Elements of Art: Value | KQED Arts

KQED Art School

5 Jan 201503:37

Summary

TLDRThis script delves into the concept of 'value' in art, highlighting its significance in creating visual depth and contrast. Value, derived from the Greek words for 'light drawing,' refers to the lightness or darkness of hues. It's crucial for artists to master, as it influences the perception of light and texture in their work. The script contrasts low and high-contrast images, demonstrating how varying tonal values can dramatically alter an artwork's impact. It encourages viewers to appreciate the artistry in value rendering and to experiment with different mediums to enhance their own creations.

Takeaways

📸 The term 'photography' originates from Greek words meaning 'light drawing', emphasizing the role of light in creating images.
🎨 Photography and art often involve 'drawing with light' to define objects and create tonal and color values.
🖌️ Value is a key element of art, representing the lightness or darkness of a color or hue, and is crucial for creating visual depth.
⚪️ A value scale ranges from pure white to absolute black, with various shades of gray in between, illustrating the concept of light and dark.
🌈 Artists can create different values by adjusting the lightness or darkness of hues, either by adding white or black.
🖼️ Low-contrast images have many tonal values between black and white, while high-contrast images have fewer, creating a stark visual difference.
👀 The texture of an object's surface can influence how value is perceived, affecting the contrast between light and dark areas.
📷 In photography, the texture of subjects, like the veins in lettuce leaves or the skin of bananas, can significantly impact the contrast and value.
✏️ The medium used in art, such as charcoal or watercolor, affects the darkness of blacks and the smoothness of transitions between light and dark.
👩‍🎨 When creating art, practicing with different mediums and hues to render value scales can enhance the uniqueness and visual appeal of artwork.

Q & A

What is the origin of the word 'photography'?
-The word 'photography' comes from two Greek words that translate to 'light drawing'.
How does light play a role in photography and art?
-Light defines objects and enables us to see things. Artists create the illusion of light by producing a wide range of tonal and color values.
What are the seven elements of art mentioned in the script?
-The seven elements of art are line, shape, form, texture, color, space, and value.
What is value in the context of art and how is it visualized?
-Value refers to how light or dark a given color or hue is. It is visualized as a scale or a gradient, ranging from pure white to absolute black with various gray tones in between.
How are different values created in art?
-Different values are created by lightening the hue, such as adding white, or darkening it with black.
What is the difference between low contrast and high contrast in art?
-A low-contrast artwork has many tones between black and white, while a high-contrast image has very few tonal values between black and white.
How does the texture of an object's surface affect the perception of value?
-The texture of an object's surface can create areas of dramatic contrast between light and dark, affecting how we perceive value.
What is an example of how texture affects value in photography given in the script?
-In Brett Weston's photograph of lettuce, the veins in the leaves create areas of dramatic contrast between light and dark, affecting the perception of value.
How do the different ways artists create lines and implied textures affect the perception of value?
-Heavy and dark blacks, as well as the smoothness of transitions from dark to light, can affect how we perceive value in artworks.
What advice does the script give for observing and creating value in art?
-When observing art, notice how the artist renders value. When creating your own artwork, practice creating value scales with various mediums and hues.
What is the significance of practicing with different mediums and hues in creating value scales?
-Practicing with different mediums and hues in creating value scales helps artists to understand and control the tonal range in their artwork, allowing their work to shine in its own unique way.

Outlines

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📸 Understanding Value in Art

This paragraph introduces the concept of 'value' in art, which is derived from the Greek words for 'light drawing'. It explains that value refers to the lightness or darkness of a color or hue and is a fundamental element of art, along with line, shape, form, texture, color, and space. The paragraph uses a gray tone scale to illustrate how values range from pure white to absolute black, with various shades in between. It also discusses how different values are created by adding white or black to a hue. The concept of contrast is introduced, with examples of low-contrast and high-contrast images provided by photographs. The role of texture in perceiving value is also highlighted, using photographs by Brett Weston to demonstrate how surface texture can affect the appearance of light and dark areas. The paragraph concludes with an encouragement to observe value in art and to practice creating value scales in one's own artwork.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Photography

Photography is the art, science, and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation. In the context of the video, photography is described as 'drawing with light,' emphasizing the importance of light in creating visual art. The script discusses how light defines objects and enables us to see, which is central to the theme of understanding light and its artistic applications.

