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Hello everyone! Welcome to Part 2 of our
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first lecture, Principles of Design. In
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this part of the lecture, we will explore
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a variety of visual elements that affect
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how art is created, used, and interpreted.
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As mentioned before, please feel free to
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pause this video at any time to take
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careful notes.
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We begin by looking at space. The term
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"space" here refers to the area that
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contains the artwork, the area
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manipulated and worked on by the artist
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that is then visible and offered for
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viewers to contemplate and experience.
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Here we see that artists can utilize
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space to give a sense of illusion, or
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naturalism, to an image, especially one
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that is made in two dimensions,
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consisting of height and width but not
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depth. Alternatively, artists can also use
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space to ignore reality and collapse or
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compress the area occupied by the visual
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elements. Here are some of the components
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that artists use to design the space in
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an artwork: size, overlapping, position,
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displaying or including different textures
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adjusting the brightness of colors, and
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the use of perspective.
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Using size is an important way to express
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visually how elements within an image use
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the space. Typically, things that are
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bigger in size will take up more space—or
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volume—in the real world. And to mimic
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that phenomenon, artists will use the
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sizes of elements within the visual space
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to help viewers interpret the intended
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relationships and sizes of elements in the
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image.
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Here we have the print "The Great Wave Off
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Shore at Kanagawa," created by Katsushika
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Hokusai in the 19th century. Hokusai has
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arranged the waves in this visual space to
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appear in an overlapping fashion, with the
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wave closest to us in the foreground
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appearing smaller than the wave farther
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away in the midground. The size of the
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large wave in the midground appears
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especially menacing and dangerous when
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compared to the size of the human figures
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in the canoes, who seem tiny in
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comparison, and at the complete mercy of
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the ocean.
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Perspective, in addition to size, is an
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important way to communicate the
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appearances and relationships of
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components in an image. We are going to
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look at several types of perspective that
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artists use to create the illusion of a
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three-dimensional area within a two-
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dimensional visual space.
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Atmospheric perspective is the depiction
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of a space that allows the viewer to
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understand smaller elements to be farther
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away and larger elements to be closer,
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giving the illusion of a real, three-
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dimensional experience when the actual
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space is only two-dimensional.
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For example, there are four temples on top
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of four hills in this image. Even though
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they are depicted on a flat surface, the
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temples appear to occupy different planes
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of physical space, with the largest temple
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on the left closest to us in the
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foreground, and the smallest temple in the
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center farthest away in the background.
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Notice that both size and color hues are
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utilized here to suggest an illusionistic
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portrayal of the landscape and the temples
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on the hills, with the darker or more
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saturated hues used to make the largest
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temple appear closer and the lighter, less
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saturated hues used to make the smallest
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temple appear far away.
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Linear perspective is a system devised by
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artists of the Italian Renaissance, who
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used mathematical relationships between
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lines and space to create the illusion of
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three-dimensional depth. Artists use
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linear perspective to arrange elements in
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a way that will create implied lines and
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focal points—called vanishing points—to
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enhance a viewer's ability to interpret a
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space as being three-dimensional.
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In this painting, Hayllar allows the two-
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dimensional surface to look convincingly
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three-dimensional. Linear perspective is
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an important part of this effect. Let's
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take a closer look.
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Here you see the components of linear
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perspective that make Hayllar's image so
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convincing. There is a horizon line
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bisecting the painting in half about
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midway up the height of the canvas.
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There is a focal point placed along that
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horizon line, where the artist wants the
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viewer's attention to be drawn. Take a
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close look and you'll notice that the
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focal point is here labeled as a vanishing
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point, and it is right between those two
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figures in the foreground on the left. And
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then there are a number of implied lines
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that create converging lines—also known
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as orthogonals—to help direct our gaze to
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the focal point along the horizon line. By
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using these elements as guides, the artist
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can create a realistic looking space with
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the help of arrangement, color saturation,
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size, and now linear perspective.
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Linear perspective can contain one or more
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vanishing points, with orthogonals
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leading to them in the same technique as
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we just saw. Similarly, multi-point
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perspective allows artists to portray
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scenes from views other than directly
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frontal. Specifically, a worm's eye view
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portrays a scene from below, where the
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viewer is looking up. And a bird's eye
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view portrays a scene from above, where
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the viewer is looking down. In this type
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of perspective, there are multiple
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vanishing points.
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In this woodcut print by Escher, we the
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viewers are situated above the scene
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portrayed in the image, putting us in a
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bird's eye view. The reason why this is
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also multi-point perspective is because
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there are multiple points in the image
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that could serve as focal points, or
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vanishing points, on various horizon lines
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Look carefully and locate some implied
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lines that converge on a specific focal
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point. What do you notice? Do you see the
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columns, staircase, and rooftop terraces?
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Escher uses all of these components to
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direct your gaze to linger on different
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points of the image, moving up along the
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structure and taking in details as they
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come.
