Elements of Design in Artwork and Visual Displays Erik Ortiz Visual Merchandising New York City College of Technology

Elements of Design in Artwork and Visual Displays Erik Ortiz Visual Merchandising New York City College of Technology

1 Figure 1. Reading at a Table (Picasso, 1934) Figure 2. Michael Kors and Rosie Assoulin Spring 2017 window display (Bergdorf Goodman, 2017) Pablo Picasso s Reading At A Table and the window display at Bergdorf Goodman in New York are both further understood by applying all of the elements of design to them. Pablo Picasso is one of the most well known artists of his time. He was born in 1881 in Southern Spain. He eventually came to be known as one of the greatest artists of the 20 th century and the co-founder of the cubist movement (Voorhies, 2004). One of his compositions is called, Reading At A Table and is on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. It depicts his 26-year-old lover, named Marie-Therese Walter. In the painting she is alone in a dark room reading a book with one hand on her forehead. There is a single lamp that is illuminating the space and Marie- Therese s face (Reading At A Table at the Met, 2017). The Bergdorf Goodman visual display is for the Spring 2017 season and was on display at 756 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY. It featured resort wear and spring fashion

2 by designers Michael Kors and Rosie Assoulin. Michael Kors is a well-known American designer who started his company in 1981 and has since grown to worldwide notoriety (About Us, 2017). Rosie Assoulin is a ready- to-wear designer based in New York who started her business in 2013 (Farra, 2017). The visual display depicts an underwater scene with two mannequins on navy blue sand meant to resemble the ocean floor. Behind the two mannequins is a deep-sea mosaic of different types of fish and sea animals. Picasso s composition has an array of hues, which help to emphasize certain elements in the painting. In the background of the painting, Picasso uses shades of red, green, brown and black to depict the walls and the darkness of the room. Shades of red and green are also used as Marie-Therese s body. A shade is created by adding black to a basic color (Bell & Ternus, 2012). Marie-Therese s face is painted using pale tints of blue, and purple. A tint is created by adding white to a basic color (Bell & Ternus, 2012). The hues of her face are an example of analogous colors because blue and purple are next to each other on the color wheel. Analogous colors are colors that are next to each other on the color wheel (Bell & Ternus, 2012). To the left of the face are hues of yellow, meant to represent candlelight. The value of the face tones and the yellow hues are much brighter than the surrounding areas. Value is how light or dark something is (Bell & Ternus, 2012). In the Bergdorf Goodman Spring 2016 window display, the background is full of monochromatic shades of blue, which help to further emphasize the underwater theme. Monochromatic shades are examples of the same color but with different intensities and values (Bell & Ternus, 2012). The hues of blue and green are used to depict the water and sea animals swimming in the ocean. The garments featured in the visual display use

3 white as the primary hue. To offset the white ruffled top blouse of the left look, hues of red, pink, orange, green and blues are used on the pencil skirt. The value of the white floor-length skirt of the right look is less dramatic that the crop top and hat, which displays hues of pink and orange in the right mannequins look. The Picasso composition has both examples of rough and even textures. Texture is defined as the surface treatment or the feel (Bell & Ternus, 2012). Picasso uses rough brush strokes on Marie-Therese s face, whereas the body and background is painted smoother and more evenly. In Picasso s lovers face, there is a visible juxtaposition between the pale hues used and heavy paint strokes. The light hues used in the face with the heavy paint strokes would have to represent the strength of Marie- Therese s connection to Picasso because although the brush strokes are strong, the hues are soft and feminine. This could be due to the fact that Marie-Therese was his lover who he housed across the street from his marital home. At the time of this painting, She would have been pregnant with Picasso s baby while he was still married to his wife (Voorhies, 2014). The rough brush strokes could represent the emotion he felt for Marie-Therese and how he viewed her in his life. The Bergdorf Goodman window display also has examples of both rough and smooth textures. The background and floor both seem to have a rougher look due to the mosaic style on the back wall and the sand on the floor. Although the garments have different design techniques, such as stripes and floral textiles, they still seem to have a certain smooth quality that can help to emphasize the comfort of the clothing. The garments both use soft silks, cotton and satin to help portray their feminine, soft qualities.

