Splash

This assignment is part of the mobility theme. One of the topics that suits mobility is movement. You'd probably immediately and literally think about movement like a car driving by, swinging, or sitting in a plane. But we're able to show movement in many other ways than just these. In this assignment you'll learn how to create an abstract piece of art in which you represent movement.

Everyone wants to understand art. That's actually strange. You don't want to try to understand the chirping of a bird, do you?

– Pablo Picasso –

Cirkel in beweging

For this assignment you take a circle as a starting point. In pairs, take a sheet of A2 paper and make it look like the circle is moving.

You may make adjustments and additions to the form, use different materials and techniques and consider the arrangement (composition) of your work.

Suggestion of motion

How do you represent movement in a painting? There are several possibilities.

Dynamic posture

By giving a figure a dynamic (mobile) posture, it appears as if it is moving.

Repetition/rhythm

With repetition the same shapes are repeated, with rhythm similar shapes are repeated.

Oblique/curved lines

Using curved or oblique lines makes it look like there's movement in your image.

Paste application of paint/coarse touch

Painting technique in which the paint is applied very thickly, like a thick paste.

Dynamic composition

The composition (also called arrangement) creates a dynamic image. The performance seems to be in motion.

Blur

The further away, the blurrier and less sharp you can still see the shapes.

Realistic, figurative, and abstract

Realistic

It looks very much like reality, it could just be a photo. It seems lifelike.

Figurative

What you see is recognizable but not necessarily lifelike.

Abstract

It is not recognizable as something we know from reality.

Picture 2: Example of a realistic piece of art

Picture 3: Example of a figurative piece of art

Picture 4: Example of an abstract piece of art

Realistic, figurative or abstract?

Below you can see images of various works of art. Do you know whether they are realistic, figurative or abstract?

Abstract

Abstract art emerged in the 20th century. Abstract comes from the Latin word abstract and means to leave out. With abstraction you make an image more abstract in steps. You can see this well in the example below in the paintings of Paul Cézanne. With each painting, the image is less and less recognizable.

Image 4: Example of abstraction

Photograph movement

Take a photo in which you capture movement. Think of the previously discussed ways to do that. When taking the photo, consider the composition, the frame, and the moving element.

Zooming in

In the previous assignment you took a photo in which you captured movement. For this assignment, you take the previously taken photo as a starting point. You zoom in on this photo, with the emphasis on the moving element, so that an unrecognizable image is created in which movement is clearly visible. So you zoom in until an unrecognizable image is created. When zooming in, consider the composition and the crop.

Pay attention: Keep this photo safe! You will need this for the next assignment (next lesson)!

Splash

You make a painting with motion suggestions based on your photo from assignment 3 and 4. You can use brushes, rollers, pallet knives, combs, etc. Use a canvas of 30 x 30 cm for this. Create motion suggestion by using one or more modes of motion suggestions listed above. 

For inspiration, you can first watch the video on the left about using a palette knife.

What are you going to do?

  • First, draw up a sketch using charcoal or watercolor. Use the photo from assignment 3 and 4 as a starting point.
  • Use acrylic paint on a palette.
  • Do not use too many different colors of paint. Choose a maximum of 2 or 3 different colors and complete them with black and white.
  • Build up your painting in layers, you can get layering in your painting by using scratching. 
  • Use color transitions (use the wet-on-wet technique as shown in the video).
  • Clean your palette knife and comb regularly in between.

Assessment criteria

  • Movement is clearly visible in your painting
  • The colors are pure
  • Techniques are well applied
  • Collaboration went well

Video 1: How to use a palette knife