MAGNIFICATION: a way of increasing or expanding scale to attract attention, emphasize, or place importance on the subject matter.
“Balloon Dog Yellow” by Jeff Koons
“Maman” by Louise Bourgeois
VIEWPOINT: the presumed vantage point of the viewer in an artwork. Our relationships are greatly affected by the angles that we are perceiving them from. The artist has the utmost control when the place the viewpoint for the viewer. It is the ultimate tool of manipulation for we are forced to view the work exactly how the artist wants us to.
Polaroid photograph composite by David Hockney
“Factory” by Picasso
POLARIZATION: polarity is about opposites, and about contrast. When two or more things are vastly different we have an attraction to the distinct differences. The artist’s intention of ideas can perhaps be more apparent when we are presented with polarity in an image.
Painting by Viktor and Natalia Kovalevski
“Cut Block” by Jason Dury
MIRRORING: Using the idea of mirrored elements within an image. As viewers we are comfortable with symmetry making this technique very effective.
Andy Goldsworthy is a nature artist, and in these pieces he uses the reflectivity of the water to make his stick sculptures seem like they are full formed and symmetrical entities floating above the water.
DISGUISE: a means to hide or conceal, generally used to surprise viewers.
“Unknown” by Unknown
“Fox Bird Mask Disguise” by Elizabeth Ocean
MULTIPLICATION: Restating ideas and images incrementally while maintaining their wholeness and integrity.
Teun Hocks
“Campbells Soup Cans” by Andy Warhol
SUPERIMPOSITION: The act of layering images together or covering over an image as a way of changing its purpose or creating new meaning.
“Superimposition” by Boris Mikhailov
“Ryland” by Gillian Robertson
