The Visual Element of Shape
Art is... a question mark in the minds of those who want to know what's happening. ~Aaron Howard
Shape is a closed line.
Shape is a closed line.
When a line closes a space and separates it from what's around it, a shape has been created. Variation of shape is another tool that artists use to guide the viewer's attention to the heart of a painting.
List and sketch some examples of shape
- Shapes are flat with no volume or dimension.
- Geometric shapes are circles, squares, triangles, rectangles.
- Curvilinear geometric forms with curved line intersection.
- Organic or freeform shapes are natural in appearance.
- Biomorphic shapes are taken from nature and usually have curvy lines. ◦These are shapes that ebb and flow
- These shapes may not be realistically or clearly defined by the laws of nature or geometry
- Amorphous shapes are an ill-defined or arbitrary shape
List and sketch some examples of shape
In Pablo Picasso's Guitar, the space is fractured on the paper's surface by adding collage, or pasted papers.
Artists often exploit the fact that the two basic types of shapes - freeform and geometric are different from each other to help draw your eye to their main subject.
Artists often exploit the fact that the two basic types of shapes - freeform and geometric are different from each other to help draw your eye to their main subject.
In Berthe Morisot's painting, The Cradle, can you identify what you think the artist wanted you to look at first? Is it essentially a geometric or an organic shape? What about the general shapes around it?