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Chapter 2
The Primary Elements
Instructor’s Manual
Overview
In this chapter introduce the Primary Elements. Describe and define the visual elements
of art. Use the terms the text lays out to describe art.
Sub Headers
• Space
• Line
• Shape
• The Spirit of Forms
• Light, Shadow, and Value
• Texture
• Color
o Describing Color
o Color Wheel
o The Science of Color
o Naturalistic versus Arbitrary Color
o Emotional Resonance
Terms:
abstract shapes
analogous colors
arbitrary colors
chiaroscuro
color wheel
complementary colors
contour lines
cool colors
design
geometric shapes
hue
intensity
local colors
mass
naturalistic colors
neutral colors
nonrepresentational shapes
organic shapes
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primary colors
saturated
secondary colors
simultaneous contrast
three-dimensional space
two-dimensional space
volume
warm colors
Lecture #1
Discussion:
Explore the visual elements of space, line, shape, light, shadow, value, and texture. Use
real life objects during class discussion as examples.
Class Questions/Prompts:
1. Lines of Emotion Directional lines bring a psychological association or emotive
response from the viewer. For example, horizontal lines can emit a sense of calmness,
vertical lines a sense of strength, diagonal lines can portray action, and curves lines are
expressive and playful. When these lines are combined, the responses become even more
subjective. Lines can also be associated with certain sounds and music. Choose a few
different images from the text to show. Discuss the major moods and sounds each work
evokes.
2. Shape Sort According to the text, there are four basic types of shapes: geometric,
organic, abstract, and nonrepresentational. Geometric shapes are formed shapes that
progress evenly, such as a circle, triangle, and square. Organic shapes are irregularly
formed shapes consisting of amoeba-like curves, and these shapes are also known as
biomorphic or naturalistic shapes. Abstract shapes are simplified yet representational
shapes. Nonrepresentational shapes are not representing anything in the natural world,
and are also known as nonobjective. Look at four different images from the book, such as
images in chapter 4 by Louise Bourgeois, Georges Seurat, Vasily Kandinsky, and
Rembrandt van Rijn. Describe the shapes seen in the works by labeling them with one or
more of those terms and explain your reasoning.
3. Light and Dark Fundamental to an artist’s training is creating the perception of three-
dimensional objects and spaces through the use of light and dark. Lucia Koch, a Brazilian
artist, takes ordinary objects and, by playing on our knowledge of and history with light
and shadows, causes us to see architectural elements. For example, in Spaghetti (2
Windows) (figure 2-13), the viewer may see a dark hallway, but the reality is that the
photo is of an empty spaghetti box that has two cellophane “windows.” The camera
angle, lighting, and size of the image distort our sense of scale and cause us to see
something much different from what is actually being photographed.
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How can an artwork that uses light and not traditional materials be considered a work of
art?
Exercise #1
1. Analysis
a. Have students make observations on materials, methods,
cultural and historical context.
Figure 2-2 Vincent van Gogh, Fishing Boats at Sea, 1889. Pencil, reed
pen, and ink on wove paper, 9 1/2” x 12 5/8” Staatliche Museen, Berlin,
Germany.
2. Compare and Contrast
Figure 2-10 Louise Bourgeois, Blind Man’s Bluff, 1984. Marble with
wood base. Cleveland Museum of Art.
Figure 2-15 Oath-Taking Figure, Congo, 1880-1920, Congo. Wood, nails,
cloth, glass, paint.
Lecture #2
Discussion:
Explore the visual elements of color. Examine the emotional resonance of color. Ask
students their own feelings about colors. Discuss the color wheel.
Class Questions/Prompts:
Feeling of Color Vasily Kandinsky was born in Russia in the middle of the nineteenth
century. He formed the group Der Blaue Reiter with German artist Franz Marc in Munich
in 1911, and joined the Bauhaus in 1922. Kandinsky is regarded as the father of non-
representational art after freeing the subject matter from art to focus on the composition
of the elements of art. In his book Concerning the Spiritual in Art, Kandinsky explores
the idea of color and form, and how there are physical and physiological effects of color,
such as how red is the color of flame, something that humans are drawn to. What does
red signify? What items in the constructed environment use red? What emotions are
associated with red? Discuss the symbolic potential of various colors. Consult a resource
on color symbolism.
Exercise #2
1. Analysis
4
a. Have students make observations on materials, methods,
cultural and historical context.
Figure 2-26 Kees van Dongen, Modjesko, Soprano Singer, 1908. Oil on
canvas. 39 3/8” x 32”. The Museum of Modern Art, New York.
2. Compare and Contrast
Figure 2-23 Color diagram—Orange circle on a white square.
Figure 2-24 Color diagram—Orange circle on a red square.
Figure 2-25 Color diagram—Orange circle on a yellow square.
