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An artist with an open mind will discover that realism and abstraction have a lot in common---they are two aspects of the same thing: they both use the elements and principles of design." Donna Watson
So far in this series, I have examined the following Principles: Unity, Balance, Harmony, Dominance, and Contrast. There are three more: Repetition, Variation, and Gradation. This article will attempt to explain these last three.
Repetition means to paint a given element or image again. This can apply to any line, value, texture, color, size, shape or direction on any part of the page. In music, we are familiar with repetition - the beat of a drum or the repeating of a motif give the music a comforting familiarity, like the beating of the human heart. The same can be said of a painting. We want to feel that there is a consistency within the composition that holds it together. However, too much repetition can dull the composition. Variation is needed to balance the repetition. Dripping water can become an irritation. A clock ticking is no longer heard. The effects of repetition rely on what is repeated and how the reappearance is executed. Variation is a necessary balance to correct the adverse effects of too much repetition.
Variation is the use of dissimilar elements, which creates interest and uniqueness. By adding variety to repetition, the painter holds the viewers attention and also guides his/her eye through the painting. The combination of these two principles keeps the painting both comfortable and interesting. The two together give motion to the composition. I will again give three sample paintings that exemplify these principles. The three are: Diebenkorn's "Ocean Park 116", Warhol's "Ten Marilyns", and Kandinsky's "Spitzen in Bogen (Points in the Elbow)".
Diebenkorn repeats stripes of color throughout his painting. It is made up of a series of rectangles but they are of varying sizes. They are imperfectly painted with color seeping through the forms and scratchy edges that give the feel of the artist's hand. There is variation in the application of the color. The color of the rectangles also adds variation. Some are intense (the thin purple next to a vibrant yellow) and some are soft pastels (the large pink and blue rectangles). I think of a piece of jazz music when I look at this piece. It has the calm yet intense mood of a Dave Brubeck composition.
Warhol's "Ten Marilyns" is obviously repetitious. His variation is achieved through color changes. What is interesting is that he varies the way he changes the color in each image. The top right face is the same color as the background, the next image is a somewhat natural colored face against a blue background, and the third image is all in a variety of shades of blue. In the next, the shadows become a brilliant red and the face is in the negative. He goes on to do something different with the color in each of the ten segments. Warhol has taken both repetition and variation to an extreme.
In Kandinsky's "Points in the Elbow", the main repetition is that of a shape: a triangle. There are triangles of a great variety of sizes and more triangles are created by the seemingly overlapping of triangles. More variety is added with circle shapes and rectangles. All are repeated in a variety of sizes and colors. Notice how the eye is guided through the painting from the lower left in an arc ending at the upper left and then on down to the center left. Never is the eye led outside of the picture.
Repetition and Variation are two sides of the same coin. Too much of either tips the composition so that it no longer holds together. Used together, they lead the eye through the picture for the viewer's enjoyment.
The last of our principles is Gradation. Gradation of size and direction produce linear perspective. Gradation of color from warm to cool and tone from dark to light give an object depth and imply three dimensional shape on a two dimensional surface. This principle was used extensively in the Renaissance and is still used today to describe realistic forms. Abstract artists also use gradation to give a sense of depth. De Chirico is a Surrealistic abstract artist who used gradation to describe form and for depth in his skies. De Chirico paintings seem to occupy deep space through the use of gradation.
This article concludes my explanation of use of the eight Principles of Art in abstract painting. I hope that this series has added to your enjoyment and knowledge of contemporary visual art.
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