VALUE
Value is defined in art as a relationship of dark and light patterns. These patterns might originate from a description of light and shadow on an object, or they might be created in design for purposes of decoration only (sometimes referred to as flat or two-dimensional). Patterns of value can also portray space, such as the atmosphere or distant forms (known as atmospheric perspective). They might suggest rhythm and emphasis in a design by leading the eye to areas of high contrast. Value can be chosen arbitrarily. It has the potential to evoke structure, space, emphasis, and mood.
In art we are concerned with both chromatic and achromatic experience. Chromatic refers to colors (hues such as red, blue, etc) and achromatic means black and white and limitless shades of gray. A relationship of color and value is that every color has simultaneously a value. Yellow is a light value corresponding to a light gray, and purple is a dark value, corresponding to a dark gray. We know from studies that the average person can distinguish only about 35 - 40 variations in value. The artist may use as many or as few values as the artistic purpose dictates. The scale below shows ten basic steps in value between black and white. The circles within each square are all middle value gray.
There are many techniques for creating value. Generally they can be broken down into two categories: graded use of media or optical mixtures. When working with artists' pencils, the softer, 'B' pencils, produce darker values and pressing harder makes darker areas than lighter pressure will produce with the same pencil. Other grades of pencils, 'H' pencils, produce a lighter value with the same pressure. The higher the number of pencil, the corresponding darker and lighter the value it can produce. Ink can be diluted to produce gray washes, and black and white paint can be mixed to create shades of gray. Charcoal, conte crayon and chalk create gradual and subtle transitions of dark to light by either pressure applied to the tool, or through layering of the stokes, or both. These types of tools/media produce graded mixtures of values.
Seurat used varying pressure of chalk in this drawing to protray volume and light without resorting to using any obvious lines to contain the figure. This is a graded use of the media.
Optical mixtures are created by the relative spacing of white and black marks to create the illusion of shades of gray. One controls the reading of the gray tone by the density of the spacing of the marks, the thickness of the marks, or both. The more sparsely the marks are spaced, the lighter the value will be interpreted. In the Henry Moore ink drawing, the values are created with a tangled contour hatching line that suggests the mass of the sheep.
DESCRIPTIVE VALUE
Artists use value to portray the light cast upon objects for centuries. Light generally strikes a surface from one direction and casts shadows on the opposite side. Light patterns vary from the surface of the object, its color and texture, and from the nature and distance of the light source. Curved objects reveal a gradually changing series of gray tones, and angular objects exhibit strong value changes. Cast shadows frequently obscure the true nature of form. Artists can choose to use, invent or exaggerate the light and dark patterns observed to aid in the effectiveness of their design. In using descriptive value, the artist will more than likely choose to either reveal light, or 'model' form. This is a modification of the effect of illumination. It suggests a light source originating from the eye of the viewer such that the edges of forms become darker while their front facing planes are lightest in value. It is more often used by sculptors making drawings, than painters or photographers who capture light in their work.
Whether value is used descriptively, expressively, or otherwise, a valuable aspect is that of value contrast. This means that wherever one wants to place a focal point or starting point, or visual emphasis, one can juxtapose high dark and light contrast, which will instantly attract the viewer's attention.
In the painting by Sargent, the opposite overall value structure is at work from the Whistler opposite, but the effect is still the same. The two dark rugs with the figure form a three way intersection of major emphasis. This is a good example of emphasis by placement at work too.
Aerial Perspective is a means of using value systematically to construct deep space. This is a system of values, which follows the observation that as objects are recede, they approach middle value gray and become less distinct. So high value contrast would represent nearby objects, and low value contrast would describe objects seen in the distance. This is also called atmospheric perspective because it imitates the sense of atmosphere which obscures the clarity of our vision into distance spaces. If you live in a certain large metropolitan area, atmosphere might begin to visibly obscure a distance not much greater than a few blocks! In the Casper David Frederick painting below, the systematic reduction of value contrast represents the recession into deep space.
EXPRESSIVE VALUE
Value can be interpreted by the artist to express a mood, such as a dominance of dark values can feel somber, or possibly, even a contrasting sensuality. Light values might suggest airy, foggy, ethereal, ghostly qualities. Neutral values can feel detached or even monotonous and hopeless. Artists often invent or distort values to create their own visual emphasis rather than strictly adhere to the observation of physical phenomena. Chiaroscuro means light and dark in Italian. This term represents a style of art that used a full range of values from black to white. It was developed in the l4th century and during the l5th and l6th centuries this use of values began to take on a high pitched voice that some regarded as a violent use of light and dark. It was called tenebrism, from the Italian word, tenebroso, which means gloomy or murky. This ‘dark manner’ of painting continued into the l7th century in Western Europe in the Baroque painting of that era. Strong contrasts lent themselves to highly dramatic, theatrically unexpected lighting. In the Caravaggio painting to the right, light appears to be cascading from an upper window while the figures dissolve into the darkened space of their surroundings. This dramatic illuminaiton was also called cellar lighting.
DECORATIVE VALUE
When the artist chooses to use a value system that ignores illusionistic light portrayal or omits the representation of light altogether, then the artist is working entirely from pictorial invention. Asian art, children’s art, and Western art from the Middle Ages, as well as a lot of contemporary work is free from illusionistic lighting. l9th century European artists were influenced by an exposure to Asian art forms. Edouard Manet began using multiple light sources to flatten object, as well as used bright, light value colors and neglected shadows. His flat areas of value inspired other artists to use nonrepresentational values coupled with a shallow space. In Manet’s work, flat areas of value meet other closed flat areas, instead of blending with adjacent areas. This was a significant departure from illusionist work of previous centuries. From this, arose the concept of open or closed value compositions. In closed value systems, values are limited by the edges or boundaries of shapes. In open value systems, values can cross over shape boundaries into adjoining areas.
