RHYTHM
&
MOVEMENT
Chapter 9 ArtTalk Text
Rhythm
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Rhythm is the principle of
design that indicates
movement by the repetition
of elements
Rhythm is used in every art
form
Rhythm can be created
visually and can also occur
in nature.
Rhythms are comforting
(expressive quality)
Visual Rhythm
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Visual rhythm is rhythm
you see through your eyes
rather than hear through
your ears as in music
In this painting by Charles
Burchfield, the artist uses
repetitive color, lines,
shapes, and patterns to
create rhythm to express
the living force in the
natural environment.
Charles Ephraim Burchfield, May Wind 1945-56. Watercolor on paper. 30” x 40”.
Rhythm
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Everywhere you look
you can see visual
rhythms.
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Books in a bookcase
Cars in a parking lot
People in line
Traffic on the freeway
Visual rhythm
creates the sensation
of movement as the
viewer’s eye follows
the visual beats
through a work of art.
Yvonne Jacquette, "Three Night Views of
Minneapolis II (Left Panel)“. 1984
Rhythm
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Visual rhythm does not create actual movement like a ball bouncing
across a room would.
Visual rhythm can create the same sensation by “bouncing” your eye from
one shape to another.
In this image, rhythm is created with the use of negative space in between
the shapes that you see.
Rosa Bonheur, The Horse Fair. 1853-55. Oil on canvas. 244.5 x 506.7 cm (96 ¼ x 199 ½ in). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY.
Repetition
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Rhythm is a result of
repetition.
Motif and pattern are often
used in talking about
repetition.
Motif is a unit that is repeated
in visual rhythm – a repeated
pattern, image or theme, and
not necessarily repeated
exactly.
Pattern is a two-dimensional
decorative visual repetition.
Pattern is flat, decorative, and
can be visually uninteresting.
This is a floral motif
This has a striped pattern
Pattern
Rhythm / Movement
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A pattern may have a
motif which is repeated.
All rhythm has a
pattern, but not all
pattern has a rhythm,
some patterns have a
rhythm.
Examples of Motif
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In a marching band, one
band member is a motif
even though each band
member carries a
different instrument.
In a grocery store, one
can is a motif even
though the products in
the cans may be different
Rhythm / Movement
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Module: a 3-D motif is called a module.
In sculpture and architecture, the ‘motif’ is
called a module, a standard matching unit.
Rhythm
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Different rhythms are
created with different
arrangements of motif
and space.
There are 5 types of
rhythm:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Random
Regular
Alternating
Flowing
Progressive
Dale Chihuly, Clear Venetian with Birds. 1989. Glass. 14 x 11 x 10 in.
Rhythm
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Random rhythm is a motif
repeated in no apparent order, with
no regular spaces in between.
Examples of random rhythm are
leaves on the ground, cracks in
mud, and splashes of paint.
Rhythm
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Regular rhythm has
identical motifs and equal
amounts of space between
them.
Regular rhythm has a
steady beat.
Regular rhythms are used
to organize things, (parking
spaces, groceries on the
supermarket shelf).
Regular rhythm can
become boring if overdone
(expressive quality).
Wrapper (kente). Asante peoples. Bonwire, Ghana. Early-mid
20th century. Silk, synthetic dye. H x W: 238.8 x 136 cm (94 x
53 9/16 in.). National Museum of African Art, National Museum
of Natural History
Rhythm
Alternating rhythm does
create interest, and relieve
monotony (expressive
quality).
Alternating rhythm can
occur in several ways:
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1.
2.
3.
4.
Footed Dish, Early 18th century. Japanese.
Nabeshima ware. h x diam: 2 1/8 x 7 7/8
inches (5.4 x 20 cm).
Introduce a second motif.
Make a change in the
placement or content of the
original motif.
Change the spaces between
motifs.
Change the position of the
motif, for example, turning
the motif upside down.
Shoulder Bag. Creek. Georgia or Alabama.
1810 – 30. wool fabric, cotton fabric and
thread, silk ribbon, glass beads. Strap: 53.25
x 71/8 in. Bag: 7 5/8 x 4 in.
Rhythm
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Flowing rhythm is created
by repeating wavy lines.
Curved shapes such as
rolling hills or ocean waves
create rolling rhythms.
Flowing rhythm has no
sudden breaks in the
movement of flowing lines.
This rhythm suggests the
movement of wind, water,
or even flames. This
rhythm is soothing, or
hypnotic (expressive
quality).
Rhythm
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Progressive: In progressive rhythm,
there is a change in the motif each
time the motif is repeated.
Example: a motif may start as a
square, but as the design continues,
the square will change, perhaps
becoming smaller each time, or
changing shape slowly until it is a
circle, or a bird.
In Balla’s Street Light, the light is
represented by a progression of line
and color. Color progresses from
white and yellow near the lamp itself
to reds and lavenders as it gets further
out. The line changes from small,
tight v shapes to wider and larger v
shapes.
Giacomo Balla, Street Light. 1909. Oil on canvas. 174.7 x 114.7
cm (68 ¼ x 45 ¼ in). The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY.
