Motion by Vacide Cundoglu

The Webster’s Dictionary gives sixteen different meanings of the word movement some of which define it as the act, process, or result of moving; a particular manner or style of moving, rapid progress of events and the meaning related to this project as the stylistic representation of motion in a work of art. Motion is all around us, it is the essence and sign of living. Even as we are in deep sleep and refer to it sometimes as sleeping as a log, that action shows motion through breathing that is observable in the up and down movements of our diaphragm and chest. So, if movement is all around us how do we portray in pictures and photos? In art, motion is the perception that an object in the design is moving. This perception is created by the repetition of shape, color, or line to suggest degrees of motion, for example fast or slow. Rockman explains that our eyes are inclined to try to join together things that are the same or similar in some visual way. If there are a number of instances of a particular shape in a composition, our eyes will move back and forth between those repeated shapes in an effort to group, organize or bring them together (2000).

This is a photo of a busy traffic at night. The picture is very blurry and insignificant because it is hard to capture the fast movement of the cars. However as the explanation above suggest we try to group these repeated lines in thephoto and that repletion implies movement. A common question for painters and others working in static media is how to capture the sense of implied movement in the fixed image that could not literally move. Prior to motion pictures, artists tried to show movement through diagonal (off-balance) use of line and positioning of images in the composition.
	This photo depicts the controversy in the above sentence. Even though the television is not a moving object, the motion pictures now enable the viewers to actually observe the whole action. Whereas when we look at a picture, we feel the implied movement by the artist’s use of lines, shading, and brush strokes.
The blurriness in the photo and the color difference in the hubcaps suggest that this car is really moving.
	In this photo, even though the fan was on and was turning at a rapid pace, the movement is unobservable. In a real painting, the artist’s quick brush strokes around the fan would imply that the fan is turning and would make the viewer feel the coolness in the air.
The second type of movement is achieved by considering how the viewer's eye moves through the composition. This is referred as compositional movement. In this case the artist is not concerned with the presence (or lack of) implied motion in the image but how the viewer perceives the composition-- how the components relate and lead the viewer's attention. This photo is a combination of three parts; the wheel of a steam boat, the sea, and the side of the pier. The wavy water suggests that the boat is moving and the pier tells us that the boat is either approaching the port or leaving away. It is than left to the imagination of the viewer to complete the composition.
	Compositional movement is also classified as dynamic. Dynamic movement is characterized by movement of the eye that flows smoothly from one area of the composition to another, guided by continuations of line or form, and by gradations of color or form. This is an example of a dynamic movement. The flag is being waved by the wind and this movement is apparent through the curling on the fabric. Also, there are color variations on the flag even though it is a solid white and red flag. That variation is caused by the light and shadow the flag receives as it waves in the air.
Another classification of compositional movement is related to static movement: that is, movement of the eye that jumps and hops between separate components of the image, attracted by similarities and simply shifting to shapes with related shape or color Compositions exhibiting static movement are characterized by repetition of closed, isolated shapes and contrasts of color and/or value. In this photo, movement is captured through the contrasting size of people. The people walking at the back imply movement through the repetition principle. The man with the dog gives the viewer a sense of a jogging person because his body is exactly in that position. Yet, this is a deceiving photo because the man is actually giving a stable pose like that to gain attraction and to earn money.
In conclusion, movement as a principle of design is related to giving the picture a sense of moving and when we as viewers look at a picture we need to ask the following questions to understand this concept; how does the artist suggest motion or movement in the art?, describe what the motion is like: is it rough, smooth, fast, slow, or a combined movement?, if you want to choose music to accompany the work, what kind it would be?

Examples of topic in online museum:

1. Name of piece of art:
Artist: Maurice Brazil Prendergast
Museum: National Art Gallery
URL: http://www.nga.gov/cgi-bin/pimage?65254+0+0+gg70

This picture of Prendergast depicts movement as an element of art. Movement is implied by the repetition of events such as all the women waiting at the shore are pictured as doing something; walking, waving, sitting, kneeling and this abundance of depictions gives the feeling of the women’s movements.

2. Name of piece of art:
Artist:Claude Monet
Museum:Metropolitan Museum
URL: http://www.metmuseum.org/collections/view1.asp?dep=11&item=67%2E241

The picture named Garden at Sainte-Adresse, painted in 1867 by Monet depicts the element of movement by contrasting values. The smoke of the ships at the very far end of the picture are almost invisible but through repetition, we get the sense that they are moving. The weather is pretty windy because the sea is very wavy and the two flags are waving in the air. However the bigger objects of the picture that is the couple by the sea and the man sitting at the bank seem almost motionless when compared with the sea and the flags.

Bibliography:

1. Art, design, and visual thinking. Retrived from: http://char.txa.cornell.edu/language/element/move/move.htm on 09/05/2003

2. Rockman, Deborah A. (2000). The Art of Teaching Art. Oxford University Press: Oxford, New York.

3. Smith, Ray (1995). An Introduction to Art Techniques. DK Publishing Book: New York, New York.