#focalpoint

Édouard Manet,

Berthe Morisot with a Bouquet of Violets,

1872. Royal Academy of Arts, London, England.

There are several devices that artists can use to ensure that subjects are seen in an artwork.  These subjects become the focal point(s) in the imagery.

EMPHASIS BY CONTRAST One way to create a focal point is through the use of contrast. Any type of difference in imagery will result in that element becoming a focal point. Difference or contrast can come in many different forms.  Color, value, texture, shape, and form can all create contrast.  By combining elements, you can increase the contrast that is created, thus strengthening the focal point.

Very often in art the pictorial emphasis is clear, and in simple compositions, such as a portrait, the focal point is obvious. But the more complicated the pattern, the more necessary or helpful a focal point may be in organizing the design. As a general rule, the focal point results when one element differs from the others. Whatever interrupts overall feeling or pattern automatically attracts the eye by this difference. The possibilities are endless:

-When most of the elements are dark, a light form break the pattern and become the focal point.

-When almost all the elements, whether light or dark, are vertical, a diagonal element is emphasized.

-In an overall design of distorted expressionistic forms, the sudden introduction of a naturalistic image will draw the eye for its very different style.

-When many elements are about the same size, similar but unexpected smaller ones will become visually important.

-When the majority of shapes are rectangular and angular parallelograms, round shapes stand out.

This list could go on and on, many other possibilities will come up. Sometimes this idea is called emphasis by contrast. The elements a contrast with, rather than continues, the prevailing design scheme becomes the focal point. Color is an element often used to achieve emphasis by contrast. A change in color or a change in brightness can immediately attract our attention.

Ceri Richards,

Major-Minor Orange Blue, screenprint, 1970.

John Baldessari The Duress Series: Person Climbing Exterior Wall of Tall Building/Person on Ledge of Tall Building/ Person on Girders of Unfinished Tall Building 2003

EMPHASIS BY ISOLATION A variation on the device of emphasis by contrast is a useful technique of emphasis by isolation. Whenever one object or element is separated from a group it becomes isolated and in turn, becomes a focal point.

John Trumbull, The surrender of Lord Crornwallis, oil on canvas, 1787-94. Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT.

In the painting by Eakins the doctor at the left repeats the light value of the figures in the operating arena. All of the figures in this oval stand out in contrast to the darker figures in the background. An extra emphasis is giving to this doctor at the left by isolation.

Thomas Eakins, “The Agnew Clinic” 1889, Oil on canvas, 6′ 2 1/2″x10′ 10 1/2″

Something to think about is that a focal point place too close to an edge will have the tendency to pull the viewers eye right out of the picture.

Placement

Objects that are placed in the center of the picture plane or near center, will naturally become a focal point. Most of the time, a focal point that is not exactly center is preferred. By placing an object or element just off center, you can create a focal point through placement without affecting the aesthetics of the work.

Judith Beheading Holofernes 1598–1599. Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, Rome

The placement of elements and the design may function in another way to create emphasis. If many elements point to one item, our attention is directed there, and a focal point results. A radial design is a perfect example of this device. Just as all forms radiate from the convergent focus, so they also repeatedly lead our eyes back to the central element. The central element may be like the other forms in the design, but the emphasis results from the placement, not from any difference in character of the form itself. Radial designs are more common in architecture or the craft area than in two dimensional art. In pictures perspective lines can lead to a point of emphasis and the result can be a radial design.

The placement of the most famous apple of all time is also near the center of the composition below. This is a busy, crowded painting and the passing of the Apple takes place at the intersection of the tree trunk and the lines formed by the arms of the Adam and eve. The composition has an equal balance to the left and right of the focal point and the key element is emphasized.

Lucas Cranach the Elder, “Adam and Eve” 1526, Oil on panel, 46 1/8x31 3/4″

CONVERGENCE

A fourth way to create a focal point in artwork is to use implied lines to direct a viewer’s eye to an object or element. This technique is known as convergence.

Mary Cassatt, The Letter, oil on canvas, 1890-91.

DEGREE OF EMPHASIS

A specific theme night at times call for a dominant even visually overwhelming and focal point. Do use of a strong visual emphasis on one element is not unusual.

