Richard Avedon, an international icon the world of photography, found distinction in the crowded industry through his unique and austere portraits of international titans of politics, arts and literature. Regarded as a man whose influence is boundless in politics and art, Avedon sought to capture the essence of his subjects through a style that left nothing to the viewer’s imagination, normally positioning his subjects on blank white canvas that forced his audiences to confront the character and personality before them. Whether deemed corrupt, menacing, heroic or alien, the subject before the viewer is normally the sole element of Avedon’s photography and portraits, capturing not the mere exterior, but the mind and soul on the inside. His lens pierced through the lives of his subjects and sought a unique objectivity in the place and time his subjects occupied, often photographing many subjects at their height  or power or scandal, or inversely at an older age when time has torn through the wrinkles of their skin and tumultuous past. Avedon, coming from modest fashion photography, found success in capturing the essence of figures that carried power and spoke greatly in the international  discussion on politics and art during the 20th century.

This portrait of Ezra Pound, taken in the late fifties, captures a poet of immense intellect and reputation, a man whose stature in the poetry community is cemented by his epics. This photograph, a quintessential portrait in Avedon’s style, demonstrates the strength of time and its effects on the human skin and soul. His face withered, his expression wrapped in a dark poignancy, Pound’s character and persona is easily felt Avedon’s portrait, forcing the viewer to confront the feeling of age and displacement in contemporary culture. The agony or exhaustion captured in the portrait, however is not forced or contrived by the great photographer, but merely remains an accurate exaggeration of Pound’s face after age has left it torn and in a strange place in time. Avedon merely sees his subject for what it is and captures it objectively.

Audrey Hepburn, a woman who carried as much power as her beauty in film, was seen by Avedon as his muse, a person who perhaps challenged his own lens to see something more closely and with more beauty. This very austere portrait of the actress in the early fifties captures the effortless elegance she exudes as a model for the modern feminine archetype. The contrast of the photograph adds greatly to Hepburn’s natural beauty, but also exaggerates the qualities of her own character and persona. Rather than merely photograph his muse at her most beautiful, Avedon captures his subject at the moment of a naked and honest reflection on her spirit and personality. Her sleek, slender form nearly dissolves into the background, relating to her almost-divine qualities, giving the viewer a calming feeling of natural expression and beauty.

In one of Avedon’s most original portraits, the renowned photographer chooses to capture the essence of a man, not particularly powerful or famous himself, but one whose existence speaks volumesof the strange and unique character of the American West. As part of his series entitled simply “The American West,” Avedon seeks the true essence not of any powerful politician or artist in the West, but of the more common and impoverished workers of the region whose disparate and different identities create a unified whole the expounds greatly on the qualities of the region. In this portrait of Ronald Fischer, a beekeeper, Avedon intentionally chooses to bring out one of his qualities that speaks the most to his character, that being his profession. Covered in bees, the man stands still with a rather modest and blank expression on his face that challenges the viewer to find internal flux or conflict in his character. In the very threat of danger, this man is able to stay calm, simply because he has mastered his fear and finds solace in his work. The viewer is unable to find conflict, dispite the contrast of his skin to the dark hair of the bees constantly reminds the viewer he is in danger.

GHAPHICS AD

Yes. It is a glorious thing of beauty that was given to the world in order to better realize literacy and understanding. But the idea Helvetica remains this “clear, crisp glass of water that refreshes the parched traveler in the desert” is truly someone laboring over their love with the typeface and not making an actual logical argument as to why and how this is a revolutionary social construct. I can read almost any other typeface just as well as Helvetica, and that does not necessarily mean those other fonts present a personality to the reading that somehow distorts the overall message one receives from the writing in front of them. The notion Helvetica is the “end all and be all”, the perfection of modern society’s values made in typeface, is a bloated and heavy-handed statement. In the world of communications, legibility is quite important, yet just because this typeface is more easy to read by one iota more than other fonts, does not immediately invalidate all other fonts.

