The Basic Elements of Art
(compiled by Lin Mangiante and Clara Morrissey)

One or more of these elements often predominate in any one work, and can be used as tools to encourage audiences to appreciate any object seen in the galleries.

Line: A line defines a trip through space. Trees branch out in many lines, telephone wires are long and thin lines through the air: water makes flowing lines in a river. Lines can be short and startling or long and graceful. Lines are the “bones” of what we see. Winter, when the trees are devoid of foliage and the trunk and branches are easily visible, is the time when line may predominate over color, texture and volume.

Shape: When lines meet one another to enclose space, they have defined a shape. Shapes can be large or small, made with curving lines or straight, geometric ones. Sometimes even shadows accentuate or define interesting shapes within objects.

Pattern: Pattern results from repeating lines or shapes or colors. Wallpaper, windows, a brick wall, or rain dropping in a puddle are different kinds of pattern. Patterns can be created with colors or even with the very tools used to make the object.

Form: A form spreads out, takes up room in space. Squares become cubes become buildings: circles become spheres become baseballs: triangles become cones become mountains.

Forms have three dimensions: Length, Width and Depth.

Space: Space is the area all around the lines, shapes, and forms. Space surrounds the exterior of forms, and is what defines them. Space is as important to many works of art as the patterns or shapes in them.

Color: Color is like sound, in that viewers react to it. Color has special meaning in all cultures, and artists use it in symbolic ways. In pre-Columbian cultures, gold was valued because of its color, as it was believed to be associated with the sun. In Byzantine icons, gold symbolized celestial light and the heavenly realm. Some artists value color over line to achieve their desired impact, and others, vice versa. Color can, also create the illusion of depth because some colors seem to recede and others seem to push forward.

Texture (Actual and Illusional):Texture refers to how things feel, rough or smooth, hard or soft. Our eyes seem to feel” the texture of things, and our fingers can actually feel differing textures of materials used by artists. Sculptors utilize surface texture to achieve special effects, while painters can often indicate differing textures of materials represented in paintings by use of special paints, brushes, and/or techniques.

Updated on: March 11, 2009