4 The rough background is a juxtaposition to the smoothness of the garments in the display. This helps the viewer to be more drawn to the garment because not only is it on trend but it looks like the garments will be very comfortable and wearable, as compared to the background. Just as in textures, there are many instances of lines throughout Picasso s composition. A line is defined as a direction that determines the effectiveness of the piece (Bell & Ternus, 2012). Varying types of lines are easily noticed due to the cubist style of painting Picasso used. Cubism was achieved by the artist analyzing the subject, then breaking it up and reassembling it in an abstract form (Sabine, 2004). Vertical lines represent strength and dignity (Bell & Ternus, 2012). Examples of vertical lines are visible in many places throughout the composition. The legs of the table Marie-Therese is seated at is the most visible example. The chair she is seated at, the plant to her left and the frame behind her show the remaining examples of vertical lines. Her nose and stomach also show slight examples of vertical lines. The horizontal lines are used to portray a more calm, easygoing and peaceful scenario (Bell & Ternus, 2012). Examples of horizontal lines in this composition are the top of the table Marie-Therese s book is on, the physical book, and her left hand that is resting on the tabletop. Curved lines are used to represent femininity (Bell & Ternus, 2012). There are many curved lines in the composition, such as the armrest of the chair, the bosom, the hair on her head, the chin and nose and the candle flame. Diagonal lines help to represent action and strength (Bell & Ternus, 2012). They are used to depict the strength of Marie-Therese s stomach and waist. One diagonal line is featured separating the black and red hues in the background behind her.

5 In the Bergdorf Goodman window display there are a many examples of lines throughout. The most apparent display of horizontal lines is in the horizontal stripes of different hues displayed as the shin length skirt on the mannequin to the left. This helps to establish the easygoing, peaceful and calm affect that a spring resort garment should feature due to the fact that comfort is most important for a getaway. Vertical lines are used less frequently in this visual display. The few slight instances of vertical lines are visible as the scales of a few of the mosaic fishes on the backdrop. There are also examples of curved lines in the mosaic display. They are shown as the tentacles of the octopus, the eel, the small crabs and the seaweed. There are also examples of curved lines on the crop top and wide brimmed hat of the outfit on the right mannequin. Diagonal lines are featured on most of the fish in the background as either their scales or their fins. Most fish are also placed in a diagonal fashion throughout the composition to emphasize the fish swimming in different directions. Although the portrait may seem imbalanced, Balance is determining if the piece is symmetrical or formally balanced and asymmetrical or informally balanced (Bell & Ternus, 2012). In Reading at a Table, Picasso employs an informal balance technique. Informal balance is achieving the same optical weight on both sides by using different objects of similar seeming weight (Bell & Ternus, 2012). When you split the composition down the middle, the table is split evenly between both sides. Marie-Therese is on the right side but seems to have a similar weight to the plant and candlelight on the left without being an exact replica. Regardless of the how busy the Bergdorf Goodman display seems, the display is a great example of formal balance. Formal balance is when two items of equal size and

6 weight are equidistant from the center (Bell & Ternus, 2012). When the display is cut down the middle the mannequins are on either side of the midpoint. Although the mannequins are a great example of formal balance, the background shows an example of informal balance. At first glance the left side seems slightly more weighted due to the use of more fish and sea creatures in the background. Upon deeper evaluation, one may realize that the right side features more components of the octopus and crabs that help to balance the left and the ride side evenly. The dominating part of the Picasso composition is clearly Marie-Therese s face. The dominant piece is the one that prevails from the rest (Bell & Ternus, 2012). The pale hues in the face and candlelight are a clear dominant aspect of the composition. It is a reflection of the candle light against the face that makes the face glow against such a dark room. This achieves the illusion of warmth in the face although the face is distorted due to the cubist style. The dominance of the face could also signify the way Picasso view Marie-Therese. It helps to emphasize his love for her although she was not his wife. The dominant aspect of the Bergdorf Goodman window display differs from the Picasso composition. Whereas the Picasso composition has more of a subjective view of the dominant part of the display, Bergdorf Goodman makes a clear effort to emphasize the garments as the dominant portion of the window display. For any visual display, the viewer is more inclined to see what is displayed front and center when walking by. Both mannequins are front and center with nothing around them until the mosaic scene. The mannequins are the only part of the display with items that can actually be purchased by the customer. Although the back wall is visually pleasing and helps to set the scene, they in no way depict anything the consumer can buy.

