1. Subject: Is a person, thing, or idea. It is expected to be pretty
clear to the average person, but the idea may not be.
In abstract or semi-abstract works, the subject may be
somewhat perceivable , but in non-objective works the
subject is the idea behind the form of the work, and it
communicates only with those who can read the
language of form.

2. Abstract: Non-Objective:
Abstraction is found in varying degrees in all works of art from full
representation to complete non-objectivity. To make abstract is to
pair down a representational subject toward a more simplified form.
Non-Objective:
Nonrepresentational, started without any reference to subject and
assuming artistic value resides in form and content completely.

3. Richard Diebenkorn, Cityscape I, 1963.
An example of a semi-abstract landscape. Representational elements can still be discerned but the image has been stylized.
Richard Diebenkorn, Cityscape I, 1963.

4. Richard Diebenkorn, Ocean Park Series 54
This is another landscape by the artist Richard Diebenkorn. In this series Diebenkorn moves further way from representation and more towards nonobjectivity. We primarily conclude that the subject is a landscape from the title.
Richard Diebenkorn, Ocean Park Series 54

5. Content: The emotional or intellectual message of an artwork. Content
refers to the sensory, subjective, psychological, or emotional
properties we feel in a work of art

6. Vincent Van Gogh, Starry Night, 1889.
What is the subject of this painting? (what is shown?)
What is the Content of this painting?) How does it make you feel? What do you think it is about or trying to express?
Vincent Van Gogh, Starry Night, 1889.

7. Picture Plane: 2-Dimensional artists work on a flat surface
Picture Plane: 2-Dimensional artists work on a flat surface. The picture plane is the flat surface on which an artist makes pictorial images. The flat surface may also represent an imaginary plane of reference on which an artist can create spatial illusions.
The image ixists on the flat horizontal and vertical plane of paper, however, the artist can also give the illusion of receding or advancing space as pictured in the perspective study. The columns and blocks in the foreground (front) appear to be closer than the ones in the background. This gives the viewer the impression that they are standing closer to the front objects and viewing the ones that are further away from a distance. This kind of perspective is called Euclidean Space.

8. Picture Frame:
The picture frame represents the outermost limits of the picture
plane. These limits are represented by the edges of the canvas or
paper on which the work is created, or by margins drawn within the
edges (border).

9. Positive/Negative Space:
The areas that represent the artist’s initial selection of elements are
called positive areas. They may depict recognizable objects or
nonrepresentational elements. Unoccupied spaces are termed
negative areas. The negative areas are just as important to total
picture unity as the positive areas

10. Ellsworth Kelly, Red White, 1962
This is a nonfigurative or nonobjective painting by Ellsworth Kelly. In it, some areas have been painted and others have not. Deceptively simple. To the viewer the darks seem to be the negative shapes, although the effect may be reversed.
Ellsworth Kelly, Red White, 1962

11. Figure/Ground:
The term figure probably probably came from the human form,
which was used as a major subject in artworks and implied a
spatial relationship with the figure occupying the position in front of
the remaining background.
Generally, positive areas are considered the figure and negative
areas the ground.
So we generally break up the picture plane into three distinct areas: foreground-closest, middle ground-medium distance, and background-farthest from the viewer.

12. Paul Gauguin, Ancestors of Tehamana, 1893
Items in the foreground (generally toward the bottom of the picture plane) traditionally considered positive areas, whereas unoccupied
Spaces in the background are negative areas. However, this traditional view des not apply in every instance.
Paul Gauguin, Ancestors of Tehamana, 1893

13. Shape:
An area that stands out from the space next to or around it because
of a defined or implied boundary or because of differences of value,
color, or texture.
Actual shape -clearly defined positive area
Implied shape -suggested or created by the psychological connection of dots, lines, areas, or their edges creating the physical appearance of a shape.
Amorphous shape -lacking clarity or definition: formless, indistinct and uncertain dimensions
Biomorphic shape -irregular shape resembles the freely developed curved found in live organisms.
Geometric shape -a shape that appears to be related to geometry (triangles, rectangles, squares, circles, etc.)

14. Actual shape -clearly defined positive area
Implied Shape

15. Geometric Shape Barry McGee

16. Amorphous Shapes Claude Monet, Reflections of on the Water-Lily Pond (part I)

17. Proportion:
Proportion deals with the ratio of individual parts to one another.
The term scale is used when proportion is related to size and
Refers to some gauge for relating parts to the whole. For example,
the human figure is most often considered the norm by architects
for scaling buildings and often by artists for representation in their
artworks.

18. You’ll usually find the golden ratio depicted as a single large rectangle formed by a square and another rectangle. What’s unique about this is that you can repeat the sequence infinitely and perfectly within each section
The Golden Mean

19. Georges Seurat, Circus Sideshow, 1888

20. Economy: Distilling the image to the basic essentials for clarity of
presentation.
Often times as a work develops, the artist will find that the solutions to various visual problems result in unnecessary complexity. The artist can sometimes restore order by returning to the significant essentials, eliminating elaborate details, and relating the particulars to the whole.

21. Ellsworth Kelly, Red Blue Green, 1963
Ellsworth Kelly was part of the minimalist movement which employed economy to pair down works of art to the bare essentials of form and shape.
Ellsworth Kelly, Red Blue Green, 1963

22. Memory Landscape thumbnails (ink on bristol)

23. Memory Landscape thumbnails (ink on bristol)

24. Memory Landscape Figure/Ground reversal Student example (cut out paper)

25. Memory Landscape Figure/Ground reversal Student example (cut out paper)

26. Memory Landscape Figure/Ground reversal Student example (cut out paper)