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Modernisms 1900-1980

Course: modernisms 1900-1980   >   unit 1, contemporary art, an introduction.

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"Getting" Contemporary Art

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5.1: A beginner's guide to Contemporary Art

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Contemporary Art, an introduction

by DR. VIRGINIA B. SPIVEY

“Getting” Contemporary Art

It’s ironic that many people say they don’t “get” contemporary art because, unlike Egyptian tomb painting or Greek sculpture, art made since 1960 reflects our own recent past. It speaks to the dramatic social, political and technological changes of the last 50 years, and it questions many of society’s values and assumptions—a tendency of postmodernism, a concept sometimes used to describe contemporary art. What makes today’s art especially challenging is that, like the world around us, it has become more diverse and cannot be easily defined through a list of visual characteristics, artistic themes or cultural concerns.

Minimalism and Pop Art, two major art movements of the early 1960s, offer clues to the different directions of art in the late 20th and 21st century. Both rejected established expectations about art’s aesthetic qualities and need for originality. Minimalist objects are spare geometric forms, often made from industrial processes and materials, which lack surface details, expressive markings, and any discernible meaning. Pop Art took its subject matter from low-brow sources like comic books and advertising. Like Minimalism, its use of commercial techniques eliminated emotional content implied by the artist’s individual approach, something that had been important to the previous generation of modern painters. The result was that both movements effectively blurred the line distinguishing fine art from more ordinary aspects of life, and forced us to reconsider art’s place and purpose in the world.

Shifting Strategies

Minimalism and Pop Art paved the way for later artists to explore questions about the conceptual nature of art, its form, its production, and its ability to communicate in different ways. In the late 1960s and 1970s, these ideas led to a “dematerialization of art,” when artists turned away from painting and sculpture to experiment with new formats including photography, film and video, performance art, large-scale installations and earth works. Although some critics of the time foretold “the death of painting,” art today encompasses a broad range of traditional and experimental media, including works that rely on Internet technology and other scientific innovations.

Contemporary artists continue to use a varied vocabulary of abstract and representational forms to convey their ideas. It is important to remember that the art of our time did not develop in a vacuum; rather, it reflects the social and political concerns of its cultural context. For example, artists like Judy Chicago, who were inspired by the feminist movement of the early 1970s, embraced imagery and art forms that had historical connections to women.

In the 1980s, artists appropriated the style and methods of mass media advertising to investigate issues of cultural authority and identity politics. More recently, artists like Maya Lin, who designed the Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial Wall in Washington D.C., and Richard Serra, who was loosely associated with Minimalism in the 1960s, have adapted characteristics of Minimalist art to create new abstract sculptures that encourage more personal interaction and emotional response among viewers.

These shifting strategies to engage the viewer show how contemporary art’s significance exists beyond the object itself. Its meaning develops from cultural discourse, interpretation and a range of individual understandings, in addition to the formal and conceptual problems that first motivated the artist. In this way, the art of our times may serve as a catalyst for an on-going process of open discussion and intellectual inquiry about the world today.

Smarthistory images for teaching and learning:

How to Learn About Contemporary Art

by The Art Assignment

The YBAs: The London-based Young British Artists

by ROSE AIDIN

“Young British Artists” (or YBAs as they swiftly became known) is now something of a misnomer. For this group of artists can no longer be described as young—they are mostly now in their fifties—and they are very international, and barely share a common style. Yet this small group of London-based artists, who came to prominence in the nineties, changed the international art world. The YBA phenomenon directly contributed to the climate of acceptance of modern and contemporary art in the U.K. which enabled the success of Tate Modern when it opened in 2000. The YBA remain a powerful force in the international art world today.

I first encountered the Young British Artists as a freelance journalist covering the arts for the mainstream press in the late nineties. By then art was no longer confined to single column reviews in remote arts pages, as it had been for decades. Instead, contemporary art was splashed over front and features pages. The Tate’s annual Turner Prize for contemporary art had become headline news, with the award ceremony broadcast live on television, and for an intoxicating time, London was the center of the international creative world—all thanks largely to the YBAs.

So who and what are the YBAs?