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The term foreshortening refers to the type
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of perspective that allows us to see
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something that is meant to be protruding
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toward us in a realistic way. Artists use
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foreshortening to increase the illusionism
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of the visual space by mimicking the way
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we would view items coming toward us in
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the real world.
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For example, Mantegna's The Lamentation
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over the Dead Christ, also known as
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"The Foreshortened Christ," portrays the
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dead Christ figure from a surprising
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angle. The feet of the figure are meant to
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appear closer to us, the viewers, than his
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head, and Mantegna must adjust the angles,
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sizes, and focal points to create this
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illusion.
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In art, the term balance refers to having
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visual "weight" that exists in the image.
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Balance is often achieved by controlling
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the size and arrangement of elements
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within the image.
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When visual elements are equally
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distributed across the image, there is
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symmetrical balance. Artists often employ
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symmetrical balance to make their images
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more easily understood and visually
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appealing to viewers.
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Here we have a ritual container from the
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Shang Dynasty in what is now the country
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of China. This object displays symmetrical
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balance. If you bisected the object in
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half vertically down its center, you will
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find identical patterns and elements
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displayed. These types of containers were
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often used in ceremonies, often buried
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with the deceased to accompany them into
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the afterlife. As such, creating an object
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that demonstrates symmetry, balance, and
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harmony was an important part of its form
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and its function.
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In direct contrast to symmetrical balance,
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asymmetrical balance is when artists
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distribute the visual weight of the image
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unequally, often placing more elements on
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one side of the image than the other, or
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perhaps adding more detail to one side
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than the other.
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For example, in this image, there are six
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persimmons portrayed, but they are not
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arranged in a symmetrical fashion. Instead
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the asymmetrical balance of the image
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allows us to focus on the persimmons more
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individually, considering their subtle
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differences and unique qualities.
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Artists can also use scale to affect our
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interpretation of images. Scale is not the
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same as size, though they are closely
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related. Size refers to the dimensions of
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an element on its own, whereas scale
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refers to the relationship between the
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size of the viewer and the work of art.
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There are three types of scale that you
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will be expected to know and utilize.
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Monumental scale describes works that are
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or appear to be larger than they would
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normally exist, or larger than the size
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of the viewer. Human scale describes works
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that appear to be the same size in the
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artwork as they are in real life, or are
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roughly the same size as the viewer. And
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miniature scale describes works that
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appear or are smaller than they would be
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in real life, or are smaller than the
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viewer.
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Consider how artists Oldenburg and
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van Bruggen have played with scale in
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their work Mistos from 1992. This is a
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large sculpture in a public, outdoor
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space. Although this sculpture is clearly
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larger, larger than the people around it,
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and is thus representing monumental scale,
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the subject matter is a packet of matches,
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which normally easily fit in the palm of
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one's hand. Artists use scale to surprise
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viewers, often inviting them to rethink
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their relationships to different objects
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in their lives by viewing them in ways
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they've never seen before.
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Another important type of scale is called
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hierarchical scale. This term describes
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the utilization of scale to denote
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importance by making the most important
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element the largest-sized element in the
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image.
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In this carved relief scene from the great
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temple at Amun, in Egypt, the figures are
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created in a variety of sizes. Rather than
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using size to communicate depth and
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illusionistic space, here the sizes of the
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figures show the importance of them in
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relationship to each other. Through
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hierarchical scale, the large figure on
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the right is likely the most significant
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figure in the scene, with the smaller
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figures in the center and the left of the
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image being less significant in comparison
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Our last design element of the lecture is
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proportion. Although related to size and
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scale, proportion is the relationship
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between the sizes of the individual parts
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within an artwork or object, rather than
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its size in relation to other objects or
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the viewer.
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Here we see three drawings of an object,
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a vessel or container for liquids.
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Although they all depict symmetrical
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balance and share the same components,
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such as a base at the bottom, handles at
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the sides, and a lip at the top, they are
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all exhibiting different relationships
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between their height and width. These
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different relationships and proportions
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affect the dimensions and appearance
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of these objects, making them different
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from each other.
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In addition to the relationship between
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height and width, proportion can also
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relate to the parts of the human body.
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There are many examples throughout
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history of societies producing art and
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architecture based on measurements taken
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from the human body, and it is generally
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thought that using human proportions in
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art and architecture makes the viewing
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experience more pleasurable and relatable
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for viewers.
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In this graphic, we see how the human hand
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has been used as a measurement. By
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beginning with the smallest unit of the
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hand—fingers—we then advance to a
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collection of four fingers to create a
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palm, a collection of six palms to create
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a cubit, and finally four cubits to create
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the average height of a human. By creating
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art, objects, and structures based on
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elements of the human body, viewers can
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readily understand how the work relates to
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them, making it easier to comprehend and
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contemplate the visual elements and their
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meanings. This concludes Part 2 of our
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first lecture on the Principles of Design.
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Feel free to return to this lecture video
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to review information and terminology
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on space, perspective, balance, scale, and
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proportion.