Rhythm and movement

RHYTHM
&
MOVEMENT

Rhythm

 Rhythm is the principle of design
that indicates movement by the
repetition of elements

 Rhythm is used in every art form
 Rhythm can be created visually

and can also occur in nature.
 Rhythms are comforting

(expressive quality)

Visual Rhythm

 Visual rhythm is rhythm
you see through your eyes
rather than hear through
your ears as in music

 In this painting by Charles
Burchfield, the artist uses
repetitive color, lines,
shapes, and patterns to
create rhythm to express
the living force in the
natural environment.

Charles Ephraim Burchfield, May Wind 1945-56. Watercolor on paper. 30” x 40”.

Rhythm

 Everywhere you look
you can see visual
rhythms.

◦ Books in a bookcase
◦ Cars in a parking lot
◦ People in line
◦ Traffic on the freeway

 Visual rhythm
creates the sensation
of movement as the
viewer’s eye follows
the visual beats
through a work of
art.

Yvonne Jacquette, "Three Night Views of
Minneapolis II (Left Panel)“. 1984

Rhythm

 Visual rhythm does not create actual movement like a ball bouncing
across a room would.

 Visual rhythm can create the same sensation by “bouncing” your eye
from one shape to another.

 In this image, rhythm is created with the use of negative space in
between the shapes that you see.

Rosa Bonheur, The Horse Fair. 1853-55. Oil on canvas. 244.5 x 506.7 cm (96 ¼ x 199 ½ in). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY.

Repetition

 Rhythm is a result of This is a floral motif
repetition.

 Motif and pattern are often
used in talking about
repetition.

 Motif is a unit that is repeated
in visual rhythm – a repeated
pattern, image or theme, and
not necessarily repeated
exactly.

 Pattern is a two-dimensional
decorative visual repetition.

 Pattern is flat, decorative, and
can be visually uninteresting.

This has a striped pattern

Pattern
Rhythm / Movement

 A pattern may have a
motif which is
repeated.

 All rhythm has a
pattern, but not all
pattern has a rhythm,
some patterns have a
rhythm.

Examples of Motif

 In a marching band, one
band member is a motif
even though each band
member carries a
different instrument.

 In a grocery store, one
can is a motif even
though the products in
the cans may be
different

Rhythm / Movement

 Module: a 3-D motif is called a module.
 In sculpture and architecture, the ‘motif’

is called a module, a standard matching
unit.

Rhythm

 Different rhythms are
created with different
arrangements of motif
and space.

 There are 5 types of
rhythm:

1. Random
2. Regular
3. Alternating
4. Flowing
5. Progressive

Dale Chihuly, Clear Venetian with Birds. 1989. Glass. 14 x 11 x 10 in.

 Random rhythm is a motif
repeated in no apparent order, with
no regular spaces in between.
Examples of random rhythm are
leaves on the ground, cracks in
mud, and splashes of paint.

 Regular rhythm has
identical motifs and equal
amounts of space between
them.

 Regular rhythm has a
steady beat.

 Regular rhythms are
used to organize things,
(parking spaces, groceries
on the supermarket shelf).

 Regular rhythm can
become boring if overdone
(expressive quality).

Wrapper (kente). Asante peoples. Bonwire, Ghana. Early-mid
20th century. Silk, synthetic dye. H x W: 238.8 x 136 cm (94 x
53 9/16 in.). National Museum of African Art, National Museum
of Natural History

 Alternating rhythm Footed Dish, Early 18th century. Japanese.
does create interest, and Nabeshima ware. h x diam: 2 1/8 x 7 7/8
relieve monotony inches (5.4 x 20 cm).
(expressive quality).

 Alternating rhythm
can occur in several ways:

1. Introduce a second motif.
2. Make a change in the

placement or content of
the original motif.
3. Change the spaces between
motifs.
4. Change the position of the
motif, for example, turning
the motif upside down.

Shoulder Bag. Creek. Georgia or Alabama.
1810 – 30. wool fabric, cotton fabric and

thread, silk ribbon, glass beads. Strap: 53.25

x 71/8 in. Bag: 7 5/8 x 4 in.

 Fcrleoawteindgbyrhryeptheamtinigs wavy
lines.
Curved shapes such as
 rolling hills or ocean waves

create rolling rhythms.
 Flowing rhythm has no
sudden breaks in the
movement of flowing lines.
 This rhythm suggests the
movement of wind, water,
or even flames.This
rhythm is soothing, or
hypnotic (expressive
quality).

 Progressive: In progressive
rhythm, there is a change in the
motif each time the motif is
repeated.

 Example: a motif may start as a
square, but as the design continues,
the square will change, perhaps
becoming smaller each time, or
changing shape slowly until it is a
circle, or a bird.

 In Balla’s Street Light, the light is
represented by a progression of line
and color. Color progresses from
white and yellow near the lamp itself
to reds and lavenders as it gets
further out. The line changes from
small, tight v shapes to wider and
larger v shapes.

Giacomo Balla, Street Light. 1909. Oil on canvas. 174.7 x 114.7
cm (68 ¼ x 45 ¼ in). The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY.

