Reading Summary

 Intro Gestalt

Gestalt -means entire figure or configuration.
    The whole is understood to be different from the sum of its parts

Four aspects of gestalt:
·    Closure-perceive a design as a whole rather than as disparate sections
·    Continuance-your eye is led to follow the dominant form across the secondary without interruption
·    Proximity-distance between parts compromising a form
·    Similarity- parts in a form helps hold the form together and can be an effective way to create meaning

Visual elements interact through position (placement in relation to other elements and/ or the frame), direction (movement), and space (can group, separate, and emphasize elements and their roles in a composition)

Depth- can create contrast and help a form communicate its purpose and meaning.
Perspective- created through the use of lines to depict three-dimensional surface.
Visual weight- the sum of a form’s components and is akin to mass and energy. Cannot be touched or physically measured, and is influenced by a range of variables including size and color.
Visual Balance- the degree of equilibrium in a composition

Symmetry- can be divided and the resulting sides are essentially the same
Asymmetry-when divided the resulting sides are not the same size and shape

Formal Matters

Form refers to the material delivery portion of a work, and a set of visual elements (such as line, scale, shape, size, composition, and color)
Content- expressed or made manifest through form, or even as form.

Formalist works tend to be intentionally limited to, or highly focused on, their formal elements (shape, color, and materiality)
Formalism-refers to an approach to art and art making that emphasizes these elements, often seeing the work of art as a self-referential object as opposed to a vessel for a message of some kind.
Modernist thinking about art is predicated on the assumption that art history is a progressive movement toward greater purity in each medium.

Principles

Design is a process of purposeful visual creation, design fills practical needs.
A good design is the best possible visual expression of the essence of “something,” (a message or a product)

Visual Language is the basis of design creation.
There are principles, rules, and/or concepts in respect of visual organization that may concern a designer.

Four groups of elements:
Conceptual elements- are not visible; they don’t actually exist but seem to be present. (point, line, plane and volume) 
Visual elements- what we can actually see. (shape, size, color, and texture)
Relational elements- govern the placement and interrelationship of the shapes in a design. (direction, position, space, and gravity)
Practical elements- underlie the content and extension of a design.
    Representation- realistic, stylized, or near-abstract
    Meaning-when a design conveys a message
    Function-when a design is to serve a purpose
Planar forms- geometric, organic, rectilinear, irregular, hand-drawn, accidental
Interrelationship- detachment, touching, overlapping, interpenetration, union, subtraction, intersection, coinciding

Form/Composition

Geometric form has regular angles or patterns
Organic form is fluid in appearance
Harmony- indicates a grouping of related components that go together
Simplicity- a form with a limited number of simple elements.
Rhythm is the movement from one idea, compositional area, or element to another.

Interview: Piet Mondrian

There are many ways to express ideas or messages through art, whether it is through realistic means or abstract.