CHAPTER 7 Other formal elements: texture, pattern, and time & motion (part 1)
Other Formal Elements Texture: the surface quality of a two-dimensional shape or a three-dimensional volume. Pattern: a repetitive motif or design. Time and Motion: these can be introduced into a work of art in a variety of ways. A story can be suggested, the art can actually move, or it can capture a frozen moment in time.
Texture Types of Texture: Actual Texture: the surface of the material. This can be smooth, like marble, thick paint, rough fabric, etc. Implied texture (visual texture): The surface appears to be one way, but is not. For example, a marble statue can appear to be soft, folded fabric but is actually smooth stone. It is an illusion. Invented Texture: texture that is made up on a surface and does not relate to what is depicted in the work.
Michelangelo, Pietà, 1501.
Robert Ryman, Long, 2002. The artist thickly applies the paint, and each brushstroke is not only evident but seems to have a body of its own. This textural effect if referred to as impasto. Ryman s subject matter is actually the brushstroke itself, and its relation to the canvas on which he layers it.
Vincent van Gogh, Starry Night Over the Rhone, 1888.
Max Ernst, The Horde, 1927. The surface appears to have rough texturized areas to it, while it actually feels rather smooth, as the paint remains close to the surface of the canvas.
Pattern Any formal element that repeats itself in a composition line, shape, mass, color, or texture creates a recognizable pattern. In its repetitive and organized use of the same motif or design, pattern is an important decorative tool. Pattern as decoration can be pleasing to the eye. Pattern often uses symbolism to create meaning, and is not always purely decorative.
Still from the film Stray Dog, directed by Akira Kurosawa, 1949. Shadows form a striped pattern that makes the shot more visually complex and interesting. In this case, the pattern is an important clue to the story: it suggests prison bars, and the possibility that these men may end up there.
Kente prestige cloth (detail), Ghana; Ewe peoples, 19 th century. Patterned textiles are closely associated with social prestige and wealth among the Ewe and Asante societies of Ghana.
Kehinde Wiley Juxtaposes pattern with contemporary figures in poses from European paintings quote historical sources and position young black men within the field of power. Backgrounds are taken from decorative sources such as wallpaper, and take away the place or location of the painting.
Glenn Ligon Repetition in Ligon s text pieces creates pattern, and forms meaning.
Time and Motion Painting and sculpture are seen as spatial media, where we experience the piece all at once; the work of art is before us in totality at all times. It is often unclear how to determine a work of art s beginning, middle, and end with reference to time. Time still plays an active role in art. Even representational works that strive to give us a frozen moment are often part of a larger narrative, or story.
Gianlorenzo Bernini, David, 1623. Marble, life size. Although this moment is captured forever in solid marble, Bernini presents a piece that is inevitably part of a larger story. The action suggested through David s defensive stance, the sling ready to shoot the rock, and David s intense stare, all leads us to perceive the events that preceded this event, as well as the events to follow.
Isidro Escamilla, Virgin of Guadalupe, 1824. Oil on canvas. This painting tells the story of the Virgin of Guadalupe. In the top-left corner, we see Juan Diego first encountering the Virgin. In the bottom-left corner, we see him picking the miraculous roses, as instructed by the Virgin. In the bottom-right corner, we see Juan Diego opening the cloak, and the miraculous image of the virgin on it. In the top-right corner, we see a group of saints (winged like angels) accepting the Virgin as one of them.
Claude Monet, Waterlilies Because of the size of the painting, it s impossible to see all at once- you have to move around it and view it over time.