Movement
Used by artists to direct viewers through their
work, often to the focal area. Such movement
can be directed along the lines and edges; also
by way of spaces and colors within the works.
Movement is directed most easily on paths of
equal value.
What does
movement do?
• Artists use visual
movement to take
viewers on a trip
through their work.
When we look at
art, our eyes move
along edges and
lines, and also on
paths made of
connecting shapes
of similar color or
value. Such
movement often
leads us to the
focal area and
gives our work a
sense of unity and
organization.
Moving along edged (contours)
• The outer edges
(contours) of the
bottle and flowers
were emphasized by a
student artist. Your
eye moves along the
edges toward the top
flower which is the
focal area.
Movement in Sculpture – 3D
• Light often
emphasizes the edges
and forms of a
sculpture. Note how
Michelangelo carved
the marble to the lit
edges lead your eye
upward to the head of
Moses, which is the
focus.
Your eyes follow shapes toward
the center of focus, or focal point.
• Your eye moves along elongated shapes toward
the focus or center of interest.
• Do you think you can find such directional shapes
and movement in realistic and abstract
paintings?
• Painters direct movement in their work by making paths of
similar values or colors, leading to the focus.
• How many such paths can you find in Mendocino Morning,
by Gerald Brommer?
Value Paths Create
movement to focal
points
• Movement is created in
the painting on the left
as your eye travels from
the little girl on the
blanket and moves up
the stairs. The light
value paths of the
blanket & the wall
behind the girl on
the stairs is
repeated. Our eyes
move back and forth
from these two areas,
leading us to the focal
points of the image,
which are the girls on
the blanket, as well as
the girl going up the
stairs.
Lines and Linear
Movement
• You cannot
get lost in
this painting.
Your eye
must follow
the lines
from the
outer edges
of the
painting to
the focus –
the erupting
volcano.
This is
called linear
movement.
Lines, Edges, Shapes & Colors
Lead us through artwork
• A road map helps
us find our way to
our destination. In
art, lines, edges,
shapes, and
colors help us
move from outer
edges to the focus
of our work – just
like a road map.
Large Shapes lead us to Detailed
Focal Area
• Movement to the
focal area is felt when
the outer shapes of a
painting are simple
and large, and the
focal area is detailed
and busy. Our eye
naturally moves from
simple to complex
areas.
Visual
Movement with
shapes
• The main
visual
movement
in this
painting is
on the zigzag white
shape, but
movement is
also seen on
other edges
and shapes
to the focal
area.
Using Repetition to Create
Movement
• The use of repetition
to create movement
occurs when
elements which have
something in
common are
repeated regularly or
irregularly
sometimes creating
a visual rhythm.
Repetition doesn’t have
to be exact to create
movement.
• Repetition doesn't
always mean exact
duplication either, but it
does mean similarity
or near-likeness.
Actually, slight
variations to a simple
repetition will add
interest. Repetition
tends to tie things
together whether they
are touching or not and
is an easy way to
achieve unity. This can
be done with any of the
elements of art (form,
line, shape, value,
texture or color).
Effective Use of Repetition to Create
Movement
• Repetition creates
the movement in
the painting on the
left. The color of the
gowns is repeated
leading the eye into
the painting. The
pattern on the floor
also creates
repetition.
Using Rhythm to
create movement
• Rhythm is the result of
repetition which leads the
eye from one area to
another in direct, flowing,
or staccato movement.
• It can be produced by continuous
repetition, by periodic
repetition, or by regular
alternation of one of more
forms or lines. A single form may
be slightly changed with each
repetition or be repeated with
periodic changes in size, color,
texture, or value. A line may
regularly vary in length, weight, or
direction. Color may also be
repeated in various parts of the
composition in order to unify the
various areas of the painting.
Using Action to
create movement
• Movement can
also be created
by action. In two•
•
•
dimensional works of art, action
must be implied.
Implied action in a painting
creates life and activity within
the composition.
This is best illustrated by the
direction the eye takes
along an invisible path,
which is called implied line,
created by an arrow, a gaze, or
a pointing finger.
Action can also be indicated by
the "freeze frame" effect of an
object in motion, such as
bouncing ball suspended in mid
air, a jogger about to take that
next step, or a swimmer taking
a dive, etc.
Using Optical
Movement
• Optical Movement
can also be used in a
work of art. Artists
such as Bridget Riley
and Victor Vasarely
used shape, color and
line to create a physical
sense of movement in
works of art. This
period of art is often
times referred to as The
Op Art Movement.
Optical movement
produces a disorienting
physical effect on the
eye.
Summary: make sure this information is on your
journal pages.
•
• 1.
Definition of Movement: used by artists to direct
viewers through their work, often to a focal point. Such
movement can be directed along the lines and edges: also by
way of shapes and colors within the work. Movement is
directed most easily on paths of equal value.
• 2.
The purpose of movement is to create unity in artwork
with eye travel.
• 3.
Movement in a work of art often leads us to the focal
area and gives the work a sense of unity and organization.
Movement can be achieved in art by using:
• 1.
Repetition – elements which have
something in common are repeated in a work
of art
• Rhythm - produced by continuous repetition,
by periodic repetition, or by regular
alternation of one of more forms or lines
which leads the eye from one area to another
in direct, flowing, or staccato movement
(abrupt changes in forms or lines)
• 1.
In Art Staccato refers to: detached,
short and disconnected, often using shapes,
lines or forms
• 2.
