Thursday, September 30, 2010

Principles of Art - Unity

Unity: the quality of wholeness or oneness that is achieved through the effective use of the elements and principles of art.

Have you ever seen someone who is wearing striped tights, with polka dot sneekers, plaid shorts and a tie-dye t-shirt?
It doesn't look right, does it? The reason this outfit does not look good is because it lacks unity. There is not one thing that goes well with another. In art, we also try to create a sense of unity.

There are several ways that artists create unity in their works. For instance, unity is created with color.
The basic image above is a map of the United States, entitled Map, 1963 by Jasper Johns.The use of the three primary colors and gray throughout the entire picture creates a sense of unity. Along with color, the artist used similar brush strokes, which created a unifying texture. The printed words also repeat, although they are not all the same word. All of these elements work to bring a sense of unity to Map.