The YBAs were a loose and disparate group, very much associated with London in the 1990s and the period of increased pride in popular British culture dubbed “Cool Britannia.” YBA artists included Jake and Dinos Chapman, Tracey Emin, Damien Hirst , Gary Hume, Sarah Lucas, Chris Ofili , Marc Quinn, Sam Taylor-Johnson, Mark Wallinger, and Rachel Whiteread. Many of the artists had studied together at Goldsmiths College of Art in London, which had abolished the traditional separation between art forms (painting, sculpture, photography, printmaking) and focused on conceptual art , however there is no one single YBA style or approach. The work can be shocking, conceptual, or even traditional in its formal features: the principal link between the YBAs was social and attitudinal.

The majority of the artists came from non-establishment backgrounds, had grown up with Margaret Thatcher as prime minister and, perhaps as a result, had acquired an entrepreneurial, “can-do” approach to art and life. Then in their twenties and thirties, these artists were often glamorous and generally loved to party, and the nineties art world—and “Cool Britannia”—was happy to give them free rein.

Damien Hirst, Freeze, and Charles Saatchi

So how did the YBAs come into being? Damien Hirst was de facto ringleader of the YBAs. In 1988, while studying at Goldsmiths College, Hirst curated and promoted a “pop up” exhibition in an empty warehouse of work by him and his peers, entitled Freeze. Charles Saatchi, an advertising titan and art collector, bought work from Hirst’s Freeze show and from the fledging artists’ representatives. In 1992, the phrase “Young British Artists” was first used by Art Forum magazine to describe the group, and when Saatchi exhibited their work at his 30,000 square foot space in a converted paint factory in North London that same year, he entitled the show Young British Artists . And so a new movement was born. The work was new, fresh, and exciting: immediately accessible to the public, yet also with high art resonances and references.

The most expensive fish without chips

Damien Hirst’s The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living of 1991, a shark suspended and preserved in a tank of formaldehyde, looked sensational in the Saatchi Gallery’s warehouse-style setting in the 1992 Young British Artists exhibition. The Sun tabloid newspaper ran a story about the piece entitled “£50,000 for fish without chips?” and “the shark” became an icon of nineties art and culture. As a result, Hirst was shortlisted for that year’s Turner Prize, and in 1995 was awarded the prize, which was presented to him by Charles Saatchi. The YBA star was firmly in the ascendant.

Hirst’s Turner Prize exhibition included Mother and Child Divided (1993), a cow and calf cut in half and preserved in a vitrine of formaldehyde. The work caused outrage among the animal-loving British public. Hirst commented, “I remember what Warhol said: you don’t read your reviews, you weigh them.” He might well have added another of Warhol’s aphorisms: “Making money is art. And working is art. And good business is the best art.”

YBAs at the heart of the establishment

It was Charles Saatchi again, master of both presentation and media coverage, who positioned the YBAs firmly in the mainstream of popular culture with the 1997 exhibition Sensation, which filled the Royal Academy in London with 110 works by 42 artists from Saatchi’s personal collection. It was the year that Princess Diana died and Tony Blair became Prime Minister. The country was ripe for a change. The YBA’s column inches became column miles: the exhibition was visited by 285,000 people, almost half of them aged under thirty. A new audience and climate had been created for modern art. Contemporary art was now at the fore of public consciousness.

The path to Tate Modern

Until Tate Modern opened in 2000, London was the only major European city without a public art gallery for modern and contemporary art. Britain was resolutely philistine about the visual as epitomized by a controversy in 1976 triggered by the display of Carl Andre’s Equivalent VIII (1966) as a recent acquisition at the Tate Gallery in Millbank (now Tate Britain). The Evening Standard referred to the sculpture as a “pile of bricks.” Public outrage and protest focused on the expenditure of “tax payers’ money” on this Minimalist work made of manufactured bricks. Evidently, much needed to change before a museum of modern art would be welcome in London. Private funds would be required in order for public collections to acquire modern and contemporary art, and ultimately to support a London museum dedicated to its display.

