LINE

Line can be defined as a mark that creates a path between two points (or the path of a moving point), taking any form along the way. In the Visual Arts, line is the most basic and fundemental of the visual elements. Line can be thought of in drawing as the structure beneath a finished artwork as well as the techniques employed to establish the illusion of volume. As an art element, line pertains to the use of various marks, outlines and implied lines. in Art and Design, line is most often used to define shape in two-dimensional art works. 

In addition when artists describe line of sight they are talking about the path of the eye as it follows visual lines within a composition. This type of implied line is common in Photography.

Some examples of Line:

Line can define or bind an edge, but not always be the outside edge. It could represent a fold or a color change.
Line can define the edge of space can also be created by a gap of negative space.
Lines are used in linear shapes and patterns to decorate many different substrates, and can be used to create shadows representing tonal value, called hatching.

 Pablo Picasso Drawing with Light. Photo by Gjon Mili 1949 for Life Magazine

Implied line, also refered to as line of sight is the path that the viewer's
eye takes as it follows shapes, colours, and form along a path, but may not be continuous or physically connected, such as the line created by a dancer's arms, torso, and legs when performing an arabesque.

In the Photo to the left the photographer, Charles Sheeler uses implied line to direct the viewers line of sight. The way the image is composed the two crossing bridges form an x that draw the viewer into the image. The smokestacks in the back then draw the viewer upwards.

 

Gestural Drawing

The basis for all drawing is the sketch, and the beginning of a sketch begins with a Gesture Drawing. A gesture drawing is the first step in preparing a more sustained work. Gesture drawing facilitates the study of the human figure in motion. This exploration of action is helpful for
the artist to better understand the exertions of muscles, the effects of twisting on the body, and the natural range of motion in the joints.

Study of a woman's hands by Leonardo Da'Vinci circa 1489 AD

Jackson Pollack spent the bulk of his career pushing the envelope as to how line can be used to express emotion.

Keith Haring was a New York street artist who began by painting grafitti in the subway and other public places. Eventually his work found international acclaim and he sold his work to museums and private collectors.Haring's work utilized line as an essential ingredient.

Sumi Painting is a traditional Japanese watercolor style that whose origins date back to ancient China. The goal in Sumi is to emphasize movement and the directional lines of energy using a quick but sensative and thoughtful brushstroke.

Traditional Islamic Art and architecture employ a distinct style and use of line to emphasize design motifs. Intricate line fomations weave in an out, disecting and overlapping each other to produce sophisticated patterns that are at once awe inspiring and introspective.

Salvador Dali, the groundbreaking Surrealist painter, uses directional line to direct your eye using a concept called 'line of sight', which is an artistic theory that suggests the artist can manipulate the order and direction of the viewer's eye as they view the artwork. This enables the artist to develop a hierarchy of subject. In his crucifixion painting below what direction does your eye follow as you look at the painting? What do you see first? Where do you eventually end up? How can you utilize this technique in your own work?

In the image to the left we are looking at a close up of the Pompidou Center in Paris. The Architect Renzo Piano has created a unique design that has placed all of the mechanical parts of the building usually hidden away behind walls, in plain view and as the main focus.

By using bright primary colors each set of electrical conduit or plumbing pipes has taken on an abstract design quality that creates a feeling of wonder for visitors to the museum. 

The stark lines created by these mechanical devices, convey a playfull interaction as the weave color against color in and amongst eachother.

Alexander Calder manifested the essance of a bird in his monumental      sculpture "Pink Flamingo" in downtown Chicago. The artwork is a play on the common yard sculpture found on many suburban American lawns. By making his sculpture on such a collosal scale and by reducing the bird to it's most gestural line, the artist has drawn on our collective understanding to create a piece that is both aesthetically sophisticated yet approachable.

Deborah Butterfield has spent most of her career studying the form and gesture of horses. She creates original assemblages out of driftwood and other found objects, then has the scultures painstakingly recreated out of forged metal.

Using Line in your own work

Try incorporating some of the concepts that Line involves, by creating an original composition of your own. Here are some of my students' works from the Jaffe Studio:

Marker on paper by Kristoffer McAfee

Digital Inkjet Print on Papyrus Paper by Joshua Slater

'Power Shadow' by Karina Escobar

'Walk' by Razia Shah

'Electric Forest' by Rolande Akotsu

'Heaven' by Heidi