What is balance in art and why does it matter?
Do you know what balance in art is?Balance in Art refers to the use of artistic elements such as line, texture, color, and form in the creation of artworks in a way that renders visual stability.One of the principles of organization of structural elements of art and design is balance.Balance refers to the equilibrium of elements.Balance does not mean a complete visual or physical equilibrium of forms around a center of the composition, but rather an arrangement of form that evokes the sense of balance in viewers.Balance of elements is achieved in art through reconciliation of opposing forces.One of the basic building blocks of visual images is balance.There are different types of balance.The most used terms are asymmetrical balance, symmetrical balance and radial balance.Balance is present in art, architecture and design.The history of their application and development is long, but for this text we will focus on the importance of balance in art and design and give some examples from modern and contemporary art.
We need to apply the same reasoning when we see a three-dimensional object.A three-dimensional object will tip over if it isn't balanced.We need to rely on our own sense of space and balance when painting two-dimensional subjects on flat surfaces.With one difference, we need to apply the same analogy as with the physical object.In modern and contemporary art, the sense of balance comes from a combination of line, color and shape.The distribution of weight in art is not the same as the balance of physical objects because it is visual.When creating balance in two-dimensional art pieces, artists and designers need to be careful in allocating weight to different elements in their work, as too much emphasis on one element or a group of elements can cement viewers' attention to that part of work and leave others unobserved.Even though we are talking about media, balance is important as it brings visual harmony, rhythm and coherence to artwork, and it confirms its completeness.
Symmetrical balance can be observed in art.To make sure that both parts of their work are equal, art practitioners and designers need to draw an imaginary line through the center of the work.Symmetric balance is sometimes referred to as formal balance because it implies that none of the elements stand out.Left to right balance is achieved through symmetrical arrangements.The coherency and consistency of an artwork can be jeopardized if the artist over emphasizes either the upper or lower part.Symmetrical balance is often used in institutional architecture and religious and secular art.
Symmetrical balance can have a few different types of symmetry.There are two halves that are not mirrored and have slight variations.It was used in early Christian religious paintings.Inverted symmetry can throw the image off balance.In inverted symmetrical balance two halves of an artwork mirror each other along the horizontal axis like in playing cards.It is not unusual for practitioners to create works following this type of balance, even though biaxial symmetrical balance may be more applicable in design than art.One of the best examples of this principle is op art.The father of Op art movement, Victor Vasarely, used symmetrical balance in his paintings.Vasarely's art is a good example of inherent dynamism in this type of works.Careful about the balance, Vasarely repeatedly combined shapes of contrasting colors creating in this way a kinetic optical experience from static, flat forms.
An art perspective plays an important part.The sense of balance is greatly contributed by the accurate application of perspective.The perspective in visual arts has changed a lot.The system in which each element is shown regarding its importance and characteristics was used by the old Egyptians.A combination of perspectives can be used within a single figure.Greek artists tried to achieve a sense of balance in art and develop perspective following the instructions proposed by Aristotle in Poetics, where he suggests the use of skenographia for the creation of depth on stage in theatrical plays.The medieval sculptors and illustrators showed some feeble attempts to present the elements in the distance smaller to the viewers, but it was not until the early Renaissance and Giotto's art that perspective based on geometrical method was first probed.Filippo Brunelleschi used a method where perspective lines converge at one point at the horizon line in its full force.Modern and contemporary art has evolved in the use of perspective and balance.It can either be used after the traditional standards of composition, or twisted and negated depending on the scope of the artwork.
Leonardo da Vinci's mural painting The Last Supper is an example of a work of art where symmetrical balance has reached the level of perfection and where perspective plays an important part in it.The center of the mural is occupied by the figure of Christ, while his disciples are arranged on both his sides in the composition.
In contrast to symmetrical balance which can render works to be too rigid, formulaic and insipid, asymmetrical balance offers greater freedom to the artists.Asymmetrical balance in art can be achieved through various elements that share contrasting visual principles, such as smaller, lighter, darker, or empty forms and spaces.Informal balance is a type of balance due to the freedom that asymmetrical balance gives to practitioners.Symmetric balance objects are usually copied around a fulcrum, but asymmetrical balance allows objects to balance around the center.The easiest way to understand this type of balance is to think of a balance scale where weights on one side balance each other, but they are not the same size, shape, texture or weight.There is a balance between the disparate objects.
