The Mediums of the Arts

MEDIUM AND TECHNIQUE

Medium in art refers to the material or means which the artist uses to objectify his feeling or thought.
According to medium, the arts are classified into:
1. The Visual or Space Arts- those whose mediums can be seen and which occupy space.
Two Categories:
a. The two-dimensional arts, such as painting, drawing, printmaking and photography, and
b. The three-dimensional arts, such as sculpture, architecture, landscaping, community planning,
industrial design, and the crafts like ceramics and furniture-making.
2. The Auditory or Time Arts- those whose mediums can be heard and which are expressed in time.
These are music and literature.
3. The Combined Arts- those whose mediums can be both seen and heard, and which exist in both space
and time. This include the dance, the drama, the opera, and the movies. Along with music, these are also
known as the performing arts, because each artwork is apprehended as a “happening”.
The Artist and His Medium

 When an artist proceeds to give shape to his vision, his first thoughts are on what medium to
employ.
 There are no fixed rules governing the choice of materials and processes to use.
 An artist’s choice is usually influenced by such practical considerations as the availability of
material, the use to which the art object will be put, the idea that he wants to communicate, and the
nature and special characteristics of the medium itself.
 When an artist chooses to paint in oil instead of watercolor, he does so because he feels that oil
paint has characteristics that make it a better medium to express his idea.
 The nature of each medium determines the way it can be worked and turned into a work of art.
Stone must be chiseled, metal must be cast.
 The nature of the medium also determined what can be expressed through it.
 Each medium has its own range of characteristics which determine the physical appearance of the
finished product.
 Each medium has inherent limitations, as well as potentials.
The Artist and His Technique
A good artist makes his medium work for him to produce effects he cannot possibly attain by any other
means.
Technique – an artist’s knowledge of his medium and his skill in making it achieve what he wants it to,
make up.
Poet’s Technique- is his way of putting words together to express an emotion or narrate a story.
Pianist’s Technique- is his skill in handling the instrument and in interpreting a musical composition.
The Mediums of the Visual Arts
Painting and the Related Arts
Painting Mediums
Painting – is the process of applying pigment on a smooth surface- paper, cloth, canvas, wood, or plaster-
to secure an interesting arrangement of forms, lines, and colors.

Pigment- that part of the paint which supplies the color, is fine powder ground from some clay, stone,
or mineral, extracted from vegetable matter, or produced by a chemical process.
Vehicle- it is a substance mixed with a binder, usually a liquid that allows the powder to be spread
over the flat surface until it dries.
Encaustic- one of the early mediums, is the application of a mixture of hot beeswax, resin, and ground
pigment to any porous surface, followed by the application of heat to set the colors and bind them to the
ground. When the surface cools, it is polished with a cloth.
Tempera- tempera paints are earth or mineral pigments mixed with egg yolk and egg white. Since the
paints dries quickly, corrections are difficult to make.
Now tempera is normally applied on wooden panels carefully surfaced with gesso, a combination of
gypsum or chalk and gelatin or glue.
Fresco- fresco painting is the application of earth pigments mixed with water on a plaster wall while the
plaster is damp.
Famous example of fresco painting is that done by:

 Michelangelo on the Sistine Chapel ceiling.

 Leonardo da Vinci painted his Last Supper on the refectory wall of the Santa Maria della
Grazie Convent in Milan.
In Asia, the paintings are executed on dry wall surfaces- what the Italians call fresco secco.
Watercolor- is tempered paint made of pure ground pigment bound with gun Arabic. Painters apply
watercolor in thin, almost transparent films.
Gouche is paint in which the pigment has been mixed with a chalklike material.
Oil- in oil painting, pigment ground in linseed oil is applied to primed canvas.
Present-day oil paint, however, is factory-prepared and comes in tubes. Since it is rather thick, it
has to be thinned with oils, turpentine, or any other solvent before it is applied on canvas.
A three-dimensional character is added to a painting by impasto. This is achieved by dabbing lumps
of thick paint on the canvas with a knife.
Acrylic- synthesis paints using acrylic polymer emulsions as binder are the newest mediums and the
ones that are widely used by today’s painters.
Mosaic
- are wall or floor decorations made of small cubes or irregularly cut pieces of colored stone or glass called
tesserae.
Traditional mosaic technique consisted in embedding individual tesserae directly into a wall of damp
mortar, following a well-planned design or cartoon.
In the modern process, the tesserae are glued with a special paste to sheets of paper.
Mosaic art was an important feature of Byzantine Churches. A very famous mosaic is that of Empress
Theodora and her attendants.
 Stained Glass