Movement
What is movement why is it
important in visual art?
 Movement is the principle
of design used to create the
look and feeling of action
and to guide the viewer’s
eye throughout an artwork.
 All artworks have
movement.
 Any element may be used to
create movement in an
artwork.
Marcel Duchamp, Nude Descending A Staircase, No. 2. 1912.
Oil on canvas.57 7/8 x 35 1/8 in. Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Movement
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In this picture of the
Golden Gate Bridge in
San Francisco, the
picture is not actually
moving at all.
However, when you
look at the picture,
your eye is drawn to
the big support in the
left center of the image.
Then your eye is
carried through the
sweep of the diagonal
cable off into the
distance, thus creating
movement.
Movement
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Movement may be
smooth and flowing,
creating a calm or
comfortable feeling
(expressive quality).
Movement
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Movement may be
quick, abrupt, or jumpy,
creating an excited,
tense, or nervous quality
(expressive quality) in
the artwork.
Movement
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Movement
using mainly
Line
Joan Miró. Women and Birds at Sunrise. 1946. Oil on canvas. 54 x 65 cm. Fundació Joan Miró, Barcelona, Spain.
Movement
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Movement using
mainly color:
Vincent Van Gogh, The Café Terrace on the Place du Forum, Arles, at Night. 1888. Oil on canvas.
Kroller-Muller Museum, Otterlo, The Netherlands.
Movement
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Movement using mainly value
M. C. Escher, Sky and Water. 1938. Woodcut.
M.C. Escher, Other World. 1947. Wood engraving and woodcut
in black, reddish brown, printed from 3 blocks
Movement
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Movement using mainly
texture
Jackson Pollock, No. 5. 1948. Alkyds on canvas. 8’ x 4’.
Movement
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Movement created mainly with shapes and
space:
Miriam Schapiro, Anna and David. 1986. Aluminum and paint. Thirty-five feet high and 31 feet wide,
weighing 1,200 pounds
Movement
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Dynamism: one
art style or
movement called
the Futurists, used
the word
dynamism to refer
to the forces of
movement. They
believed that
nothing was solid
or stable (atoms)
and that art could
show or illustrate
actual motion.
Giacomo Bella. Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash. 1912. Oil on canvas. 88.9 x 109.9 cm (35 1/8 x 43 ¼ in).
Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY.
Movement
Dynamism / Futurists
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In 2-D work the
Futurists illustrated
dynamism by
superimposing
many different
consecutive views
of the subject onto
the same surface.
In 3-D work they
incorporated actual
motion into the
works of Kinetic
sculpture and
mobiles.
Umberto Boccioni, The City Rises. 1910. Oil on canvas. 6’ 6 ½” x 9’ 10 ½”. Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY.
Movement
Dynamism
Futurists
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Kinetic Sculptures were
works that used air currents
and gravity to create actual
motion in the work. This
evolved eventually so that
actual motors, or even lights
could be incorporated to
allow movement.
Mobiles are sculptures that
are suspended, normally
from the ceiling, and
incorporate motion by
means of the flow of air.
Alexander Calder. Lobster Trap and Fish Tail. 1939. Hanging mobile.
Painted steel wire and sheet aluminum. 2.6 x .29 (8’6” x 9’6”). The Museum of
Modern Art, New York, NY.
Meet the Artist
Chuck Close
 American, b. 1940
 Chuck Close is a portrait
painter, but not in the
traditional sense.
 He works on an extremely
large scale.
 He creates his work based
on photographs he has taken
of people.
 He was known as a leading
Photo-Realist in his early
career.
Chuck Close
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In the late 1980’s he
suffered a sudden illness
that left him partially
paralyzed. He could use
his arms, but he could
no longer use his hands.
He now paints with a
devise that is strapped
onto his arm, to which a
brush is attached.
Chuck Close
He can not walk, is confined
to a wheelchair, and uses a
forklift to raise him above
the floor to work on his
large scale paintings.
 His work is no longer
Photo-Realistic, but are
completed in his own
personal style (form). He
still works from photos
which have been gridded
but the artworks are now
filled with color and light.
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Movement & Rhythm
Building Vocabulary
Write the definitions below, and write the term that each
describes.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
The principle of design that indicates movement by the
repetition of elements.
Rhythm you receive through the eyes rather than through
the ears.
A unit that is repeated in visual rhythm.
A three dimensional motif.
A 2-D decorative visual repetition.
The principle of design used to create the look and feeling
of action.
The principle of design used to guide the viewers eye
through the work of art.
A sculpture that actually moves in space.
Movement and Rhythm
Reviewing Art Facts
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Write out the following questions, and give the answer for
each.
What is movement?
How is movement created in visual art?
What is rhythm in visual art?
In general how is visual rhythm created in art?
What is the difference between rhythm and movement?
How are rhythm and movement the same?
What is the difference between rhythm and pattern?
In general how are each of the different rhythms created? (
list these, define or explain each, and draw and example for
each)
Which elements are used to create movement? ( draw 4
examples to illustrate )