Assignment #2 Design Elements and Principles

1. Unity is the ability of an artist to combine elements and have it feel as if there is a sense of completion between them. Combing the elements to have the artwork feel as if they are unified into one image helping to create harmony and satisfaction. An example of an element that artists use to unify their work is the use of color to bring an image together. Color helps similar objects in a painting feel more as a whole which can also be said about the use of shapes that are of the same size. Size helps show that objects of different varieties can be seen as equal to balance the idea of two different objects and how they are seen. Repetition or a certain pattern of a certain objects also brings unification because this element presents recurring images to bring a sense of a complete image. 

"Wheat Field with Cypresses" by Vincent van Gogh.

An example of an artwork that can present these elements and show unity is "Wheat Field with Cypresses" by Vincent van Gogh. The image presents the unity among the different colors that come together to balance the image with light blue clouds and yellow wheat fields. You can see layers of color among the light blue skies, the green bushes and trees, and the golden wheat fields that fit in their respective places.The clouds and bushes along the wheat field present this round shape that repeats in the objects that Vincent van Gogh had designed. 

2. Asymmetry is the opposite of symmetry as it tries not to balance the left and right side but uses different elements to help bring balance in the image. This idea does not disrupt the whole artwork but instead uses these elements to find stability within each other. For example, an image may appear to show that the left side has a much darker approach but seeks balance when the left collides with the lighter tone of the right side. Size is another aspect of asymmetry because an object may be small in size but because of its importance may disrupt the equilibrium but an object of much bigger size may help bring that needed balance. This approach to asymmetry using the size of two or more objects demonstrates that one object lack of size but importance may need compensation from that an object of greater size.

A work of art that helps demonstrate these elements is "The Oxbow" by Thomas Cole that is a landscape painting of the Conneticut River Valley just after a thunderstorm. On the left side of the image you can see the dark, mellow tone of the thunderstorm which is then balanced from the right side by the use skies that clearing up. The skies are clearing up and demonstrate how passing of a thunderstorm can lead to this serene environment. The branches on the left are bigger in size than the river on the right from the use of perspective viewing.

3. Scale is the idea of using perspective to help illustrate an importance in certain aspects. The size of an object may become exaggerated in the artwork to point out the relationship between that and everything around it. Something as simple as a piece of fruit may become enlarged as a statue to help see the relationship. In Escif´s mural of an off and on switch, the size of the switch is exaggerated to a ginormous level that stretches across an entire building. A simple object such as a light switch is drastically enlarged to show the connection with the world around it. The meaning behind any statue or painting can change depending on how enlarged the art is transformed.