When Helvetica was once the underdog, the unsung hero of the world of typeface, the font was first seen with skepticism and hesitation. Now, while the reverse has taken place, many are again arguing against the use of “the Modern typeface.” While Helvetica associates more modern theories of loss of identity and personality with everything it is printed on, other typefaces provide other kinds of connotations and personalities that are just as valid and useful, if not more than this. Perhaps the part of the documentary that resonated most with me was when towards the end, one of the few non-Swedish speakers discussed issues in legibility and communication. He argued for the two terms to be divided and not confused with one another, providing his example of using an entirely illegible and unreadable font for a rather poorly written story. Because the quality of the story is reflected in the representational value of the font, there is a more appropriate connection made, one that views communication as more important than the simple notion of legibility. It is a call to reclaim the personlaity lost with the abudance and reproduction of the typeface.

Although I still would call myself an enthusiast of the typeface, Helvetica symbolizes to me a way for people to simply “eat crap, because it is on every corner,” as one of the Swedish speakers said in the documentary. There is something very ingenious and poetic about the ubiquity of the typeface and its perfection, yet diversity is something inherent in communication I believe. Though we all see the font and understand it to be the greatest thing since sliced bread, I find myself at the DC metro stations asking why is everything like a doctor’s office, so steril? As much as I do enjoy seeing it everywhere, in graphic design, printmaking, journals, magazines, books, clothing, signs, I would like to see more creativity, more diversity in how we communicate with one another as people. That way, we could find more interpretations about what we read, not about what we see.

China has artwork that is extremely unique to their culture and region. A lot of China’s art gets influences from different religions like Taoism and Confucianism. Also a big influence in the Chinese culture is their language. They run off of a pictographic, so their words are represented by symbols. Naturally this means they understand the value of line, as it is a necessity for their communication.

Different Perspectives

Chinese artist also use points and lines to help the viewer navigate through the piece of art. Many of the artists, especially around the 12th century, don’t keep the same perspective throughout the whole piece of art, actually generally the perspective changes as the viewer “moves” through the piece. This can be seen in the development of landscape painting during this period, as color was de-emphasized and thin monochrome line and form was used to accentuate the pictorial harmony and subtlety.

Chinese Airport

Symbols play a major part in Chinese artwork, but symbols also play a big role in architecture. Traditional Chinese architecture uses, lines, patterns, curves, and colors to help ward off evil spirits. It is seen in the architecture and their artwork, that everything has a meaning. Traditional Chinese design retains its influence today as seen in contemporary Chinese architecture through its emphasis on line and form, often using spherical patterns to reflect the culture’s interest in how life in general is circular.

Modern Chinese Garment

Traditional Chinese clothing is both a external sign of elegance, but also shows the internal elegance. The idea that everything has meaning caries on into the clothing, as special care was put into the details of the clothes like flowers, plants, and animals. Every color that was chosen and every animal that was put onto the clothing had significance. Today designers are starting to implement parts of traditional Chinese art and thought into the pieces. A designer today will take into account symbols and the idea of fortune when designing clothes. Now a days woman can still be seen wearing traditional dresses to formal occasions.

Point:

Joan Miro Painting (Circus House), 1927

This image uses to two separate points in the rather barren and abstract composition to create some kind of order and relation to one another. Though the line created by the two points is interrupted by another line, the mind is forced to connect the two points according to the gestalt theory of closure which causes the viewer to in some way, psychologically imagine a circus house given the implied line made by the two points. Deliberately abstracted by Miro, the contours that are explicit help the viewer psychologically form a line between the two points and eventually form the structure he desires to be seen beyond the surface image.

Line:

Edward Hopper "First Row Orchestra", 1951

In this painting, the artist uses horizontal and vertical lines in tandem to create the sense of safety and solidity to the point of stoicism. Common in many of his works, Hopper uses heavy, straight lines to demonstrate the alienation and unsentimental approach people take towards one another in modern life. The lines, being the strongest, most effectively used element in the composition are parallel in relation to gravity, creating a mood of repose to the extreme of isolated complacency that perfectly fits the theme of being a spectator to a non-existent show.

