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INTRO S ize D o e s M a t te r
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INTRO S ize D o e s M a t te r SIZE / SC ALE Means : refers to variations in the proportions of objects, lines or shapes. There is a variation of sizes in objects either real or imagined. (some sources list Proportion/Scale as a Principle of Design)
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Table o f Co nten t s BOOK 0. Intro 08-09
Definition
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Scale in Art
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Inquiry by Altoon Sultan BOOK 1. Florentijn Hofman
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Arist Bio
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Overview
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Interview
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Inquiry by
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Exhibition Information BOOK 2. Jeff Koons
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Arist Bio
06- 07
Overview
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Interview
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Inquiry by
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Exhibition Information
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BOOK 3. Intro 05
Arist Bio
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Overview
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Interview
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Inquiry by
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Exhibition Information
BOOK 4. Issac Cordal 05
Arist Bio
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Overview
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Interview
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Inquiry by
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Exhibition Information BOOK 5. Slinkachu
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Arist Bio
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Overview
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Interview
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Inquiry by Michelle Aldredge
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“Scale is more than simpl
however. It is the size of art object in relation to Definition The elements of design are the fundamental building blocks of any composition. These pieces work together to form a unified composition. These pieces work together to form a unified composition, and when utilized successfully, create a strong, dynamic visual layout. The designer uses these elements as tools that control how a message is delivered to an audience. These principles can be applied to fine art, photography and graphic design. The elements of design are line, figure & ground, scale & proportion, texture & pattern, rhythm & repetition, direction, weight, contrast, balance.
Scale is important element of design. Scale refers to refer to the size elements in a composition. Proportion refers to the relative size of objects in relation to each other. Size only takes on meaning when compared to other objects of different sizes. Another way to talk about scale is to consider the size and scale of elements within a design or pattern. In this case, proportions of elements to each other and to the overall dimensions of a canvas that they are created on. Changing the size of elements within a composition changes the overall impact and look of a piece of art.
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ly the object’s size,
f the another object. ”
Unexpected Scale When objects are shown as overly exaggerated or reduced in size, this effect is called “unexpected scale.” Unexpected scale is often used in advertising in order to draw our attention to a product. Large and small scale forms can be combined rogether in a composition to create a dramatic effect. Volkswagen Think Small 1962 Ad agency: DDB page L A C M A / SI ZE D OE S MAT T E R
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Geraldo Zamproni Giant Inflated Pillows 2012 Spain page L A C M A / SI ZE D OE S MAT T E R
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“In experiencing the scal
we tend to compare its s our own bodies.” S c ale i n A r t Scale and proportion in art are both concerned with size.
porportions in terms of size relationships within the human body.
Scale refers to the size of an object (a whole) in relationship to another object In art the size relationship between an object and the human body is significant. In experiencing the scale of an artwork we tend to compare its size to the size of our own bodies.
Michelangelo’s sculpture David represents the Renaissance emphasis on the ideal, based on the ancient Greek model of the ideal: rationality reflected in the portrayal of perfection in the human body.
Proportion refers to the relative size of parts of a whole (elements within an object). We often think of
The scale of this overwhelming figure is larger than life: over 13 feet tall. In addition it is placed on a pedestal taller than the average human.
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le of an artwork
size to the size of
The proportions within the body are based on an ancient Greek mathematical system. Ironically, this powerful representation of perfection is based on the biblcal story of David, a small, humble shepherd boy who defeated the giant Goliath with one slingshot. This makes it an effective expression of the ideology of the Renaissance: mankind in alls its humility raised to the ideals of rationality, order, and scientific objectivity.
Michelangelo David 1504 Italy page
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Chuck Close An artwork has a physical size; when referring to an artwork’s size, we use the term scale. Scale is more than simply the object’s size, however. It is the size of the art object in relation to another object. The relative size of the artwork is always compared to the size of the human body--lifesized, miniature, enormous--are all terms that use the human body as a size reference.
the subject is unrecgnizable up close, which results in a different effect at a further distance. Close’s approach to portraiture was to not only make his subjects massive in size, but to represent them in an extremely realistic and forthright manner, including their flaws.
