ART 110 – Art Appreciation
Assignment #3
Chapter 3 – Visual Elements
1. What is the style of the assigned work? Define the style.
The assigned work is The Liberation of the Peon, a Political Protest piece by Diego Rivera. This piece shows a beaten slave’s body being covered up while his master’s farm is burned. It was intended to demonstrate the anger, fear, and corruption in Mexico in 1931.

2. What is “line”?
A line is simply defined in our textbook as an extension of a point. There are many different variations and characteristics of a line. A line can be straight and solid, curved or dotted, lines can cross, they can be fold or faded, and help create the appearance of movement, lighting effects, shading, and so much more.

3. How is line used in the assigned work?
Diego Rivera uses line for smoothness and texture in The Liberation of the Peon. His lines show the hair on the horses manes, the smoothness of the naked slaves body, the texture of the ground in the field they are standing in, and shows the transparent nature of the flames coming from the farm house in the background.

4. What is “shape”?
Our textbook defines shape as, “the expanse within the outline of a two-dimensional area or within the outer boundaries of a three-dimensional object.” The word shape is described as being interchangeable with the words mass and form. I would describe shape as being the form that an object takes. Water can have a shape though that shape can change depending on the container of the liquid.

5. How is shape used in the assigned work?
Rivera’s use of shapes within this political piece is hard for me to describe. On first glance I might say that organic shapes are used to show the people and horses; geometric shapes such as triangles are used to depict the mountains in the background. Additionally, his use of curved and often round or circular lines creates an illusion of circles throughout the piece, possibly creating a sense of unity and helping the viewer relate the despair that is pictured.

6. What is “mass”?
Mass is defined as the physical bulk of a solid body of material, and described as applying to a three-dimensional object only. A two-dimensional object would be a shape, not a mass. I think I would break it down more simply and say that mass is the space an object occupies, although our textbook defines that as volume. I would think mass and volume were more interchangeable, like shape and form are interchangeable. I do agree that shape and mass are only interchangeable when referring to a three-dimensional object, as a two-dimensional object does not have mass as it occupies no space.

7. How is mass used in the assigned work?
The depiction of mass in The Liberation of the Peon is interesting to me. I believe that Rivera showed mass on the foreground and main subjects of the piece, which almost gives it more dimension. If you notice that the characters have no shadows, and there is not much shading used on their clothing, and yet in certain places there is, such as the blanket covering the slave and the knife cutting the ropes. He used this shading to show movement in the act of caring for the man, and also to bring those actions to the forefront. I believe this also helps create movement and flow within the piece. Now look at the man standing on the left, he is very non dimensional, has little to no shading depicting his mass, and is also clearly one of the lesser important characters as he is only holding the horses.

8. What is “space”?
There is positive and negative space. An artist would see that negative space is the space in his artwork that is not occupied by an object, or simply the background if the background wasn’t full of mountains and trees. Positive space is the space occupied by objects or the focal pieces within the work. Three-dimensional space, as with architecture, makes you feel that you are in that space, occupying it yourself, and seeing the other objects positions within that space as it realtes to your position. Two-dimensional space, such as with a painting, can use lines and shading to create a three-dimensional experience when viewing the work, but is truly defined by the height and width dimensions of the piece.

9. How is space used in the assigned work?
In the space used (73” x 94-1/4”) Rivera uses lines and shading to give his two-dimensional artwork more dimension. It does not give a three-dimensional experience, but does help draw the main characters toward you, creating and directing movement for the eye of the viewer. There is not much negative space in the piece, but he doesn’t need it. Clearly the viewer is meant to see everything larger than life. I think he does this for impact, and definitely succeeds.

10. Is linear or atmospheric perspective used in the assigned work?
Linear and atmospheric perspectives are ways of showing depth or distance in artwork. Rivera used atmospheric perspective by using shading, varying his colors, and details to create distance. It is hard to see linear perspective since so much of the space is taken up with objects (people and horses) in the foreground.

11. Is “time” or “motion” used in the assigned work?
I do not think that The Liberation of the Peon depicts time. It definitely demonstrates a significant time period, but does not show anything regarding the passage of time. He does show motion however. With shading you can see the blanket shifting as it molds to cover the body of the slave. You can see the knife the cutting the ropes. You can almost see the horse directly behind the man cutting the ropes moving his face away from the movement of the man’s arm. He does a very good job of creating the illusion of this movement.

12. Is “light” used in the assigned work?
Rivera does use natural light but in a limited way. He does not need the sun to cast shadows or show dimension. There is very little shadowing, so I would think that likely the sun is represented as almost directly overhead, possibly around one o’clock in the afternoon, judging by the shading on the mountains.

13. What is “color”?
Our textbook defines color as a component of light, or the effect of light waves reflecting on our eyes. Our mind registers the hue, or what color we see, be it red, orange, yellow, etc. If it is a dark color or a lighter color it is called the value. The value helps gives off a sense of dimension. Lighter colors coming from the left may help show us a light source, or the direction of the sunlight. This gives the objects shape, or can make a face look round instead of flat.

14. Describe the color used in the assigned work.
Rivera uses very dull colors in The Liberation of the Peon. The colors are mostly browns, oranges and creams, and his line work dulls them down a bit. If he had used colors that contrasted more, the piece would pop. Rivera did not intend this to pop with color. It already pops with emotion. The duller colors help your feel the dread that was upon the people during this revolution.

