Activity #4

“Daybreak – A Time to Rest,” a tempera on hardboard, was created by Jacob Lawrence in 1967. Lawrence uses practically all of the listed design principles in our text with supported design elements to make this work of art complete and satisfying. Lawrence applies the principles of emphasis, balance, scale, rhythm, unity & variety to catch the viewer’s attention.

Lawrence makes the pair of feet the emphasis of the painting by placing them towards the (lower) center and having bright colors surround them. Emphasis is an area that stands out among other parts of the painting (134). Lawrence placed the feet in the center with a space in between them to present the line of symmetry, which helped reveal its asymmetrical balance. Balance is the distribution of weight either symmetrically (equal) or asymmetrically (unequal) to either side of an artwork (125, 129). In this painting, the right side is slightly heavier than the left side. Lawrence uses the principle of scale on a number of objects in this painting. Scale is the size in relation to a “normal” size (136) and the orange bug sitting on the blade of grass is extremely large compared to the normal size of a bug. The shotgun sitting in the center of the painting is much smaller than a standard sized shotgun. Lawrence includes a number of human figures and body parts, all of African-American descent, having all the women clothed in the same colors. This is a great application of rhythm, which is the basis of repetition (141). Finally, the artist uses unity and variety. Unity is having a sense of oneness and variety provides interest in art by using differences (122). There is a constant use of complex shapes and lines seen throughout the painting with a number of different but complimenting colors, providing interest to the viewer. These design elements all provide a sense of oneness, making this work of art complete.

David Smith designed “Untitled,” a gelatin silver print between 1932 and 1935. Smith also used some of the exact same principles (rhythm, emphasis, balance and unity) that Lawrence used in his painting but in slightly different ways.

In the background of the photograph stands a number of repeated squares one inside of the other, creating a rhythm in this work of art. Smith uses more of the principle of pattern to emphasize the rhythm instead of how Lawrence used a repeated theme. A pattern is a unit that repeats with regularity throughout the artwork, the square being that unit. On the left side of center sits the one clearly defined object of the photograph: a window frame. Because of the clarity and the light glare effect on the object, the window becomes the emphasis of the work. With the entire photograph primarily in dark gray, the window frame, being much brighter, stands out and catches the viewer’s attention. Unlike Lawrence, Smith uses symmetrical balance with the line of symmetry already emphasized for the viewer. The weight of the photograph is, for the most part, equally distributed. Lastly, Smith brings a sense of unity to the photograph by using very few colors and a having repeated background pattern, unlike how Lawrence used a number of bright colors to provide unity with variety.

In closing, both artists and their artworks apply the same design principles in contrasting ways, helping the viewer to see the variety in which these principles can be applied.