1. Composition

2. Where composition lives…
In literature
In music
In dance
In visual art

3. Composition is a collection of individual parts to create a unified whole

4. Robert Wilson/Philip Glass’ Einstein on the Beach 1975

7. Composition in Visual Art
…is made up of Variety (individual parts) & Unity (unification of those different parts)

8. Vija Celmins’ Ocean Series, Graphite Drawing

9. We are looking for a delicate, yet charged balance between the two.
“Excessive unity can be monotonous, while excessive variety can be chaotic” –Mary Stewart
We are looking for a delicate, yet charged balance between the two.

10. Michael Burmeister’s Spiderman Series, oil on canvas, 2008

11. Sol Lewitt’s Wall Drawing #65, National Gallery of Art, DC
“Lines not short, not straight, crossing & touching, drawn at random using four colors, uniformly dispersed with maximum density, covering entire surface of the wall.” 1971: 1st installation

13. Jackson Pollock’s #1, house paint on canvas, 1948

14. Gestalt Theory psychology that visual information is identified all-at-once, before it is examined by individual parts.
Grouping
Containment
Repetition
Proximity
Continuity
Closure

15. Grouping
Visually similar elements grouped together by location, orientation, shape, color

16. Michael Burmeister – Spiderman series 2007-2009

17. Marc Chagall’s Binding of Isaac – The Akiba

18. A type of border or boundary surrounding parts of whole composition
Containment
A type of border or boundary surrounding parts of whole composition

19. Wassily Kandinsky’s Circle in a Circle 1923

20. Proximity
The distance between forms: the more space creates isolation, the less space creates tension. Some forms can be so close together, they merge or fuse, resulting in shared edges.

21. Kazimir Malevich’s Suprematist Painting: Eight Red Rectangles, oil on canvas, 31.5 x 24.4”, 1915

22. Michelangelo’s Excerpt: Creation of Adam Sistine Chapel, Fresco painting, Rome, Italy 1475

23. close-up

24. in context…

25. Repetition and “The Grid”
Same visual unit repeats itself over & over again…Creates a motif

26. Piet Mondrian’s Broadway Boogie Woogie, oil painting on canvas, 1944

27. Wassily Kandinsky’s Trente, steriograph, 1937

28. Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup, screen print, 1962

29. Continuity
Fluid connection from one component into another, suggesting movement or visual pathways.

30. Van Goghs’ Self Portrait, oil on pasteboard, 1887

31. Frank Stellas’ Agbatana III., acrylic on canvas, 1968

32. Closure
Our mind fills in the blank, closes the gap, completes the information an artist leaves out—invites viewer participation.

33. Jim Dine’s Untitled (C Clamp) from Untitled Tool Series
Jim Dine’s Untitled (C Clamp) from Untitled Tool Series. Graphite, charcoal, and crayon on paper, 25 5/8 x 19 3/4"1973

34. All examples of Gestalt . . .

35. The Rama Setu to Lanka being built by Monkeys and Bears Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, India 1850

36. In-Class Exercises Revisit Name: create All-Over GESTALT
Exploring new terrain: discovering a variety of Textures, inventing new Marks, and unifying those textures
Revisit Name: create All-Over GESTALT
2) Go on a hunt. Explore our room, the hallway & outdoors, identifying & collecting 20 different textures. Are you viewing it from the micro level or macro?
Invent a new MARK for each new TEXTURE.
Media: artist pen/markers/ink pen & pencil in sketchbook.

37. 3) Create 2 value scales inside your sketchbook: 2” tall and 9” wide
3) Create 2 value scales inside your sketchbook: 2” tall and 9” wide. Each value should be 1”wide X 2”tall. Make a smooth transition from light to dark, excluding pure white and black. Using your black pen/ink/maker pick a texture you collected today and with varying density and proximity, create a range of 9 values from light to dark, left to right. Do the same with a new texture for your 2nd Value Scale

38. This is a visual unit that REPEATS itself—aka MOTIF
4) On a scratch piece of paper, delineate 7 spaces (diagonal, vertical, horizontal, spiral, circular etc.)
This will be the UNITY part of your composition: organizing your textural motifs in a Repetitive GRID-like system.
5) Choose 7 different TEXTURES and assign them to their own space. Set your textures in motion, moving them across their space allowing them to repeat and grow, creating a PATTERN of evolving marks.
This is a visual unit that REPEATS itself—aka MOTIF
INTRODUCTION TO: Project #2: Master Textures