Form:

Francis Bacon "Diptych: Study of Human Body- From a Drawing by Ingres", 1962-44

In this rather peculiar interpretation of the timeless diptych, the artist uses very distorted forms to relate to his viewer a sense of discomfort and inability to actually perceive what is being depicted within the given space around the figures. These highly irregular forms try to force a sense of organic reality within the composition, yet the viewer is also confronted with highly abstracted forms that express the artist’s intentions to break previous conceptions of the human form and use a study by a master artist to challenge past depictions of the ideal human body and what people actually see themselves as in art.

Movement:

Alexander Calder "Red Cascade", 1964

In this sculpture, the artist takes the element of movement to its most rational extreme, to the point where shapes with in a composition can actually move and change their spatial relationships to one another throughout time. The gradations in red allow the viewer’s eye to move throughout the composition as it begins to move on its own, relating the artist’s desire for the viewer to perceive movement not only in the literal movement of the mobile sculpture, but also through the changes in color value. This continues the artist’s idea of a red “cascade” which literally demonstrates the color’s ability to change throughout space and time, in strange, irregular contours that make the more composition all the more dynamic.

Color:

Clyfford Still "1962-D", 1962

In this inherently abstract composition, the artist emphsizes the ways in which colors vibrate and contrast one another, using complementary colors (blue/orange, black/white) as the basic language to be transcibed by the viewer’s eyes. While the off-white recedes into the warm background, the black formless shape is pulled out into the viewer’s focus and immediately radiates as the dominante figure in the composition, leaving the blue and orange to the left to balance the viewer’s attention to the rest of the composition. The maroon accent to the right of the black figure also works to balance the composition and retain its integrity in remaining an equal composition in terms of color.

Pattern:

Karl Benjamin "#25", 1964

In this image, the artist repeats a basic pattern, contained within the space of squares and rectangles, interrupting the overall flow and organization of the what the artist is depicting in the composition. Because the pattern is geometrically abstracted circles and lines, the artist perhaps wishes to communicate to the viewer the sense of distortion and chaos within such a ordered and harmonious composition that refuses to emphasize any particular part of the image. The pattern created by the artist merely confuses the viewer and leaves the eye to move around the composition randomly, with no fixed emphasis. Though there is a strict order to the structure and “skeleton” of the composition, the viewer is unable to discern any reason behind such a consistant and ordered pattern.

Texture:

Julian Schnabel "Portrait of Andy Warhol", 1983

In this painting, the artist chose to place the most creative emphasis on the texture and actual external quality of the composition’s surface, using a black velvet surface as a canvas on which the rough, jagged, abstracted lines form a rather abstracted portrait of the venerated artist. With this choice of medium, the artist is creating the illusion of a tactile sensation as the viewer’s mind is able to understand the heavily applied oils to the black velvet background, creating a very distorting, yet simultaneously comforting feeling. This technique used by the artist in some ways reflects the quality and expressionism of Warhol’s own artwork: comforting and familiar, yet simultaneously jarring and perplexing to the viewer, creating different sensation psychologically while this painting creates mental tactile sensations.

Balance:

Antoine Pevsner, "Column of Peace", 1964

The artist employs visual equilibrium in this sculpture to provide vitality and stability to this bronze cast, reconciling the sharp, opposing forces that at first seem violent and agressive, but are truly arranged equally at either side of the central axis. From any viewpoint, the sculpture is at peace with itself, resulting in a calming tranquility that detracts from the implied violent contours of the bronze sculpture.

Proportion:

Rene Magritte "Delusions of Grandeur", 1967

In this sculpture, the artist effectively uses proportion to relate to the viewer the inability to discern different masses from one another and the ways in which they delude the viewer from the true, natural shape and contour of the form that is the subject. Again, as stated, the human body is the most universal standard of measurement. The fact this sculpture is able to destroy previous conceptions of art’s favorite subject- the female form- is quite exciting and also jarring as well. Because everyone models his or herself by the standard ideal form of the female form, the artist wishes to extend to the viewer the futility of such self-degrading behavior, employing proportion to demonstrate the female form’s degeneration into something fake and unreal. The excess is also notably empty in its three different proportions, reinforcing the concept that retain the ideal female form is hollow, shallow excuse to hurt oneself.

