Of all the visual elements, color is the most complex and the most powerful. Whether it’s nature or art, color is often the first thing we notice. When we’re outside on a sunny spring day, we delight in how blue the sky is, how the new leaves are a bright yellow-green, and how intense the Read More …
The Art of Visual Listening 9: The Value of Light
Halong Bay, Vietnam, photo by Roger Mendes (permission of the artist) The visual element—value—refers to light and is defined as the relative lightness or darkness of what we see. Our vision relies on light and it’s variations of value. If there’s too much light and everything has the same high value, we say we’re blinded Read More …
The Art of Visual Listening 8: Into the Depths
Thomas Cole, The Oxbow, 1836 [Public Domain] Like the other visual elements, the illusion of depth or three-dimensional space in art is based on the way we see things in the real world. Whether an artist wants to create a sense of depth or avoid it, she needs to know what makes that illusion happen—what Read More …
The Art of Visual Listening 7: Line and Shape
Untitled by Roger Mendes (permission granted from the artist) With this post, we begin our detailed discussion of the visual elements and what they communicate. Knowing how the visual elements communicate in art, can help us determine how effectively they’ve been used—a valuable tool for assessing an artwork’s quality. Line Line Character: The way a Read More …
The Art of Visual Listening 6: Visual Elements—An Introduction
The Visual Language The great thing about visual communication is it has the potential to transcend both cultural and time barriers. It can do this because it doesn’t depend on arbitrary memorized symbols like written language does. Visual communication depends on the universal language of the observable world around us. The visual alphabet is fundamentally Read More …
The Art of Visual Listening 5: Form and Content
I don’t know much about art, but… That familiar expression—“I don’t know much about art, but I know what I like—would be more accurately phrased this way: “I don’t know much about art, but I like what I know.” Liking what we know is human nature. What we know is clear, reassuring and in that Read More …
The Art of Visual Listening 4: Seeing, Perception, and Creativity
Now that we’ve examined What Is Art?, Why Is Art?, and the issues surrounding Art and Beauty, it’s time to move on to the process of seeing and the role of creativity in art. What You See Is What You Get Let’s begin by distinguishing between looking and seeing. To me, the difference between the two Read More …
The Art of Visual Listening 3: Art and Beauty
Beauty and the Beast illustration by Jennie Harbour, 1921 [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons Having already explored “What Is Art?” and “Why Is Art?” we’re now ready to consider the sticky role beauty plays in our understanding and evaluation of artworks. Some people believe beauty is the primary purpose of art. If a work isn’t Read More …
The Art of Visual Listening 2: Why Is Art?
Liberty Leading the People by Eugene Delacroix commemorates the overthrow of King Charles X of France in 1830 The Purpose of Art Not only is art everywhere (as noted in my post, What is Art?), but research suggests our species, Homo sapiens, has been making art for at least 100,000 years. So art has been everywhere Read More …
The Art of Visual Listening 1: Introduction – What is Art?
Introduction This is the first in a series of posts about visual listening. As an art history professor for, well, let’s just say beaucoup years, I’ve taught thousands of students how to look at art and develop an understanding of the visual language art uses. In all those years, though, I’ve never called Read More …