Visual Arts Teacher Simone
What is composition? ď‚— Take a look at this image:
What element calls your attention most? (What is the most important element in the painting)?
What is composition? “Composition” is when an artist organizes their
artwork with a specific intention. In organizing a composition, an artist decides what is the most important for the viewer to see.
Let’s compare… Take a look at Goya’s painting of Carlos V’s family. How does Goya organize the painting? What is most important?
What if…? What if Goya had
painted the family portrait like this? How does the organization of the figures change the idea?
What is composition? In a composition, the artist can use different
resources to effect what is more or less important in the work: COLOR TEXTURE DISTRUBITION OF FORMS PROPORTION
Organization of forms In order to distribute forms on a plane, an artist will
use a geometric scheme in order to structure the work. This is the internal structure of the work, like a skeleton. For example:
Organization of forms VERTICAL STRUCTURE:
Organization of forms HORIZONTAL STRUCTURE
Organization of forms DIAGONAL STRUCTURE
Organization of forms CIRCULAR STRUCTURE
Organization of forms TRIANGULAR STRUCTURE:
Organization of forms This “internal
structure” makes our eyes move across the work in a certain way. For example, a triangular composition makes our eye move up, toward the point of the triangle.
Organization of forms ď‚— A circular structure can make the eyes move around
and around, without giving any object more importance than the others.
Let’s practice  Take a look at these works. Which type of
composition structure can we see?
Let’s get to work In groups of two or three, take magazine to make a
collage. Try to organize the forms in a way to create a TRIANGULAR, CIRCULAR, HORIZONTAL, DIAGONAL OR VERTICAL COMPOSITION
Color in composition ď‚— When an artist plans the composition of their work,
they use colors with different intentions.
Color in composition If an artist doesn’t
want any element to have more importance than then rest, they will use harmonious colors. For example:
Color in composition ď‚— If an artist wants one
element to appear more important, they use colors that contrast. ď‚— For example:
Creating a harmonious composition Use colors of the
same tone (for example blues and greens) Choose colors of the same temperature (either cool or warm) Work with colors that are analogous
Creating a contrasting composition Juxtapose (put
together) dark and light colors Use complementary colors (opposite on the color wheel, like red and green) Use warm colors to give more importance. Use cool colors to give less importance.
Creating a contrasting composition ď‚— Use warm colors to
give more importance to an element. ď‚— Use cool colors to give less importance.
Let’s get to work! In groups, work with stamping corks to make a
composition using colors. I will give you a type of color composition to recreate, either: HARMONY CONTRAST