Quick View of Optical Line Design developing

This is a follow up of what was being viewed and discussed in the post Optical Line Design (the images being viewed are none of my prints but of other students in the class).

Homework #3

Chapter 4 - Balance

1.    Describe the difference between balance and imbalanced work?

The difference between balanced and imbalance work is the somewhat equal distribution of visual weight, or the lack of it.
2.    What is horizontal and vertical placement?

Horizontal placement or pictorial balance is the left and right sides of an image. Vertical placement is when there is a division of top and bottom.
3.    What is symmetrical balance, and give an art historical example?

Symmetrical balance can be seen when the image is divided by an axis whether the image is horizontal (landscape) or vertical (portrait), the same lines and shapes are repeated on each side of the imagery (ultimately a mirrored image). Symmetry however does not always need to be exactly the same on each side to be considered symmetrical but must distribute equal amount of visual weight, some people term this "near symmetry".

An example of a work of art the is symmetrical or near symmetry

Salvador Dali's The Elephants (Los Elefantes) 1948 Oil on Canvas

4.    How can asymmetrical balance be achieved with value/color/ shape and texture?

Asymmetrical balance can be achieved by objects, but also with value and color, and shape and texture. Since asymmetry is based on equal eye attraction, value and color can be effective ways to achieve this. For example, by having one side of the image dark in value and the other side or a different shape a lighter value it naturally makes the eye travel between the two contrasting shades and tints. Color can also be very powerful when using asymmetry because typically the human eye is immediately attracted to color verse black and white. It can be used in a similar way, such as having one area or object darker and the other lighter. Complementary colors are also useful in achieving asymmetry. Shapes are created by lines and lines allow the eye to travel to other lines and shapes. By using different shapes it can not only make for a more interesting composition but can also allow the viewer to see balance. Texture is another way to achieve asymmetrical balance and can be done so by adding texture to the positive an negative space.
5.    What is radial balance?

Radial balance is when the elements circle out from the central point of the shape or form.
6.    Give a good example of a piece of artwork?

Georgia O'Keeffe's Jimson Weed 1932 Oil on Canvas 48x40 inches

7.    What is a shape and how does it differ from volume and mass?

Shape can defined as an object that has an outline that can be formed by line, texture, hue, etc. Shape differs from volume and mass because shape is the look of the object and typically two dimensional. Volume and mass is more describing the space or amount of an object normally referring to three dimensional objects whether in a painting, a piece of architecture, sculpture, etc.

8.    What is the difference between naturalism and distortion in art and design?

Naturalism in art and design is when an artist uses different elements and principles to give an appearance to a work of art that is natural or looks as it should within its environment. Typically the artist will try to make these works looks realistic and consider proportion and perspective. Distortion is basically the opposite, in that the artist is not necessarily concerned with how the object looks within it's natural environment and will change the image by shrinking, stretching, adding texture where it does not belong, adding emphasis or taking away. Ultimately distortion is changing the imagery to make it look unnatural.

Define abstraction: How is your fire and water panel abstract? What concepts are informing your work on this project?

Abstraction is a way of obscuring an image to make it look visionary and/or unrealistic. A shape,form, object, idea is still within the work of art but may not be as noticeable to some, however once being told what the image is the viewer should hopefully be able to then see or at least understand why. Within our class we are creating an abstract fire and water panel, these are abstract because we are not just showing water as a distinct and realistic wave or fire as photo realistic campfire, we are viewing images and being inspired by certain parts of the imagery or all. Then we are creating images by studying the different lines, shapes, values, etc. associated with our images to create these panels. We are using different concepts such as lines thick to thin and curvilinear lines to straight to help us work on this project.

Chapter 8 - Shape and volume

1.    Define these terms in art:
2.    Non-objective - an image that is made to not look like a specific object  and therefore does not suggest the subject matter
3.    Curvilinear - shapes that have smooth, curved, lines and edges, with corners not meeting on an angle.
4.    Rectilinear - shapes that have hard and straight lines, with corners meeting at a angle.
5.    Positive and negative shapes - positive shapes are also known as the figure because they are normally the object or objects within the work or art. negative shapes can also be known as the ground because the negative shapes typically can be the background, landscapes, or "empty" spaces around the object. both the negative and positive shapes should be given close to equal amounts of time and energy in order to create a great piece of art.

