Notes on Ch 5-9

Chapter 5: Surface & Relief

Relief is a 3-D form that holds a middle ground between two dimensional images and three dimensional space. They are viewed from the front, but lose spatial neutrality to become active in physical space. Convex areas of a relief surface push into space, and concave areas push back. It was originally for the adornment of architecture, using the sun's light and shadows to emphasize the relief's graphic imagery. Bas-reliefs were incised into stone. Chiaroscuro creates distinct contrasts between areas of value. A relief surface can be continuous or discontinuous, made of flat segments. These flat segments of a discontinuous surface are called surface planes, facets, or faces. The depth of relief is measured from a relief's highest point to its deepest point. The lowest level, from which a relief surface is built up, is normally called the ground. If the surface of the earth is considered a relief, then sea level is the ground. Sometimes the term datum is used to denote both sea level and the ground plane of a relief.

Thoughts:

Well, seeing as how our class never makes relief pieces, I thought this chapter was a liiiittle bit useless (just a tad!). But I never knew that relief pieces were considered 3-D... Maybe for my next piece, I will MAKE a relief!!! Then this chapter will not have been pointless after all!! They're very pretty, also... They'd be great for a piece that emphasizes texture or color or something, since it takes away the distraction of form... (I have a new idea, now!) I don't feel like I learned very much about surface, though, from this chapter.

Chapter 6: Mass & Void

A void is an empty volume (negative space) while a mass is a filled volume. Voids and masses are variously referred to by the following pairs of terms: negative space/positive space, negative form/positive form, volume/solid, or space/form. Density measures how tightly matter packs a volume. Visual density is used to describe how much a region of space is filled by visual elements. When a void occurs between 2 solids, it is "passive". When it occurs as a removal, or subtraction, from a solid, the void is active. The latter is also called "penetration of space".If the space is an indentation, it is a concavity-- if it passes through a solid form completely, it is a perforation. While space penetrating form is called "subtractive", additive processes build form up and out into space. Addition suggests growth. Geometric volumes make up a vast majority of shapes in the built world; forms in nature do not include true angles or straight lines. Forms in nature take on curved shapes, or biomorphic shapes. A volumous geometric 3-D form is made up of stacked cross-sections (longitudinal and latitudinal).

I found this chapter somewhat interesting-- it showed a little more of the science/technical side of 3-D form-- but I didn't find it to be very helpful to myself as an artist; after all, I'm not an engineer-- how could I and why would I ever make straight lines or perfectly geometric spheres, pyramids, cubes, and prisms? The information about how organic forms--forms found in nature--are never geometric was pretty cool to learn, and, though this chapter did not directly help me in developing my technique or organization as an artist, I did learn a little bit more about 3-D-- the whole point of reading this book. Hopefully this information that is not directly applicable to my artwork as a sculptor now will later on prove to be helpful.

edit: Chapters 7-9

Chapter 7: Line and Point

Line serve two functions: to divide (and therefore structure) space, and to define paths through space. To me, those are basically the same thing...

Lines define and outline the edges of solid forms. On a geometric solid, such as a polyhedron, the surface planes of the solid are delineated by the edges where the faces intersect. On an organic mass, like the human figure, contour lines define the folds and edges that shape the surface.

Outline delineates the overall shape, (silhouette or profile) as viewed against its background.

Lines possess narrative properties, as they need good beginnings, strong endings, and interesting plots to carry "the reader" along.

This chapter was really short, so it didn't fully express just how important lines are in art and even everyday lives. Lines may seem somewhat less necessary in 3-D art than in 2-D, but the fact that it structures and defines paths through space makes it crucial to art of all kinds.

Ch 8: Color & Material

Aside from form, the viewer (of an artwork) also responds to the materials used to create a form and to the visual properties of the materials, especially color and texture.