Movement

What is movement why is
it important in visual
art?

 Movement is the principle
of design used to create the
look and feeling of action
and to guide the viewer’s
eye throughout an artwork.

 All artworks have
movement.

 Any element may be used
to create movement in an
artwork.

Marcel Duchamp, Nude Descending A Staircase, No. 2. 1912.
Oil on canvas.57 7/8 x 35 1/8 in. Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Movement

 GInotlhdiesnpiGctautreeBorfidtghee in
San Francisco, the
picture is not actually
moving at all.
 Hlooowk eavtetrh,ewphiecntuyroeu,
your eye is drawn to
the big support in the
left center of the
image.
Then your eye is
 carried through the

sweep of the diagonal
cable off into the
distance, thus creating
movement.

 Movement may be
smooth and flowing,
creating a calm or
comfortable feeling
(expressive quality).

 Movement may be
quick, abrupt, or jumpy,
creating an excited,
tense, or nervous
quality (expressive
quality) in the artwork.

 Movement
using mainly
Line

Joan Miró. Women and Birds at Sunrise. 1946. Oil on canvas. 54 x 65 cm. Fundació Joan Miró, Barcelona, Spain.

 Movement using
mainly color:

Vincent Van Gogh, The Café Terrace on the Place du Forum, Arles, at Night. 1888. Oil on canvas.
Kroller-Muller Museum, Otterlo, The Netherlands.

 Movement using mainly value

M. C. Escher, Sky and Water. 1938. Woodcut. M.C. Escher, Other World. 1947. Wood engraving and woodcut
in black, reddish brown, printed from 3 blocks

 Movement using mainly
texture

Jackson Pollock, No. 5. 1948. Alkyds on canvas. 8’ x 4’.

 Movement created mainly with shapes
and space:

Miriam Schapiro, Anna and David. 1986. Aluminum and paint. Thirty-five feet high and 31 feet wide,
weighing 1,200 pounds

 Dynamism: one
art style or
movement called
the Futurists,
used the word
dynamism to refer
to the forces of
movement.They
believed that
nothing was solid
or stable (atoms)
and that art could
show or illustrate
actual motion.

Giacomo Bella. Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash. 1912. Oil on canvas. 88.9 x 109.9 cm (35 1/8 x 43 ¼ in).
Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY.

Movement
Dynamism / Futurists

 FInu2t-uDriwstosrk the
illustrated
dynamism by
superimposing
many different
consecutive views
of the subject onto
the same surface.
In 3-D work they
 incorporated actual

motion into the
works of Kinetic
sculpture and
mobiles.

Umberto Boccioni, The City Rises. 1910. Oil on canvas. 6’ 6 ½” x 9’ 10 ½”. Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY.

Movement
Dynamism Futurists

 Kinetic Sculptures were
works that used air
currents and gravity to
create actual motion in the
work.This evolved
eventually so that actual
motors, or even lights could
be incorporated to allow
movement.

 Mobiles are sculptures that
are suspended, normally
from the ceiling, and
incorporate motion by
means of the flow of air.

Alexander Calder. Lobster Trap and Fish Tail. 1939. Hanging mobile.
Painted steel wire and sheet aluminum. 2.6 x .29 (8’6” x 9’6”). The Museum of

Modern Art, New York, NY.

Meet the Artist
Chuck Close

 American, b. 1940
 Chuck Close is a portrait

painter, but not in the
traditional sense.
 He works on an extremely
large scale.
 He creates his work based
on photographs he has
taken of people.
 He was known as a leading
Photo-Realist in his early
career.

Chuck Close

 In the late 1980’s he
suffered a sudden illness
that left him partially
paralyzed. He could use
his arms, but he could
no longer use his hands.

 He now paints with a
devise that is strapped
onto his arm, to which
a brush is attached.

Creating Rhythm & Movement
Through “Optic Art/OP Art

Bridget Riley, Blaze 4, 1964 Bridget Riley, Movement in Squares, 1964

What is Op Art anyway?

Optical Art is generally
characterized by hard-edged black
and white patterns or geometric
shapes which use repetition of
simple forms and colors to create
vibrating effects.

“OP Art”

The birth of op art began officially with an article in time
magazine. In 1964, Time magazine published an article
featuring an art movement involving optical illusions.
Since the artists focused on eye manipulation, Time
magazine coined this new movement “op art”.

Father of Op Art

Vasarely is hailed as the inventor and father of optical art.
The breakthrough brought by his "kinetic" experiments transformed the flat
surface into a world of unending possibilities, way before the advent of
computers, book marking an era in the history of art in general.

Victor Vasarely 1906-1997

Female OP Artist

(Born, 1931)Artistslike Bridget Riley understood that the human eye has trouble looking at

certain color combinations and line combinations. In fact, if you stare at them long enough, the images
actually appear to move or vibrate.

Bridget Riley, 1964
Bridget Riley, 1982

Get Ready to create
your own weaving OP-ART

You will create your
own OP-Art designs that
will use both rhythm
and movement based
on the ideas of Riley &
Vasarely.

Finished! Op Art Design in the style of Bridget Riley.