Shape, Form and Space
Shape
• What is shape?
A shape is an element of art. Specifically,
it is an enclosed space, the boundaries of
which are defined by other elements of
art
Types of Shape
• Geometric: Shapes that have specific rules
• Organic: a shape that can have both curved
and straight segments.
Form
• What is it?
is an element of art. At its most basic, a form is a
three-dimensional geometrical figure (i.e.:
sphere, cube, cylinder, cone, etc.), as opposed to
a shape, which is two-dimensional, or flat.
Types of Form
• Geometric:
is a list of three-dimensional geometric shapes.
Such as: cubes, spheres, cones, etc
Another type of Form
• Free Form:
A form without specific rules.
Three-dimensional enclosed
space.
Space
• Positive: it is the space occupied by your
subject
• Negative: is the space
that is not your subject
Negative
space
Do you see a vase or
two faces?
Positive
space
Silhouette
• What is a silhouette?
The dark shape and outline
of someone or something
visible against a lighter
background, esp. in dim
light.
Kara Walker
• “One of my earliest memories involves sitting
on my dad’s lap in his studio in the garage of
our house and watching him draw. I
remember thinking: ‘I want to do that, too,’
and I pretty much decided then
and there at age 2½ or 3 that I
was an artist just like Dad.”
—Kara Walker
Born 1969- still alive
Life
• Who is she?
Kara Walker is a contemporary African American
artist who explores race, gender, sexuality,
violence and identity in her work. She is best
known for her room-size black cut-paper
silhouettes
• She was born in California. Moved to Georgia
at age 13.
Her Art
• What is it about?
Her compositions play off stereotypes to
portray, often horrifically, life on the plantation,
where masters and mistresses and slave men,
women, and children enact a subverted version
of the past in an attempt to reconfigure their
status and representation.
• She makes room-size cut-paper silhouettes
depicting historical narratives haunted by
sexuality, violence, and suppression
• Her first full scale show was held by the
Walker Art Center
• At 27, she was the youngest to receive the
John D & Cathy T MacArthur foundation’s
“Genius Grant”
• Over the past
decade, she has
gained national
and international
recognition for her
art
Walker’s scenarios spoil conventional readings of a
cohesive national history and expose the collective, and
ongoing, psychological injury caused by the tragic
legacy of slavery.
• Over the past years she has used drawing, painting, coloredlight projections, writing, shadow puppetry, and, most
recently, film animation to narrate her tales of romance,
sadism, oppression and liberation.
Social Issues
• What is it?
An issue that affects people and society as a
whole. How it changed their lives and/or mental
condition because of stress from the issue
What are some social issues?
Project
• We are going to use Kara Walker’s technique
of paper-cut silhouette to depict a social issue
you feel passionate about.
Steps
1. List two social issues that interest you
2. Find an image that helps get your image across
3. Print it off using the same format we used for last
assignment. The image needs to be big
4. Tape a black piece of paper under your printed image
5. Use an x-acto knife and cut away all negative space.
6. After all negative space has been cut out, remove the
printed image
7. Use tissue paper to glue onto the opened areas to
create a powerful message
8. Fill out evaluation and hand it
What you will be graded on