Rhythm:

Frank Stella "Line Up", 1962

In this geometric abstraction, the artist relies on gradation and repetition to carry the rhythm of the composition and allow the viewer’s eye to move throughout the painting, as it comes the center convergence of dissecting lines. As the multiple lines come closer to the center of the composition, the gradation frequently changes and forces the viewer’s eye to constant move throughout the composition and “line up” with what exactly the image is attempting to depict- which is nothing. The repetition of line and colors again guides the viewer’s eyes through the composition and brings the viewpoint eventually toward the center, where each of the orthogonals converge and relate to the viewer the last “beat” in the rhythm created by the composition.

Emphasis:

Constanitn Brancusi "Torso of a Young Man", 1924

In this very minimalist sculpture, the artist is choosing to emphasize only one part of the sculpture that perplexingly makes up only quarter of the total mass of the whole. By using a shiny bronze medium for the minimalist torso that reflects everything around and places it at the top of the sculpture, the artist is visually explaining to the viewer that element of the composition is the emphasis and mental focus one should take when regarding the sculpture. The wooden and stone geometric shapes below which form the pedestal on which the golden torso sits, are just as compositionally important as the torso due to the fact the sculpture is made entirely of simple geometric shapes. Although the torso and legs do take the most emphasis, the pedestal relates to the viewer how inorganic and unreal the sculpture is as a whole and how it barely begins to approximate what a real human torso is.

Unity:

Sol LeWitt "Wall Drawing #1113", 2003

This massive composition estimates mostly all of the elements and principles of design very well, combining almost every different part of design previously discussed. The effective and consistent use of form, color and especially pattern to create a visually strong and highly unified composition that uses simple geometric shapes to cover massive areas of the wall, perfectly balancing the space it occupies while simultaneously creating a strong rhythm in the perpendicular bars of color used coming down to the triangle. The converging lines at the central point emphasize the shapes and geometric value of the composition, making the constantly move throughout the bars of color until it reaches its logical end- the vanshing point at center.

Elements of Design:

The elements of design are those which can be isolated from any visual work of art and are used to structure an image in the way the designer or artist wishes the viewer to perceive his or her work.

