Composition
The word composition is used
when talking about the overall arrangement of shapes, lines, or colors within a work of
art. Like a written or musical composition, an artwork's composition can be described as
simple or complicated, fast-paced or slow, exciting or boring, loud or quiet. Every
artwork has a composition.
Abstraction
Sometimes an artist only
gives you a little information (a shadow, an outline, a color, part of a line) about a
familiar object. This abstraction allows the artist and the viewer to create his/her
unique vision, or impression, of the world. Look at the image to the right, Burden,
by Shastri Maharaj. In Burden, Shastri simplifies the people and the houses so
that they look almost like cartoon figures. However, you can still easily tell that the
packages they carry are large and heavy. |
Isaiah James Boodhoo, The
Arrival, 1998
|
Shastri Maharaj, Burden, 1998
Texture
Texture describes a surface
in a painting, drawing, or sculpture. Lines can tell you whether a surface is smooth or
bumpy, hairy or hairless. |
