Elements and Principles of Contemporary Interpreting various human activities such as
ordinary activities like chores, routines and
Arts, Art Forms from the Diff erent
rituals, to socially relevant themes such as
Regions and its Significance poverty, commercialism and war.
What is contemporary art Space
Art made and produced artist living today is the element of art through which both
-j. paul getty museum positive and negative areas are defined or a
sense of depth is achieved in a work of art.
Art is produced by people and people are
influenced by the time, contemporary arts is a Arts transforming space. For example, flash
continuing practice that has evolved with the mobs, art installations in malls and parks.
following elements and principles. Hybridity
Elements of Art is used in artists’ work through the blending of
Appropriation new or unusual materials with traditional
mediums.
Performance
The incorporation of these materials, such as
Space recycled or industrial materials, plays an
important role in the meaning of the artwork.
Hybridity
Contemporary artists are now as innovative as
Technology
ever.
Appropriation
In traditional painting, only few materials are of
is when an artist creates a new work of art by conventional use. Contemporary visual artist,
taking preexisting images from other sources on the other hand, may opt to use coffee for
and modifies and/or incorporates those images painting or carve miniature sculptures using
with new ones. crayons.
When you see t-shirt with the image of Jose Hybridity in contemporary arts as the mixing of
Rizal wearing shades or the walls of Intramuros unlikely materials to produce an artwork.
in canvas bags, existing artworks are
Technology
“appropriated” to form another.
refers to the usage of technological
The use of these prints, images, and icons to
advancements in the creation of art works.
produce another art form is a feature of
contemporary art that combines the past with Technology is a reality in the present-day
the present. By appropriation, the world, and contemporary artist have used
contemporary art revives interest to existing technology in the creation and dissemination
form of art. of works of art.
Performance When MTV first went into airwaves in 1981,
video became part of the human interaction.
refers to artwork created by or presented to an
audience. The video phenomenon was further pushed by
debut of Youtube that allowed everyone with
Performance as an element can also include
Internet connection to post and share videos.
the processes used by the artist to create the
work. Contemporary artists have used video and
Internet as way of propagating art.
This takes place when the process used to
create the artwork is more important than the
finished work itself.
Principles of Art 2. Informal Balance
present when the left and the right sides of
If the elements of art are your tools, the
the thing, though not identical in appearance,
principles of art are how you put them to
still display an even distribution of weight.
work.
It is also known as asymmetrical or occult
It is where the style of art manipulates its balance.
substance. Harmony, balance, rhythm,
proportion, and emphasis are the principles of
art. Rhythm
Harmony Rhythm is the continuous use of a motif or
repetitive pattern of a succession of similar or
This is achieved when all the elements of a
identical items.
thing are put together to come up with a
coherent whole. It can be achieved by alternation (use of two
patterns alternately), radiation (repetition of
This is achieved when the elements of an
motif from the center or toward it),
artwork come together in a unified way.
progression (use of motifs of varying sizes that
Certain element are repeated yet still look and is, from the smallest to the largest, or vice
feel similar. versa), parallelism (use of a pattern with an
equal distance from each other).
Not monotony and not chaos, harmony is that
perfectly honed combination of both.
This is the most essential factor in a Proportion
composition.
Comparative relationship of the different
Balance parts in relation to the whole.
Artists combine elements to add a feeling of Proper and pleasing relationship of one object
equilibrium or stability to a work of art. with the others in a design.
Symmetry and asymmetry are manifestations Emphasis
of balance.
Achieved by means of size or proportion,
Classified as FORMAL and INFORMAL shape, color, line position, and variety.
BALANCE.
More often than not, the artist emphasizes
the one with the bigger size or proportion, the
one with a different shape or color, the one
1. Formal Balance with striking lines, the one positioned at the
exists if the weights at equal distance from the center and the one that is unique.
center are equal. It is also called as
symmetrical balance. Classifications of art forms
Bilateral symmetry is present when the left 1. Visual art – those forms perceived by the
and right sides appear the same.
eyes
Radial symmetry exist when the same measure 2. Audio-visual arts- are those forms
occurs from the central point to the end of perceived by both ears and eyes
every radius.
3. Literary arts -are those presented in the
This symmetry applies to round objects or written mode and intended to be read
those with radii like stars and stars and
starfishes.
