PART 1

FUNDAMENTALS

Chapter 1.6
Unity, Variety, and Balance

Copyright © 2015 Thames & Hudson

 Chapter 1.6 Unity, Variety, and Balance
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS

Introduction
 Unity refers to the imposition of
order and harmony on a design
 Variety is the visual diversity
of different ideas, media, and
elements
 Balance refers to the distribution
of elements within a work

Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Third Edition, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, and M. Kathryn Shields
 Chapter 1.6 Unity, Variety, and Balance
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS

Unity
 Unity provides cohesiveness and
helps communicate its visual idea
 Artists select and organize
materials into a harmonious
composition
 There are three kinds of unity:
compositional, conceptual, and
gestalt
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Third Edition, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, and M. Kathryn Shields
 Chapter 1.6 Unity, Variety, and Balance
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS

Compositional Unity
 An artist creates compositional
unity by organizing all visual
aspects
 Too much similarity of any single
element or principle of art can be
monotonous
 Too much variety can mean a lack
of structure and the absence of a
central idea
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Third Edition, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, and M. Kathryn Shields
 Chapter 1.6 Unity, Variety, and Balance
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS

Diagrams of Compositional
Unity

1.6.1 Three diagrams of compositional unity

Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Third Edition, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields
 Chapter 1.6 Unity, Variety, and Balance
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS

Interactive Exercises:

Compositional Unity

Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Third Edition, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, and M. Kathryn Shields
 Artwork: Hokusai, “The Great
Wave off Shore at Kanagawa”

1.6.2 Katsushika Hokusai, “The Great Wave off Shore at Kanagawa,” from Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji, 1826–33 (printed later).
Print, color woodcut. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
 Chapter 1.6 Unity, Variety, and Balance
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS

Gateway to Art:

Hokusai: A Masterpiece
of Unity and Harmony
 The Japanese artist Hokusai
created a unified composition by
organizing repetitions of shapes,
colors, textures, and patterns
 Depicts unity and visual harmony,
even though the scene is chaotic

Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Third Edition, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, and M. Kathryn Shields
 Interior design,
I. Michael Interior Design

1.6.3a Interior design,

I. Michael Interior Design,
Bethesda, Maryland
 Linear Evaluation of Elements

1.6.3b Linear evaluation

of elements in interior
design by I. Michael
 Chapter 1.6 Unity, Variety, and Balance
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS

Interior design,
I. Michael Interior Design
 The balance of curved and straight
lines complement each other
 Linear patterns of curved lines
repeat
 Shapes are distributed throughout
 Composition is harmonious
without being boring
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Third Edition, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, and M. Kathryn Shields
 Artwork: Marie Marevna,
Nature morte à la bouteille

1.6.4 Marie Marevna (Marie Vorobieff-Stebelska), Nature morte à la bouteille, 1917. Oil on canvas with plaster, 19¾ × 24"
 Chapter 1.6 Unity, Variety, and Balance
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS

Marie Marevna,
Nature morte à la bouteille
 Marevna was one of the first female
members of the Cubist movement
 She breaks apart the still life and
re-creates it from different angles
 Unifying features are the angular
lines and flat areas of color and
pattern
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Third Edition, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, and M. Kathryn Shields
Artwork: Atsuko Tanaka wearing
Electric Dress

1.6.5 Atsuko Tanaka wearing Electric Dress, c. 1956

 Chapter 1.6 Unity, Variety, and Balance
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS

Atsuko Tanaka wearing

Electric Dress
 Tanaka wore this artwork to
exhibition openings
 She derived the idea for the work
in a neon pharmaceutical sign that
would turn off and on sporadically

Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Third Edition, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, and M. Kathryn Shields
 Artwork: Atsuko Tanaka,
Untitled

1.6.6 Atsuko Tanaka, Untitled,

1968. Enamel on canvas, 51¼ ×
38¼”.Lito and Kim Camacho
Collection, Manila, Philippines
 Chapter 1.6 Unity, Variety, and Balance
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS

