Rhythm and Movement

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Rhythm and Movement
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Rhythm

• Rhythm is the principle of art that indicates
  movement by the repetition of elements.

Andy Warhol, Marilyn Monroe's Lips, 1962
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There are 6 Types of Rhythm

• 1.) Visual Rhythm-rhythm you receive through your
  eyes rather than through your ears.
• A motif is a unit that is created in visual
  rhythm.
• A Pattern is a two-dimensional decorative visual
  repetition.

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Examples of Visual Rhythm
African Kente Cloth
The Great Mosque at Cordoba, Spain
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6 Types of Rhythm

• 2.) Random- a motif repeated in no apparent
  order, with no regular spaces in between.

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Examples of Random Rhythm

• Jackson Pollock, Number One, 1948

Bowl, Kongo People
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6 Types of Rhythm

• 3.) Regular- identical motifs and equal amounts
  of space between them.

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Examples of Regular Rhythm
Andy Warhol, Marilyn Monroe's Lips, 1962

• Empire State Building

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6 Types of Rhythm

• 4.) Alternating- can occur several ways to
  introduce a second motif or to make a change in
  the placement or content of the original motif

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Examples of Alternating Rhythm

• Navajo Blanket, 1855

Japanese Plate, Edo Period
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6 Types of Rhythm

• 5.) Flowing- created by repeating wavy lines.

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Examples of Flowing Rhythm
Botticelli, The Birth of Venus (detail)

• Drew Brophy, Life At Sea

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6 Types of Rhythm

• 6.) Progressive- a change in the motif each time
  the motif is repeated.

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Examples of Progressive Rhythm
Hiroshige, Okazaki

• M.C. Escher, Sky and Water I

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How Artists Use Rhythm to Create Movement

• Movement is used to convey feelings and ideas.
  It can be comforting and predictable, or it can
  be monotonous, symbolic, or graceful.
• Visual Movement is the principle of art that is
  used to create the look and feeling of action and
  guide the viewers eyes throughout the work of art

Bridget Riley, Blaze 3
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Futurism

• A group of artists tried to do more than control
  the way viewers looked at art. These artists were
  called Futurists.
• Futurists used rhythm to capture the idea of
  movement itself.
• They used the word dynamism to refer to the
  forces of movement.
• They believed that nothing was solid or stable.
• They showed forms changing into energy by
  slanting and overlapping surfaces.

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Futurist Art

• Giamcomo Balla, Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash

Umberto Boccioni, Unique Forms of Continuity in
Space
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Actual Movement

• Alexander Calder was a mechanical engineer.
  Calder created his art by repeating abstract
  shapes and putting them in real motion using air
  currents and gravity.
• Calder's art pieces were called kinetic
  sculptures. Kinetic sculptures actually move in
  space. Calder's sculptures were given the name
  mobiles. Moving sculptures have been called
  mobiles ever since.

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Alexander Calder
Calder, Enseign de Lunettes

• Calder, The Star