•    Point
o    In an image, a point immediately forces the brain to perceive some kind of order
•    If there are two points, the mind will create a line, and thus a relationship between the two points
•    With the three points, the mind assumes a triangle among the three
•    “This compulsion to connect parts is described as grouping, or gestalt.”
•    Gestalt theory began in the 1920s in Germany
o    Closure: the mind supplies missing pieces to complete the image
o    Continuity: the compulsion to connect the dots in an image and imply contour or form
o    Proximity: grouping points or images relative to one another and therefore approximating the visual field
•    Line
o    A mark made that intends both a visual and psychological impact according to its direction and weight
•    Can communicate both symbolically and emotionally to the viewer
•    Can be used independently to suggest a separation or combination of forms, textures or patterns
•    Line does not always exist perfectly in nature, and can be interpreted by the mind in an implicit manner
•    Line can also communicate emotion and a particular state of mind through its character and direction
•    Horizontal line: suggests feeling of rest or repose
o    Objects parallel to the earth are at rest, or similar in relation to gravity and the land
•    Vertical line: creates the idea of loftiness and spirituality, extend upwards beyond human reach
•    Diagonal line: suggests movement or direction
o    Unstable in relation to gravity, and therefore sets figures in motion or speed
o    Also used to create an illusion of depth
•    Horizontal and Vertical lines in combination: communicate stability and solidity
o    Rectilinear lines stay put in relation to gravity
o    Ideas of permanence, reliability and safety
•    Deep, acute curves: suggest confusion, chaos or frenzy
o    Have little to no relation to gravity
•    Soft, shallow curves: suggest comfort, familiarity and relaxation
o    Relate more to the human body and also have a pleasing, sensual quality
•    Form
o    Areas or masses that define objects in space, implying both an occupation and absence of that space
•    Two dimensional form has height and width
•    Three dimensional form depth, as well as height and width
•    Organic forms often come from nature and are irregular in shape and asymmetrical
•    Geometric forms are often thought to be artificially made or constructed due to their relation to mathematical perfection
•    Perception of shape and form are affected by several factors:
•    Viewpoint can emphasize or obscure certain features
•    Space around an object can focus, distract or alter our impression of the object
•    Lighting can often change the mood or character of the object as well
o    Two-Dimensional Form
•    Can be defined by line, which creates the contour of forms
•    Value, the relative lightness or darkness of a color, can imply boundaries, contour and volume within a composition
•    Form can also imply positive and negative space
•    It is difficult to say the background is merely empty space
•    “The effective placement of objects in relation to the surrounding negative space is essential for success in composition.”
o    Two-Dimensional Illusion
•    Tools for creating three-dimensional space in a two-dimensional medium:
•    Overlapping
o    Interpreted as one contour superceding the other
o    Still very flat
•    Changing size and placement
•    Linear perspective
o    Objects appear to grow smaller and come to a “vanishing point” at the horizon line
o    The rate at which forms appear to change in size is regular and mathematically predictable
•    Relative hue and value
o    Important cues that tell a viewer whether an object is near or far
•    In general, we tend to read warm hues as being closer than cool hues
•    Colors close in value are often close to one another in space
•    Colors with a strong contrast in value are often separate in space
•    Distant objects tend to be either similar or neutral in value, and desaturated in hue
•    Close objects tend to exhibit stronger, more saturated hues, and/or more contrasting values, including extremes of dark and light
•    Atmospheric perspective
o    Objects pushed to the upper part of the composition are understood to be far back
•    Lacking contrast, detail and texture
o    Three-Dimensional Form
•    Three-dimensional forms seen in architecture, furniture, appliances and such must be conceived according to its function and the contours of the human body that will use it
•    Its not so much about the shape of the object as the space and forms around it
•    Three-dimensional form has an expressive quality similar to line:
•    Rectilinear shapes suggest stability
•    Angular shapes placed diagonally in relation to gravity suggest instability
•    Soft curves suggest quiet, comfort and sensuality
•    Movement
o    “Movement is the process of relocation of objects in space over time.”
•    Movement functions within the fourth dimension
o    Literal movement: signaled by symbolic forms that suggest speed or motion
•    This developed simultaneously with the concepts of aerodynamics that emerged in the 1930s
•    The first art form that actually moved- motion pictures- introduced movement into visual language
o    Compositional movement: how the viewer’s eye moves through an image
•    Concerned more with the presence (or lack of) implied motion throughout an image
•    Static composition: characterized by repetition of closed, isolated shapes and contrasts of color and/or value.
•    The eye must jump and hop between separate components of the image
•    Dynamic composition: characterized by open shapes or shapes that closely relate to adjacent shapes
•    The eye can flow smoothly throughout the image, guided by continuous line and gradations of color and hue
•    Color, Hue and Value
o    Value- the relative lightness or darkness in color
•    Contrast of values create a separation of objects in space
•    Gradations of value suggest mass and contiguous surfaces
•    The shapes tend to flatten out if values are close
o    Hue- the pure spectrum of colors
•    Theoretically, all hues can be created from the three basic primaries- red, yellow and blue
•    Subtractive mixture- when colors are all mixed together and create black
•     Additive mixture- when colors are mixed together to create white (all three primaries mixed together create white)
•    complements- colors that are opposite to one another on the hue circle
•    when complements are mixed, there is a desaturation of the new color created
•    warm-cool contrast of hue can cause images to advance or recede
•    Color Proportion- refers to the impact of the relative quantity of a given hue or value used in color compositions
•    Simultaneous contrast- a color appears to change when seen against a different background
•    Optical mixture- small particles of different colors are mixed in the eye
•    Unlike additive or subtractive mixtures, there is an averaging of hue and value, resulting in grey
o    Psychological Implications of Color
•    These associations are commonly seen in Euro-American societies:
•    Red
o    Positive: feelings that are energetic, exciting, passionate or erotic
o    Negative: aggressive feelings, anger, violence
•    Orange
o    Positive: color of flesh, friendly warmth, approachability, informality
o    Negative: lack of discrimination or quality
•    Yellow
o    Positive: sunshine, optimistic, upbeat, modern
o    Negative: can be very overwhelming
•    Green
o    Positive: suggests nature (plant life, forests), life, stability, restfulness
o    Negative: in some tones- decay, toxicity, artificiality
•    Blue
o    Positive: coolness, spirituality, elegance
o    Negative: distance, sadness, passivity, alienation
•    Violet
o    Positive: fantasy, playfulness, dream states
o    Negative: nightmares, madness
•    Pattern
o    an underlying structure that organizes surfaces or structures in a consistent, regular manner
•    the “skeleton” that organizes part of a composition
•    one can perceive a “grid” as being the foundation for any structure or image
•    by connecting the grid, one creates classes of patterns
•    one type of pattern, flow, can be seen often in nature and has very little resistance in a composition
•    branching can be observed in the plant world, as well as in rivers
•    spirals can be seen in galaxies and buds and ferns
•    Texture
o    The quality of an object we sense through touch
•    Exists as a literal surface we can feel
•    Texture can also be portrayed in an image, suggesting a feeling we know from memory, and thus texture can be imagined
o    Different tactile sensations:
•    Bristly
•    Rough
•    Hard
•    Smooth
•    Soft
•    Cold
•    Hot
o    The illusion of texture is often very important in art and design, especially in modern and contemporary art