In 1984 the Tate’s annual Turner Prize for new art was founded with the long-term goal of creating an open and understanding climate for modern and contemporary art. By the mid-nineties, thanks to the nominated Young British Artists’ high profile and pulling power, the Turner Prize had become a major annual event, with record-breaking numbers of visitors to the Tate’s exhibition of short-listed artists, and its gala dinners and prize-giving ceremonies avidly attended and covered, with the likes of Madonna presenting the prize. The purpose of the Turner Prize was accomplished, thanks in great part to the YBAs, and the public made ready for the opening of Tate Modern.

“Art is power”

When Tate Modern (a museum dedicated to modern and contemporary art) opened in London in May 2000, its launch party for 4,000 people was the hottest ticket in town, and broadcast live on the BBC. Invitations were said to be changing hands for up to £1,000 and some left town rather than admit they were not on the list. “Everyone” was there, yet it was the Young British Artists who had done so much with their talent, energy and glamour to bring the art world’s focus to London for the first time in centuries (and to create a climate of acceptance for contemporary art), who provided the stardust. The YBAs ensured that Tate Modern’s opening party was the place to be and the museum was an instant success, with visitor numbers vastly higher than anticipated.

As the artistic duo Gilbert & George said as they opened the building earlier that day in front of the Queen of England, “Art is power.” The YBAs ruled the establishment: the artists were celebrities and everyone wanted to know more about them. And that, for a while, was how I made my living. Then it all suddenly came to an end, with 9/11 as a marker. Shortly after the twin tower attacks, Charles Saatchi closed the private gallery that had done so much to incubate the YBA movement, and there was a sense of moving on. I went into teaching and now teach the work of many of the artists I interviewed. The young adults I teach are consistently fascinated by the YBAs’ work, which speaks very strongly to them, and convinces me that even now—long after the parties and the scene have faded—the work itself will endure and stand the test of time.

Additional resources:

Tate on the Young British Artists

Damien Hirst: Art and Life (video)

The Saatchi Gallery on Sensation at the Royal Academy

Tate on The Turner Prize

Tate archive on Carl Andre’s Equivalent VIII and the “Bricks controversy”

Tate archive on the opening of Tate Modern

Rose Aidin, “The Comeback King,” The Saturday Telegraph Magazine (October 2, 2001)

Rose Aidin, “Brit Art’s square dealer moves on,” The Guardian (September 22, 2002)

“Tate Gallery Buys Pile of Bricks—Or Is It Art?,” The New York Times (February 20, 1976)

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Tools for teaching, getting started: an introduction to teaching with contemporary art.

The resources in this section offer an orientation to visual art being produced today and a gateway for educators to explore some of the larger questions related to contemporary art. In anticipation of teaching with specific artists, themes, or lesson ideas, Art21 provides a rich multimedia experience to help navigate and construct new interpretations about art being made today.

Learn the definition of contemporary art, and how an inquiry-based approach can ignite discussion and debate in your classroom.

These five teaching strategies help students move beyond traditional notions of art to better grasp the concepts that drive contemporary art making.

Useful for students to consider before introducing contemporary art, these discussion questions encourage students to challenge their own preconceptions about art, art institutions, and the nature of creativity.

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Communicating Ideas through Art ( lesson plan )

Students will use a visual thinking protocol to analyze San Lazaro (O Yo Soy La Ruta) by Jose Bedia and consider how he visually communicates layers of meaning in a work of art. Students will learn about the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and illustrate one of its articles to convey its complex meaning.

Created by A+ Schools of NC

Artwork Related to this Lesson

San Lázaro (O Yo Soy La Ruta) , by José Bedia

Student Learning Objectives

• Students will analyze a painting’s elements and principles of design and use research-based responses to explore its story.
• Students will learn about the work of Jose Bedia and his cultural and historical influences.
• Students will demonstrate an understanding of an article from the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights by visually communicating its meaning.

Assessments

Lesson resources, related content.

Warm-up Observations with a Partner

• Give each student a photocopy of San Lazaro (O Yo Soy La Ruta) and project it or post a large poster for the class. Ask students to spend one minute quietly looking at their copy noticing every detail. Then, have them write for one minute about everything they observed. 
• Next, give students or have them find online a source that details the Elements of Visual Art and Principles of Design. Ask students: “What Elements of Visual Art do you see in this work of art?” Have students mark their copy where they see specific elements demonstrated in Bedia’s painting. Then, have students turn to their neighbor and discuss.
• Have students review the Principles of Design. Ask students: “What Principles of Design do you see in this work of art?” Then, have students mark their photocopy showing where they see specific principles demonstrated and discuss with their partner. 