7 In the Picasso composition, the soft lines in Marie Therese s face contrast the straighter and wider lines of the candlelight and the chair. Contrast is a described as sharp difference (Bell & Ternus, 2012). The lines in the face are much softer to emphasize the fragility of her face. The contrasting lines surrounding the light seem to be much more rigid and wide to help emphasize a flame. Her skin tone also contrasts the darkness in the room, which helps emphasize the importance of her features. In the Bergdorf Goodman window display, lighting is used to show contrast. The lighting in the background uses dark shades of blues and purple to illuminate the mosaic scene. These dark blue and purple lights function as a source to reiterate the background as the ocean. To contrast the background, the garments are lit with a bright light with soft yellow hues. The lighting technique uses bright lighting to further emphasize where the customer should be looking. The light also allows for the colors of the garments to stand out in an appealing manner. Proportions in Picasso s composition are realistic, for the most part. Proportion is the relationship of two objects based on size (Bell & Ternus, 2012). The table where Marie-Therese is seated seems to be inappropriately scaled. It seems as if she could stand at the table and still be at the same height. The head of Marie-Therese also seems to be large as compared to the rest of the body. Her head seems to be about the same size as her torso. Due to the cubism nature of the painting, Picasso doesn t focus on proportion, but emotion to artistically display how he viewed Marie-Therese. In regard to proportion, the Bergdorf Goodman visual display differs from the Picasso composition. The background underwater scene features extremely large fish and sea animals. They are inappropriately scaled as compared to the human-sized

8 mannequins. The fish are larger than both mannequins and the crabs are almost to the mannequin s knee. The mannequins are still positioned with strength instead of fear. The fish are embellished to shine so the scene is more visually pleasing rather than scary. In this Picasso composition slight instances of repitition are visible. Repetition is the repeating or re-iterating of an idea or motif (Bell & Ternus, 2012). Repetition is used by Picasso to form a crown on top of Marie Therese s head. Green and yellow flowers are repeated along the circumference of her head. The plant in the painting also shows repetition in the leaves. This help to portray the multiple stems of the plant. There are many instances of repetition throughout the Bergdorf Goodman visual display. The most obvious instance is the multiple mannequins. There are also instances in the two mannequins outfits. Both outfits feature a bow in different points on each garment. The left mannequin has hers on the neck whereas the right has the bow displayed as a belt buckle. Both garments also feature circular flower shapes. The mannequin on the left has pink circular floral shaped earrings and the right mannequin has them on the hat. There are also fish and crabs repeated multiple times in the background mosaic. When first glancing at the Picasso original, the eye is first guided to Marie- Therese s face. It is the brightest part of the painting and guides the eye in a counter clockwise direction, to the candlelight. The rhythm of the painting continues to move to the plant and continues to Marie-Therese s body. It leads to the black area representing the darkness in the room. Rhythm is the self-contained movement from one element to another and leads the viewers eye from dominant objects to subordinate objects (Bell &

9 Ternus, 2012). The rhythm of this painting makes sure to emphasize the face as the most important part. Upon walking by the Bergdorf Goodman display, ones eye would be guided directly to the mannequins. The bright light is designed to attract ones attention to it. The mannequins are also positioned well in front of the background. Although ones eye would first be guided to the garment, the rhythm would start and end with the garment. After first seeing the garment the eye realizes the blue underwater scene in the background. The rhythm of the fish lead the eye back to the garment because of the direction the fish are swimming. Pablo Picasso s great work of art, Reading at the Table and The Bergdorf Goodman window display for Michael Kors and Rosie Assoulin have more similarities than upon first glance. Once applying the elements of design to both Picasso s composition and the Bergdorf Goodman window display, there are a lot more recognizable features that help to further understand the intention and thought frame behind both. The intentions behind both make a very large impact on the overall viewer experience of them. This allows for both to stand out from the rest.

10 References About Us. (2017). Retrieved from https://www.michaelkors.com/info/aboutus/s11400074 Bell, J. A., & Ternus, K. (2017). Silent selling: Best practices and effective strategies in visual merchandising. New York: Fairchild Books. Farra, E. (2017). Rosie Assoulin Fall 2017 Ready-to-Wear Fashion Show. Retrieved from http://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/fall-2017-ready-to-wear/rosie-assoulin Pablo Picasso. (2015). Retrieved from http://www.biography.com/people/pablo-picasso- 9440021 Picasso, P. (1934). Reading at a Table [Painting]. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY. Reading at a Table at The Met. (2017). Retrieved from http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/486739 Rewald, A. S. (2004). Cubism. Retrieved from http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/cube/hd_cube.htm Bergdorf Goodman Window Display [Photograph]. (2017). Michael Kors and Rosie Assoulin, Bergdorf Goodman, New York. Voorhies, A. J. (2004). Pablo Picasso (1881 1973) Essay Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved from http://www.metmuseum.org/toah//hd/pica/hd_pica.htm