Is Art That Presents Natural Objects in Recognizable Form?

Art Fundamentals: Theory and Do
Ocvirk, Stinson, Wigg, Bone, Cayton
Twelfth Edition

Chapter i
Introduction
pp. 10-13

The Three Components of Fine art

Subject, form, and content accept always been the three basic components of a work of fine art, and they are wed in a fashion that is inseparable. In general, subject field may be thought of as the "what" (the topic, focus, or image); form, as the "how" (the development of the work, composition, or the substantiation); and content, every bit the "why" (the artist's intention, communication, or meaning backside the work). Field of study The field of study of visual fine art tin be a person, an object, a theme, or an idea. Though there are many and varied ways of presenting the subject area matter, it is only of import to the degree that the artist is motivated by it.

Objective images, which correspond people or objects, wait every bit close as possible to their real-world counterparts and can exist clearly identified. These types of images are as well called representational.

Dennis Wojtkiewicz, Kiwi Series #1, 2005.
Oil on canvas, 36 x 66 in. Marilyn Levine, Anne's Jacket, 1999.
Ceramic, 36 x xx 1/2 x 7 i/4 in.

Gus Heinze, Expresso Cafe, 2003. Acrylic on gessoed panel, 32 x 35 1/2 in.

Artists who explore the process of brainchild (simplification and rearrangement) create images that expect less similar the object on which they are based, although they may still be recognizable. Barbara Hunt-Riboud, Bathers, 1973. Floor relief, cast aluminum and silk in sixteen pieces, 400 10 400 x 12 cm.

Piet Mondrian, The Grey Tree, 1911.
Oil on canvas, 30 1/ii x 42 seven/8 in. Ismael Rodriguez Rueda, El Sueno de Erasmo (The Dream of Erasmus), 1995.
Oil on canvas, 39 1/two x 47 1/ii in.

DeLoss McGraw's "The Story of Eutychus," mixed-media Marcel Duchamp, Nude Decending a Staircase, No. 2, 1912
Oil on canvas, 58 x 35 in. Harold Due east. Edgerton, Baseball game hit-fly brawl, 1950s-1970s. Gelatin argent print In the most farthermost type of abstraction, the subject does not refer to any concrete object, and this nonrepresentational image is thus considered non-objective. Hither, the subject area may be hard for the observer to place, since it is based solely on the elements of art rather than existent-life people or objects. This type of subject often refers to the artist's idea about energy and move, which guides the use of raw materials, and it communicates with those who tin can read the language of class. Piet Mondrian, Composition, 1916. Oil on canvas and woods strip, 47 ane/4 10 29 ane/2 in. Music, like visual art, deals with subjects and provides an interesting comparison. Unless there are lyrics, it is often hard to identify a specific subject in a slice of music. Sometimes, the subject is recognizable - the thunderstorms and birdsongs in Beethoven'south Pastoral Symphony or the taxi horns in Gershwin'south An American in Paris. Other times, withal, the subject is more than abstract, and it is an emotion or idea that comes across strongly in the music. Aaron Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man is a good example of this: he does not endeavour to describe the subject field literally merely creates a nobel, accessible, and uplifting musical theme that honors the plight of the common man. In a similar mode, nonobjective art seeks to nowadays a more full general theme or idea as the subject.
Mark Rothko, Number x, 1950.
Oil on canvass, 7 ft. 6 three/8 in. x iv ft. nine ane/8 in. Regardless of the type of art, the nearly important consideration is what is washed with the subject. After you lot recognize the subject in a work (whether information technology is obvious or not), ask yourself whether the artist has given information technology expression. Jackson Pollock, Fall Rhythm (Number 30), 1950.
Oil on canvass, 8 ft. nine in. x 17 ft. 3 in. Charles Sheeler, Gilded Gate, 1955.
Oil on canvas, 25 i/viii in. x 34 7/8 in.

