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.