Principles of design:

The Principles are concepts used to organize or arrange the structural elements of design. Again, the way in which these principles are applied affects the expressive content, or the message of the work.
•    Balance
o    The basic concept of visual equilibrium
•    A reconciliation of opposing forces that results in visual stability
o    Symmetrical balance- equal weight on equal sides of a centrally placed pivot
•    Bilateral symmetry- elements arranged equally on either side of the central axes
•    Radial symmetry- building elements equally around a certain point
•    Approximate symmetry- equivalent but not identical forms are arranged around central axes
o    Asymmetrical balance- the placement of objects allowing visual weight to vary around the fulcrum point, while still retaining balance
•    In an image, this might be a cluster of small objects balanced by a large object
•    Unequal weights can also be balanced by shifting the fulcrum point on our own imaginary scale
•    Proportion
o    The relationship of different masses of objects, or parts, of a whole
o    The most universal standard of measurement is the human body, everything is measured to the ruler that is the human body
•    Corporate buildings, churches, government offices are towering and massive in proportion to human, relating power and invincibility
•    Homes are often scaled to humans, meaning they are less intimidating, comfortable and more friendly
•    Rhythm
o    Timed movement throughout space
•    Or a connected path in which the eye follows a regular arrangement of motifs
•    Creates predictability and order in a composition
•    The timed “beat” of the rhythm is sensed by the eyes, rather than the ears
o    Linear rhythm- the characteristic flow of an individual line
•    Linear rhythm is not as dependent on pattern, but is more dependent on timed movement of the viewer’s eye.
o    Repetition- use of patterning to achieve timed movement and a “visual” beat
o    Alternation- a sequence of repeating motifs are presented in turn
o    Gradation- a series of motifs, be it shapes or colors, that are patterned to relate to one another through a progression of steps (like a comic strip)
•    Emphasis
o    Usually interpreted as an interruption in the pattern, movement or rhythm of the viewer’s eye through a composition
•    Repetition can create emphasis through calling attention to a particular element in repeated pattern in the composition
•    Contrast achieves emphasis by setting the point of emphasis apart from the rest of its background
•    Contrast of detail- many points of emphasis are created that are to be discovered through close attention to the intricacies in a design
•    Unity
o    Coherence, or harmony, of all the common elements and principles of design
•    The effective and consistent use of form, color and especially pattern can best pull a composition together
•    The elements and principles can be selected to support the intended function of the designed object
•     the purpose of the object unifies the design.