Homework 3

Chapter 5/8: Balance/ shape and Volume:

1.          Describe the difference between balance and imbalanced work?

A sense or lack of either balance or imbalance disturbs us in a piece of art. The use of imbalance can create tension.

2.         What is horizontal and vertical placement?

A horizontal axis divides a piece from top to bottom, while a vertical axis would divide it from left to right.

3.          What is symmetrical balance, and give an art historical example?

Similar shapes are repeated in the same positions on either sides of their vertical axis. Leonardo  da Vinci’s drawing, ”Vitruvian Man” is an example of symmetrical balance.

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

It is achieved through objects that are not similar to each other, that have either equally strong visual weight or equal eye attraction.

5.         What is radial balance?

Radial balance is the result of components that are spread around a center point or are revealed from a central line.

6.         Give a good example of a piece of artwork?

http://www.sikyon.com/korinth/korinth_meg01.html The mosaic floor from a roman villa of ancient Corinth

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

An area that is visually perceived and created either by an enclosing line or by color and value changes that define the outer edges.

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

Naturalism is the representation of the visual image, forms and proportions as seen in nature with an illusion of volume and 3D space. Distortion is a departure from an accepted perception of a form or object.

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

A visual representation that most likely has little resemblance to the real world. It occurs through a process of simplification or distortion, attempting to communicate a form or aspect. The fire and water panel is abstract because it indirectly communicates the elements of fire and water. My concepts include powerful emotions relating to my theme, and the formation of the thick and thin lines also add to the theme.

Chapter 8: Shape and volume:

1.          Define these terms in art:

2.         Non-objective- artwork with no reference to or of the natural world.

3.          Curvilinear- rounded and curving forms that imply flowing shapes and compositions.

4.         Rectilinear- composed of straight lines.

5.         Positive and negative shapes- (positive) any shape or object distinguished from the background. (negative) A clearly defined shape within the ground that is defined by surrounding figures or boundaries.

Chapter 10:

1.          List three ways to depict illusion of depth- Overlapping, vertical location, aerial perspective.

2.         What is one point perspective?- A system of spatial illusion in 2d art based on the convergence of parallel lines to a common vanishing point on the horizon.

3.          Two point perspective?- A scene that is viewed through an angle, having no objects parallel to the picture plane and with edges receding to two points on the horizon line.

4.         What is an isometric projection/?- A spatial illusion that occurs when lines receding on the diagonal remain parallel instead of converging toward a common vanishing point.

5.         What is equivocal space? Find an example- An ambiguous space in which it is hard to distinguish the foreground from the background.

http://catebrown18.blogspot.com/2011/05/spatial-puzzles-equivocal-space.html