Reading Assignments, week of August 27

Gestalt- entire figure or configuration, whole is understood to be different from its parts, exhibits high organization

4 aspects of Gestalt

• proximity- refers to distance b/t parts
• continuance- eye is led to follow dominant w/o interuption
• closure- percieve the design as a whole rather than its parts
• similarity- elements similar in size appear to be related

Visual elements interact through postition, direction, space.

• position- refers to placement of an element relative to other elements
• direction- refers to course of movement
• space- can group, emphasize and seperate elements
• figure- element on picture plane
• ground- larger area surrounding it

• depth in a compostition can create contrast and help a form communicate its purpose and meaning
• perspective is created through the use of lines to depict three dimensional form on a flat two dimensional surface
• visual weights is the sum of the forms components and is akin to mass and energy (influenced by range of varations of size and color)
• visual balance refers to the degree of equilibrium in a composition
• a form has summetry whe it is divided all ways and each side is the same (asymmetry is opposite)

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• the seemingly natural responses to a work is in fact the direct result of the way the work is put together
• form refers to the maretial delivery portion of a work and a set of visual functions. The means by which one gives substance to an idea
• slippage can change the way someone things about a peice of art
• its important to look at all formal elements of a work
• modernist thinking about art predicated on the assumption that art history is a progressive movement toward greater purity in each medium
• content in a sense is that which is expressed or made manifest through form

Formalism- refers to an approach to art and art making that emphasizes these elements (shape, color, materiality)

Formal- empty of narrative meeting

• talking about what is both materially in front of us and about ideals of sturcture and design that exsist outside of the work

SYMMETRY, BALANCE, PROPORTION, WEIGHT, GEOMETRY, ESSENCE, IDENTITY
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Good design is the best possible visual expression of the essence of "something", whether its a message or a product.

Elements of Design- conceptual, visual, relational, practical

• conceptual- point, line plane, volume
• visual- shape, size, color, texture
• relational- direction, position, space, gravity
• practical- representation, meaning, function

EVERYTHING HAS FORM
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• compostion refers to the arrangment of elements and characteristics within a defined area
• harmony indicates a grouping of related components that make sense together
• simplicity refers to a form with a limited number of simple elements
• we go towards things that are similar but are still different
• rythym is the movement from one idea to the other

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i didnt understand the interview too much but what i got out of the interview was that there are many different ways that someone can try to get their message across through nature or abstract painting or whatever the case may be