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analysis Identifying and examining separate parts as they function independently and together in creative works and studies of the visual arts. composition The organization of the formal elements in a work of art. elements of design The component parts of art. The elements help define what principles are; there cannot be a principle without an element. The elements do not occur in isolation but one can be dominant. The elements give the artist a vocabulary to use to help explain art--line, shape, color, value, texture, space/form. figure-ground relationship In a two-dimensional work, the relationship between a form or figure and its background. negative shape A background shape produced by its interaction with foreground or figure shape(s). negative space Empty space, surrounded and shaped so that it acquires a sense of volume or form. nonobjective art Art that makes no reference to the natural world and that explores the inherent expressive or aesthetic potential of the formal elements--line, shape, color--and the formal compositional principles of a given medium. Also see nonrepresentational. perception Visual and sensory awareness, discrimination, and integration of impressions, conditions, and relationships with regard to objects, images, and feelings. perceptual line Any line that is perceived but not actually drawn, such as a horizon line. perspective A formula for projecting the illusion of three-dimensional space onto a two-dimensional surface. See also linear perspective, one-point linear perspective, two-point linear perspective, and atmospheric perspective. pictorial space The implied or illusory space in a painting or other two-dimensional work as it appears to recede backward from the picture plane. proportion In any composition, the comparison and relationship of the parts to each other and to the whole. Proportion can be expressed in terms of a definite ratio, such as "twice as big," or be expressed by "darker than," "more neutral than," or "more important than." rhythm A continuance, a flow, or a feeling of movement achieved by repetition of regulated visual units, the use of measure accents, that directs the eye through a composition. scale The comparative size of a thing in relation to another like thing or its "normal" or "expected" size. shade A color or hue modified by the addition of another color resulting in a hue of lower key or value, in the way, for instance, that the addition of black to red results in maroon. shape A defined area. Two-dimensional shapes are areas that stand apart or out from the space around them because of a definite boundary or difference of value, color, or texture. Shapes may be geometric, organic, or composite. There are positive and negative shapes which together can be referred to as a "figure-ground relationship." A figure-ground reversal occurs when the eye switches from seeing a shape as foreground and sees it instead as background. still life A work of art that consists of an arrangement of inanimate objects, such as flowers, fruit, and household objects. unity A sense of wholeness in a work of art, all parts working together.
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