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Chapter Seven: Other Formal Elements
CHAPTER OVERVIEW
• Actual Texture
• Visual Texture
• Pattern
• Time and Motion
Works in Progress
Jackson Pollock’s No. 29
The Critical Process
Thinking about the Formal Elements: Bill Viola’s Room for St. John of the Cross
CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
This Chapter Will:
• distinguish between actual and visual texture in art works
• describe how patterns are created by repeating previously learned visual
KEY TERMS
texture time and motion raking light
action painting pattern decoration
actual texture temporal media frottage
MyArtsLab RESOURCES
Closer Look: Michaelangelo, Pietà
LECTURE AND DISCUSSION TOPICS
1. Michelangelo’s Pietá
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Michelangelo’s famous Pietá at the Vatican (fig.160) (See the Closer Look on
MyArtsLab), completed in 1499 when he was only 24, is a masterwork that reveals the
artist’s love for his medium and his faith, and demonstrates the importance of texture as
an element of art. Point out to students that artists will often produce or suggest textures
in order to convey or further the notion of reality. The skill with which Michelangelo
carved the sculpture creates a work so realistic that the human forms appear to be warm
and fleshy, rather than cold and of stone. It has been described as “sublime perfection.”
2. Actual and Visual Texture
Texture is the actual or perceived surface of a work of art and it has the ability to call
forth certain visual responses and certain tactile sensations and feelings. Explain that
textures are described by adjectives such as smooth and rough, and are often
representative of the surfaces we encounter in our daily lives. Artists create visual
paper onto an actual texture, then rubbing over it with the soft lead of a pencil to achieve
the visual qualities of the surface. Have students create their own frottage experiments.
3. Pattern in Textiles
Historically, pattern has served as a decorative tool, however, some artists have created
works of art that incorporate pattern into the conceptual nature of the artwork. Pattern is
an element that can imply motion—we visually follow serpentine lines, or feel a
4. Femmage
Because decorative pattern is associated with the beautifying of utilitarian objects in the
crafts, with folk art, or with “women’s work” such as quilt making, it has not been
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5. Monet’s Waterlilies
Waterlilies, Morning: Willows (fig. 170) are displayed at Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris.
Make the distinction between the plastic arts, such as painting and sculpture, and the
written arts, such as music and literature. The plastic arts are spatial, meaning they are
6. Op Art
Some works of art are designed to deliberately move, while others attempt to give us the
sensation of movement. The term Op Art is coined from its ability to create this optical
CRITICAL THINKING: More Opportunities to Think about Art
1. Works in Progress: Jackson Pollock’s No. 29
The work of Abstract Expressionist Jackson Pollock is featured in the Works in Progress
section of Chapter 8 (pp. 172 & 173). His huge abstract action paintings brought him
tremendous acclaim. The large compositions cause the eye to travel in what one critic
2. Thinking about Bill Viola’s Room for St. John of the Cross
Chapter 7 ends with The Critical Process, an analysis of Bill Viola’s Room for St. John of
the Cross (figs. 179 & 180). This work demonstrates how time and motion in television
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are very different from time and motion in video art. The work consists of a color
television monitor displaying a videotaped image of a snow-covered mountain. On the
WRITING ASSIGNMENTS
1. The Time and Motion of Jackson Pollock
Jackson Pollock’s paintings were described by Pollock himself as “energy and
motion/made visible.” In an essay, have students compare and contrast Pollock’s work
2. Pollock: The Movie
Have students rent the highly acclaimed film of Pollock’s life at their local video store
HANDS-ON PROJECTS
For additional project ideas, remember to investigate the Hands-On Projects found on
MyArtsLab.
1. Cartoon Time
Have students use colored pencils and a fine-line marker to draw a comic strip of their
2. Frottage
Have students use crayons and paper to collect texture rubbings from 12 different
Other Suggested Websites:
Miriam Shapiro coined the term “femmage” to describe her works that use painting and
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artists working in the United States. The site is comprehensive, with artists’ biographies,
links, video clips, slide shows, lesson plans, and other resources. Included artists, from
this chapter: Roni Horn, Teresa Hubbard, and Alexander Birchler.
Suggested Videos and DVDs:
Elements of Design, 1989 (30 Minutes)
Monet: Legacy of Light, 1989 (28 minutes)