Whole Class Discussion 

• Continue to unpack the work of art using the See, Think, Wonder protocol with the whole group. First, ask students to share what they observed in the image during their one-minute written reflection in the warm-up activities. If students share interpretive reflections or reflections that make inferences, follow-up by asking: “What in the image do you see that makes you say that?” 
• Then, have students use a pencil to divide a sheet of paper into two columns. Students should label one column “Think” and the other column “Wonder.” In the “Think” column, students should detail what they think is going on in the work of art. In the “Wonder” column, students should jot down what the work of art makes them wonder. Ask for a few volunteers to share their Think/Wonder ideas with the whole group. Ask students: How we should we begin to research some of your Wonder questions?
• Show the NCMALearn video of NCMA Chief Curator, Linda Dougherty, discussing the connections between the painting, the artist, and another work in the museum: https://learn.ncartmuseum.org/resources/san-lazaro-o-yo-soy-la-ruta-by-jose-bedia/ . Ask students: “What details about the work did you learn? Did it address some of your wonder questions?” Instruct students to discuss with their table group and add relevant notes to their Think/Wonder observations.
• Consider showing students an additional video of the artist explaining how he communicates history, religion, and common themes. In the 5-minute video titled “Abre Nkuto muchacho nuevo” Bedia explains how he visually translates oral stories and complex ideas. Ask students to reflect on what information this video provides about artist and his artistic process.
• To wrap up this section and segue to the next activity, ask students: Why do you think Bedia created San Lazaro (O Yo Soy La Ruta) ? What is he trying to communicate? What does this work of art say about the artist? 

Introduce Visual Prompt

Explain to students that they will be communicating an idea visually as Bedia conveyed San Lazaro through his own artistic lens. Students will research the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) https://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/ and visually communicate an event or period of time and its connection to an article from the UDHR assigned to them by the teacher. Have students plan how their image will convey the meaning of the article and the event or time period using the Elements of Art and Principles of Design to communicate visually. Share resources (see the Resource Section of this lesson plan) about the Declaration of Rights in addition to asking students to do their own internet searches. 

Independent Work

Assign each student an article from the UDHR and give students research and planning time. Check in on their progress individually with an exit ticket or have students participate in a mid-work critique with a partner. Assess that students have an understanding that the declaration was a milestone in the human rights movement of the 20th century. Ask students: What events in world history connect with the UDHR article you’ve been assigned? What periods in world history come to mind as you consider your article? Students must identify a time period or event that pairs well with their article. To help students develop their approach, ask them:

• How can you represent the time period/event in light of the facts you know about it and the UDHR article you’ve been assigned? 
• What Elements of Art and Principles of Design will you include in your composition?
• What keywords or concepts should be included or represented in your work of art?
• Remind students about Bedia’s art– how he represented complex ideas and stories through the use of key images as well as the Elements and Principles of art. Ask students: What key images should your art include? How will you use the Elements and Principles to represent the complex ideas and stories in your UDHR article and time period/event?

Reflections/Closure

• Instruct students to create an artist statement on a 5 x 7 notecard with their name, the event or time period they selected, the article of the declaration, and how they portrayed its meaning visually. 
• Display student artwork and artist statements along the hallway and have a gallery walk. 
• Have students share their work with a partner or in small groups. Begin by having students observe each other’s illustrations quietly making notes about what they see, think, and wonder. Students should share their see/think/wonder ideas with each other before either student shares information about the article or event/time period they’ve represented. Have students discuss what surprised them through the lesson and what they learned about representing complex ideas through art.

