Term Paper on "Art Variety and Harmony Are Inherent"

Quoted Instructions for "Art Variety and Harmony Are Inherent" Assignment:

There is 3 assignments here with each assignment consisting of a full page.

Assignment 1--How does each artist create Harmony in each of these two artworks? How is Variety created in each? What is repeated and what is contrasted? How are the four Elements (Line, Shape, Texture, Value) we've covered so far repeated or contrasted to create Harmony and Variety? Can you find an example where the same Element (Shape, for example) is used to create both Harmony and Variety? Of course, one work is nonobjective and the other is representational, but beyond that, how are these two artworks different in terms of the four Elements, and the Principle of Harmony and Variety? Be sure to use very specific examples from the artworks to back up each of your observations (don't just say that color is repeated in De Heem's painting; say exactly which colors and where they are located. Don't just say that shapes are repeated in Nevelson's sculpture; say what kind of shapes and where they are located).

Art #1 Louise Nevelson

Royal Tide I 1960

Art #2 Jan De Heem

Still Life With Lobster 1650

Oil on Canvas

Assignment 2--Early Sunday Morning, 1930, is by Edward Hopper (American, 1882-1967). This scene of storefronts should look familiar to you; here in the Midwest you can see similar looking buildings in the older part of any town (in Ypsilanti, Depot Town looks just like Hopper*****s painting). The funny thing is, this is a street scene in New York City! New York looked a little different, in 1930, than it does today. Hopper wants us to stop and look at something we pass by every day without noticing: the visual rhythms of the storefronts. Early on Sunday morning, no one is out, and we can really see the buildings without distraction.

I*****d like you to find examples of visual rhythm in this painting. What repetitions do you see that moves your eye through the composition? How many different rhythms can you find? Are there examples of contrast within repetition (Variety within Harmony)?

The Dance, is by Andre Derain (French, 1880-1963). When we think of rhythm and music, we naturally think of dance. We*****ve seen, in the example of Mondrian, how visual artists can be influenced by music. Dance becomes a natural subject for visual art because it is a visual expression of music and rhythm. Derain, in his painting, takes us back to a kind of primitive Eden, full of color and movement.

Once again, I*****d like you to find examples of visual rhythm in this painting. What repetitions do you see that moves your eye through the composition? How many different rhythms can you find? Are there examples of contrast within repetition (Variety within Harmony)? Then compare and contrast the rhythms in the two artworks. How are the rhythms different in the two paintings? How do the differences help to create the content of each painting?

Assignment 3--Christina*****s World, is one of Andrew Wyeth*****s most famous paintings. The composition is asymmetrically balanced, with the left side different from the right side. Wyeth shows Christina, out in a field of dry grass, positioned on the left side of the canvas. Given that she is the only figure in the composition, and is certainly the first thing that one would look at in this painting, how does Wyeth create a sense of visual balance in the composition? Wyeth has to get us to look over to the right side of the painting. How does he do it? Where do we look? What do we look at? How did he get us to look in that direction? Once we are on the right side of the composition, he has to bring us back again to the left side. How does he do it? Where do we look? What do we look at? How can we start with Christina, and end up back at Christina? Finally, what do you think is going on in this painting? What is the story that Wyeth seems to be creating here? Why does he place Christina out in the field? What is she doing there? What kind of feeling, or mood, does he create in this painting?

Man and Woman in a Large Room, Richard Diebenkorn creates a kind of self-portrait in the asymmetrically balanced composition. He shows himself, seated with his back to us, as he works on his drawing pad. His wife is posing for him, in front of a couch that sits on a large area rug. They are in a large studio room. Diebenkorn puts both figures on the left side of the composition. How can he do this and still create a sense of visual equilibrium? How does he get us to look to the right side of the composition? Where do we look? What do we look at? Like Wyeth, Diebenkorn wants us to come back to our starting point. How does he move our eye back, again, to the left side? Where do we look? What do we look at? How does Diebenkorn move us around the room?

Write an analysis of both the Wyeth and Diebnkorn paintings.