Form

Every bit a component of art, the word form refers to the total overall arrangement or arrangement of an artwork. It results from using the elements of art, giving them order and meaning through the principles of organization. When studying a work'due south form, we are analyzing how the slice was created. More than specifically, we are examing why the artist made certain choices and how those choices interact to form the artwork's final advent. In this sense, the word form may really be thought of equally a verb rather than a substantive.

The elements of art, which include line, texture, colour, shape, and value, are the most basic, indispensable, and immediate building blocks for expression. Their characteristics, determined past the creative person's choice of media and techniques, tin communicate a wide range of complex feelings. All artists must deal with the elements singularly or in combination, and their system contributes to the aesthetic success or failure of a work.

Based on the intended expression, each creative person can conform the elements in any fashion that builds the desired grapheme into the piece. Notwithstanding, the elements are given order and meaningful structure when bundled according to the principles of organisation, which help integrate and organize the elements. These principles include harmony, variety, balance, proportion, dominance, movement, and economy. They help create spatial relationships and effectively convey the artist's intent. The principles of organization are flexible, not dogmatic, and can be combined and applied in numerous means. Some artist arrange intuitively, and others are more than calculating, but with experience, all of them develop an instinctive feeling for organizing their piece of work. So important are these concepts of elements and principles that they are studied separately.

Content

The emotional or intellectual bulletin of a work of art is its content - a statement, expression, or mood developed past the artist and interpreted by the observer. Of the iii components of art, content may be the well-nigh hard to identify, because the audition, without direct communication with the artist, must decipher the creative person's thoughts by observing the work's bailiwick and form. For example, in Immature Girl in the Lap of Expiry, the hitting emphasis of the left-to-right diagonals, the precipitous contrasts of calorie-free and dark values, and the aggressive and powerful drawing strokes give us some insight into Kathe Kollwitz's business organisation for life, though we may not empathize the depth of her passion.

Kathe Kollwitz, Young Daughter in the Lap of Death, 1934.
Crayon lithograph, 42 x 38 cm.

Ideally, the viewer's interpretation is synchronized with the artist's intentions. However, the viewer's diversity of experiences can touch on the communication betwixt creative person and viewer. For many people, content is determined by their familiarity with the subject area; they are confined to feelings aroused by objects or ideas they know. A much broader and ultimately more meaningful content is not utterly reliant on the image but is reinforced by the form. This is especially so in more abstract works, in which the viewer may not recognize the image as a known object and must, thefore, interpret meaning from shapes and other elements. Images that are hardly recognizable, if representational at all, can still deliver content if the observer knows how to interpert form.

Occasionally, artists may be unaware of what motivates them to brand sure choices of epitome or form. For them, the content of the piece may be subconscious instead of deliberate. For example, an artist who has had a violent confrontation with a neighbor might subconciously need to express anger (content) and is thus compelled to work wit sharp jagged shapes, bitter acrid reds, slashing agitated marks (grade), and exploding images (subject).

Sometimes the meaning of nonobjective shapes becomes clear in the artist's mind only after they evolve and mutate on the sail.

Although it is not a requirement for enjoying artwork, a piffling research near the artist'due south life, fourth dimension period, or culture can assist expand viewpoints and lead to a fuller estimation of content. For example, a deeeper comprehension of Vincent van Gogh's specific and personal apply of colour may be gained past reading Van Gogh'south letters to his blood brother Theo. His letters expressed an evolving belief that color conveyed specific feelings and attitudes and was more than that a mere optical feel. He felt that his apply of color could emit power like Wagner'due south music. The letters also revealed a developing personal color iconography, in which ruby-red and greenish symbolized the terrible sinful passions of humanity; black contour lines provided a sense of anguish; cobalt blueish signified the vault of heaven, and yellow symbolized love. For Van Gogh, color was not strictly a tool for visual false but an instrument to transmit his personal emotions. Color symbolism may not accept been used in all his paintings, but an understanding of his intent helps explain some of his choices and the ability in his piece of work.

Vincent van Gogh, The Night Buffet, 1888. Oil on canvas, 27 i/ii 10 35 in.

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Source: https://personal.utdallas.edu/~melacy/pages/2D_Design/Components_of_Art/Components_of_Art.html