Materials resonate with cultural overtones. These are the subtle (or not so subtle) reminders of the cultural situations and uses associated with a material. Wood, for example, seems warmer and closer to nature, than stainless steel which can emit a cool and technological note. Materials integrate form and symbol.

Inherent colors are inherent to their respective materials; applied colors, such as paint, are applied to the material whose physical characteristics may be right for the artwork, but whose inherent color is unexciting or incorrect for the artist's intention.

Illumination can also "color" the piece.

Texture is both visual and tactile; both the eyes and the body sense texture. Different textures can invoke different responses in the viewer.

This is pretty important in creating fine art pieces-- texture and color seem to be a "next level" that my art class hasn't exactly mastered or come to appreciate properly yet. But we definitely will have to learn to use texture and color to emphasize the purpose in our pieces as we develop as sculptors. Wooot.

Chapter 9: Structure

Structure is the organization of an object in space. Structure imparts stability and viability to the object; its ability to meet its physical parameters.

Highly efficient structures will usually "evince their own visual elegance." Physical structure should adapt to the aesthetic and expressive goals of a design. But compositional freedom extends only as far as the requirements of stability allow.

Stability is defined by 2 characteristics: resistance to deformation under force to prevent collapse, and secure balance to prevent toppling.

Two ways of (re)enforcing structural stability is through an exo-skeleton (shell) or an endo-skeleton (like how humans have bones). Tensegrity (tension + integrity) is a method for using only lines of tension to support a structure. Geodesics are structural lines that lie on a great circle of a sphere.

No matter how strong a structure's members or how efficient their distribution, the structure will fail without proper joining. Parts can be attached through adhesion, fusion, or mechanical fastening.

The center of gravity is the point around which the weight of a structure is evenly distributed. It lies on the structure's vertical axis.

This was such a LONG chapter, all about structure! I do understand, though, that structure is extremely important in 3-D artworks. It is important to 3-D the way that lines are important to 2-D. It kind of shows me that I should also examine my artwork in its stability/efficiency/ability to stand on its own... especially in larger artworks (cough, Seth), the artist should really pay extremely close attention to the stability, joining, and distribution of weight.

Notes on Ch 3-4

Notes:

Ch 3: Plane & Space

-just as a line can be bent and turned in an infinite number of directions, a plane has the freedom to be folded and redirected through space one, many, or an infinite amount of times as well. Visual structures in 2-D is called linear, and in 3-D is called planar.

-Only in the past century has planar form and structure leaped to prominence in the 3-D arts. By the early 1900's, designers were pursuing innovative, viable designs of purely planar elements.

-Almost all artists who work with planar constructions begin their ideas as paper studies. Two planar forms can interact in 3 ways: at an edge of a fold, when one abuts the face of another, or when the two planes interpenetrate.

-Architectonic form is a special category of planar form. (geometric shapes, primary emphasis, and interior/exterior)

-Perforations, or holes, allow transitions between closed interior and open exterior spaces. Can be expressed through screens.

-Planar segments accurately describe shapes in 3-D space, differentiating them from the notion of planes of space. Planes of space are the mathematical notion of plane, which extend indefinitely through space.

-Planes divide (activate) and shape space. Planes can also define volume by virtue or their shape.

-Planes can be regarded as 2-D (or graphic) shapes thrust into 3-D space. Graphic qualities of shapes also create expression. Graphic quality divides into two different categories: form and sign.

My thoughts: I actually learned a lot about plane and space from this chapter; it's really interesting that all of 3-D is based on planes, and that 3-D art is based not only on the plane-segment itself, but also on the space around the plane-segment. So, when I (or anyone) make 3-D art, all I'm really doing is gathering several planes and "twisting them in infinite ways" to create a form that will be even further defined by negative space-- and this form can carry rhythm, balance, movement, and any other principle of design you could think of. That's so awesome!!!

Ch 4: Organization

-Organization is the overall pattern or structure that ties the parts of an object together into a united, sensible, and purposeful whole. While 2-D relies on visual structure, 3-D relies on visual AND physical structure.