 Stained glass developed as a major art when it appeared as an important part of the Gothic
cathedral.
 Stained-glass windows admitted the much needed light that was missing from the Romanesque
churches.
 They were also a means of religious instruction, depicting scenes from the Bible, and from the lives
of the saints.
 It is a translucent glass colored by mixing metallic oxides into the molten glass or by fixing them
onto the surface of the clear glass.
Tapestry

 The walls of palaces, castles, and chapels in Europe were decorated in the Middle Ages with
hangings called tapestry.
 Tapestries are fabrics into which colored designs have been woven.
Drawing

 Is the most fundamental of all skills needed in the arts.

 A drawing may be a study made for the sake of learning how to draw some forms or as a means of
investigating a particular detail of what may eventually become a larger composition. It may be:

Sketched – showing the general organization or design of a product being planned.

Cartoon – such as the full-size work meant to be a basis for some other work like a relief print.
Or it may be a finished work in itself.
Drawing can be done with various mediums:

 Pencil- lead (Graphite)

 Ink- one of the oldest materials still in use
 India Ink- comes in liquid form
 Chinese Ink- in solid sticks that are dissolved in water before use.
 Bistre- is gray-brown ink made from the soot produced by burning some resinous wood.
 Pen and Ink Drawings- are characterized by precisely controlled and uniformly wide lines.
 Pastel and Chalk- are dry pigment held together with a gun binder and compressed into sticks.
 Charcoal- is especially useful in representing broad masses of light and shadow. Charcoal may just
come from a burned twig or piece of wood.
 Crayons- are pigment bound by wax and compressed into sticks.
 Silverpoint- a silver-pointed instrument or a silver wire is drawn over a sheet of paper prepared
beforehand with zinc white.
Printmaking

 A print is a graphic image that results from a duplicating process.

 Each print is considered an original work, not a reproduction.
Four Major Processes
1. Relief
2. Intaglio
3. Planographic and
4. Stencil Processes
Relief Printing

 Relief printing involves cutting away from a block of wood or linoleum the portions of the design that
the artist does not want to show, leaving the design to stand out on the block.
 Color prints are made with a separate block for each color, as in the Japanese ukiyo-e.

Intaglio Printing

 The principles of printing in intaglio are exactly the opposite of those of relief printing.
 The design is scratched, engraved, or etched into a metal plate.
Engraving- is one of the most highly skilled methods of incising lines into a hard surface.
It is done with a cutting tool called a burin.
Drypoint- is done with needlelike instruments.
The Planographic Process

 Planographic or surface printing is done from an almost smooth surface which has been treated
chemically or mechanically so that some areas will print others will not.
The lithographic process is based on the fact that grease repels water and that fatty substances
tend to stick to each other.
The Stencil Process

 Stencil printing is done by cutting designs out of special paper, cardboard or metal sheet in such a
way that when ink is rubbed over it, the design is reproduced on the surface beneath.

Serigraphy, or silk-screen printing, is fundamentally a multicolor stencil process.

Photography

 A painting is not, strictly speaking, an actual likeness of an object; rather it is a likeness of what
exists in the artist’s mind.
 A photograph, on the other hand, is an actual likeness, the production of which may not actually
involve an artist’s creativity.
Photography is literally, drawing or writing with light.
It is a three-step process that involves the use of such equipment and materials as a camera fitted
with a lens, shutter, and diaphragm; filters; film, either black-and-white or colored; a special kind of
paper onto which the image is transferred and other materials for developing the negative and producing
the print.
First Step: Choosing the subject- requires the wise judgment and artistic sense of the photographer.
Second Step: Mechanical One
Third Step: Chemical Process - after the film is exposed, it is treated with a series of chemical solutions to
“develop” the film and to produce a permanent negative.
Photogram- permanently recorded image made by placing objects directly on light sensitive paper and
exposing the paper to light.
 SCULPTURES
The Techniques of Sculpture
A work of sculpture is a three-dimensional form constructed to represent a natural or imaginary
shape. It can be free-standing, carved in relief, or kinetic.
Free-standing Sculpture- or Sculpture in the Round, is one which can be seen from more than one
position.
- It refers to as statuary, reserving the term sculpture for “those in the round but
penetrated or pervaded by space”
Relief Sculpture project from a flat background.
Bas Relief- the forms are slightly raised. Coins and medals are of this kind.
High Relief- those whose figures project to the next of one half their thickness or more.
Mobiles, a kind of kinetic sculpture, are made of strips of metal, glass, wood or plastic, arranged with wires
and hung where they can move.
Carving- is a subtractive process; it involves removing unwanted portions of the raw material to reveal the
form that the artist has visualized.
Materials:

 Wood
 Stone
 Ivory
Carving has always been regarded as the most difficult of the sculptural process.
Modeling- is an additive process. It means building the form, using highly plastic material such as clay or
wax.
Casting- can faithfully reproduce in bronze or other metals.
- it is a complex process
- The artist covers the original model with a mold, usually of ceramic material.
Metal Casting is most often done with the cire-perdue or lost wax method.
Fabrication- a fourth method developed in the 20th century.
- The more popular mediums of stone and wood are now scarce and expensive. But scrap
metal is readily available.
Fabrication is an additive process. It employs any method of joining or fastening, such as:

 Nailing
 Stapling
 Soldering
 Welding
Welding is done by pieces of metal with an oxyacetylene torch.
Ex. Eduardo Castillo’s Pieta
The Materials of Sculpture
 Stone- limestone and sandstone are relatively soft and porous.
Granite and basalt, both stones of volcanic origin.
Marble is easier to carve than granite because it is softer.
Jade, the various types of quartz, including rock crystal and alabaster. It is a fine, colorful stone
used widely in ancient China.
Wood- wood is light and softer to work with than stone.
Grain and color are the most interesting qualities of wood.
Softwood is lightweight, porous wood that ranges in hardness from that of the balsa.
Commonly used softwood materials:
 Pine
 Cedar
 Fir
 Dapdap
 Lanete
 White Lauan
Hardwood materials:

 Oak
 Walnut
 Mahogany
 Ebony
 Teak
 Narra
 Dao
Ivory- which comes from the tusks of elephants and wild boar.
Metals
Metal possesses three unique qualities:

 Tensile Strength
 Ductility
 Malleability
Metals traditionally used for sculpture:

 Bronze
 Brass
 Copper
 Gold and Silver
 Lead
 Aluminum
Plaster- is finely ground gypsum or burned limestone. Plaster is normally worked on an armature of
metal wires or rods or strengthened by the addition of various materials and fibers.
Clay- has been used for ceramics and sculpture since the earliest times. Moistened to a putty-like
plasticity, it is kneaded and coaxed into form by the sculptor’s bare hands.
 Earthenware and stoneware- commonly referred to as terra cotta baked clay or clay fired.
Porcelain- is made from mixed clay containing a generous amount of koalin and feldspar.
Plasticine- is a synthetic nonhardening compound of earth clays, sulfur, and oil or grease.
Glass- can also be used to make beautiful but very fragile sculpture.
Hand-blown Glass- is produced without the use of molds or machinery.
Excess Glass- is cracked off or melted away by very intense flame.
Plastics- one of man’s successful inventions in his search for new materials to meet his construction
and designing needs.
- They are lightweight, easy to handle, and remarkably scratched- and stain-resistant.
Acrylic Plastics- which can be transparent as glass and which can withstand hard blows, are
used for windows, furniture, and tableware.
Luminal Sculpture- the newest materials for sculpture are electronic devices- cathode tubes,
photoelectric cells, and the like- that make beams of light travel in patterns.
Architecture and the Related Arts
The Mediums of Architecture
Architecture is the art of designing and constructing a building which will serve a definite function,
ranging from providing the simplest shelter to meeting the technological demands of our modern cities.
This may be any of the following:
1. Post-and-lintel- the oldest of construction systems, which makes use of two vertical supports
(post) spanned by a horizontal beam (lintel).
2. The Arc- which consists of separate pieces of wedge-shaped blocks, called voussoirs, arranged in
a semicircle. The keystone, which is the last set stone at the top center, locks the pieces together into a
single curved structure.
Barrel Vault- one place directly behind another to produce a structure similar to a tunnel
Groin Vault- is formed by intersecting arches.
Dome- which is hemispherical roof resembling a pingpong-ball half, is built on a framework formed
by a series of arches rising from consecutive points on a base called the drum.
3. The Truss- which is a system of triangular forms assembled into a rigid framework and functioning
like a beam or lintel.
4. Skeleton Construction- which employs reinforced concrete and steel.
5. The Cantilever, which makes use of a beam or slab extending horizontally into space beyond its
supporting post.
Stone and brick can withstand compression forces without crushing out of shape.
Wood is one of the most commonly used materials for houses.
Interior Design
Interior design is concerned with the selection of space and furnishings to transform an empty shell of
a building into a livable area.
Landscaping
The artificial arrangement of outdoor areas to achieve a purely aesthetic effect is known as
landscaping.
Landscape design is determined by many factors:

 Site and the size of the building.

 Building’s relationship to other existing buildings in the area.
 Topography or the nature of the terrain.
 Amount of privacy desired, which would determine the height and type of fence needed.
 Soil and the climate of the area, which would influence the choice and arrangements of plants.
 Embellishments that the owner want to include in his lot.
THE MEDIUM OF MUSIC
The Musical Instruments
Musical sounds- tones- are produced by man-made instruments and by the human voice.
Two mediums in music:

 Instrumental Medium
 Vocal Medium
Most musical instruments have three things in common:
1. A part which vibrates.
2. A part which amplifies the sound by bouncing of the vibrations away from the instrument.
3. A system for producing and regulating fixed pitches.
Musical instruments are generally grouped according to their vibrators (how these are made to
vibrate) and their resonators (whatever amplifies vibrations). Each group is often referred to as a “family” or
“choir”.
The groups are:
1. The Stringed Instruments;
2. The Wind Instruments- which are grouped into two separate choirs:
a. The woodwinds, so-called because they were originally made of wood and
b. The brasses, which are usually made of brass or some other metal;
3. The Percussion Choir, which may be grouped into two types:
a. Those that produce musical tones and have definite pitch, and
b. The noisemakers, which do not have definite pitch; and
4. The Keyboard Instruments
The Stringed Instruments
These strings are made to vibrate by means of a horsehair bow which is rubbed over them. The
pitches of the strings set by pressing the fingers of the left hand on the strings at different points on the
fingerboard, so that only a part of the string vibrates at a time.
Violin- is the smallest of the stringed instruments in the symphony orchestra. It is also the highest pitch
among them.
Viola- is slightly larger than the violin, and also has longer, thicker, and heavier strings.
Cello- is much larger than the violin and the viola, and it therefore rests on the floor when it is being played.
Double Bass- is the largest among the string family. It also has the lowest pitch.
Harp- is not all constructed like the rest of the stringed instruments. It is not a regular member of the
orchestra, but it is one of the oldest instruments known.
Guitar- is probably the most popular stringed instrument today. It is seldom used in an orchestra, but it is
almost always a part of jazz bands.
There are other stringed instruments which are seldom, if ever, found playing with symphony orchestras:
the