Chapter 10 - Illusion of Space

1.    List three ways to depict illusion of depth - size, overlapping, linear perspective, vertical location, one point/two point perspective, aerial perspective
2.    What is one point perspective?

One point perspective is basically when there is a single view. There is one vanishing point on the horizon line and all the lines go toward that point to create the objects.
3.    Two point perspective?

Two point perspective is when there are two points and all the lines go to both points connecting the lines.
4.    What is an isometric projection?

Isometric projection is when parallel lines recede to a diagonal  but do not shorten to show depth.

5.    What is equivocal space? Find an example
 Equivocal space is when two images do not overlap to show that one is in front of the other, instead the artists chooses to create a transparency. This can create a visually interesting pattern and cause the viewer to be uncertain about which image in in front of behind.

Klee Rocks by Terry Sutherland Acrylic on Canvas 48x60

 In Robert Rauschenberg’s work titled Bed 1955 he shows volume through folding his blanket down partially and mass by leaving his pillow stuffed. This work is termed “combines,” which by a loose definition means a work of art that was a combination of items. For example he would use found, bought, and items within his own possession to create a work that combined these different materials. He states he, "wanted something other than what I could make myself and I wanted to use the surprise and the collectiveness and the generosity of finding surprises. And if it wasn't a surprise at first, by the time I got through with it, it was. So the object itself was changed by its context and therefore it became a new thing."

This piece includes oil and pencil on his own pillow, quilt, and sheet on wood supports. He used vertical placement which I believe gives the piece balance. The wooden rectilinear frame is suiting for the work because it does not take away from the shape of the original objects. Through his use of the paint he creates a sense of distortion in this very inspirational piece.

 To learn more about Robert Rauschenberg visit this site.

Optical Line Design

 

Four Panel Optical Line Layouts

This is the completed versions of the optical line designs. Each panel had a specific guideline for creating the lines and were meant to be abstract. The upper left panel (from the picture angle) was curvilinear lines which was my favorite one to do and the design I am most pleased with. I thought about covering in mostly all  the negative space but decided to stop where it was at in efforts to keep the kinesthetic rhythm flowing. Going around clockwise to the upper right panel was shape and line. This design I fell could look better by adding different shapes and more contrast. I will possibly go back in and alter the piece or try a new version that is more aesthetically pleasing to me. The bottom right panel was architecture and I was hesitant to do more then what is being seen in the above photograph. After viewing other students work I feel I have too much negative space and plan to go back in and add texture and or depth. The panel to the bottom left was thick to thin lines. This was the panel I started with, at first I was unsure how I felt about it but in the end I feel that it is simple but has a layered look which I like. After the lines were complete our teacher has us scan them onto a usb. From there we opened the images in photoshop where we altered the contrast slightly and then selected a panel to make a copy of and pasted in a new window. Afterward we made a copy of the original layer and then flipped the image vertically and matched up the lines. Then we made a copy of that and flipped the image horizontally and again matched up the lines. We did this with each panel and then printed four copies of each panel to expand our patterns even more. I will post a picture of the final prints once I have the the sheets put together and mounted.

Homeowrk 2 - Reading and Writing

focal point- an emphasis of a work of art, it's typically where the eye travels to first and then is placed in a way to allow the eye to travel to different parts of the image

3 ways to achieve a focal point- contrast, isolation, placement

3 types of rhythm- through shapes and repetition, alternating rhythm, progressive rhythm

Rhythm can be helpful in unifying a piece of art because it creates a pattern within the work.