Chuck Close is a photorealist painter. Photorealism, a movement that began as a reaction to minimalism and abstract expressionism--both of which ecshewed realism as high art--involves the use of photography to create an image so realistic in detail that it can be mistaken for a photograph. Close revolutionalized photorealism by expaanding the scale of his work to an enormous size. He is also known for devising a complex and ordered system that enabled him to create portraits with exacting realsim in such a massive scale. In the two details above you can see the difference before and atfer he began using that system. and get a sense of the difference in the effect the system created. With the new system
Chuck Close Lucas 1987 New York
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The Great Wall of China The Great Wall of China was built of stone and earthen fortifications in the northern part of the Chinese empire, as protection against intrusions by nomadic groups. Building of the wall dates back to the 5th century BCE. According to the most comprehensive archaeological survey, the entire Wall, with all of its branches, stretches for 8,851.8 km (5,500.3 mi). The scale of the Wall is obvious, how does it fit within the category of art? Notice the directional force created in the photograph as the Wall stretches off into the distance.
The Greate Wall of China 1987 China 13,171 mi
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Inqu i re Is bigger better? (speaking of artworks of course). It’s been many years since I stood in front of this gigantic painting by Tintoretto, so I don’t know how I’d feel about it now. Does the wow factor translate into something deeper? Or is there a different kind of awe that comes from the intense focus and intimacy that a very small work calls forth? The small predella panels of Fra Angelico have given me deep and complex aesthetic and emotional pleasure. Seeing this exhibition of the Hours of Catherine of Cleves at the Morgan Library inspired me to begin painting on parchment. The paintings are close to small miracles, taking us into a closely observed world full of stories and wonder. In contemporary art, an artist who immediately springs to mind when thinking about very large work is Richard Serra. I happen to have come to love and appreciate his work, writing about my change page
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Wri te r’s bi o Name : Altoon Sultan Sex / Nationality : f/US About : Altoon Sultan born in Brooklyn New York in 1948, is a Vermont-based artist and author who specializes in rural landscapes painted in egg tempera. Her works are in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Yale University Art Gallery. She has received two grants from the National Endowment for the Arts. She received her BFA in 1969 after studying painting at Brooklyn College, and her MFA in 1971.
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Richard Serra Junction / Cycle 2011 New York page L A C M A / SI ZE D OE S MAT T E R
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of heart here. In thinking about the size of Serra’s work, I feel that the enormity of it is essential to its meaning: our physical relationship with it, walking through and around it, is a powerful experience. At the same time there is someone like Ken Price, making tabletop clay sculpture, completely engaging and endlessly inventive. Or Joel Shapiro, who has made sculpture from tiny floor pieces to large public projects. I like his pieces like these, which are a smaller than human sized, where form and content and scale seem to work so well together. So here is a question: is Serra so much more well regarded than these other sculptors because he’s truly a better artist, or because his works are monumental in size? When I think of giantism in contemporary art, I think of Anselm Kiefer. I have had the opposite experience with Kiefer’s work as with Serra’s, beginning by admiring it enormously when I first saw it in the 1980s, finding a rich narrative in the imagery and use of materials, but nowfeeling bullied by the paintings; they seem to be unnecessarily large, likemale braggadoccio. I’ve felt the same way about Frank Stella’s work, and wrote a blog post about his “Irregular Polygon” series, which I felt were much much too large for their content and form. For me, the way I’m feeling about art making now, I find looking at modestly sized works such as those of Raoul de Keyser (see more paintings here) much more satisfying. Intimacy and tenderness are important qualities, certainly as important as boldness and grandeur. So now I come to why I’ve written this post, a brief complaint: I am tired of people telling me to work larger, telling me that my paintings, textiles, drawings, would look great really really big. They are not meant to be big; part of their meaning resides in their small size; at a larger size they’d be different work, work I’m not interested in doing now, though I have in the past and might in the future. Why is it that no one tells an artist about her six foot painting “gee, that would look so great at 12 inches!”? Each of us has to find what we want to say in our work, and how to say it, at whatever size works best; there should be no outsized respect for large work in itself.
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Ken Price Geometrics 2012 LA
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