💡Value

In art, value refers to the lightness or darkness of a color or hue. It is one of the seven elements of art, which also include line, shape, form, texture, color, and space. The video script explains value by illustrating a scale or gradient from pure white to absolute black, with various gray tones in between. This concept is crucial for understanding how artists create depth and contrast in their work, as seen in the examples of low-contrast and high-contrast images by Nicholas Nixon and Kenneth Josephson.

💡Contrast

Contrast in visual art is the difference in lightness or darkness between objects or areas in an artwork. The video script uses the concept of contrast to differentiate between low-contrast images, which have many shades of gray, and high-contrast images, which have very few tonal values between black and white. Understanding contrast is essential for appreciating how artists use light and dark to create visual interest and depth.

💡Texture

Texture in art refers to the surface quality of a work, which can be actual (physical) or implied (visual). The script mentions how the texture of an object's surface can affect the perception of value, using the example of Brett Weston's photographs to show how the veins in lettuce leaves create dramatic contrasts between light and dark, compared to the dulled light and less contrast in the photograph of bananas.

💡Hue

Hue is a property of color that defines the type of color, such as red, blue, or green. The video script discusses how different values are created by lightening the hue (adding white) or darkening it with black. Hue is integral to understanding color theory and how artists manipulate color to achieve various artistic effects.

💡Tonal

Tonal values refer to the relative lightness or darkness of colors in an artwork. The script mentions tonal values in the context of creating contrast and value scales. Understanding tonal values is key to appreciating how artists use gradients and shades to render depth and form.

💡Gradient

A gradient in art is a gradual transition from one color, hue, or shade to another. The video script uses the value scale for gray tones as an example of a gradient, illustrating how it ranges from pure white to absolute black. Gradients are important for understanding how artists create smooth transitions and visual flow in their work.

💡Elements of Art

The elements of art are the fundamental components that are used to create a work of art. The script lists value, line, shape, form, texture, color, and space as the seven elements of art. These elements are the building blocks that artists use to construct their compositions and convey their artistic vision.

💡Light

Light is a critical element in photography and visual art, as it defines objects and enables us to see. The video script emphasizes the role of light in creating the illusion of depth and form, and how artists manipulate light to create different artistic effects. Light is central to the theme of the video, which is about understanding and using light in art.

💡Artistic Medium

An artistic medium refers to the material or technique used by an artist to create a work of art. The script encourages viewers to practice creating value scales with a variety of different mediums and hues. Mediums can include photography, painting, drawing, and more, each offering unique ways to express artistic concepts and values.

💡Rendering

Rendering in art is the process of applying media to a surface, such as paper or canvas, to represent objects, people, or scenes. The video script suggests that viewers should notice how artists render value in their work, which involves the use of light and shadow to create a sense of three-dimensionality and realism. Rendering is a key technique for artists to convey their artistic vision.

Highlights

The word 'photography' originates from Greek words meaning 'light drawing'.

Photography is described as drawing with light, which defines objects and enables sight.

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

Value refers to the lightness or darkness of a color or hue.

Visualizing values as a scale or gradient helps in understanding them better.

The value scale for gray tones ranges from pure white to absolute black with various grays in between.

Any hue has a similar scale from dark to light, created by lightening or darkening the hue.

An artwork with many tones between black and white is considered low contrast.

A high-contrast image has very few tonal values between black and white.

The texture of an object's surface can influence how we perceive value.

In Brett Weston's photograph, the veins in lettuce leaves create dramatic contrast between light and dark.

The skin of bananas in Weston's photograph dulls the light, resulting in less contrast.

Artists create lines and implied textures that affect our perception of value.

In a charcoal drawing, the blacks are heavy and dark, with smooth transitions from dark to light.

In a watercolor painting, the blacks are not as dark, and the shading is less smoothly blended.

When observing art, pay attention to how artists render value.

When creating art, practice creating value scales with various mediums and hues to enhance your artwork's uniqueness.