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The Pocket Universal Principles of Art
book

The Pocket Universal Principles of Art

by John A Parks
December 2017
Intermediate to advanced content levelIntermediate to advanced
208 pages
3h 39m
English
Rockport Publishers
Content preview from The Pocket Universal Principles of Art

054 Motif

A motif is an element in a composition or design that can be used repeatedly for decorative, structural, or iconographic purposes. It can be representational or abstract and is sometimes endowed with symbolic meaning. Motifs often recur throughout the work of an individual artist.

STRATEGIES

Decorative. The motif as an individual element is repeated to form a decorative whole.

Structural. A motif is repeated within a composition to create or reinforce a stable structure. The Russian artist Wassily Kandinsky (1866–1944) used a variety of abstract motifs, triangles, points, lines, and circles to construct numerous compositions.

Symbolic. A motif is given symbolic significance.

Narrative. A motif is given a particular meaning ...

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Publisher Resources

ISBN: 9781631595431