Objectives

Chapter 8, Other Formal Elements, deals with texture, pattern, time and motion. Texture provides essential information about the surfaces—real or suggested, that a work of art possesses. Pattern, besides being the result of the repeat motif, is also the basis of visual rhythm, which creates a sense of motion and time. These last two elements are essential to our understanding of temporal or "time based media" such as dance, theater, performance art, and film and television.

After reading this chapter you should:

1. know the definitions to key terms including:
   • action painting
   • actual texture and visual (implied) texture
   • animal style
   • Brownian motion
   • frottage
   • impasto
   • kinetic art
   • motif
   • mnemonic
   • op art
   • pattern
   • spatial media and temporal media

2. know that texture is the actual or perceived surface of a work of art — and that it has the ability to call forth certain visual phenomena and certain tactile sensations and feelings.

3. see how historically there have been attempts to integrate motion, or the sensation of motion, into the spatial arts.

4. know how the pace and editing styles differ between typical television programs and the works of video artists such as Bill Viola. How does Viola's Room for St. John on the Cross actually function like a sculpture piece?

5. see how pattern occurs when a visual element or motif is repeated within a composition. Historically, pattern has served as a decorative tool, but in Chapter 8 you will see that some artists have created works of art with pattern that go well beyond decoration.

6. know the role that time and motion play in our experiencing of both the spatial arts and the temporal arts. You should also see how some artist's "spatial" paintings are really records of time and motion.

7. know that some works of art are designed to deliberately move, while others attempt to give us the sensation of movement.

Remember, our perception of an object can be reinforced by tactile sensation or touch. Artists will often produce or suggest textures in order to convey or further the notion of reality. Pattern, whether revealed in Celtic illuminations or Turkish rugs, is an element that can imply motion—we visually follow serpentine lines, or feel a rhythmic, temporal beat as we glance at each repeated motif. Finally, time and motion are critical to our experience in all the arts. Whether we're contemplating a painting too large to be seen in a single glance, traveling the galactic lines of Pollock's Autumn Rhythm, or watching a performance art piece, it is time and motion that prescribes the essence of experiencing. The Critical Process asks us to consider how we've been conditioned to a certain "pace." Consider the idea of pace as you experience art and your environment, because ultimately, experiencing is a time-based phenomena.

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