| Principles of Composition |
| When beginning a composition (what is going to be a piece of work) there are many things that must be considered. There are principles that must be thought out. The first and main principle is that of Design. Design is the arrangement of visual elements into a form. As a verb it is the act of putting all the elements together, as a noun it is the end result of that action. Unity and Variety are what describe a composition as a whole. Continuation is when as object proceeds past the frame, leaving the rest to the viewers imagination. Repetition (repeating elements) and Proximity (how close or far the elements are placed in relation to each other) help to create a piece of works unity and variety. Variety is needed to make a composition more interesting. Emphasis is a way to exploit the meaning and focus of a type of composition. The Focal Point is where the emphasis of a composition will lay, it is the most important element. Contrast, Placement, and Isolation are all ways to bring more emphasis to the focal point. Balance in a composition requires a focal point and gives a sense of gravity, without it a work becomes more uncomfortable and unsettling. Symmetrical compositions have the same elements within it, but are usually mirrored along an Axis Line. An Axis Line is the center dividing line in a symmetrical work. For example most people have a very symmetrical face and the axis line will run right down the middle over the forehead, nose, mouth, and chin. Visual weight is used to balance a symmetrical composition. Visual Weight is how much of an impact an element makes. A black spot in the upper right hand corner of an all white composition cares a lot of visual weight and therefore its weight (or emphasis) is greater. For an explanation on this, darker colors carry more visual weight then do lighter colors. So for a black spot to be seen as having the same emphasis (or visual weight) as a white spot, then the black one will have to be smaller. The same would go for blue and yellow, the blue dot smaller than the yellow one, ect. Also detail is involved, the more detail an element contains the more visual weight (or emphasis) it has. So to balance a small detailed dark spot you need a much larger lighter and less detailed spot. Asymmetrical compositions have an equal weight but do not the same elements on each side of the axis line. Value, color, texture, placement, eye direction, and size are all used to make since of these more complex works. The focal point of an asymmetric composition is on only one side of the axis line and must be counter balanced. Usually larger lighter areas with less detail counter balance the focal point of smaller, darker, and more detailed elements. There are other compositions that deserve mentioning also. A Radial composition consists of all the elements arranged in a circular pattern. Crystallographic compositions have no focal point and all its elements are of equal visual weight (or emphasis). A composition as a whole contains certain qualities. Rhythm is a nondiscriptive sensation or beat a piece gives off, there are three different forms of rhythm. Staccato is a rhythm of short, quick, and abrupt images. These works are usually vibrant but choppy. Allegro is brisk and lively but not abrupt like Staccato. Legato works are smooth and even. They tend to be more calm and serene. There are also Alternating and Progressive rhythms. Alternating rhythm changes its beat many times within its self. Progressive slowly builds with in the work. These are all ways to explain a works sensation that the viewer gets. Movement is a feeling of motion or a second in time stopped by the artist. Kinetic movement is actual moving art, where the observer or something else moves a piece. Kinesthetic Empathy is where the viewer knows and understands the movement depicted within a work but, there are no actual moving pieces. Direct Tension is caused when a diagonal is placed in a composition, diagonals cause tension within a composition and tension equals motion. Time Elapse in a composition tells a story of some kind in some way. The old style of doing this was to place multiple images within the same frame of a work. Today a series of images are divided up into different frames much like a comic strip or book. Blurred Lines also create movement. A blurred image gives this effect much like a camera with a slow shutter speed would do. Force Lines are lines that are boldly placed to show where an object is going or coming from, this is used quite often in comics and advertising. There are certain styles of art that deal exclusively with motion. Cubism is one of the forms to deals with the problems of motion and view point. An image is broken up within the frame and shown at many various angles to create a unique rhythm. Picasso made this style famous and is usually referred to as its creator. Futurism was created by a group of artist who dealt with anything modern; movement, machines, cars, ect. Abstract Expressionism, or Action Painting, is where the artist exerts a great amount of motion and energy that is meant to be transferred to the composition itself. Pollocks work would be a god example of this style. Op Art is the most modern of all these styles. These very geometric and mathematical works create an image that seems to move on its own without doing so. |