One example of a visual work of great aesthetic value is the prints of Hiroshige.An illustration of this principle can be found in the print Man on Horseback crossing a bridge.A huge tree outweighs the other part of the print where only empty space and shadows of bridge and mountains are shown.Piet Mondrian is famous for his use of asymmetrical balance in art.Mondrian used primary colors with black and white and created compositions that are asymmetrical in the distribution of elements but which still create a strong sense of balance, harmony and rhythm in each work.He wanted to find a universal balance and harmony in his art.
Alexander Calder examined form, color and balance in his mobile sculptures, making a further step towards broadening of understanding and importance of balance.Through their movement, his mobile sculptures constantly search for balance.Air movements and touch affect the movement of the delicately crafted Mobiles.Balance is an active force that affects the immediate shape and dynamics of the art.Instead of being deliberately achieved by the artist, Calder leaves his work to balance itself and to - through constant movement - negotiate and re-negotiate its balance and form.
In contrast to asymmetrical and symmetrical balance, radial balance is dependent on the way forms are distributed.The term radial comes from the fact that instead of following horizontal or vertical axis forms, they are arranged around the center of compositions.A lack of hierarchy and emphasis is present in visual compositions that do not have a focal point.This type of balance can also be called allover balance.Although it may seem that art and design that use mosaic balance are chaotic, repetitive, full of visual noise and disorder, they actually possess consistency and dynamism in the apparent chaos of forms and patterns.Jackson Pollock's action painting of dripping paint is one example where this type of balance reached its highest quality.
Some contemporary artists use balance as a constructive principle in their works, but also as an active element in the formation of their sculptural art.Balance is the main star of their sculptures.The sole manipulation of balance is what Matt Calderwood uses to combine mundane, everyday objects.The elements in a sculpture are dependent on each other and every slight change could throw them out of balance and destroy the sculpture.Visitors to his shows are invited to participate in his sculptural works.He used bottles filled with water, tennis balls and other objects to entice visitors to keep them in place by balancing them between their bodies or other surfaces.Visitors became performers in the artist's living act.Adequate to showcase contemporary precarities, balance art of Calderwood and Wurm take the medium of sculpture and used objects to the extreme limits.Rendering them both dangerous and prone to destruction with every, even slightest move or body twitch and at the same time poised and in equilibrium with the surrounding world is a testament to the contemporary extremes of existence.
When it comes to balance, visual principles apply to both art and design.The principle of balance that can be observed directly adds to the completeness and quality of a visual work.Different art movements and periods preferred different forms of balance.The Baroque aesthetic of exuberance and exaggerated motion is found in asymmetrical balance, which is the adequate formula for its dynamic compositions.The limits of balance are constantly examined in modern and contemporary art.Balance in art is achieved through chance and sometimes even physical interaction with the observer, instead of being set and fixed by the artist.Forced objects into balance that defies physical laws is a tool used in contemporary art.Balance is dependent on the intimate sense of artist, designer and ultimately, the viewer, being one of the major principles of art and design.Balance is a constant that can't be Countermanded, despite various manipulations with visual principles and elements throughout history.
A successful painting depends on the composition.The artwork will fail if the composition is not good.The harmonious use of versatile elements in art creates a whole.The principles of art composition are explained in this book by Henry Rankine Poore.The importance of balance in art is considered in great detail in this book.This book contains over 166 reproductions of artworks of Cézanne, Goya, Hopper and others.
Isamu Noguchi - Red Cube, 1968.New York.The image is from onthegrid.city.The Adoration of the Magi was studied by Leonardo da Vinci.Hiroshige - Autumn Moon at Ishiyama Temple was taken in 1834.Wikimedia Commons has an image via it.Rebecca Horn, High Moon, 1991.The image was uploaded to sophia.org.All images are used for illustrative purposes.