Fundamentals

of Visual Arts

At the end of the review lesson, You should be able to:

1. Define Art and study the nature and subjects of art;2. Identify the different elements and Principles and Design of art;3. Analyze selected artworks applying the discussed elements and principles of visual arts;4. Create an artwork applying the student’s understanding of the elements and principles of

visual arts.

Fundamentals of

Visual Arts

Art

Meanings of Art

Art comes from the Aryan root word "AR" which means to join or to put together.

From "AR", we can derive two Greek verbs "artizein" which means

to prepare, and "arkiskeins" which

means to put together.

The Latin term "ARS" means everything that is artificially

made or composed by man.

Art - very vital in our daily existence considering that

man learned to draw before he could even start to talk as

attested by the early paintings shown in prehistoric period.

 

There are other meanings which have

been stated by prominent geniuses.

 

1. Leo Tolstoy - Russian novelist, "art is a means of union among all men, a means of communication."

 

2. Beneditto Croce - Italian philosopher and profound thinker in the field of aesthetics.

- "Art is vision. The artist creates a picture of phantasm."

 

3. St. Thomas Aquinas - art is the direct opposite of the practical. The merits of the work of art do not depend on the taste or wish of the artist; they are the outcome of the work itself. Thus, an artist may

be immoral, and yet his work may be good.

 

 

4. Aristotle - art has no other end but itself. All arts are patterned on nature. Art is also the right reason for making

things.

 

5. Aldous Huxley - art

springs from an urge to order

and this is so in the sense that

the artist selects from and arranges the profusion

of nature.

 

6. Henry James - life is all

inclusion and confusion, while

art is discrimination and selection.

 

7. Herbert Read - art is a pattern informed by sensibility, emotion which cultivates good form, both leading to harmony, which is the

satisfaction of our sense of beauty.

Elements of Art

Elements of Art

• Line

• Shape and Form

• Value

• Color

• Texture

• Space

Principles of Design

Principles of Design

• Unity/ Harmony

• Balance

• Emphasis & Subordination

• Proportion

• Rhythm

• Variety

Traditional Visual Arts

Traditional Visual Arts

• Drawing/ illustration

• Painting

• Etching

• Sculpture

• Etc.

Modern Visual Art

Modern Visual Art

• Digital Art

• Animation/ Flash animation

• Film

• Web-based videos

• Etc.

The Subjects of Arts

1. Landscapes, Seascapes2. Still Life3. Animals4. Portraits5. Figures6. History and Legend7. Religion and Mythology8. Dreams, Fantasy and Fiction

The Subjects of Arts

The Nature of Art

The Nature of Art

• Art is everywhere

• Art and Expression and Communication

• Art as Creation

• Art and experience

• Art and Nature

• Art and Beauty

Classifications of Visual Art

• Two Dimensional (2D – Length x Width)

• Three Dimensional (3D – L x W x H)

Four Dimensional Art The Fourth Dimension concerns how two kinds of

perception work together as we interact with objects or people in space. That is, to know things in real time, we must bring our memories from past time into the present. For example, when we sit down, we don't look at the chair as we lower ourselves on to it. We assume the chair will still be there when our bottoms hit the seat.

  Another definition for "the Fourth Dimension" is the very act of perceiving (consciousness) or feeling (sensation). Artists and writers often think of the fourth dimension as the life of the mind.

Four Dimensional Art

Four Dimensional Art

Four Dimensional Art

Four Dimensional Art

Traditional Mediums in Art

Pencil

Crayons

• Wax-based

• Monotones

Oil Pastels

• Oil-based

• Perfect for blending Colors

Watercolor

• Transparent/ Water based

Acrylic

• Opaque/ Water based

Oil Paint

• Opaque/ Oil Based

ELEMENT #1: The line

• Line is man's own invention. It does not exist in nature. The lines we "see" in nature are, on close observation, veins of leaves, the joining of two different surfaces, or the edges of objects. The artist uses lines to imitate or to represent objects and figures on a flat surface.

ELEMENT #1: The line

• Straight

• Curved

Common Types of straight lines

• Horizontal

• Vertical

• Diagonal

• Zigzag

• Broken

The Horizontal Line

• Rest• Serenity• Perfect stability

The Vertical Line

• Height• Poised & Stable• Strength• Power

The Diagonal Line

• Movement• Emotion• Unrest/ uncertainty

Curved lines

• Flow

• Softness

Formalist Analysis.

The Raising of the Cross

The Descent from the Cross

Renaissance Baroque

David, by Michelangelo

David, by Gianlorenzo Bernini

David

(Renaissance)

David

(Baroque)

Lines also define movementLines also define movement

ELEMENT #2: Shape

Geometric Shapes

Organic Shapes

Shape vs. Form

Shape Form

Deconstruction