Principles of Visual Arts

• Balance; is classified into three: symmetrical, asymmetrical and radial.
• Symmetrical; : also known as formal balance, as two equal parts of the pictorial plane of an artwork placed like mirror images of each other. The similarity is too precise that each half is seen one and the same.
• Asymmetrical; also known as informal balance, where elements on either side of a composition do not reflect one another or when several smaller items on one side are balanced by a large item on the other side , or smaller items are placed further away from the center of the screen than larger items.
• Radial Symmetry; balance where all elements radiate out from a center point in a circular fashion to all four quadrants of the shape’s constraining plane
• Harmony; this can be described as sameness, the belonging of one thing with another.
• Proportion; This is the size relationship of forms and shapes. Good proportion causes a sense of unity and harmony.
• Dominance/Emphasis; This happen when the artist creates an area of the composition that is visually dominant and commands the viewer’s attention. This is often achieved by contrast.
• Variety; This is a principle of design that refers to a way of combining visual elements to achieve intricate and complex relationships. It is a technique used by artists who wish to increase the visual interest of their work.
• Movement; This is the result of using the elements of art such that they move the viewer’s eyes around and within the image. A sense of movement can be created by diagonal or curvy lines, either real or implied, by edges, by the illusion of space, by repetition, by energetic markmaking.
• Rhythm; In the principles of design, this is a continuance, a flow or a feeling of movement achieved by the repetition of regulated visual information.
• Artwork Analysis; The analytic study of how the various elements and material features of the art work produce meaning should lead to a more stable and consensual field of meaning leading to a better understanding of an artwork by an ordinary audience or viewer
• The analysis would turn away from erratic, whimsical, purely subjective, and impressionistic readings of the artwork.
• Three Planes of Analysis or in Reading the Image:

  1. The Semiotic
  2. The Iconic
  3. The Contextual
• Semiotic; c (Name of the artist, title of the work, year the work was created, dimension or size, medium or technique, location of the work, whose collection or gallery). This is like a credit line, which lists important facts about a work of art.
• Iconic; (Subject- type, kind, source, and how the artist describes the subject).
• Contextual; (Meaning of the work, symbols, ideas, concepts). The work of art may contain references and allusions, direct or indirect, to historical figures and events, as well as to religious, literary, and philosophical ideas and values, which are part of the meaning of the work.