Elements of Art: Texture | KQED Arts

KQED Art School

20 Nov 201404:09

Summary

TLDRThis script explores the multisensory aspect of art, emphasizing the role of texture as a key element. It distinguishes between actual and implied textures, illustrating how artists like Alberto Giacometti and Chuck Close engage viewers' sense of touch. The script also highlights various techniques artists use to create textures through lines, shapes, and materials, encouraging viewers to consider texture in their own artistic creations to enhance expression and communication.

Takeaways

🎨 Art is not just visual; it engages multiple senses, including touch.
🗿 Sculptors and fabric artists often focus on creating tactile experiences.
🖌️ Texture is a fundamental element of art, alongside line, shape, color, form, value, and space.
✋ Texture can be actual, where it can be felt, or implied, existing only visually.
👀 Implied textures in paintings are suggested through visual cues but cannot be physically felt.
🔍 Artists use various techniques to create implied textures, such as different types of lines and shapes.
🌟 In Gustav Klimt's work, repeated shapes contribute to the overall texture of the artwork.
🖼️ Two-dimensional art can have actual texture when paint is layered thickly or materials are added to the canvas.
🧶 Artists often incorporate natural textures of materials or hand-formed textures into their work.
✂️ Textures serve as an expressive tool for artists to enhance their artistic messages.
💡 Encouragement to use textures in personal artwork to convey meaningful messages.

Q & A

What is the primary focus of the script?
-The script focuses on the element of texture in art, explaining both real and implied textures and how artists use them to engage the viewer's senses.
What are the seven elements of art mentioned in the script?
-The seven elements of art mentioned are line, shape, color, form, value, space, and texture.
What is the difference between actual texture and implied texture?
-Actual texture is a texture that can be physically felt, like the roughness of a sculpture, while implied texture is visual and cannot be physically touched, such as the smoothness of paint on a canvas.
How does artist Alberto Giacometti demonstrate actual texture in his sculpture?
-Alberto Giacometti’s sculpture has actual texture, where the roughness of the bronze metal can be physically felt if touched.
What are examples of implied textures in Chuck Close's self-portrait?
-In Chuck Close's self-portrait, the varied textures of skin and hair appear to have texture, but the actual canvas would feel smooth, as these are implied textures.
How do artists create implied textures through the use of lines, as seen in Roy De Forest’s painting?
-In Roy De Forest's painting, artists create implied textures using different lines, such as zigzag lines for hair, cross-hatching for skin, and blurred, smudged colors for other elements.
How are shapes used to create textures in Gustav Klimt's painting?
-In Gustav Klimt’s painting, textures are created using repeated shapes, such as triangles and lines on the dress, spirals for the tree, and circles and rectangles in various parts of the artwork.
Can paintings have actual texture, and if so, how?
-Yes, paintings can have actual texture when artists layer paint thickly enough to create a three-dimensional surface, turning the paint itself into a sculptural element.
What materials might artists use to build additional textures on a canvas?
-Artists might use fabrics, textiles, jewelry, and other objects to build additional textures on a canvas, making the artwork more tactile and three-dimensional.
Why is texture an important tool for artists, according to the script?
-Texture is an expressive tool that artists use to reinforce their overall messages and engage viewers by appealing to their sense of touch or the visual suggestion of touch.

Outlines

00:00

🎨 The Multisensory Experience of Art

This paragraph discusses how art is not just visual but engages other senses as well. It highlights the role of texture in art, which can be actual (felt physically) or implied (seen visually). The narrator mentions various artists like sculptors, textile artists, book makers, and ceramists who think about engaging the sense of touch. The paragraph introduces the concept of texture as one of the seven elements of art, alongside line, shape, color, form, value, and space. It uses examples from Alberto Giacometti's sculpture to illustrate actual texture and Chuck Close's self-portrait to explain implied texture. The paragraph also touches on how artists create implied textures through lines and shapes, using Roy De Forest's painting to discuss lines and Gustav Klimt's painting to show how shapes can create textures. Finally, it mentions that even two-dimensional art can have actual texture through thick layers of paint or added materials, and encourages artists to use textures to reinforce their messages.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Art

Art is a diverse range of human activities involving creative or imaginative expression, often intended to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power. In the video, art is explored beyond its visual aspect, emphasizing how it engages other senses, particularly touch, through the use of texture.

💡Senses

Senses are the faculties by which a human perceives and interprets the world around them. The video script highlights that while art is often viewed, it can also be designed to stimulate the sense of touch, suggesting a multisensory experience.

💡Sculptors

Sculptors are artists who create three-dimensional works by shaping or combining materials such as stone, metal, or wood. The script mentions sculptors as an example of artists who think about the tactile experience of their work, even when it's not meant to be touched.

💡Texture

Texture refers to the surface quality of an object, which can be either real (actual texture) or simulated to appear as if it would be a certain way to the touch (implied texture). The video discusses texture as a key element of art that artists use to engage viewers, either through the physical feel or the visual suggestion of touch.

💡Actual Texture

Actual texture is the real, tactile surface quality that can be felt, such as the hardness and roughness of bronze in a sculpture by Alberto Giacometti mentioned in the script. It is a direct engagement of the viewer's sense of touch.

💡Implied Texture

Implied texture is a visual representation of texture that suggests how something might feel but cannot actually be felt, as it is only a depiction. The video uses Chuck Close's self-portrait as an example where the varied textures of skin and hair are implied but not physically present.

💡Elements of Art

The elements of art are the building blocks or primary components of visual art, including line, shape, color, form, value, and space, along with texture. The script positions texture as one of these fundamental elements, essential for creating and understanding art.

💡Line

Line in art refers to a path traced by a moving point, which can create implied textures. The video script points out various kinds of lines in Roy De Forest's painting, such as zigzag lines for hair and cross-hatching for skin, which contribute to the overall texture.

💡Shape

Shape in art is an enclosed space, the boundaries of which are defined by other visual elements. The video explains how Gustav Klimt uses repeated shapes to create textures in his paintings, such as triangles and lines on a dress or spirals in a tree.

💡Three-Dimensional Art

Three-dimensional art refers to works that extend in depth, creating an actual texture that can be felt. The script mentions that artists sometimes layer paint thickly or build up materials on a canvas to create a sculptural element with texture.

💡Expressive Tool

An expressive tool in art is a method or technique used by artists to convey their messages or emotions. The video suggests that texture, whether actual or implied, is an expressive tool that artists use to reinforce the themes and messages in their work.

Highlights

Art is not just visual but can engage our sense of touch.

Sculptors and textile artists focus on creating tactile experiences.

Texture is one of the seven elements of art, alongside line, shape, color, form, value, and space.

Texture refers to the look or feel of a surface and can be real or implied.

Actual texture is felt physically, like the hardness of bronze in Alberto Giacometti's sculpture.

Implied textures are visual and cannot be physically felt, like the varied textures in Chuck Close's self-portrait.

Artists create implied textures through various techniques, such as lines and shapes.

Roy De Forest's painting demonstrates the use of zigzag lines and cross-hatching to create implied textures.

Gustav Klimt's painting uses repeated shapes to create textures, like triangles, spirals, and circles within circles.

Two-dimensional art can have actual texture when paint is layered thickly, becoming three-dimensional.

Artists may build up fabrics, textiles, and other objects on the canvas to create additional textures.

Natural textures of materials or hand-formed textures are often featured in art.

Textures are an expressive tool used by artists to reinforce their overall messages.

Incorporating textures in art can add depth and meaning to a painting, drawing, collage, or sculpture.

Artists should consider how textures can convey something relevant and important in their work.