Art Appreciation/Pagpapahalaga sa Sining College of Education

Chapter 3: The Elements of Visual Arts Performing Arts

Learning Objectives:
At the end of the discussion the students will be able to:
1.Discuss the dominant elements used in hybrid or modified art expressions
2.Distinguish the factors influencing artists such as distortion, transformation, appropriation in an experimental
or hybrid art expression
3.Differentiate the dominant elements used in hybrid and modified art expressions
4.Create and present a simple and meaningful art

THE ELEMENTS OF VISUAL ARTS

There are seven elements of art that are considered the building blocks of art as a whole. The
seven elements are line, color, value, shape, form, space, and texture.

Portrait of a man in red chalk” Leonardo da Vinci (1510)

Line- Line is defined as a point moving in space where its length is greater than its width. Lines
can be two or three dimensional, implied or abstract. Different types of lines include continuous,
broken, jagged, vertical, horizontal, or diagonal. Lines are the foundation of drawing.

Kinds of Line

Vertical lines are straight up and down lines that are moving in space without any slant
and are perpendicular to horizontal lines. They suggest height and strength because they
extend towards the sky and seem unshakable.

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Horizontal lines are straight lines parallel to the horizon that move from left to right.
They suggest width, distance, calmness, and stability.

Diagonal lines are straight lines that slant in any direction except horizontal or vertical.
When in use, they suggest movement or lack of stability.

Zigzag lines are a series of diagonal lines joined at ends. They can convey action and
excitement, as well as restlessness and anxiety.

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Curved lines are lines that bend and change direction gradually. They can be simply
wavy or spiral. Such lines convey the feelings of comfort and ease, as well as sensual
quality as they remind us of the human body.

“Circus #3” Jim Dine (2007)

Color- There are three different components to color, there is hue which is the name we give the color
(red, yellow, blue, etc.), intensity, which refers to the vividness of the color (intensity can also be
referred to as saturation or purity), and value meaning how dark or light a color is. Color can be used
symbolically or to produce a pattern or to show contrast in a piece.

Three Dimensions of Color

Dimensio Definition
n

Hue Name of a color family

Value Lightness or darkness of a color

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Chroma Strength or intensity of a color

“The Tetons and The Snake River” Ansel Adams (1942

Value- Value is the lightness or darkness in color. The lightest value is white and the darkest value
is black. The difference between values is contrast. You can study the use of value in
monochromatic or black and white pieces of art.

“Victory Boogie Woogie” Piet Modrian (1944)

Shape- Shape is the result of closed lines, they are two dimensional and flat. Shapes can
be geometric, such as squares or triangles or they can be organic and not have defined
parameters and are more curved and abstract. Shapes in art can be used to control how the
viewer perceives a piece.

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“Fallingwater” Frank Lloyd Wright (1936-1939)

Form- When shape acquires depth and becomes three dimensional, it takes on form. Three-
dimensional art has an actual form (like in architecture) while two-dimensional pieces can have the
illusion of form when the artist uses perspective or shading. Some common forms are cones,
pyramids, spheres, and cubes.

“Geese Over a Beach” Maruyama Okyo (18th century)

Space- Space is any area an artist creates for a specific purpose. Space can be positive or
negative. Positive space is an area occupied by an object or form. Negative space is the area that
runs between, through, and around or within objects. This includes background, foreground, and
middle ground. Space that can be manipulated in art based on how an artist uses lines, shape,
form, and color.

“Oriental Poppies” Georgia O’Keefe (1927)

Texture- Texture is how an object looks or feels. Sometimes texture can actually felt, such as in
sculpture or the texture of work can be implied such as if you were to sketch a sheep’s wool. Some
words to describe texture include soft, hard, rough, brittle, fluffy, or smooth
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Elements of Performing Arts

Theatre

Theatre is the branch of performing arts concerned with acting out stories in front of an audience,
using a combination of speech, gesture, music, dance, sound, and spectacle. Any one or more of
these elements is considered performing arts. In addition to the standard narrative dialogue style of
plays, theater takes such forms as plays, musicals, opera, ballet, illusion, mime, classical Indian
dance, kabuki, mummers' plays, improvisational theatre, comedy, pantomime, and non-conventional
or contemporary forms like postmodern theatre, post dramatic theatre, or performance art.
Dance

In the context of performing arts, dance generally refers to human movement, typically
rhythmic and to music, used as a form of audience entertainment in a performance setting. Definitions
of what constitutes dance are dependent on social, cultural, aesthetic, artistic, and moral constraints
and range from functional movement (such as folk dance) to codified, virtuoso techniques such as
ballet.[5]
There is one another modern form of dance that emerged in 19th- 20th century with the name
of Free-Dance style. This form of dance was structured to create a harmonious personality which
included features such as physical and spiritual freedom. Isadora Duncan was the first female dancer
who argued about "woman of future" and developed novel vector of choreography using Nietzsche’s
idea of "supreme mind in free mind"
Dance is a powerful impulse, but the art of dance is that impulse channeled by skillful
performers into something that becomes intensely expressive and that may delight spectators who
feel no wish to dance themselves. These two concepts of the art of dance—dance as a powerful
impulse and dance as a skillfully choreographed art practiced largely by a professional few—are the
two most important connecting ideas running through any consideration of the subject. In dance, the

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connection between the two concepts is stronger than in some other arts, and neither can exist
without the other.[5]
Choreography is the art of making dances, and the person who practices this art is called a
choreographer.

