Art Foundations I
Shape
Notes
schap (Old English) = to create, therefore to take shape, to impart form, or literally, "to cause to come into being"
Shape is used by artists, designers and architects to
1.Suggest form by creating the illusion of mass, volume, and space on a 2-dimensional picture plane.
2.Represent form by creating actual mass and volume within a real space
3.Achieve harmony and/or variety in design or artwork
4.To control viewer attention through recognizable shape (example = stop sign). Some shapes are inevitably associated with certain objects and situations… this creates narrative (shape relationships always = meaning).
Shapes can be actual or implied.
A shape is created when-
1. Line connects to enclose an area (actual).
2. Area of color, value or texture is defined by a clear boundary (actual).
3. The shape is not clearly defined (cloud shapes are implied)
Like line, Shape is an element design. Shapes are flat and two-dimensional - L x W. Pure shapes are known as the square, the triangle, and the circle. You may have heard the term plastic used because the boundary of the shape is so evident. Shapes vary endlessly from the recognizable (objective) to the abstract (subjective). Shapes create transition but are more commonly focal points in artwork or design.
Shapes are continuous or discontinuous to one another because of-
1. Size
Smaller shapes tend to stop the eye from moving in larger spaces unless they are repeated.
2. Direction
2. Location
3. Balance (see-saw with squares on line on triangle)
4. Color
5. Value
6. Texture
Shapes appear-
1. Detached- they remain separate from each other although they may be very close.
2. to Touch- as they get closer to each other they eventually touch.
3. Overlapped- One crosses over another and appears to be above and covers a portion of the one underneath.
4. to Penetrate- Same as Overlapped but they appear to exist on the same surface, there is no obvious above-and-below relationship. Contours are still visible.
5. Joined- they become a new and bigger shape. Both lose a portion of their original features after they merge.
6. Subtracted- when they cross a portion is covered by the other and no longer visible (example = eclipse).
7. to Intersect- when two implied shapes cross each other their overlapped area is made visible. The new shape is smaller and may never remind us of the original shapes
8. to Coincide- seem to exist in the same space at once (example = a stack of quarters viewed from above may look like only one quarter).
Shapes can be static or dynamic depending on either their own characteristics or the characteristics of the space around them (example: a circle on a diagonal line might appear as if it will roll). Overlapping shapes can imply movement and the illusion of space. Because Volume is bound by plane, juxtaposing shapes implies volume or mass (squares = cubes, circles = sphere, triangles = tetrahedrons). Connected shapes imply plane and solidity, whereas the unconnected shapes appear alone and flat. What can skewed shapes tell us about space (investigate perspective briefly regarding the illusion of 3-D objects and convergence lines (parallel, advancing, and receding convergence lines). Parallel shapes are closely related to the system of perspective. More often than not shapes are seen in perspective as they move away from us as a result of different depths of space (example = table top from a seated position).
German Gestalt psychologists, during their exploration into human perception in the early 20th century stated that our minds tend to "see" organized wholes or forms as a totality before they ever perceive the individual parts. Gestalt is the German word for "form". Our mind insists on so many things, creating shapes from separate and perhaps unrelated elements is one of them. With (4) equally spaced dots arranged according to the corners of a square, our minds will assume the size of that square visually. No contours or lines exist, yet we still believe this space to be more square in nature than not. These spaces that exist even without clear boundary are known as implied shapes. When shapes are made up of no boundaries at all they are called amorphous. Think of a cloud that is slowly drifting above. Te edges of that cloud are not actually there, yet we believe the cloud to be a penguin or a bunny rabbit.
Related Terms
Objective / Socially recognizable / Representational (tends to appear real with regards to optical perception)
Subjective / Nonrepresentational (derived from the mind, reflecting a personal viewpoint, bias, or emotion).
Rectilinear / Geometric / Mechanical (based on pure shapes or straight lines)
Curvilinear / Biomorphic / Organic (free lines that resemble living structures ex = coral reef)
Implied (psychological connection in the mind of a "thing" that does not actually exist)
Amorphous / Atmospheric ( Unclear, formless, indistinct)
Actual / Plastic (create the illusion of the third dimension on a two dimensional surface)
Russian Constructivism
Positive/Negative space
Figure/Ground
Artists: Richard Diebenkorn, Caravaggio, Annie Liebovitz, Susan Rothenberg, Rodchenko, Gergard Richter, Robert Longo, Jean Arp, Kara Walker, Banksy,