Point, Line, Shape, Mass and Volume, Texture, and Value

This chapter discusses the basic elements of design seen in every artist’s work in varying forms. These include point, line, shape, mass and volume, texture, and value. Point is the simplest design element, seen in Hannah Whitaker’s Constellation, a recreation of a historical work using points of light as her medium. It’s also seen in Chuck Close’s Georgia Fingerprint, an example of nontraditional pointillism using fingerprints to create a portrait. Line is a “series of connected points that make a length that seems to move in a direction.” It is seen in Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty, a large-scale earthwork sculpture in Great Salt Lake, Utah. It is also seen in Cy Twomby’s untitled work, displaying chaotic lines of white crayon on oil-based house paint. Shape varies greatly in its application, it can be “A two-dimensional area with defined or implied boundaries that can be measured by height and width,” Or a three-dimensional “implied through contour, imposed actual lines, and juxtaposition of colors and texture that define actual shapes or suggest implied shapes” Parts of shape include figure and ground - (when shapes are given equal emphasis, the result can be dynamic)
positive shape (the dominant shape), negative shape (shape that surrounds the dominant shape), and
amorphous shape (shape without clarity or precise distinction and of uncertain dimension with edges that are difficult to determine).