Space

The Element of Art - Space

California Visual Arts Glossary Definitions

Space. The emptiness or area between, around, above, below, or contained within objects. Shapes and forms are defined by the space around and within them, just as spaces are defined by the shapes and forms around and within them.

Textbook Glossary Definition

Space: In art, the area and/or air occupied by, activated by, or implied to be in an artwork.

Description of space

  • An element in both pictorial composition and abstract design

  • In two-dimensional art, space is designated as the negative area between positive objects - called decorative or surface space.

  • Space-in-depth comprises of three sections: foreground, middle ground, and background.

  • Creating illusion of space-in-depth requires:

  • Using vertical placement to suggest depth

  • Diminishing sizes of objects as they recede in the distance

  • Drawing sharp, clear details in the foreground and blurred, indistinct elements in the background.

  • Overlapping shapes or forms

  • Drawing objects that are farther away from the observer higher on the picture plane

  • Using bright, intense colors in the foreground and dulled colors in the background

  • Employing perspective-creating techniques such as converging lines and horizontal lines

  • "Rules of perspective should not be imposed on children unless they have a need for them."Young artists need to learn to understand point of view - from above, below, close-up, through a microscope, or through a telescope.

Review the element of space from Getty Art - http://www.getty.edu/education/for_teachers/building_lessons/elements.html#space

"Real space is three-dimensional. Space in a work of art refers to a feeling of depth or three dimensions. It can also refer to the artist's use of the area within the picture plane. The area around the primary objects in a work of art is known as negative space, while the space occupied by the primary objects is known as positive space."

Positive or negative space

Three-dimensional space

Cezanne, Matisse, Calder, Van Gogh, Breughel

Perspective

Perspective in Paintings