Written by A+ Fellow Karen Morris

• Formative assessment: Teacher accesses learning throughout planning and independent work by asking questions, observations, and other strategies like exit tickets, partner discussion, etc.
• Summative assessment: Participation in discussion, the written artist statement, and the students’ art will be used to assess understanding of learning objectives.
• The students’ art will include visual elements relevant to the time period/event and article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Teacher background: Jose Bedia is a Cuban artist who was born in 1959 and immigrated to Mexico in 1991 and to the US in 1993. He currently lives and works in Miami and is considered part of the 80’s Generation Group of migrant Cuban-American artists who used Afro-Cuban spiritual references in their artwork. He blends his interest in anthropology, cultural heritage, religion, and mythological creatures to create works of art that tell stories and make political statements. This contemporary work of art by Cuban artist Jose Bedia shows San Lazaro on crutches with guide dogs licking his wounds and various Palo names of the central figure written around him. San Lazaro is known as the patron saint of hearth and healing. He provides solace to the poor and afflicted, but shows no mercy to the vain and arrogant. Central to his painting is Bedia’s practice of Palo Monte , an Afro-Cuban religion with multiple rituals and stories .

Materials needed:

Projection capability or copies of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 

Photocopies of San Lazaro (O Yo Soy La Ruta) by Jose Bedia

Computers accessible to internet

Poster board or bulletin board paper–1 per student

Variety of art making materials–markers, crayons, colored paper, glue, string, etc.

5 by 7 index cards–I per student

Vocabulary:

Palo Monte – Afro-Cuban religion with multiple rituals and stories

San Lazaro – Patron saint of healing. He provides solace to the poor and afflicted, but shows no mercy to the vain and arrogant.

United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights – The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a milestone document in the history of human rights. Drafted by representatives with different legal and cultural backgrounds from all regions of the world, the Declaration was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948 ( General Assembly resolution 217 A ) as a common standard of achievements for all peoples and all nations. It sets out, for the first time, fundamental human rights to be universally protected and it has been translated into over 500 languages.

Artist’s statement (or artist statement) – is an artist’s written description of their work. The brief verbal representation is for, and in support of, their own work to give the viewer understanding.

• Gallery Walks: https://learn.ncartmuseum.org/resources/how-to-gallery-walk/
• Simplified Universal Declaration of Human Rights https://www.youthforhumanrights.org/what-are-human-rights/universal-declaration-of-human-rights/articles-1-15.html
• Youth for Human Rights International https://www.youthforhumanrights.org/  
• Universal Declaration of Human Rights https://www.humanrights.com/what-are-human-rights/universal-declaration-of-human-rights/preamble.html
• Picture book of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights https://www.un.org/en/udhrbook/index.shtml
• See, Think, Wonder protocol: This protocol is from Harvard’s Project Zero  Making Thinking Visible course and can be found here: http://www.visiblethinkingpz.org/VisibleThinking_html_files/03_ThinkingRoutines/03c_Core_routines/SeeThinkWonder/SeeThinkWonder_Routine.html  

San Lázaro (O Yo Soy La Ruta) by José Bedia ( work of art )

San Lázaro (O Yo Soy La Ruta) by José Bedia ( video )

A+ Schools of NC: Partnering to Learn through the Arts ( story )

Learn about how A+ Schools of NC and NCMA partnered to support Arts Integration Summer 2019.

Crossroads/Trickster I by Martha Jackson Jarvis ( work of art )

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The 7 Elements of Art

Introduction

Every time you create an artwork there are 7 elements, or components, that your artworks consists of. More often than not we just take these elements for granted, or don't even give them a second thought.

They are however critical to the success of your artwork. By keeping them in mind as plan and create your artwork, you will end up with a much better artwork.

One that will be easier to look at as the person's eye will flow through your artwork more fluently. You will have control over how their eye moves through your painting - you will be able to lead them through the painting.

This is just one of the benefits of knowing the 7 elements of art. Let's dive right in by looking at what these 7 elements are:

What are the 7 Elements of Art?

The seven elements of art are line, shape, form, space, value, color and texture. These elements are the essential components, or building blocks, of any artwork. Any good artwork should consist of these 7 ingredients.

Element 1 - Line

Line is the most basic element of art. Without line the other elements couldn’t exist so let's start here and then we will gradually go more advanced.

A line can be thought of as a moving dot. If the dots overlap, it’s a solid line, if they don’t it’s a dotted line. A line has a beginning and an end and by its existence, creates an edge.