-Synergy: "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts".

-Order and Freedom: one must choose which to emphasize to achieve their goal. Too much excessiveness in either can result in loss of variety or loss of composition.

-Structure and Unity: grids are the most common examples of systematic structures. Priori = preset logic which governs the relative position/direction/scale of visual elements of a composition. Systematic structure relies on formal applications, while intuitive structure relies on "far less prescriptive applications". Some unifying principles that bind a composition together include balance, repetition with variety, proportion, continuity, focus and emphasis, and economy.

-Balances ensure that two halves of a composition carry the same visual weight-- in 3-D, balance must work from every point of view, though balance may be either symmetric, or asymmetric.

-Symmetry: the most common kind of symmetry in art is mirror symmetry, reflected across a line (or, in 3-D, plane) of symmetry. Another common symmetry is radial symmetry, in which the symmetry is spherical.

-Repetition with Variety: Repetition creates order in a composition. Too much, however, emits a visual drone that blankets interest. Variety is necessary.

-Rhythm and gradation are two important applications of repetition with variety. Both entail the systematic repetition of intervals of change.

-Proportion is the measure of the relative change of scale between elements of a composition.

-Modular proportion limits incremental changes of a scale to a sijavascript:void(0)ngle unit of measure.

-Ratio proportion is based on mathematical ratios.

-Informal proportion is used informally "to refer to the effectiveness of the scale of an object relative to such external factors as its environment or its interaction with the human body."

-Continuity is the visual connection of the forms of an object into linear patterns. Continuity of form results when these paths run through the material components of an object, while continuity of space unifies an object.

-Focus orients the element of a composition towards one spot, while emphasis brings out one part of the composition as dominant.

-Economy is doing as much as possible with as little as possible-- enforces unity through reduction or ensures unity through selection.

-Implied structure guides the deployment of compositional elements without obviously affecting their form, and overt structures' patterns are visually apparent in the structure's form.

-Systematic structures are called "formal" and intuitive structures are called "informal".

-Randomness and Chance: enlivens form and frees it from excessive structure.

-Man-made techniques for randomizing compositional order are called "aleatory" (meaning gambling), like flipping a coin.

-Randomness is still a category of order, but lacks predictability.

My thoughts: There's SO MUCH organization that goes into making art-- I had no idea. It makes me a little bit sad that I've been missing out on all the order that's involved-- it's so important that you use structure (systematic or intuitive) to unify the piece. Unity is also important; it brings the entire thing together-- it's what you see as a whole, instead of as parts. Balance is still kind of a difficult concept for me to grasp, but I think as I continue reading this book, I'll start to understand. And who knows, maybe this book will actually help me grow as an artist.

post11: AP-3D Assignment

In my AP-3D class, I have a new assignment to do; another breadth piece. This time, the only criteria she's really given us is that it has to focus on (or was it incorporate?) negative space and form. How vague!

Sadly, I don't really know what either of those two really are.

We can use any medium (yes!) and any subject (yes!), for which i'm very thankful.

Later, I will post up some brainstorms:

(to be edited later)

post10: AP-3D book

We got a book! In art class! About which we must read! And on which to take notes! I'm just surprised, that's all.

Um, so far I've only read Chapter 1, but it wasn't a complete drag, fortunately. The chapter was sort of an introduction to 3-D arts, and "Identifying the Problem", which I still don't really understand... What problem??

Since we have to take notes and whatever, and since I have a horrible, incurable habit of losing papers, I'm going to back those notes on Chapter 1 up onto this blog. For security purposes. I'll try to do that later tonight.

Chapter 2 is on Space and Form, which is the focus of our next breadth assignment in AP-3D. I hope I learn a sufficient amount about form and (negative) space-- I probably have to grasp these concepts pretty well to be able to base an entire art piece around two specific principles of design.