978-0205677207 Chapter 8

Unlock access to all the studying documents.

View Full Document

Chapter Eight: The Principles of Design

CHAPTER OVERVIEW

• Symmetrical Balance

• Asymmetrical Balance

• Radial Balance

Works in Progress

Diego Velázquez’s Las Meninas

The Critical Process

Thinking about the Principles of Design:

Claude Monet’s Railroad Bridge, Argenteuil

CHAPTER OBJECTIVES

This Chapter Will:

• define and identify the principles of design and demonstrate how artists use

them to organize the elements within a composition.

KEY TERMS

design symmetrical balance cruciform

actual weight golden section absolute symmetry

scale asymmetrical balance focal point

MyArtsLab RESOURCES

Closer Look: The Taj Mahal

Closer Look: The Stained Glass at Chartres

LECTURE AND DISCUSSION IDEAS

1. The Principles of Design

Discuss the word design both as a verb and a noun, comparing the action of making

decisions with the object that results. Compare the way an artist designs a composition to

the daily activities a student undertakes, evaluating choices and creating a whole from

2. Balance

Describe how artists learn to use design principles early in their formal training.

Undergraduate art students learn in foundation courses about specific factors and

strategies for creating dynamic compositions. Figure 185 illustrates different methods of

creating asymmetrical balance. This diagram is typical of those found in instructional

materials for foundation programs. Would the student find this type of study of interest?

3. Emphasis and Focal Point

Describe a dramatic performance, or read from a script to show how theatrical

performances rely upon emphasis and focal point. Then present a dramatic “reading” of

4. Scale and Proportion

Discuss scale and proportion using Do-Ho Suh’s Public Figures (fig. 199) and Claes

Oldenburg’s Spoonbridge and Cherry (fig. 200). Discuss the intimacy of miniature

sculptures and the commanding presence of monumental sculptures. Stress that scale

5. Repetition and Rhythm

While discussing Barber Shop (fig. 207) by Jacob Lawrence, show other examples of his

works, such as the Migration Series or The Harriet Tubman Series. Relate his various

series to the time frames and racial concerns they reflect, evaluating how Lawrence

6. Unity and Variety

Compare sports shoes (sneakers and tennis shoes) to elucidate the design principles of

unity and variety. All shoes serve the same purpose and most shoes appear to have the

same form and proportions, which unify them. However, the different kinds of materials,

CRITICAL THINKING: More Opportunities to Think about Art

1. Works in Progress: Judith Baca’s La Memoria de Nuestra Tierra

Since 1976, Judith Baca has served as the Founder/Artistic Director of the Social and

Public Art Resource Center (SPARC) in Venice, California. She has taught studio art as

a Professor of Fine Arts for the University of California since 1980. As of 1996, she

2. Works in Progress: Diego Velázquez’s Las Meninas

Diego Velázquez’s Las Meninas (figs. 197 & 198) is a wonderful example of using composition

to provide intrigue and interest, both visually and conceptually. An interesting website that

3. Works in Progress: Hokusai’s Great Wave off Kanagawa

Hokusai’s Great Wave off Kanagawa (fig. 201) is an interesting exercise in scale, with

the boatsmen and their crafts dwarfed by the scale and the immensity of the sea. In the

4. Thinking about Claude Monet’s Railroad Bridge at Argenteuil

Chapter 9 ends with The Critical Process, an analysis of Claude Monet’s Railroad Bridge

at Argenteuil (fig. 215). In this analysis, the author has identified how the artist

WRITING ASSIGNMENTS

1. Now I Know My Elements and Principles

As a journal exercise, and study guide, assign students to make an outline of all the

elements and principles, and define each one, interpreting the text’s definition of each

2. Just What Is Postmodernism?

Contemporary artists (such as Elizabeth Murray) and architects (Robert Venturi or Frank

Gehry) have begun to explore the notion of a new set of principles, based upon the

eclectic sum of our modern, complex, visual world of neon signs and fast sound bites.

HANDS-ON PROJECTS

For additional project ideas, remember to investigate the Hands-On Projects found on

MyArtsLab.

1. Historical Series

Have students create a series of postcard-size drawings or paintings that documents an

2. Intimate Amulet/Monumental Sculpture

Using spirituality as thematic inspiration, have students create a miniature sculpture with

polymer clay. Ask them to consider the sculpture a good luck charm that will assist them

3. Pastel Like Degas

Have students use pastels to draw a figure in motion, in an appropriate setting. Ask

students to consider how Degas often preferred asymmetrical balance when placing the

figure in the composition.

4. My Ideal Self

On an 8 1/2 x 11” piece of paper, assign students to draw an ideal self-portrait, using the

ancient Greek Canon. Remind them that the height of the head needs to be one-eighth of

the full figure height, and the shoulders one-fourth of the full figure height. The top of

5. Afocal Collage

Using colored paper, have students place repetitive shapes on a solid ground of color.

Have them consider rhythm in their design, but be conscious to avoid any sense of

6. A Mural of My Heritage

Working in the manner of Judy Baca, have students design a mural describing their

heritage. Have them complete the preliminary drawing using colored pencils on white

paper. Find a building or site in the community to paint the mural and have students take

Other Suggested Websites:

Art 21: Art in the 21st Century is an excellent website and video/DVD series produced

by PBS that profiles diverse work by many established and emerging contemporary