The Elements and Principles of Art

Images are like suitcases; they have a lot of “stuff” in them. Since they are not real things, they can be understood in many ways. We have to unpack them, like a suitcase, to see everything inside of them. So when we talk about unpacking an artwork, this is also called “analysis”.

There are a couple of levels of analysis, but the first is formal analysis. In the formal analysis, we find ways to describe an artwork. This focuses on the language of art and how the elements of art (line, shape, form, texture, color, space) and the principles of design (unity, variety, balance, proportion, scale, rhythm) have been organized by the artist. In this step, you describe the relationships among the elements and principles. We will focus on the other levels of analysis later, but for right now we will focus on the formal analysis: the elements and principles of art.

I will give you a brief lecture on the Elements and Principles, but it will be up to you guys to bring this information to life. I want you to examine the information from the below websites and my PPT. Create an outline of all the elements and principles of art for yourself. We will add more information to the outline later, but this will be your first step in understanding the Elements and Principles of art.

TODAY’S CHALLENGE: 

You will randomly choose an element and a principle of art. You will create two posters for the rest of the class related to your element and principle. This poster will remain in the classroom all year.

Your Poster Should Include:

The term

The definition

Visual Examples

Once you have created your poster, we will share the information together so you can understand all of the elements and principles. 

Then we will be ready to begin our art assignment! 

My PPT:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/pkimaivord42c1s/elements_and_principals_of_art_and_design.pptx?dl=0

Some Ideas About  Composition and Design : https://www.goshen.edu/art/ed/Compose.htm

Artist’s Tool Kit: http://archive.artsmia.org/artists_toolkit/explore.cfm.html

Elements of Art, Getty Museum: http://www.getty.edu/education/teachers/building_lessons/formal_analysis.html

Principles of Design, Getty Museum:

http://www.getty.edu/education/teachers/building_lessons/formal_analysis2.html