Unity and Variety
An artwork is strongest when it expresses an overall unity in composition and form – a visual sense that all the parts fit together; that the whole is greater than its parts. Read this section to learn more.
Ultimately, a work of art is the strongest when it expresses overall unity
in composition and form, a visual sense that all the parts fit
together, and that the whole is greater than its parts. This same sense of
unity is projected to
encompass the idea and meaning of the work too. This visual and
conceptual unity is sublimated by the variety of
elements and principles used to create it. We can think of this in terms
of a musical orchestra and its conductor: directing
many different instruments, sounds, and feelings into a single
comprehendible symphony of sound. This is where the objective functions
of line, color, pattern, scale, and all the other artistic elements and
principles yield to a more subjective view
of the entire work and, from that, an appreciation of the aesthetics
and meaning it resonates.
We can view the woodblock print, Fuji Viewed from Rice Fields in Owari Province, part of the series Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji
designed by Katsushika Hokusai to see how unity and variety work
together. Hokusai used nearly every
element and principle in his work, including a range of values,
colors, and textures in his depiction of a barrel maker set against a
parched rice field with Mount Fuji in the distance. The unity of the
print is held in place by the large barrel, which
encloses and unifies the individual elements of the composition.
Katsushika Hokusai, Fujimi Fuji View Field in the Owari Province
Source: Christopher Gildow, http://opencourselibrary.org/art-100-art-appreciation/
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.