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There are two ways to look at the principles of design:
1) A principle is something that can be repeatedly and dependably done with elements to produce some sort of visual effect in a composition.
2) A principle is a way to express a value judgment about a composition.
The first approach can produce a technically acceptable work of art as commercial designs often are. The second definition can create a work that reaches the viewer's subconscious. If we say that a painting has "unity and depth" we are relating to the painting from an emotional feeling that the painting illicits. The two principles that are most likely to bring forth an emotional reaction in the viewer are Contrast and Dominance.
Without contrast, a painting would not arrest our attention. Contrast offers some change in value creating a visual discord in a composition. Some degree of discord is necessary or the painting would tend to be boring. We would not want to take a second look.
My articles are about abstract painting yet I have chosen two non-abstract paintings as well as one abstract to illustrate the principle of Contrast. My approach to analyzing these paintings is to look at the abstract qualities inherent in all artwork.
The paintings I am using are: Degas' "Polo Players", Edward Hopper's "New York Movie", and Kandinsky's "Composition VIII". I never tire of looking at these paintings because of the contrasts they embody. The first two are similar in that the format of both paintings is divided almost down the center...one with a pole and the other with the theater wall. There is a contrast between the two sides, almost as if there are two separate pictures. In Hopper's painting there are other contrasts. On one side is an usherette outlined in bright light while there are the backs of two people on the other side barely visible in the darkness of the theater. One side is intense color while the other is almost sepia. The starkness of the hallway the usherette occupies contrasts with the ornate nature of the wood post and lights in the theater. Degas' painting is composed of a different set of contrasts.
The pole divides the large polo player on the right from the two figures on the left which are small in comparison. The large figure is closer to the viewer while the small figures seem to be in the background. The near figure seems to be moving toward the viewer while the small figures are moving more into the distance. The red and black hats of the distant figures contrast with the white hat of the near figure. In Kandinsky's "Composition VIII", as in all of his work, there is an abundance of contrasts: contrasting color, value, shapes and lines. Again, there isn't a chance that the viewer will be bored when looking at this painting. The contrasts in all of these paintings bring the viewer back again and again to gaze at the image. Without contrast we would quickly tire of the artwork.
All of this contrast leads to an area of dominance. Dominance is the weight of a particular object within the composition. There usually are three stages of dominance:
1) Dominant: The object given the most visual weight; the element of primary emphasis that advances to the foreground.
2) Sub-dominant: The element of secondary emphasis; the element in the middle ground of the composition.
3) Subordinate: The object given the least visual weight; the element of tertiary emphasis that recedes to the background.
In the Degas example, the dominate element is the large polo player. In the Hopper, it is the usherette. In the Kandinsky, it is the black and purple circle. The sub-dominants are the polo player with the red hat, the red curtain and the yellow circle. The subordinate in the Degas is clearly the polo player in the black hat and in the Hopper it is the couple sitting in the theater. In the Kandinsky, there are several subordinates. I invite you to find "Composition VIII" by Kandinsky on your computer and analyze this complex painting. I promise that you will not be bored.
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