 Banjo
 Lute
 Ukulele
The Woodwinds
The wind instruments are found behind the string choir in an orchestra. These instruments are
sounded by blowing into them, thus setting a column of air vibrating. These are grouped under the
woodwind and the brass choirs.
Flute- is a slender pipe which used to be made of wood. Today, the flute is made entirely of metal.
Piccolo- is a replica of the flute, but it is only half as long. Its full name is flauta piccolo, which means “little
flute”. An octave higher than the flute.
Clarinet- is a cylindrical tube which is about two feet long. It has a very wide range.
Oboe- is a slender instrument, about the same length as the flute. The tone of oboe is plaintive and nasal.
Cor Anglais or English Horn- is like the oboe. But it has a longer and wider body, and ends in a pear-
shaped bell.
Bassoon- is considerably longer and larger than the other members of the woodwind choir.
Contrabassoon or Double Bassoon- is even longer than the bassoon, but it is folded up on itself. It
produces lowest tones among the woodwinds.
Saxophone- is not a regular member of the orchestra. It is considered a woodwind instrument although it
is made of brass, because it is equipped with a reed.
The Brass Instruments
All brass instruments consist of a cylindrical brass tube of varying length. The tube is either doubled on
itself or coiled (for ease in handling) and expands into a bell-shaped end.
Trumpet- is actually an eight-foot long tube, which has been coiled up so that it is only about a foot-and-a-
half long.
Horn- generally called the French horn, is the most expressive member of the brass choir.
Trombone’s nine feet of tubing is doubled on itself. Instead of valves, it has a sliding U-shaped tube that
changes the length of the vibrating column of air inside the tube.
Tuba- is the bass of the brass choir. It is the largest of the brass instruments and is quite bulky and
unwieldy.
Cornet- is a smaller and simpler trumpet.
Bugle- has a powerful tone which carries in the open air.
The Percussion Instruments
The word percussion means “the sharp striking of one body against another”. The complete
percussion section includes almost any instrument that is sounded by striking, shaking, or scratching with
the hands or with another object.
Most important percussion instruments:

 Kettledrums or Tympani
Chimes- consist of a set of tuned metal tubes of different lengths, suspended from a frame and struck with
a hammer.
Glockenspiel- is a series of tuned steel plates of various sizes, arranged on a tablelike frame.
Xylophone- is made of tuned wooden blocks which produce clicking sounds when struck.
Vibraphone- has metal bars instead of wooden ones. It combines the principle of the xylophone with
motor-driven fans, one to each note, which gives a tremolo effect to the tone.
Other percussion instruments, which have indefinite pitch:

 Bass Drum
 Snare or Side Drum
 Tambourine
 Castanets
 Cymbals
 Woodblock
 Marracas
 Chinese Gong
Bass Drum- has two calfskin heads and gives out deep booms when struck with padded sticks.
Snare Drum or Side Drum- has a set of snares or strings stretched across one of its sides, which produce
a buzzing sound when hit with padded sticks.
Cymbals- consist of two metal plates which are clapped together to climactic portions of the music; they
are also sometimes tapped with a drumstick.
The Keyboard Instruments
Instruments which are equipped with keyboards occasionally play with the symphony orchestra.
Piano- is the most familiar keyboard instrument. It is basically a stringed instrument. The instrument was
invented in the 18th century and was called pianoforte (soft-loud).
Harpsichord- is a stringed instrument whose strings are plucked by pectra made from quills, leather
tongues, or brass tongues held in place by wooden jacks attached to the keys.
Celesta- consists of a series of small steel bars placed over renators; the bars are strucked by a small
hammer controlled by a keyboard.
Organ- once regarded as the “king of the instruments”, is a wind instrument.
Some keyboard instruments have free reeds that vibrate back and forth in a slot are:

 Accordion
 Concertina
Instrumental Groups
Orchestra- a big gathering of instrumentalists having the string section as its nucleus.
It is generally composed of four choirs:

 Strings
 Woodwinds
 Brasses
 Percussion
Band- is smaller in size. It is composed mostly of wind and percussion instruments with only a few strings
or none at all.
Some smaller groups are those which play chamber music:

 Woodwind Quintet- consisting of a flute, an oboe, a clarinet, a bassoon, and a French horn
 String Quartet- composed of two violins, a viola, and a cello.
 Piano Quartet- with the piano replacing one of the violins in the string quartet.
 String Trio- made up of a violin, a viola, and a cello.
Rondalla- is the best known Philippine instrumental grouping today.
It is a band made up mostly of stringed instruments:

 Bandurria- which assumes the lead part and plays the melody.
 Laud and the Octavina- which carry the alto and contrapuntal parts.
 Piccolo- tuned above the bandurria, which plays the ornamental passages.
 Guitarra and the Bajo- which give solidity to the rhythm and support the harmony.
Another interesting musical ensemble in the Philippines is the Pangkat Kawayan, composed of
instruments made of bamboo:

 Single-note Bumbong
 Native Marimba or Talunggating
 Bamboo Harp or Tinapungklung
 Gabbang
 Tulali or Bamboo Flute
 Bangkaka or Bamboo Clapper
 Kulatok or Bamboo Knockers
The Conductor
As orchestras became larger and more unwieldy through the years, it became necessary to assign
somebody to keep the member playing together harmoniously. The person entrusted with this tremendous
task of controlling some one hundred players at a time is called the conductor of an orchestra.
Responsibilities of a conductor:

 The conductor ordinarily decides on what is to be played on a performance, unless a soloist is

included in the program.
 When the matter of the program has been attended to, the conductor then studies the scores of
the music to be played.
 A score is a written record of the composer’s work.
 Rehearsing the orchestra is the conductor’s most important job.
The Human Voice
Man is equipped with a most wonderful musical instrument, the human voice. He must have use it to
express himself through music long before he ever conceived of making music with instruments of his own
invention.
The human voice is rather like a wind instrument.
Human voices, like manmade instruments are classified according to their range and tone quality:

 Soprano- the high-pitched female voice

 Alto- the low-pitched female voice
 Tenor- the high-pitched male voice
 Bass- the low-pitched male voice
 Mezzo-soprano- voice combining the soprano and the alto
 Baritone- lying between the tenor and the bass
Other finer voice classifications are made according to their suitability for various types of operatic
roles:

 Coloratura Soprano
 Lyric Soprano
 Dramatic Soprano
 Lyric Tenor
 Dramatic Tenor (Tenore Robusto)
 Heroic Tenor
 Basso Cantante or Bass-baritone
 Basso Buffo
THE MEDIUMS OF LITERATURE AND THE COMBINED ARTS
Literature
The medium of literature is language; that is, the writer uses words with which to “build” his
composition in the same manner that a builder uses stone, bricks, or wood to construct an edifice. Each
word has its particular sound and meaning.
While all writings use language, not everything that is written or communicated in a language can be
called literature. The term is more exclusively used to refer to works that exploit the suggestive power of
language.
The writer chooses his words for their expressive potential as well as for their sound, and arranges
them into a definite shape through his imaginative power.
The Combined Arts
The dancer uses his body to communicate an idea or feeling to his audience. His movements may
involve only parts of his body.
Theatrical productions, such as the drama and the opera, combine several mediums. There is a play
itself, which is a literary form.
Television can transmit almost instantaneously these performances and other forms of entertainment
into the viewer’s homes by electronic methods.
 The cinema- motion pictures- is an extension of photography. It makes use of a combination of several
“shots” each shot made up of a series of pictorial units, or “frames’’ taken from one point of view.
THE ELEMENTS AND ORGANIZATION OF ART
THE VISUAL ARTS
Man has always tried to understand and control his environment. Inseparable from these instinctive
efforts is his impulse to express his understanding of his environment and life.
Using nature as his guide, he has formulated a basic idiom with which to express and communicate
this vision of his life and the reality that surrounds it. The painter or sculptor sees shape, color, texture and
space in nature. He uses them, manipulates them, and organizes them into a work of art. These are called
the elements of the visual arts.
The Elements of the Visual Arts
Line – is a man’s own invention. The artist uses lines to imitate or to represent objects and figures on a flat
surface.
Line has many qualities which the artist exploits:

 Short or Long
 Fine or Thick
 Heavy or Light
 Wavy or Jagged
 Straight or Curved
Direction and Movement of Lines
Horizontal Line- creates an impression of serenity and perfect stability, since we associate it with
reclining forms in nature such as of that sleeping person, or with the horizon.
Vertical Line- appears poised and stable.
Diagonal Line- implies action. It show movement and, consequently, instability.
Curved Line- results when there is a gradual change of direction. Because it is gradual, it shows
fluidity.
Angular Line- when the change in direction is abrupt.
Shape- classified according to their sources, shapes may be natural, abstract, non-objective or geometric.
Natural Shapes- are those we see in nature, such as shapes of men, animals, or trees.
Abstract Shapes- are formed after the artist has drawn out the essence of the original object and
made it the subject of his work.
Non-objective Shapes- seldom have reference to recognizable objects, but most often they show a
similarity to some organic forms. Sometimes called as biomorphic shapes.
Often we find great difficulty in recognizing geometric shapes in paintings because we see them as
parts of objects, or as objects themselves.
Shapes can give illusion of weight, volume or flatness.
Negative Shapes- between the shapes of figures are areas which are not occupied by any form.
In sculpture
When mass is structured or has a definite shape, it is said to have volume.
 Sculpture may have plane surfaces.

 Single-curved Surfaces- surfaces which are curved in a single direction

 Warped Surface- when a surface curves in a several directions
 Double-curved Surfaces- are curved in all directions
 Convex Surfaces- seem to result from the action of internal forces
 Concave Surfaces- appear to result from the action of external forces
Transition in Sculpture

 Abrupt Transition- is one in which the intersection of the forms shows a clearly defined line.
 Smooth Transition- is achieved when one form flows into or blends with another element
without any sudden interruption in the continuity of the surface.
In Architecture
The form or shape of buildings and other structures depends upon the materials and type of
construction used.
Texture- usually refer to the feel or tactile quality of the surface of an object- that is whether the surface is
rough or smooth, grooved or ridged, furry or silky.
For the sculptor and the architect, texture results chiefly from the physical properties of the materials
they use.
Functions of Texture

 Texture can be enjoyed for its sensuous, decorative quality alone.

 The artist does this by a careful rendering of light and dark patterns on the surface of an
object.
 Painters can thus show, with varying degrees of realism, the intrinsic textures of things by
imitating or simulating the way light is reflected by them.
 Textures can also be used as a means of description.
 Textures clarifies space.
 Textures built up from symbolic patterns can create a greater degree of spatial depth as well
as volume.
Color- is not a permanent property of things we see around us. It is derived from light, whether natural, like
sunlight, or artificial like fluorescent light.
- it is a series of wave lengths which strike our retina
Pigmentation- any object that has a color quality
Neutral Colors
Black- reflects no light at all
White- reflects all colors
Gray- results from a partial reflection of light
Physical Properties of Color
HUE- is the quality which gives a color its name.
VALUE- adding neutrals, such as black or white, to any hue results in changing the quality of light it
reflects.

 Shade- black is combined with a color

  Tint- when white is added to it
 Value- lightness or darkness of a color
INTENSITY OR SATURATION- is the strength of the color’s hue. It refers to the quality of light in a
color.
Primary Colors – pure colors

 Red
 Blue
 Yellow
Secondary Colors- combination of two primaries

 Yellow + Green = Orange

 Yellow + Blue = Green
 Blue + Red = Violet
Intermediate Colors- mixing a primary and secondary color.

 Yellow + Green = Yellow-green

 Blue + Green = Blue-green
Complementary Colors- the colors opposite each other in the color diagram.

Color Relationships
Colors gain intellectual and emotional significance and a sensuous quality only in terms of their
relationship with each other.
Analogous Colors- where colors actually appear next to each other, there is the shortest interval of
the color relationship.
Uses of Color

 Color may give spatial quality to the pictorial field.

 Color may create a mood and symbolize ideas and express personal emotions.
 Color has the ability to arouse sensations of pleasure because of a well-ordered system of tonality.
Value- is tonal relationship between light and dark areas in the painting. It is also referred to us tone.
- is an element that must be considered in relation to other elements such as line, color, texture, and
shape
Functions of Value or Tone- may be used to create an illusion of form.
Tonal Gradations- often used to express surface changes resulting in the creation of forms
Value is also used to express emotion
The use of light for expressive effects resulted in the development of two styles known as chiaroscuro and
tenebrism.
Chiaroscuro- refers to the technique which concentrates on the effects of blending light and shade on
objects to create an illusion of space and atmosphere.
Tenebrism- is the style of painting which exaggerates the effects of chiaroscuro. The painters make us of
a larger amount of dark areas beside smaller areas of light for emphasis.
Space and Movement
Space exists as an “illusion” in the graphic arts, but in sculpture and architecture it is actually present.
There are two basic types of space in painting:
1. Decorative Space- the depthless space
2. Plastic Space- the third dimension which is a matter of illusion in the case of painting.
Overlapping Planes – a way of suggesting depth is by overlapping planes or volumes.
- This method gives the observer the impression that one object has a particular
thickness or breadth and that is in front of another.
Variation in Size – largeness of size as nearness and a diminishing size as an indication of distance.
- Size sometimes indicates power and strength, rather than distance from the
viewer.
Position on the Picture Plane – in certain paintings the spatial representation is based upon the
position of forms relative to the bottom of the frame.
- Sometimes the “horizon” line provides a point of reference.
Color – the warm colors give the illusion, under certain conditions, that they are closer to us than the
cool colors.
Perspective – artists often try to show space relationships of things as they appear in real life.
- They use linear perspective and aerial perspective, both of which make up
what we call perceptual perspective.
Linear Perspective- can be best explained by our experience as we travel along the highway.
When an artist wishes to create depth through linear and aerial perspective, he makes use of the
“errors of vision”.
(a). Parallel Lines- appear to meet at a point called the vanishing point.
Horizon Line- parallel to the ground
(b). Objects seem to become smaller and less distinct in outline as they recede into the distance
or into the atmosphere.
(c). The color of objects seems to become lighter as the objects go farther into the distance or
atmosphere.
Conceptual Perspective- we do not see objects represented as we see them in real life.
Reverse Perspective- where the artist takes liberties with spatial order.
New Spatial Dimension- artist devised other ways by which he could incorporate motion in his
“static” art, adding to it a fourth dimension- time.
Space in Sculpture – It may be considered as a single solid or an assemblage of solids that inhabits
space.
- It may be seen as it enters into relations with surrounding space- extending
onto it, enveloping it, or relating across it.
Spaces are voids that may exist in the material of a piece of sculpture. They may come as:
(a). Gaps between components.
 (b). Holes and cavities in parts or
(c). interpenetrating voids
Some sculptures do not only inhabit space nor do they show space between their component parts.
They are invaded by space. Their masses are either hollowed our into cavities or penetrated by holes.
Negative Spaces- holes which are surrounded by single curved concave surfaces that the mass has
been penetrated or cut through by something.
The materials used are those that have no internal or three-dimensional structure. Most often they
are:

 Wires
 Sheets of metal
 Strings or wood
Expressive Quality of Space in Sculpture
- The cavities and holes in sculptures have their own expressive content.
Space in Architecture
- In architecture, the element of space is physical and very fundamental. We
walk through buildings and experience them physically.
Two categories:

 Closed
 Open
Space in architecture is created and defined by the shape, the position, and the materials
employed by the architect.
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
Design is the overall visual structure of a work of art. It is a means by which the artist makes
comprehensible the ideas he wishes to express and communicate.
Design makes our environment more readily comprehensible.
The design of an object makes it what it is at the same time that it is made interesting and stimulating.
Harmony
Harmony is one of the important principles of design. In the visual arts, it refers to the adaptation of
the visual elements to each other, the agreement between the parts of a composition which result in unity.
Variety
Variation in nature is infinite. The varying colors of flowers, the variations of greens of grasses and
leaves, or the contrast of the dry and rainy seasons prevent utter uniformity and monotony in the
environment of man.
Rhythm
In the visual arts, rhythm is a continuance, a flow, or a feeling of movement achieved by the repetition
of regular visual units.
Simple- only one type of motif is repeated.
Composite- two or more recurring motifs exist simultaneously.
 Motif- is an element or a combination of elements repeated often enough in a composition to make it
the dominating feature of a work. It is the equivalent of theme in music.
Proportion
Proportion deals with the ratio of one part to another and of the parts to the whole.
In sculpture, the relation of one part to another and the relation of the whole to its surroundings are
important.
Emphasis and Subordination
Closely related to proportion are emphasis and subordination. They are the principles that concern
the giving of proper importance to parts and to the whole.
The various ways in showing emphasis in a painting. The artist may depict the object as a single
unit. An element may stand by itself.
Balance
Balance is a feeling of equality in weight, attention, or attraction of the various elements.
Balance is inherent in nature.
In art, balance is more felt than seen.
There are many factors which contribute to a sense of balance. They are:

 Position
 Size
 Proportion
 Quality
 Direction of all the elements
Position plays a most important role in balance.
Symmetrical Balance- the most obvious type of balance. It is achieved by the use of identical
compositional units on either size of an imaginary vertical axis within the pictorial space, or when one-half
of a work mirrors the image of the other half.
Assymmetrical Balance- some artist resort to some kind of “felt” balance. This is more exciting
than formal balance. It is obtained when the visual units on either side of the axis are not identical but are
placed in positions so equated as to produce a “felt” equilibrium.