kinesthetic rhythm- it's when something or some thing within a piece of work activates our senses such as touch, smell, sound

line- a mark that has both width and length with the length exceeding the width

contour- varying line weight to create space

gesture- a quick sketch to show the movement of a figure

implied- incomplete lines that suggests a figure

explicit- when the line is prominent in an image

lost and found line- the image is partially shown in a contour way, but fades out into darkness

line as direction- lines can show direction such as horizontal, vertical and diagonal and can imply different emotion

psychic lines- a way to manipulate the viewer to a certain part of the image

line as texture and pattern- line can show the way a surface would feel as well as a pattern or print which is a repetition of lines to create that visual element

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     In this image titled Painting by Alex Grey the focal point is the body of the artist. Then by line the viewers eye travels to different parts of the painting. The lines that he uses are explicit in order to emphasize the different shapes and images within the painting. He also uses line as direction, using vertical, horizontal, and diagonal lines which gives the painting an calm energetic movement.

     Alex grey uses many different colors and and layers of lines and brush strokes to create kinesthetic rhythm. For me the different senses that are activated while viewing this image are touch and sight. Ultimately he uses various design elements to create a certain rhythm to his pieces. Through looking at his work we can study line as texture and pattern to create beautiful works of art like he does.

 To see more of Alex Grey visit his website.

(You can also view some of his wife's work too!)

Wallpaper

This wallpaper print was done by Lynsey Jean Henderson from Scotland. This piece was also found when searching for different images on line to explore various art/design styles. This is the list she gave us

 ·    Edna Andrade
·    MC Escher
·    Optical line art
·    Optical art
·    Printed wallpaper
·    Modern abstract art

This was found under my printed wallpaper search... The point of searching for these different images was an overview on how to search for different image sizes, save images to a desktop, and sort them into folders using adobe bridge. I like this photo because of the different lines the artist used to create the images.

To see more of her hand printed works visit her blog Lynsey Jean Henderson

M.C. Escher

 

  Hand with Reflecting Sphere 1935 - Lithograph

During our first computer lab class for Foundation Design Heather had us search for images on line to view and save different art/design styles. She gave us a list to help us begin our searches and M.C. Escher was one of the suggestions. I've seen this image before and like it because it is very detailed and is a good example of lines.

To see more of his work you can look at the official webpage for M.C. Escher

Modern Abstract Art

 Expressive gestural painting done in black and white acrylic paint.          By: Jodie Lerch

I selected this image to post because it reminded me of the lines we made with black india ink on the first day of class. Heather told us when making the lines to consider speed, pressure, attitude, emotional quality, physical, and aesthetic or symbolic qualities. In this painting I feel the artist was considering the same ideas in order to create these unique line qualities.

Jodie Lerch's painting on Etsy

Cutting Ink Lines

For Foundation Design we made ink lines that varied in shape, size, style, mood etc. and then cut them to create different design compositions.

 

Homework 1

 

colorful pigeons amongst a flock of grey at the Venice

Image and Title By: Julian Charriere and Julius Von Bismark

In this image of these two colorfully dyed pigeons there are several types of visual

 unity that can easily be identified. For instance, since there is repetition of the pigeons

 we can immediately label them as the emphasis or otherwise known as the focal point

of the photo. Also due to the fact that the birds are in close proximity allows the

image to have strong continuity drawing the viewers eye from one bird to the other.

In all, this image has a certain harmony to it which makes it a very pleasing photo to

 view.

Visual unity- denotes some harmony or agreement between the items that is apparent to the eye

Gestalt- theory of visual psychology

Harmony- congruity or agreement exist among the elements in a design- look as like they belong together

Proximity- putting elements close together

Continuity- something continues usually a line, edge, or direction from one form to another

Repetition- something repeats in various parts of the design to relate to the parts of each other

Emphasis- or focal point- most important character or element

Chaos and control- there needs to be a level of unity unless an image can become too chaotic

The grid- a network of horizontal and vertical intersecting lines that the page creates a framework of areas

Making a Blog

Heather Ujiie our Professor for Foundation Design is shown instructing a 2D Foundation Design course at Moore College of Art and Design. She thought it would be an excellent idea to use the internet and different technological tools to create blogs. She believes this will be an excellent device for the class to share progression in school work, personal artwork/creations, ideas, thoughts and much more.