Ballet

Ballet dance developed during the Italian Renaissance, before evolving in France and Russia
into a concert dance meant for public performance. This is in the form of a ballet, in which the dance
is choreographed with classical music.
Ballet productions vary between using elaborate costumes and staging and using minimal costuming
and bare staging.
Ballet is now a widespread, highly technical form of dance with many subgenres including classic,
romantic, neoclassical and contemporary.

Ballroom

Ballroom dance is a type of partner dance originating at the end of the sixteenth century in
France. Commonly used as shorthand for any partner dance, ballroom has today evolved into two
main subgenres – standard/smooth and Latin/rhythm.

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Contemporary

Developed during the mid-twentieth century, contemporary dance is now one of the most
popular and technical forms of dance studied and performed professionally, especially in the US and
Europe.

Drawing on classical, modern and jazz dance styles, contemporary dance has evolved to
incorporate many characteristics of a broader range of dance forms.

Known for its emphasis on strong torso and legwork, contract and release, fall and recovery
and floor work, it is often known for unpredictable and disordered changes in speed and rhythm
throughout a performance.

Hip-Hop

Hip-hop dancing refers to a range of street dances that developed in relation to hip hop music
and culture. Hip-hop dancing dates back to the early 1970s in New York and California, evolving out
of Funk and the development of break beat.

Main styles of hip-hop dancing include Breaking, Locking and Popping, with derivative styles
emerging out of these including Memphis Jookin’, Turfing, Jerkin’ and Krumping. These were often
popularized and made mainstream after being featured in music videos of the time.

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Today, hip-hop is performed in outdoor spaces, in dance studios and competitively.

Jazz

Jazz dancing has its roots in seventeenth-century African traditions, brought to the Americas via the
Atlantic slave trade as slaves continued dancing traditions in Brazil, the US and elsewhere on the
continents.

Folk Dance

Folk dancing is celebrated worldwide with people of different cultures and religions using various
forms of folk dance to portray emotions, stories, historical events or even aspects of daily life.

Folk dances are commonly held at public events, where people can participate regardless of whether
they are professional or complete beginners. Such dances are also accompanied by traditional music
to further enhance the cultural experience.

Music
Music is an art form which combines pitch, rhythm, and dynamic to create sound. It can be performed
using a variety of instruments and styles and is divided into genres such as folk, jazz, hip hop, pop,
and rock, etc. As an art form, music can occur in live or recorded formats, and can
be planned or improvised.
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As music is a protean art, it easily coordinates with words for songs as physical movements do in
dance. Moreover, it has a capability of shaping human behaviors as it impacts our emotions.

Elements of Music
Rhythm - a strong, regular, repeated pattern of movement or sound

Melody - a sequence of single notes that is musically satisfying

Pitch - the quality of a sound governed by the rate of vibrations producing it; the degree of highness or
lowness of a tone

Harmony - the combination of simultaneously sounded musical notes to produce chords and chord
progressions having a pleasing effect.

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Literature
is one of the arts that expresses human feelings. It shows ideas or emotions through symbolic
presentation in the form of short story, poetry , drama or play, and essay among others.
Essay
Is a literary composition on a particular subjects. It is usually short and expresses the author’s
personal thought, feelings, experiences or observation on a phase of life that has interested him.
Biography, history, travel, art, nature, personal life, and criticism are among the innumerable subjects
of essays.

An essay is a "short formal piece of writing..dealing with a single subject" ("Essay," 2001). It
is typically written to try to persuade the reader using selected
research evidence ("Essay," 1997). In general, an academic essay has three parts:

1. An introduction that gives the reader an idea of what they are about to learn and presents an
argument in the form of a thesis statement
2. A body, or middle section, that provides evidence used to prove and persuade the reader to accept
the writer's particular point of vie
3. A conclusion that summarizes the content and findings of the essay.

Elements of Essay:

1. The issue introduced. This refers to the subject matter around which the essay will revolve.
2. The writer’s viewpoint and thought. The final stand of the author on the issue he has
discussed.
3. The relevance of the issue to the life of the reader. This refers to the value of the material to
the reader and his perception and response to it.

Novel

a fictitious prose narrative of book length, typically representing character and action with
some degree of realism. Novel is along work of prose fictions dealing with characters, situations, and
scenes that represent real life.

Novels, like the other genres, have the elements of setting, plot, characters, and theme

1.Setting
2. Plot
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3. Theme
4. Characters

Drama
is a representation made up of words, sounds, and actions of characters. Drama must be
performed or acted out by the characters on stage, film, radio, television or outdoors.
Two Aspects of Drama
a. Drama as a script is a dialogue read by the persons representing the characters.
b. Drama as a play is a script coming to life, involving the director’s interpretation of a
script and the performance/ portrayals by the characters.
Elements of Drama
1. Plot
2. Character/ Drama personae
3. Conflict
4. Irony
5. Theme or idea
6. Climax
7. Music and Spectacle
8. Costumes and Make-up
9. Dialogue
10. Setting
Importance of Reading Literary Works

Literary works of art like poetry, short stories, novels, essays, and plays are worth reading
because they do not only entertain or give pleasure but also we learn moral values that can improve
our life. Reading literary works helps us acquire knowledge and information on man’s progress and
achievement.

Assessment:

Direction: Answer the following questions.

1. What are the elements of visual arts?

2. How is form used in establishing?
3. What are the different ways of achieving balance in visual arts?
4. What are the importance of variety in art?
5. How does music differ from the other arts?
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6. What are the primary colors in pigments?

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