Viewing page 22 of 41

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

Outline for Projected Book on the Mechanics of Art


Scope

To provide a guide for artists, students and the lay public into the actual mechanics of form organization as it relates to the fine arts, with special attention to various factors that have gone into the modern idiom.

This book would be valuable because while many books treat Art Appreciation from the standpoint of aesthetic, philosophical and psychological criticism, only a few books have given an accurate guide to these problems of design, color and form organization that constitute the best work of the old masters and of the modern artists.

The explanations would be concise in terms of verbal definition, analogy and, in particular instances, diagrams, reproductions of painting, etc.

Introduction

Range of subject matter -- abstract ornament to literal representation.

Form and formlessness -- expansion and contraction.

Relationship of motive to means.

Media -- their advantages and disadvantages.

For purposes of clarity and communication with the reader, wherever possible the definitions in standard dictionaries and encyclopedia will be used. Where this is not possible, terms will be explained.


Content

1. Form

Object
Forms
Shapes
Integral form
Style

2. Color

Range
Theories
Harmonies -- balance, opposition, equilibrium