Some More Compositional Tools

(Focal point and Emphasis, Rhythm, and Scale & Proportion)

Gericault, Horse Attacked by a Tiger

What is the artist asking us to pay attention to?How is he doing that?

Degas, The Café Singer

Focal point: an element in the composition that commands the viewer’s attention and invites them to look closer.

Focal points often occur when one element differs from others

• A light element in a mostly dark design• When most elements are soft edged, a hard

edged component becomes the focal point• If most things are realistic the expressive part

is the focal point (or vice versa)• Text or graphic symbols• When most shapes are consistent but a few

differ (circles in a square design)

Stuart Davis, Composition

Focal Accents are more than one focal point in an image.

Shepard Fairey

In a straightforward image, the focal points are obvious. What is telling us the flowers are the main focal points?

Jeff Wall, The Pine On the Corner

Focal points often occur when one element is different than others.

Seattle Weekly Magazine

Text or graphic symbols

Eakins, the Agnew Clinic

Emphasis by isolation: when one element is placed off from others.

Jacque-Louis David, The Oath of the Horatti

Emphasis by Placement: many elements point to one area, our attention is directed their

Vermeer, The Music Lesson

Grunewald: Christ Descending from the Grave

DOMINANCE: Attracts a viewer’s attention through one element dominating the piece

Sol Lewitt, Wall DrawingAll over design: focal points are eliminated to emphasis the surface of the entire piece

James Ensor, Christ’s Entry Into the City

Where is the focal point? What is emphasized?

SCALE: A term for size. Usually refers to the size of the object relative to the human body or the life-size of the object.

Robert Therrien, Stacked Plates

Scale can refer to size within the image or in comparison to real life

Fra Fillipi Polli, Saint Lawrence

Heirarchical scale: importance is determined by size

Medallion, Ming Dynasty

Chris Burden, Los Angels Police Department

James Rieck, Shirtsleeves

Julie Mehretu, Goldman Sachs Lobby

Mehretu, Goldman Lobby, Again

Nasca Drawing, Peru

Proportion

Refers to relative size, measured against other elements in a composition. For example, in these caricature images, certain features are out of proportion (ears, chin) relative to the rest of the face---in this case, for comic effect.

Charles Ray, Family Romance Illustration of Scale and Proportion shifts

Rene Magritte, Personal Values

Contrast of scale: when different scales are used within the same image

Bridget Riley, Drift

Rhthym: a visual as well as musical sensation. Related to the impression of movement.

Chairs by Charles Rennie Mackintosh

Rhythm requires repetition of elements.

Louise Bourgeois, Partial Recall

Piet Mondrian, Broadway Boogie Woogie

Ed Ruscha, Goodyear Tires, Laurel Canyon, CA

Progressive rhythm: shapes changing in a regular manner. Here, the oil stains from parked cars get darker and larger the closer the spaces are to the store.

Robert Delaunay, Composition

Alternating rhythm:Motifs alternate regularly to create a pattern

Malevich, Machine Composition

Kinestethetic:When a visual experience stimulates another sense. Here, the sense of sound

Malevich, Suprematist Composition

What kind of sound is suggested by this composition vs. the previous comp?