If a line joins up it forms an outline (also called a contour). An outline creates a shape.

Lines can be:

Long or short

Thick or thin A thick line gives emphasis and advances while a thin line recedes.

Straight Straight lines on the other hand are more mechanistic and dynamic and rarely found in nature.

Curved Curved lines change direction gently with no sharp angles and suggest comfort and ease to the viewer. Curved lines most often relate to the natural world.

Zigzag Zigzag lines alter direction fast and create feelings of unrest, turmoil and movement.

Diagonal Diagonal lines, give movement and dynamism to a composition.

Horizontal Horizontal lines create the feeling of stability and calm.

Vertical Vertical lines give the impression of height and strength and often have a spiritual connotation.

Imaginary Lines can be imaginary or implied; for example line of sight can be a very strong albeit invisible line along which the viewer’s eye travels. Also a pointing finger can send the viewers eye on a journey through the painting.

Three Dimensional Lines alone can also be used to create a three dimensional effect, (depth, in a 2-dimensional artwork. Hatching lines (straight or curved) are used to turn shape into form using value as seen the works of the masters like Rembrandt.

In summary lines can:

• Describe 2-dimensional shapes and 3-dimensional forms
• Create feelings of movement and emotion
• Create value and thereby show the direction of light
• Change 2-dimensional shapes into 3-dimensional forms with value
• Depict texture

Element 2 - Shape

When a line meets up to enclose a space, a shape is formed.

Shapes can be:

Geometric or organic.

Shapes are 2-dimensional, i.e. they have height and width but no depth e.g. a square. The best way to remember the shape element is to think of an outline.

Positive or Negative Shapes

The object you draw on your page is a shape enclosed in a frame. This frame may be a box you drew to designate the edges of your drawing area or the edge of the page if you didn’t draw a box. The object you draw is the positive shape. The rest of the space in your box (or if you didn’t draw a box then the rest of the page) is called negative shape.

Element 3 - Form

Form is the next step up from shape as we now add depth to it to create a three dimensional form.

A square (shape) vs a cube, a triangle vs a cone etc. etc. Form encloses volume i.e. height, width as well as depth.

In drawing and painting form can only be implied because they are 2-dimesional (flat) media. Artists must use tricks to fool the viewer’s eye so as to create the illusion of the third dimension i.e. depth. This is known as Trompe l’oeil and is achieved using tools like value (shading), colour and contour lines.

Here you can see how shading has been used to create the illusion of 3-dimensional objects on a flat wall:

Like shapes, forms can be geometric or organic.

Organic forms are common in nature while geometric forms are more characteristic of architecture and man-made items. Nature however also uses geometric forms on occasion. Examples are crystals and honeycombs.

Element 4 - Space

Space is what lies between, around or within an object.

To show space in a 2-dimensional medium the artist must use techniques to create the illusion of space between items that are in reality on a flat surface.

How do artists create this feeling of space between objects?

Overlapping

When an object is drawn or painted on top of another object the viewer’s eye interprets this as one object being in front of another implying there must be a space between them.

Objects higher up in the picture plane will seem to the viewer’s eye to be further away than objects placed low down in the picture frame.

Smaller objects look as if they are further away than larger objects. Notice how much smaller the house is in relation to the flowers.

The further away an object, the less detail is visible to the viewer. By purposely reducing the amount of detail in an object it will appear further away than an object with greater detail.

Colour and Value

Objects in the distance usually appear cooler (bluer) and lighter in colour. Close up objects appear warmer and darker in value.

Perspective

Can be used to create the feeling of depth on a 2-dimensional surface. The most commonly used perspective types are linear and 2-point perspective.

Negative Space

Space can be either positive or negative in the same way as shapes can.

Negative space is all around the object, which is the (positive space) subject of the painting.

Negative space is very important and an artist must plan the negative space as carefully as the main subject.

Is there enough negative space to give the subject room to “breathe” or does it appear boxed in?

Negative space can be cut to a minimum or eliminated entirely for a very close up and intimate focus on the subject.

It can be greater on one side than the other, or greater at the top or bottom.

All choices which will affect how the viewer sees the overall composition.

