LINE
Line is one of the most basic elements of design. We use line to delineate, contain, and express. Your signature is the linear expression of your personal history and style.
The definition of line is: a mark made by a tool that has greater length than width.
The inherent dynamic quality of line is its ability to express movement. Movement is one of the principles of design we use to create composition and space. Movement in visual art means there is a pathway for the eye to travel. All areas of the design are active and refer to a direction. Pathways may be of a major or minor nature. Eye pathways can follow lines, the edges of shapes, or can be directed through space by the direction of a gaze, the pointing of limbs or shapes, and through the use of gestalts.
Line is also capable of infinite variety. It can convey mood and feelings. We read expressive quality into line such as a line feels nervous, quiet, happy, free, restful, energetic, etc. Line usually exists only symbolically. In nature we mostly experience line as the edge of a form or shape. Artists use line symbolically to outline, represent texture and value, and to express emotion and movement.
In the ink drawing by Ben Shahn, the character of the line is "crabbed." The line here is short, scratchy, and broken. This is a drawing of the fate of Prometheus. It wouzzld appear he is being wrapped by barbed wire. Does the line quality personify his fate?
Line has five different physical characteristics:
l) Measure: ratio of width to length
2) Type: straight, curved, angular
3) Direction: where is line going? Diagonally, in a spiral?
4) Location: where it is located on the picture plane can imply vastly different spaces.
5) Character: created by the media itself, an emotional quality can result. A line made with a pen tool "feels" different than the same line made by a stick of charcoal. This is a tactile characteristic and its texture resonates as emotion.
Sol Lewitt Wavy Brushstokes 1997Direction plays a key role in the expression of line in this painting by Lewitt. The thicket of lines in red, blue, yellow, black and white invites investigation, but the journey into this canvas feels more like a quest into a tomb raiders film.
Can diagonal, vertical, horizontal or curved lines suggest certain emotional qualities? Horizontals are said to be restful, verticals demanding, curves quieting or nervous depending on their scale, and diagonals are often dynamic. Why?
Two more types of line, which are prominent in composition, are implied line and psychic line. Positioning a series of points so that the eye connects them like a dotted line creates implied lines. Psychic lines are felt like a mental connection between two elements. This is evident when a figure points, or looks in a certain direction; our eyes follow. Line’s potential for controlling viewer’s responses to unfilled areas should not be overlooked. Unfilled areas can work as hard as the drawn-in lines. A very simple network of lines might make a design, which allows the viewer to construct in their imagination an active, or desired illusion.
