Design Basics Value resource material: Design Basics by David A. Lauer and Stephen Pentak (pages 212 through 221 ) Launching the Imagination:Two Dimensional Design by Mary Stewart (1-20 through 1-23) Value Value is simply the artistic term for light and dark. Value is determined by the relative lightness or darkness of a surface. An area's value is its relative lightness or darkness in a given context. This interior painting by Charles Sheeter uses a broad contrast of values. Charles Sheeler. Church Street El 1920, oil on canvas, 16 1/8 by 19 1/8 inches, The Cleveland Museum of Art Value and color are related. Color, based on wavelengths of light, offers a much broader field of visual differences and contrasts. A further relationship of value and color is that every color is, in itself, also simultaneously a certain value. Janet Fish. After Leslie Left, 1983-84 Value Pattern This term refers to the arrangement of the amount of variation in light and dark, independent of the colors used. When value contrast is minimized and all the values are within a limited range with only small variation, the result is a restrained, subtle effect. the impression is one of understatement, whether the value range is limited to lights (high key is a term used often) or darks (low key). Ellen Soderquist - Slave to the Light - 2002 - graphite on paper Marge Ely (photo-documentation) 2002 Artemisia Gentileschi's painting shows an extreme contrast of dark and light. This is a Baroque painting, done in a period when artists purposely accentuated value contrasts to portray exciting themes. The violent and gory subject receives an aptly emotional visual treatment. The candlelit picture has dramatic, sudden shadows throughout the scene, achieving an almost theatrical effect. Value as Emphasis A valuable use of dark-and-light contrast is to create a focal point or center of attention in a design. A visual emphasis or "starting point" is often desired. A thematically important character or feature can be visually empnasized by value contrast. Whister's painting At the Piano directs the eye immediately to the young girl on the right. Her light dress stands in bold contrast to the darkness of the space around her, including the piano. James McNeill Whistler. At the Piano. 1858-59. Oil on canvas, 26 1/4 x 199 1/2 " Edward Hopper's Nighthawks emphasizes the interior of a brightly lit cafe. The sharp white interior contrasts with the darkness outside. This light then "frames" the several dark figures, who become the focal point of the painting. The general isolation of these dark spots reinforces the quiet, almost melancholy mood of the painting. Value and Space One of the most important uses of gradations of dark and light is to suggest volume or space. On a flat surface value can be used to impart a three-dimensional quality to shapes. During the Renaissance the word chiaroscuro was coined to describe the artistic device of using light and dark to imply depth and volume in a painting or drawing. Chiaroscuro is a combination of the Italian words for "light" and "dark". A drawing using only line is effective in showing shapes. By varying the weight of the line, an artist may imply dimension or solidity, but the effect is subtle. When areas of dark and light are added, we begin to feel the three-dimensional quality of forms. This is apparent in Michelangelo's Madonna and Child. The baby has been shaded in dark and light, giving it a feeling of volume and three dimensions, especially in comparison with the figure of the Madonna. Ivan Le Lorraine Albright has greatly exaggerated slight visual changes in value. The result is lumpy, almost decayed, feeling to the flesh. This painting shows that value can be used to provoke an emotional response. Ivan Le Lorraine Albright And God Created Man in his Own Image American, 1897-1983