In the graphic design of newspaper advertisements, billboards, magazine covers, and so on, we often see an obvious emphasis on one element. This can be necessary to attract the viewers eye and present the theme or product in the few seconds most people look casually at such material.

The very large scale X in the example below is also a bright white against a dark background that is primarily photographic. It is an immediate focal point, attracts attention to the page, and also conveys an idea of the theme of the article. A focal point, however strong, should remain related to any part of the overall design. The X is visually dominating, yet is related to other elements in placement and character.

In general, the principle of unity and the creation of a harmonious pattern which related elements is more important than the injection of a focal point if this point would jeopardize the designs unity.

THE UNUSUAL Another way to create a focal point in artwork is to introduce an object or element that is unusual to the scene. This object will stand out and demand attention thus creating a focal point.

ABSENCE OF A FOCAL POINT A definite focal point is not a necessity in creating a successful design. It is a tool that artists may or may not use, depending on their aims. Many compositions have an ambiguous emphasis, and different viewers will see different elements at the most important.

Robert Weaver, To Be Good Is Not Enough, When You Dream of Being Great, Poster advertising classes at the School of Visual Arts, New York.

A definite focal point it’s not necessary in creating a successful design. It is a tool that Artist may or may not use, depending on their aims. And Artist may wish to emphasize the entire surface of a composition over individual elements.

Mark Lombardi, George W. Bush, Harken and Jackson Stephens c. 1979-90, graphite on paper, 1990.

Sometimes the artist theme might such as the absence of a focal point. And Andy Warhol painting there are a hundreds repetitions of precisely the same image with no change, no contrast, and no point of emphasis.  But the repetitive, and relieved quality is the basic point and dictated the design. The painting contains a serious comment on our taken for granite daily lives. The design reflects life today, where we are bombarded with insistent and strident repetition of the same commercial images over and over. On a lighter note, it may also be commenting on the remarkable similarity of taste in every can of the beef noodle soup!

Some art forms by their very nature rule out the use of a focal point. Woven and printed fabric Generally have no focal point but consist of an unstressed repetition of a motif over the whole surface. A focal point on draperies, bedspreads, or a upholstery might be distracting. Including a focal point is provided by the design of the garment. Since the focal point is such a common artistic device, sometimes attention can be gotten by simply not using one. Consider a quilt, generally there’s no dominant element in a quilt. instead we are intrigued by the pattern of compelling items, with similar emphasis. Attention is dispersed throughout the grid of the quilt rather than on one particular focus.

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What Kind of Focal Point do the following works have?

Allison Elizabeth Taylor,

Hank

, wood and wood stain on panel, 2007. James Cohen Gallery, New York

Zak Prekop, Untitled, oil on canvas, 14 x 18 inches, 2010. Courtesy the artist and Shane Campbell Gallery, Chicago, IL

Michelle Grabner’s paper weavings

Henning Bohl

Michele Abeles, plant, hand, paper, table, lines, numbers, archival pigment print, 26 x 31", 2009. Courtesy the artist

Nick mauss, Untitled, ink on paper, 26 x 19", 2007. Courtesy the artist and Gallerie Neu

Vlatka Horvat, To Go On (Around) (12), collage mounted on book binding board, 10 x 8", 2010. Courtesy the artist.

Darren Bader, part of installation for MOMA PS1 stairwell, dimensions variable, 2007. Courtesy the artist.

Homework

Emphasis and Focal Point Create 1 large scale image and you will have a couple options on how you can approach this assignment that utilize ONE of the Emphasis/Focal Points devices discussed in this lesson.

If you decide on making this a more hands on project, you will create it by putting together two pieces of bristol paper OR computer paper (depending on what you have available). 

If you decide on making your project completely digital, your minimum dimensions will be 11x17″.

This project must be collage heavy (whether digital collage using Photoshop and/or Illustrator OR hands on collage OR both) and be primarily black and white (very little color allowed - think back to Ellen Gallagher’s work). Additional materials used are limited to black and white magazine clippings, printed material, photographs, paint, ink, markers, micron pen and or graphite.

Make sure to activate the background and fill the white of the page in an interesting manner.

Charline Von Heyl’s work for further inspiration:

Charline Von Heyl collages

STUDENT EXAMPLES: