The Language of Art, Part 1

All forms of communication involve encoding and decoding information for transmission from one point to another.  Each form of transmission is called a medium, and collectively they are the media.

Every form of communication has a set of rules that provide context and meaning to the elements that make it up.  In electronic communication, there are bits and bytes, carrier waves and signals.  In language, there are grammar, syntax and vocabulary.

Art is a form of communication, and as such has a set of rules much like any language.  Like any language, the rules must be followed in order to have meaning.  In the hands of an artist, though, the rules can be broken, as well, to provide additional layers of context and subtext.

These rules also provide us with objective means to interpret, evaluate and judge works of art.  By applying the rules, we can stare at a painting or sculpture and appreciate its superior qualities by how well the artist has manipulated the pieces to create a completed work.

Most of us do this instinctively.  We automatically know the difference between a Mozart opera and a Justin Bieber pop song by the richness of the experience and the depth of our emotional response.

Few of us, unfortunately, are ever taught to develop our innate abilities.  Most modern schools have little or no art appreciation classes, and those that do often drop them at the first sign of financial stress.  The field trips to the local museum, symphony, theater, or gallery are sadly things of the past.

We will thus present a series of articles that survey the broad landscape of fine art and develop some basic tools that will allow us to more profoundly appreciate the arts, as well as begin to unravel the hidden messages that are intrinsic to the great works of art.

First, we ask "what is art?"

There are many forms of art.  Painting, sculpture, literature, and music are often created by individuals.  The collaborative arts include architecture, theater, cinema, and even fine dining.  Music often crosses the line, since a composer may work alone, but the performance generally requires the talents of many individuals.

At the very foundation of art is Space and Time.  Space consists of three dimensions: height, width and depth, while Time measures the movement of objects from one point to another. Fundamentally, art is the manipulation of Elements in Space and Time using the Principles as guides.

This may sound baffling at this point, but we hope that as you continue to read our articles, these things will become clear and useful tools.

In every case, there are Four Basic Principles of Space that allow us to objectively evaluate the quality of any work and extract meaning from it:

• Balance
• Rhythm
• Harmony
• Emphasis

Within each of these Principles are a set of styles - rules if you will - that define the meaning and purpose of the Elements.  Think of the Principles as the Grammar of Art.  They are equivalent to nouns and verbs, adjectives and adverbs, prepositions and articles that show relationships between the Elements.

Balance is divided into three types:

• Symetrical
• Assymetrical
• Radial

 Balance refers to how we apportion Space (there is a similar concept in Time).  We can divide it into equal linear parts (symmetry), equal circular parts (radial), or unequal parts of both kinds (assymetry).

View any great work of art and let your mind begin to divide the canvas up by following lines the artist has placed into the work.  Follow the placement of objects in Space.  How do they align?  Do you perceive a "box" or perhaps a "tunnel" effect?  Put simply, what is the overall geometry of the composition, and of the individual subjects?

In the famous painting Et In Arcadia Ego, by Nicolas Poussin, we perceive a number of lines created by the locations of the subjects and background objects, their positions, postures and their gestures.

If we blur our vision a bit, we also perceive a division between lighter and darker areas of the canvas, both vertically and horizontally.  Also note that you can divide the canvas into three equal sections both vertically and horizontally.  This is called the Rule of Thirds, which we will return to this concept in composition.

Emotionally, symmetry induces a feeling of peace, assymmetry causes anxiety, and radial balance frequently makes us feel dizzy, helpless, or out of control.

These feelings are caused solely by the balance in a work, before we even consider other aspects.  In other words, we are already receiving a message from the artist in just the lines created by the Elements in Space.

Rhythm is divided into:

• Repetition
• Progression
• Contrast

 Rhythm is used to lead the eye in certain directions in order to create dimensions of Space or patterns or implied movement (in the case of static images), which is a function of Time.

Rhythm and Harmony work closely together to create emotional and spacial relationships within a work.

In the image of the Acropolis, the columns create repetition, or a pattern.  They create progression, as the larger ones at center decrease in size in either direction, creating the illusion of distance (Time).  And contrast, subtle changes in color and hue, separate the individual objects and enhance the sense of a third dimension.

Together, the repetition, progression and contrast create a rhythm that is itself meaningful, because it gives us a sense of scale, expanse and depth - or three dimensions.

Harmony is a bit ephemeral and somewhat more subjective than the others, but generally it is defined as the pleasing way in which Elements are arranged in Space and Time.  it should be noted that harmony without variety is intensely boring.  Imagine the Acropolis image taken straight on and cropped so that you only see the repetition of equal-sized columns.

A great work of art will juxtapose areas of harmony through the use of color or rhythm, or by using dissimilar Elements in balanced opposition.

Again in the image of the Acropolis, the harmony of the vertical lines is interrupted by the capstones and friezes, thus creating visual drama between the soaring feeling of the columns and the ponderous weight that sits atop them.

Finally, we arrive at Emphasis.  Emphasis is commonly divided into four "layers":

• Emphatic
• Dominant
• Subdominant
• Subordinant

Simply put, emphasis creates a mental impression of importance or heirarchy to the objects in a work through the use of size, color, hue, overlap, texture, and other techniques.

A subject that partically blocks the view of another is Dominant, while the blocked subject is Subdominant.  The brightest subject or area in a work is the Emphatic focus, while the darkest would be Subordinate.

In the Poussin image above, the emphasis is on the arms and legs of the central figures, while everything else fades away in various layers of importance.  This choice by the artist is telling us that something about this arrangement carries special meaning, and we both rationally and instinctually look to those bright areas to discern his deeper message.

Now that we have a structure, or grammar, on which to hang our visual communications, your assignment will be a field trip to The Louvre to practice your new skills.

Poke around in some of the greatest works of art Mankind has ever produced, and see if you can detect Balance, Rhythm, Harmony, and Emphasis.  We are looking only at the geometry and light/dark values, but there is a wealth of information just in these basic properties.  Be sure to note how you feel as you examine the works.

In our next class, we'll examine Elements, which are the vocabulary of art.  Once we have our grammar and vocabulary, we'll be able to make entire sentences of visual language and start to see the vast caverns of information that have been hiding - literally - right in front of our eyes.

Be sure to bookmark our site and come back often for fresh adventures in art!

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