Atsuko Tanaka, Untitled

 Tanaka is one of the notable members
of the Gutai group
 Gutai is formed of the words “gu,”
which translates as “tool,” and “tai,”
meaning body
 Unification in found in the repeated
motifs of lines and circular shapes
presented in a variety of bold colors
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Third Edition, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, and M. Kathryn Shields
Artwork: Romare Bearden,
The Dove

1.6.7 Romare Bearden, The Dove, 1964. Cut-and-pasted printed papers, gouache, pencil,
and colored pencil on board, 13⅜ × 18¾". MoMA, New York
 Chapter 1.6 Unity, Variety, and Balance
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS

Romare Bearden,
The Dove
 Bearden creates compositional unity
by assembling and organizing the
fragments that make up his collage
 At first, the street scene seems chaotic
 The order of the city is reflected in
an underlying grid and by an implied
triangular shape
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Third Edition, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, and M. Kathryn Shields
Portal Artwork: Hannah Höch,
Cut with the Kitchen Knife […]

2.8.20 Hannah Höch, Cut with the

Kitchen Knife through the Last
Weimar Beer-Belly Cultural Epoch of
Germany, 1919–20. Photomontage
and collage with watercolor, 44⅞ ×
35½". Nationalgalerie, Staatliche
Museen, Berlin, Germany
 Chapter 1.6 Unity, Variety, and Balance
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS

Conceptual Unity
 This type of unity refers to the
cohesive expression of ideas within
a work of art
 An artist may link different images
that conjure up a single notion
 The artist’s ideas and cultural
experiences can also contribute to
the conceptual unity of a work
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Third Edition, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, and M. Kathryn Shields
 Chapter 1.6 Unity, Variety, and Balance
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS

Interactive Exercises:

Conceptual Unity

Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Third Edition, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, and M. Kathryn Shields
 Artwork: Joseph Cornell,
Untitled (The Hotel Eden)

1.6.8 Joseph Cornell,

Untitled (The Hotel Eden),
1945. Assemblage
with music box,
15⅛ × 15⅛ × 4¾".
National Gallery of
Canada, Ottawa
 Chapter 1.6 Unity, Variety, and Balance
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS

Joseph Cornell,
Untitled (The Hotel Eden)
 Surrealist sculptor Cornell composed
boxes of found objects
 Placed together, the different objects
make an idea greater than any one
of them could create on its own
 Results in a complex visual
expression of the artist’s personality
and methods
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Third Edition, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, and M. Kathryn Shields
 Chapter 1.6 Unity, Variety, and Balance
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS

Gestalt Unity
 Gestalt is a German word for form
or shape
 Refers to something in which the
whole seems greater than the sum of
its parts
 The composition and ideas that make
an artwork –and our experience of it
– combine to create a gestalt
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Third Edition, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, and M. Kathryn Shields
 Chapter 1.6 Unity, Variety, and Balance
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS

Interactive Exercises:

Gestalt Unity

Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Third Edition, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, and M. Kathryn Shields
 Artwork: Vishnu Dreaming
the Universe

1.6.9 Vishnu Dreaming the

Universe, c. 450–500 CE. Relief
panel. Temple of Vishnu,
Deogarh, Uttar Pradesh, India
 Chapter 1.6 Unity, Variety, and Balance
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS

Vishnu Dreaming
the Universe
 The repetition of human shapes is
used to create compositional unity
 Religious ideas presented provide
profound conceptual unity
 These aspects combine together
to create a sense of gestalt, an
awakened understanding of the whole
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Third Edition, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, and M. Kathryn Shields
 Chapter 1.6 Unity, Variety, and Balance
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS

Variety
 Variety is a collection of ideas,
elements, or materials that are
fused together into one design
 Variety can invigorate a design

1.6.10 Variety of shapes and values set into a grid

Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Third Edition, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, and M. Kathryn Shields
 Chapter 1.6 Unity, Variety, and Balance
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS

Interactive Exercises:

Variety

Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Third Edition, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, and M. Kathryn Shields
Artwork: Robert Rauschenberg,
Monogram

1.6.11 Robert Rauschenberg, Monogram, 1955–59.

Mixed media with taxidermy goat, rubber tire, and tennis ball, 42 × 63¼ × 64½".
Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden
 Chapter 1.6 Unity, Variety, and Balance
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS

Robert Rauschenberg,
Monogram
 Rauschenberg used variety to
energize his artwork and challenge
his viewers
 Breached the divide between
painting and sculpture
 Used non-traditional art materials
and techniques as transgression
against traditional art and morals
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Third Edition, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, and M. Kathryn Shields
 Chapter 1.6 Unity, Variety, and Balance
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
MoMA Video
To learn about another artwork by Robert Rauschenberg, watch this video of a MoMA lecturer talking about
Rebus and Bed:

MoMA Video:

Robert Rauschenberg,
Rebus
Bed

Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Third Edition, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, and M. Kathryn Shields
 Chapter 1.6 Unity, Variety, and Balance
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS

Using Variety to Unify

 Variety can be unifying
 An artist can create visual
harmony while using a variety of
different shapes, colors, values,
or other elements

Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Third Edition, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, and M. Kathryn Shields
Artwork: Album quilt

1.6.12 Album quilt, probably by Mary Evans, Baltimore, Maryland, 1848.

Appliquéd cottons with ink work, 9 × 9'. Private collection
 Chapter 1.6 Unity, Variety, and Balance
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS

Album quilt
 This type of quilt is named after the
scrapbooks kept by Baltimore girls,
created in the nineteenth century
 Uses a variety of images and shapes
 A strong structure is imposed by a
grid, forming a unified composition

Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Third Edition, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, and M. Kathryn Shields
 Chapter 1.6 Unity, Variety, and Balance
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS

Balance
 Just as real objects have physical
weight, parts of a work of art can
have visual weight, or impact
 Balance provides a visual
equilibrium and helps the work
appear complete
 We can identify visual balance
by noticing differences between
two halves
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Third Edition, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, and M. Kathryn Shields
 Chapter 1.6 Unity, Variety, and Balance
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS

Interactive Exercises:

Balance

Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Third Edition, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, and M. Kathryn Shields
 Chapter 1.6 Unity, Variety, and Balance
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS

Symmetrical Balance
 If a work can be cut in half and
each side looks exactly (or nearly
exactly) the same, then it is
symmetrically balanced
 Examples include the human body,
most animals, and a number of
geometric shapes

Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Third Edition, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, and M. Kathryn Shields
 Artwork: Liu Ding
(ritual container)

1.6.13 Liu Ding (ritual

container), China, late
Shang Dynasty, c.
1600–c. 1050 BCE.
Bronze. Shanghai
Museum, China
 Chapter 1.6 Unity, Variety, and Balance
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS

Liu Ding (ritual container)

 The t’ao t’ieh is a hidden motif found
widely in the art of ancient China
 It is a symmetrical collection of
shapes and forms that reveal a
monster mask
 May symbolize communication with
the gods
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Third Edition, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, and M. Kathryn Shields
 Chapter 1.6 Unity, Variety, and Balance
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS

Asymmetrical Balance
 Artists often use different visual
“weights” on each side of a
composition
 Elements on the left and right
sides are not the same, but the
combination counters each other

Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Third Edition, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, and M. Kathryn Shields
Artwork: Ma Yuan, Walking on
a Mountain Path in Spring

1.6.14 Ma Yuan, Walking on a Mountain Path in Spring, Song Dynasty (960–1279). Album leaf, ink and color on silk,
10¾ x 17". National Palace Museum, Taipei, Taiwan
 Chapter 1.6 Unity, Variety, and Balance
PART 1

Ma Yuan, Walking on a
FUNDAMENTALS

Mountain Path in Spring

 Elements in this composition are not

distributed evenly between the left
and right sides
 Ma Yuan counteracts the visual
“heaviness” of the left side by
placing the poetic inscription at
the top right as a counterweight
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Third Edition, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, and M. Kathryn Shields
Aerial view of The Taj Mahal

1.6.15a The Taj Mahal, designed by Ustad Ahmad Lahauri, Abd al-Karim Ma’mur Khan and Makramat Khan;
commissioned by Shah Jahan, 1632–43 Marble, Agra, India
 Chapter 1.6 Unity, Variety, and Balance
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS

Gateway to Art:

The Taj Mahal: Love and

Perfection
 This complex was commissioned by
a grieving Shah Jahan as a memorial
to his wife
 Pure visual symmetry unites all
elements, echoing the couple's united
love, and creates a perfect balance
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Third Edition, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, and M. Kathryn Shields
 Diagram: Plan of
Mumtaz Mahal's tomb

1.6.15b Plan of the tomb of Mumtaz Mahal

 Chapter 1.6 Unity, Variety, and Balance
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS

Gateway to Art:

The Taj Mahal: Love and

Perfection (contd.)
 The architecture of the tomb features
bilateral and radial symmetry
 All areas of the complex, including
the central tomb building, can be
bisected to reveal identical
components on the opposite side

Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Third Edition, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, and M. Kathryn Shields
 Mughal Garden

1.6.16a Mughal gardens and the South Gate of the Taj Mahal, Agra, India 1.6.16b Plan of the charbagh (Mughal garden)
 Chapter 1.6 Unity, Variety, and Balance
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS

Gateway to Art:

The Taj Mahal: Love and

Perfection ( further contd.)
 Radial balance exists in main
building and the adjacent charbagh
(Mughal garden)
 Each design element is repeated
equidistant to a central point
 Multiple repetition of balance in
design is proof of Shah Jahan’s love
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Third Edition, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, and M. Kathryn Shields
 Chapter 1.6 Unity, Variety, and Balance
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS

Radial Balance
 Radial balance (or symmetry) is
achieved when all elements are
equidistant from a central point
and repeat in a symmetrical way
from side to side and top to bottom
 Can imply circular and repeating
elements

Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Third Edition, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, and M. Kathryn Shields
 Artwork: Amitayus Mandala

1.6.17 Amitayus Mandala

created by the monks of
Drepung Loseling
Monastery, Tibet
 Chapter 1.6 Unity, Variety, and Balance
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS

Amitayus Mandala
 A mandala is a diagram of the
universe
 Series of symbols are equidistant
from the center and symmetrical
 The creation of a Tibetan sand
painting is an act of meditation
that takes many days, and is later
destroyed
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Third Edition, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, and M. Kathryn Shields
Portal Artwork: Andrea Palladio,
Villa Rotonda

3.6.14b Andrea Palladio, plan and part elevation/section of the Villa Rotonda
 Chapter 1.6 Unity, Variety, and Balance
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS

Chapter 1.6 Copyright

Information
This concludes the PowerPoint slide set for Chapter 1.6

Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts

Third Edition
By Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, and M. Kathryn Shields

Copyright © 2015 Thames & Hudson

PowerPoints developed by CreativeMyndz Multimedia Studios

 Chapter 1.6 Unity, Variety, and Balance
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS

Picture Credits for Chapter 1.6

1.6.1 Ralph Larmann
1.6.2 Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Prints & Photographs Division, H. Irving Olds collection, LC-DIG-
jpd-02018
1.6.3a I. Michael Interior Design
1.6.3b Ralph Larmann
1.6.4 Courtesy Galerie Berès, Paris. © ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2018
1.6.5 © Kanayama Akira and Tanaka Atsuko Association
1.6.6 Lito and Kim Camacho Collection, Manila. © Kanayama Akira and Tanaka Atsuko Association
1.6.7 Museum of Modern Art, New York, Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller Fund, 377.1971. Photo 2012, Museum of
Modern Art, New York/Scala, Florence. © Romare Bearden Foundation/DACS, London/VAGA, New York
2018
1.6.8 © The Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation/VAGA, NY/DACS, London 2018
1.6.9 Photo John Freeman
1.6.10 Ralph Larmann
1.6.11 © Robert Rauschenberg Foundation/DACS, London/VAGA, New York 2018
1.6.12 Private Collection
1.6.13 Photo Mingli Yuan
1.6.14 Collection National Palace Museum, Taipei, Taiwan
1.6.15a © Airpano (www.airpano.com)
1.6.15b Ralph Larmann
1.6.16a © Tibor Bognar/Photononstop/Corbis
1.6.16b Ralph Larmann
1.6.17 Courtesy Drepung Loseling Monastery, Inc.

PowerPoints developed by CreativeMyndz Multimedia Studios