Design Principles (assignment 2)

1. How does an artist create asymmetrical balance? 

This is the Japanese woodblock print named Hara-juku which was the thirteenth of the fifty-three stations of the Tokaido (East Sea Road) was depicted by Ando Hiroshige from 1831-1834. This Japanese art is known for elegant asymmetry that is perfectly balanced. Here, the artist depicted the mountain (Mount Fuji) on the right is balanced on the left by empty space, the close proximity of the travelers, and their movement away from the mountain.

2. Describe several ways used to unify an artwork?

Artworks are constructed using the element of art and the principals of design. Shape, color, line, space, and texture are the elements of art. These five elements contribute to unifying an artwork. For instance, color divides into cool and warm. Also, contrasting color effectively unifies artwork.

Here, this art uses pink and green on white laid paper. There is a violet pink hue under everything. The touch of green at the place where the mid ground meets the sky, together with the same green in, behind, and under the tree makes the color story of “pink compliments green” work throughout the picture. Imagine this image with green only in the tree, and nowhere else, and the resulting picture would lack unity.

3. How does scale change the meaning of an artwork?

Scale is more than simply the object’s size; however, it is the size of the art object in relation to another object. The scale of art represents different meaning and effect. For example, this image shows a recycle art of Optimus Prime is 40 feet tall and its weight is 6 tons. Such large scale gives people a sense of godlike grandeur and power. Additionally, this recycle art create a mighty sense of vision impact that makes people feel it is a real robot. On the contrary, if it is a small Optimus Prime, people will regard it as a toy.