Action - In two-dimensional works of art,
action must be implied. The direction the eye
takes along an invisible path created by an
arrow, a gaze, or a pointing finger. Action can
also be indicated by the "freeze frame" effect of
an object in motion
• 3.
Linear movement – the eye travels
along a line path. The line can be either solid,
broken or implied.
• 1.
Implied Line: A line that is visually
suggested by the arrangement of forms, lights and
darks, or other elements in a work of art. An implied
line is not actually there, but leads the eye from one
shape or form to another. (An example might be, if a
person were pointing in a certain direction, you
would look in that direction)
• 2.
Size Paths – the eye follows larger elements
to smaller elements
• 3.
Value Paths – The eye follows dark elements
to lighter elements
• 4.
Color Paths – From colored areas to non
colored areas, or changes in color values (light colors
to darker colors)
• Shape Paths – The eye follows unusual shapes to
usual shapes, or larger shapes to smaller shapes
• 1.
Our Eyes naturally move from
simple to complex areas of a piece of
artwork.
• 2.
Light Often Emphasizes the edges
and forms of a three dimensional
sculpture.
• 3.
Optical Movement is another way
to create movement in a work of art.
Using shapes, color and line to create a
physical sense of movement in works of art.
This period of art is often times referred to as
The Op Art Movement. Optical movement
produces a disorienting physical effect on the
eye.
Activity: Classroom
• Movement can be seen in the following
artwork. Choose from the following list, or
from your own observations, elements the
artist may have used to create movement
in their work. Write at LEAST 4 things
about movement within each piece. Be
specific in your answers.
• Work with one partner. Follow the paths of
movement in each and write down, in order
what you see. Compare your answers with
your partner.
Use the following words where appropriate when
describing the slides
•
•
•
•
•
Repetition
Rhythm
Action
Lines/Linear
Texture
•
•
•
•
•
Size
Value
Color
Shape/Form
Optical
Movement
Example: In the first
work, Juggling Man,
you might list:
• 1. It is a three dimensional
sculpture
• 2. Light allows our eyes to
see shapes and forms.
• 3. Our eyes follow value
paths to the focal point which
is the face. We look at the
lighter areas first, and then
follow the linear contour lines
of the arms and legs until we
come to the face.
• Because the arms are
outstretched, creating linear
movement, our eyes keep
moving along them, bringing
us back and forth to see
what he has in his hands.
1
Francisco de Goya y Lucientes (Spanish, 1746-1828), The
Forge, between c. 1815 and 1820, oil on canvas, 71 1/2 x 49 1/4
inches (181.6 x 125.1 cm), Frick Collection, NY.
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2
Eadweard Muybridge, Jumping a hurdle; saddle; bay
horse Daisy Plate 640 of Animal Locomotion, 1887,
collotype, Worcester Art Museum, MA.
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3
Winslow Homer (American, 1836-1910), Snap the Whip, 1872,
oil on canvas, 12 x 20 inches, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.
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4
Vincent van Gogh (Dutch, 1853-1890), The Starry Night,
June 1889 (Saint-Rémy), oil on canvas, 29 x 36 1/4 inches
(72 x 92 cm), Museum of Modern Art, New York, F 612
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Georges Seurat (French, 1859-1891), The Circus, 1891, oil on canvas, 73
x 59 1/8 inches, Musée d'Orsay, Paris.
Georges Seurat used pointillism to create this painting. Dots of pure
color are placed very close together, and visually mix together to create
changes in value.
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5
6
Henri Matisse (French, 1869-1954), Dance (first version),
1909, oil on canvas, 8 feet 6 1/2 inches x 12 feet 9 1/2 inches
(259.7 x 390.1 cm), Museum of Modern Art, NY.
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7
Matisse painted a second version of Dance in 1910, oil on
canvas, 102 x 154 inches (260 x 391 cm), Hermitage Museum, St.
Petersburg, Russia.
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8
Henri Matisse, Music, 1910, oil on canvas, 102 x 153
inches (260 x 389 cm), Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg,
Russia.
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9
Umberto Boccioni (Italian, 1882-1916), Unique Forms of
Continuity in Space (Forme uniche della continuità nello
spazio), 1913, cast 1972, bronze, 117.5 x 87.6 x 36.8 cm, Tate
Gallery, London.
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10
Robert Minor (American, 1884-1952), Pittsburgh, 1916,
lithographic crayon and India ink, published in The Masses,
no. 8, August 1916.
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By the way………..
•
Robert Minor produced this drawing
as an editorial cartoon, commenting
on a 1916 steel workers' strike. He was
among the first American editorial
cartoonists to employ grease pencil
and ink brush, when most were using
pen and ink. He emphasized the thrust
of the soldier's bayonet by drawing its
direction as the counterpoint to that of
the worker's body. The grace of this
juxtaposition results in our feeling all
the more shock at the sight of the
pointed blade. Minor drew inspiration
for this approach from such European
masters as Francisco Goya and
Honoré Daumier, coming to produce
many such spare, forceful drawings as
this.
11
Marcel Duchamp (American, born France, 1887-1968; in
U.S.A. 1915-18, 1920-23, 1942-68), Nude Descending a
Staircase, 1911-12, oil on canvas, 58 x 35 inches,
Philadelphia Museum of Art, PA. Sometimes called
Cubo-Futurists
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12
Charles Burchfield (American, 1893-1967), September
Wind and Rain, 1949, watercolor, 22 x 48 inches,
Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH.
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13
John Steuart Curry (American, 1897-1946), Fire Diver,
1934, watercolor on paper mounted on board, 22 1/2 x
15 1/2 inches, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art,
Kansas City, MO.
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