Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
We may want to look over searchingly how
artists employ some elements of art such as line
or space, and apply emphasis, rhythm, or contrast
to enhance the dynamics of their artwork and
show motion in various styles in art such as:
Symbolism, for example, in “Centaurs' Combat”
(http://www.wikipaintings.org/en/Tag/
Centaurs#supersized-search-260594) the Swiss
painter Arnold Böcklin (1827-1901) depicted a
mythological scene of combat to convey a savage
and violent nature of ferocious fight. There are
the contrasts in colors, contorted shapes, and
unreal representation of the background space,
all of them enhancing the sense of horror and
drama. Cubism, for example, Fernand Léger
(1881-1955) “The Builders” (http://www.amazon.
com/Hand-Made-Oil-Reproduction-Builders/dp/
B004LA7Q8E). Léger used horizontal and verti-
cal lines defining the space of the ironwork skel-
eton. At the same time, he used colors and patterns
to emphasize the dynamics of the scene. Artists
belonging to the Futurism movement were in-
trigued with motion through time and space.
Examples: Umberto Boccioni (1882-1916), “The
Street Enters the House” 1911 (http://en.wikipe-
dia.org/wiki/Umberto_Boccioni), Giacomo
Balla (1871-1958), “Flight of the Swallows”
(http://www.wikipaintings.org/en/giacomo-balla/
flight-of-the-swallows-1913). In “Flight of the
Swallows” the artist used repetition to enhance
the feeling of movement. Works done in the Sur-
realism style, for example, Arshile Gorky (1904-
1948), “The Waterfall” (http://www.wikipaint-
ings.org/en/arshile-gorky/waterfall-1), which is
almost abstract but conveys strong impression of
water pouring through a rock. Semi-abstract art
of Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944), for example,
“Cossacks” (http://www.wassilykandinsky.net/
work-250.php), with colorful brush strokes, dy-
namic lines and shapes, and wonderfully balanced
composition (Kandinsky, 2011/1911). Dynamic
paintings of the American painter Thomas Eakins
(1844-1916), for example, his scenes of wrestling
(http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/
File:Thomas_Eakins_-_The_Wrestlers_(1899).
jpg).
Composition
In art, composition is orderly arrangement, a proper
combination of distinct parts so they are presented
as a unified whole. The whole arrangement of ob-
jects in a picture is made to the best advantage of
its elements. To develop composition in a drawing
or painting, we have to select the objects we want
to show, then create a center of interest and find
out balance among the objects. Good composition
may involve movement, rhythm, and well-arranged
positive and negative space.
It took many years to develop routine features
of topics, with page numbering, indexes, tables of
contents, and title pages. Web documents undergo
a similar evolution and standardization in order to
define the way information is organized and made
available in electronic form. Visual composition
of a website and its graphics is an important part
of the user's experience. In interactive documents,
the interface design includes the metaphors, im-
ages, and concepts used to convey function and
meaning of the website on a computer screen.
In accordance with Edward Tufte (1992),
every graphic presentation, as well as every proj-
ect should fulfill general principles related to its
design, and should pass critical evaluation of its
editing, analysis and critique of presentation. Ed-
ward Tufte taught that information should enhance
complexity, dimensionality, density, and beauty
of communication. Good information display
should be: documentary, comparative, casual and
explanatory, quantified, multivariate, exploratory,
and skeptical; it should allow comparing and
contrasting. When envisioning statistical infor-
mation, such display should insistently enforce
comparisons, express mechanisms of cause and
effect quantitatively, recognize the multivariate
nature of analytic problems, inspect and evaluate
alternative explanations.
