projects

1. Create images that describe yourself as a member of a special group. What groupwould that be? Do you have a special way of representing it?

Students should be encouraged to take an active role in exploring the role of the massmedia in our society by the creation of images. These works could incorporate imagestaken from media sources, combined with their own work. They should explore a varietyof art making technologies, including new technologies, to achieve this goal.


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Figure 3.61 Connecting to the Internet: a new reality?

3.6 CYBERSPACE


Upon completing this section, students will be able to:@ demonstrate an understanding of and explain the concept of Cyberspace and the

Internet@ create images that explore the issues surrounding art and the Internet@ explore the relationship between traditional art exhibition spaces and virtual exhibition

spaces@ discuss the differences between art on the Net and art in the gallery@ explore what is meant by the concept, web-based art.


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Introduction

CyberSpace

t this time in human history we are witnessing the birth of a new world, and a majorAchange in how people interact. This new world is not something you can touch. Itcannot be found on any map. It is an electronic environment, called Cyberspace.

During the past decade we have experienced a communications and information explosion. Computers now proliferate in homes, businesses, schools, and government. Like the processof evolution itself, computers are evolving from isolated machines to complex systems madeup of many computers, called networks. These linkages sometimes occur over small distances,as within an office, company, or school. However, the most significant development resultedfrom linking these smaller networks into one global system - the Internet. The Internet is aprocess rather than a thing. It is the result of the interconnectedness of millions of computers,all potentially exchanging information. It is a process that continues to grow, at a rate notunlike the growth of a living organism. One of the early results of the creation and growth ofthe Internet is the birth of a new environment - Cyberspace.

The Internet is an evolving organism, where the people who are connected are involved in anew experiment in human relations. Never before has so much information been available toeveryone. Never before have people been able to communicate - often instantly - with others. And never before has the nature of the communication been so different. The people whofrequent Cyberspace discover that it operates differently from life as it is lived every day. Infact, those who spend large amounts of time in Cyberspace acknowledge this difference bydrawing a clear distinction between the rules of real life and Cyberspace. Real or normal life isreferred to as Real Time, while life on the Internet is referred to as Virtual Time, or VirtualReality. This splitting of modes of reality underscores the profound conceptual differences thatexist between these two environments, which are rapidly becoming alternative or competingrealities. In Cyberspace, the things that normally ground us as human beings are transformed. Our physical bodies are absent. We communicate not directly, as in normal humanconversation, but through the filter of computer terminals and telephone lines. The modifiers ofour physical reality are different from a letter (another mode of communication where thephysical being is absent) because of the rapidity of communication. It is different from atelephone conversation because of the absence of a connection to our physical reality - thesound of a particular human voice. Cyberspace allows us a strange kind of intimacy withothers, without the presence of our real selves. Instead, a new being - our virtual selves iscreated. Those who regularly inhabit Cyberspace have discovered that the virtual self need notbear any relationship to physical reality. Age, race, physical description, career, or gender - allcan be transformed in the intimate anonymity of Cyberspace. Just as the physical presence canbe transformed at will, so too can all other aspects of a person’s normal reality. Without thegrounding of the real world, and our “lived” lives, people in Cyberspace can try on new beliefs,


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attitudes, ideas and realities much like trying on new clothes. Everything in Cyberspace isephemeral, and everything is constantly evolving.

Besides being a new environment for human interaction, Cyberspace is also a communicationsand information environment, analogous to a giant, chaotic library. A library is a repository ofhuman knowledge and creativity. It could be seen as a physical extension to our brains,necessary to relieve us of the unbearable burden of remembering everything. Cyberspace hasthe potential to be the greatest repository of human knowledge, creativity, and experience. It isas though we are unwittingly trying to create an electronic brain, on that will perform the taskof filing what we find valuable in a way analogous to the process of thinking. This librarythough, is growing daily. It is as if you went to the local library, and every day they added anew wing to the building. If you did not visit for a week or two, you might not be able to findyour way around. Add to this that this giant library has no coherent filing system, and it beginsto become clear just how important and confusing the Internet can be.

At this moment, Cyberspace is in its infancy. Progress in communications technology isgrowing at an exponential rate. Our experience of, and comfort with this new environment isrelatively new. What it will become is unknown. But what appears certain is that Cyberspacewill open up new worlds to us, and challenge human beings in ways we have yet to understand.

Discussion

1. How many groups can you think of, in your community, or your school? How do thesegroups relate to others?

2. Is it possible for small groups to be heard through the mass media? How?

Projects

1. Create images that describe yourself as a member of a special group. What groupwould that be? Do you have a special way of representing it?

Students should be encouraged to take an active role in exploring the role of the massmedia in our society, by the creation of images. These works could incorporate imagestaken from media sources, combined with their own work. They should explore a varietyof art making technologies, including new technologies, to achieve this goal.


154

Figure 2.14 Varying intensity will cause shapes to appear toadvance or recedeFigure 2.12 Using

overlap to create theillusion of depth

Figure 2.13 Variations in scale create theillusion of depth

Figure 2.15 The scale of detail within anobject can be an important depth cue


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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Sources Consulted

Atkins, Robert. Artspoke. New York: Abbeville Press, 1993.

Bloomer, Carolyn M. Principles of Visual Perception. Toronto: Van Nostrand ReinholdCompany, 1976.

Dondis, Donis A. A Primer of Visual Literacy. Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 1976.

Frayling, Christopher, Helen Frayling, and Ron van der Meer. The Art Pack. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1992.

Gifford, Don. The Farther Shore. New York: the Atlantic Monthly Press, 1990.

Hartt, Frederick. Art, Volume 2 (third edition). New Jersey: Prentice Hall Inc., 1989.

Itten, Johannes. The Elements of Colour. Toronto: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, 1970.

Jacobson, Linda, ed. Cyberarts: Exploring Art and Technology. San Francisco: MillerFreeman, Inc., 1992.

Levey, Michael. From Giotto to Cézanne. A Concise History of Painting. London: Thamesand Hudson, 1968.

Porter, Tom, and Sue Goodman. Designer Primer. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons,1988.

Varley, Helen, ed. Color. London: Marshall Editions Limited, 1980.

Online Sources

The Academic American Encyclopedia, online edition, Danbury CT: Grolier ElectronicPublishing, 1993.

Compton’s Encyclopedia, Online Edition. Downloaded from America Online, April 15, 1994.


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CD-ROM Sources

Microsoft Bookshelf. 1993.

Microsoft Art Gallery. 1993.

Electronic Library of Art, Survey of Western Art, Volume 1. Union City: Ebook, Inc. 1989.

Images Created from the Following Sources

Deep Voyage, Aris Multimedia Entertainment Inc., 1991. Windows version—Michael Samett;Images—Alan Gomick, Jr.; Audio—Dan Stein.

Wild Places, Aris Multimedia Entertainment Inc., 1991. Toolbook version—Michael Samett;Images—Chris Kitze; Music—Joyce Imbesi.

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