Element 5 - Value

Value is how light or dark something is.

There is a scale of light and dark from pure white through to pitch black. The value of a colour depends on how light or dark it is compared to the value scale.

Getting the values right is more important than getting the colours right in painting. Value is what makes it possible to show 3-dimensional forms in a 2-dimensional surface.

By increasing differences in value, contrast is increased as well. A highlight will look brighter when surrounded by a dark value. Decreasing contrast will make objects visually recede into the picture plane and draw less attention.

The focal point of a painting is where you want to add the most contrast as this high contrast automatically draws the viewer’s eye.

If a painting is done on the lower (darker) edge of the value scale it is called a “low key” painting. Low key paintings give rise to a heavy, mysterious, dramatic, sometimes brooding feeling in the viewer.

By contrast “high key” paintings take their range of values from the upper end of the value scale and create emotions of lightness, quickness, spirituality etc.

Most paintings however use the full range of values from light to dark.

Value is what artists use to portray light and form. The further from the light the darker the value.

How value changes determines the form of an object.

If there’s a gradual transition in value it conveys to the viewer that the surface is gently rounded. This is called a soft edge.

If however there is a rapid transition between values it means there is an edge. This is called a hard edge.

Value is also used to create shadows which show light direction and anchor the object, preventing it from appearing as though it is floating.

Element 6 - Colour

Colour is created when light is reflected into the viewer’s eye.

In art, colours are arranged on a colour wheel. The colour wheel was developed by Isaac Newton who took the colour spectrum and bent it into a circle.

The colour wheel shows primary colours, (colours that can’t be mixed), secondary colours (made by mixing two primaries) and tertiary colours (made by mixing a primary and secondary colour).

Colour theory helps the artist to mix desired colours from primary colours. It’s only a theory and can’t be proven but it is nevertheless useful to the artist. Colour theory is based on the colour wheel, colour value and on which colours work well together - also called colour schemes.

There are various colour schemes which define the primaries. The most common is the Red, Yellow, Blue model. Another popular scheme uses Cyan, Magenta and Yellow as the primaries. There are several other and each works well in different situations.

Colour is described by its hue – red, green etc. (Hue the name we give a colour.)

A colour has intensity called chroma, also known as saturation, brightness or purity. The more pure the colour is (less of other colours mixed in), the more intense or saturated it is. In painting only small amounts of saturated colours are usually used as accents. Too much saturated colour can give a garish result. The chroma of a colour is not the same as its value.

Colours also have value. Value is how light or dark the colour is, as discussed in Element 5 above. Each colour falls on the value scale from light to dark. Yellow would be near the top (light end) of the scale while purple would be found near the bottom end. To change the value of a colour you follow the Colour Mixing Rules .

Art supply stores sell interactive colour wheels which are essential to the artist working with colour. I recommend this Color Wheel .

Element 7 - Texture

Actual texture is the way an object feels to the touch.

Drawing or painting texture on a 2–dimensional, flat surface is a challenge for artists. The artist must instead convey the illusion of the actual texture to the viewer on the flat surface.

How this is done is by the careful use of value and specific marks / brush strokes which then mimic the actual texture.

Every textured surface reflects light in a very particular way. Think of the difference in texture between a chrome ball and a concrete ball. The artist, through careful observation and the use of light and dark values, recreates this actual texture visually on the picture plane.

You can follow our tutorial in Drawing Weathered Textures to get a feel for how this is done.

It is possible to create actual 3D texture on a flat surface by the addition of texturing compounds which create a raised surface. Impasto paste is one way or you could even add sand etc. to the paint. Even thick paint will leave the texture of the brush marks for the viewer to see.

You can follow our tutorial on Texture Painting Techniques to see how you can add texture to your canvas.

It is also possible to create patterns by the repetition of shapes that creates 2D texture. This is often used in Op Art. (Optical Art).

I think you will agree that you have been using many of the seven elements throughout your artworks without even realising it.

Now that you are however aware of these elements, you can look out for them as well as look out for ways to incorporate more of them into your artworks.

This will add extra depth, dimension, texture and interest to your artworks, taking them to a whole new level.

About Nolan Clark

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