15. What is “texture”?
According to our textbook, texture is, “the tactile quality of surfaces.” I would describe it as the way something feels when we touch it. Artists can use different mediums or painting styles to help give off a sense of texture. One might add sand to the paint to make it rough. You wouldn’t need to touch the painting to know how it felt, we can see it, and we recall from our own past experiences the way it must feel.

16. How is texture used in the assigned work?
The texture that I see in Rivera’s painting is found in the ground. It looks like straw and I know what straw feels like, so to me the ground has a straw-like texture. I also know the feel of horse-hair, and his line work depicts that very easily. And lastly, the scars on the slaves body give me a sense of texture as well. We all (or most of us) know what a scar or recent wound feels like, and looking closely I can see the added dimension Rivera created with color, and I can relate to the feeling of the scar tissue.

A. Chapter 4 – Principles of Design
1. What is “unity” in a work of art?
One of the seven key principles of design, unity is the appearance that all things belong together or work together in harmony. Unity in a piece of artwork contributes to its balance. You can also create unity within the viewer and the piece or art by portraying something they feel they can relate to.

2. What is “variety” in a work of art?
Variety in art is the opposite of unity. It shows diversity. A balance of unity and variety is described in our textbook as creating life, whereas too much unity is described as boring, or uncontrolled variety is described as chaotic.
3. How are unity and variety used in the assigned work?
You get a sense of unity in similar colors and textures, sizes of objects, shape consistency, and eye movement. The variety is shown with people and horses, different colored horses, different hats on the people, and different skin tones. I also like how for the most part the colors are consistently muted browns and oranges, and then there’s a splash of color in the red blanket and the blue pants on the man standing on the right. It keeps it from being too dull and boring, just a perfect balance of color. This piece seems very controlled though it depicts a time of great chaos.

4. Explain the two types of balance discussed in your text.
There is formal and informal balance. Formal balance is when both sides of something match or are very similar in symmetry. Informal balance is when the balance is not symmetrical, but in colors, objects, or any of the various elements help give off a sense of balance or symmetry, though it is in fact asymmetrical.

5. What type of balance is used in the assigned work?
The Liberation of the Peon has very good balance, which I accredit to a good combination of unity and value, in addition to its asymmetrical quality. You can’t draw a line down the middle and see that everything matches, but there is balance in that the man on the right side stretches almost to the top of the painting, while the man on the left side is down on the ground, and the people in the middle are centered in the painting. I also think the fact that the abundance of even numbers might have something to do with the balance of this piece. Other than the slave, there are four men, two wearing hats, two without them, four horses, and two are black and two are brown.

6. Is “emphasis,” “subordination” and/or “directional force” used in the assigned work?
I believe the emphasis is placed in the men caring for the slave by the use of colors and shading. This also creates directional force in that the red blanket draws your attention in and you first see that a nude, beaten man is being covered with a blanket, which then draws your eyes up to see that the knife is cutting him free from the ropes. You then are drawn up to the flamed building in the background and across the right side to the subordinate areas of the work.

7. Is “contrast,” “repetition” and/or “rhythm” used in the assigned work?
In The Liberation of the Peon, repetition, rhythm, and contrast all play a part. The repetitive visual elements are the men, their horses, their slings of bullets, the ropes, the similar colors and lines that give texture. The rhythm is apparent if you look to the slaves feet and glance towards his head, notice that the three dominant figures are all angled in the same direction, leading the eye up towards the burning building, the flames and mountains then pull you to the right. The contrast in colors, though similar enough, in the same flow, from the red blanket, up to the tans of the men and browns of the horses, only to drop off to a yellowish-gold of the mountains in the background, and back across to the blacks and browns again. This all works together to create the movement, balance, and unity that makes this work so empowering.

8. Discuss how “scale” and “proportion” is used in the assigned work.
The men and the horses appear to be in proportion to each other. And when you consider the height of the piece is at 73” tall, they are likely in true proportion with reality. I like how Rivera stretched the bodies from the top to the bottom of this piece, not leaving much negative space, and it wasn’t necessary. The greater the focal objects, the greater the political impact, which was clearly Rivera’s objective.

B. Chapter 5 – Evaluating Art
1. Discussion the content of the assigned work (what is the work about) and give your response to the work (what do you think and/or feel about the work).
When I first looked at this work, The Liberation of the Peon, I honestly didn’t care for it much. I thought it was dull and lifeless, and it didn’t speak to me or grab my attention. I found myself looking back at the piece as I answered each question in this assignment. I’m glad I did. As I was asked to look at so many different elements of design I found myself starting to appreciate the level of skill that went into this work. I noticed lines, and shading, and decided what time of day I thought it was based on the natural light source. I found even numbers, and similar shapes, and realized the amount of time that likely went into deciding on the composition and placement of the characters. Either Rivera was very good, or he was very lucky. Knowing the background on Rivera, and the extensive training he had before he painted this, I know he likely planned this out in advance, and it was not a work based solely on impulse, anger and rage that often accompanies political pieces. I believe that though I would not want a copy of this for my personal collection, I can appreciate it, and understand the impact this must have had back in the 1930’s.