I Spy
The elements of art are the building blocks or “main ingredients” for how all works of art are made–by using them in different amounts and combinations, you can make endless works of art.
The Elements
• Line is a mark with greater length than width. Lines can be horizontal, vertical, or diagonal; straight or curved; thick or thin. You can see many lines in Linda McCune’s Stress Series print
• Shape is a closed line. Shapes can be geometric, like squares and circles; or organic, like freeform or natural shapes. Shapes are flat and can express length and width. You can see many two dimensional shapes in Jennifer Bartlett’s 5 AM Series.
• Forms are three-dimensional shapes expressing length, width, and depth. Balls, cylinders, boxes, and pyramids are forms.You can find many unexpected shapes in Concetta Mason’s Changing Tide.
• Space is the area between and around objects. The space around objects is often called negative space; negative space has shape. Space can also refer to the feeling of depth. Real space is three-dimensional; in visual art, when we create the feeling or illusion of depth, we call it space.
You can see this illusion of depth in more modern works like Audrey Flack’s Fourth of July Still Life and traditional pieces like Richard LaBarre Goodwin’s Huntsman’s Door.
• Color is light reflected off of objects. Color has three main characteristics: hue (the name of the color, such as red, green, blue, etc.), value (how light or dark it is), and intensity (how bright or dull it is). You can see a wide range of colors and variations in color value in Katja Oxman’s An Acre for a Bird To Choose.
INSTRUCTIONS
Play I Spy with each artwork image on this page from the Hunter’s collection. Can you find all seven elements of art?
I spy lines…
I spy shapes..
I spy form….
I spy space …
I spy color…
Share your creations @huntermuseum
