Design Principles in Art!

Artist can unify their art work through a multitude of ways, one of them being through the way different colors interact with one another, their contrast or similarities can portray a vivid image such as the one above. That is a painting by Vincent Van Gogh titled, Starry Night, the different shades of blue combined with the bright yellow unify the image to create a picture of a night sky filled with stars. A sense of unity is felt through the shapes of a painting, the swirling pattern of the night sky as well as other wavy pattern unifies the painting with a surrealistic sense of movement.

                      Asymmetrical balance is created through the various balances of small and large forms, light and dark, and the differences in color. In this painting, Jockeys Before the Race, the tree trunk that cuts through the middle is used as a focal point, it creates a balance with the figures behind it which also creates an illusion of depth. The light warm colors of the horse riders and the dark brown colors of the horses creates a balance between light and dark. There is also a balance as you view the painting from right to left the images appear smaller.

 Scale can be used to signify distance, importance or simply to inspire wonder through its size. In the realistic sculpture by Rob Mueck, we see a very large sculpture can “Standing Woman”. The size of the sculpture in relation to the size of the viewer is made to conjure feeling of awe, the act of looking up can also intimidate the viewer. The realistic qualities of the sculpture works in contrast with the totally unrealistic size which gives it a literal larger than life persona.

Women of Egypt and Greece

                                                                                                       
The female statues from Egypt and Greece share some stark differences and subtle similarities that can be observed. The Egyptian statue shown on the left is a more interpretive approach to depicting the female form. It does not have a distinct appearance, lacks lower legs and is covered in tattoos and blue paint. The figure is small (5 inches) and was usually placed in burials. Female figures such is this symbolized the power of giving birth and sexual attraction, through this the dead which it is buried with would be able to create life. Although it does portray some typical egyptian features at the time, such as the hair, it is largely meant to be a symbolic figure which is different from the roman statues.
Roman sculptures such as the one one the right took a more literal approach to depicting the female form. This statue is depicting a mythical warrior race of women called amazons. Despite the amazons often being depicted as resilient, this is one of a wounded warrior who has lost her weapon and whose outfit has become undone. This is a much larger figure than the egyptian one and is made from marble where the other was made from faience (a type of ceramic). Whereas the egyptian figure was used from burials, this statue probably was place in an area to represent a type of ceremony.