The Formal Elements

Line

Line is a documentation of vision and feeling. It is a human invention which allows the ability to portray and communicate what we see to the viewer.

The tattoist Mo Coppoletta is here exploring line in his inking onto the body. He is creating something beautiful on the surface of the skin by cautious, contolled, precise and fluid use of line.

The use of line in this particular piece of work is extemely complex and detailed; and appears to be almost growing out of the skin as a result of this skillfull use of line on the human body. This creates the impression that the flower itself is almost alive.

Colour

Colour grabs us, captures our attention and adds emotion, intensity and interest to a piece. It influences directly our moods, actions and emotions.

Colour is the result of light being reflected from a surface.
It is one of the most potent of the elements. It has tremendous expressive qualities; for example the dark blue tones in picasso's "La Celestina" would perhaps draw feelings of sadness and mystery, whereas the bright and vibrant yellow-orange tones of Vincent van Gogh's "Sunflowers" emit an optimistic and blissful vibe. Understanding the uses of color is crucial both in creating and appreciating artworks.

My own watercolour painting here explores very vivid, exaggeratedly fleshy colours to try to express a rawness and add a viviacious quality to the skin- making it appear like the live insides of the body. The blue tint to the background and the purplish tint to the face on the other hand adds an air of mystery, loneliness and darkness to the work.

Texture

When creating texture in two-dimensional artworks, an artist can choose to produce a smooth or a rough surface in the application of the medium. The artist Tony Bevan has here experimented with using texture in his work "self portrait".

The fleshy tones used in the painting are accentuated by a grit-like substance on the surface of the subject's skin; making the flesh appear raw. The abraisive surface layer on the face of the work makes the paint stand out from the canvas. The high viscosity of the work and subsequent 3D quality to the image is what makes it so striking.

Space

Space can be described as the distance or area around, between, above, below or within places. In art, space can be described as either two-dimensional or three dimensional, and is vital in creating an aesthetically pleasing artwork.

This photographic self portrait by Chinese artist Zhang Huan really demonstrates a sophisticated spacial usage.

The artist has enclosed himself in a "cage" of ribs- there is the idea of a barrier or protection from the rest of the world inside this personal space.

The blueish tint to the background is also here helping to create the illusion of atmospheric perspecive; space between the background, artist, and viewer, as seen in other famed historical works such as 'The Mona Lisa".

Light

Artists often want to create the illusion of 3D substance on a two dimensional surface. One of the ways this can be done is by rendering the effects of light and shadow as they fall on solid forms.

In this photographic self-portrait by Cuban artist Ana Mendieta however, the element of light is the crucial factor in the creation of the piece.
The whole technique of projecting onto the body that the artist is here using is in fact manipulating the element of light- outlining the shape of a skeleton onto her body in an extreme dark tone against the light, white tone of her skin. The effect is one of mystery, darkness, and perhaps emptiness in the photograph.

Shape

We are born into the world of shapes. As we develop we learn how to read them, and how to translate visual images into the information we need.

Shape can be defined as the outlines of objects, or can exist as gaps, or negative space between the objects. A successful use of shape helps to acheive order, variety, and harmony a composition. It helps us to dissect and analyse the things we see in the world around us.

My own ink study shows strong cutout shapes drawn in dark, expressive lines against a bright white background- thus creating a clear edge and a stronger shape for the eye to follow.

The arching, negative space is extremely visually powerful against the detailed drawing and adds interest to the page.

Form

Similar to shape, form defines objects in space. Form and shape imply space; indeed they cannot exist to the eye without space.
Two dimensional form has both width and height. Two dimensional artworks can also create the illusion of the objects within them being three dimensional. Three dimensional shape has depth as well as width and height, it also has substance (i.e a sculpture).

The Australian artist Emma Hack has in this work created a sculpture of a dead tree entirely out of living people.

I thought that this really demonstrated an interesting use of form in that it is a three-dimensional sculpture constructed however out of completely seperate lviving entities.

The Body as an Art Form

The body as a canvas- Can the human body be considered as an art form?
The human form has been depicted in countless great works of art through the ages. Even the human skeleton in all its complexity can be considered a work of art in reality. The human body is such a complex and fascinating structure that it has been a consuming passion for most artists since the dawn of time. We see this in such works as Caravaggio’s, Leonardo Da Vinci, other greats, and too in the works of modernist artists and photographers today.
In many ways however, the body itself is an expression of art- a canvas for displaying emotions, personality or inner being, ideals and beliefs. This idea of the human body employed as an art canvas throughout contemporary and traditional art and indeed everyday life is an idea that I am really eager to explore during this essay.
Tattooing is one of the oldest forms of body art.

The impetus to decorate and adorn the body is fundamentally a human trait and is something that has been a practice for thousands of years. For many people the designs and symbols of tattoos can hold great significance. Similar designs can be found across cultures but their meaning can be notably different. Within cultures the meaning of certain designs can vary across time.

The practice of adorning the body actually spans thousands of years back in time. The written accounts of early European explorers declare an elaborate and widespread nature of tattooing in various parts of the world, providing an insight into traditions that had their origins deep in the past. For example Ötzi, “The frozen human”, found in the Austrian Alps dates to 5,300 years ago. His is the oldest tattooed body known. He has 57 tattoos.

Tattooing actually also has a very central role culturally across the world to this day. In many tribes in Samoa male and female tattoos in fact have distinctly separate names. The word for male tattoo is “pe'a”, which literally translated means “flying fox” and refers to the darker charcoal colour of the ink that is more typically favoured by the Samoan tribesmen. It covers the area from the knee to the waist, and is actually a matter of ceremony in Samoan culture. Without this vital symbol of manhood, it is widely believed that the male will carry a sense of shame.
The word for a female tattoo on the other hand is “malu”, which means to be “protected and sheltered”. Although female tattooing is not as essential as it is for the male in the culture, the taupou (village maiden), who has an important ceremonial role in the community, is also always tattooed from her knee to the top of her leg and sometimes on her hands.
Both male and female tattoos in Samoan culture are customarily meant to show that you are ready for life, for adulthood and to be dutiful to your community. This decoration of the body is really an essential part of the Samoan people’s lives. They are marks of both prestige and of obligation, yet can these tattoos really be considered as the body becoming a form of Art or simply a displaying of traditional values?

Another cultural example of the adornment and decoration of the body is Scarification in central Papua New Guinea. Scarification - the voluntary scarring of the body- is seen as a rite of passage into manhood. Scarification is usually linked to initiation. The skin on the chest, back and buttocks of the initiate is engraved with a bamboo sliver to test both their self control and physical strength. The scars, when healed, represent the teeth marks of the crocodiles that are religiously sacred to many Papua New-Guineans. This is an extreme example of the decoration and marring of the human body for the purposes of conventional religious beliefs. It is a symbolic attempt to merge the human body with that of an animal to display courage and maturity; and yet visually, to the outside world- this practice turns the body into something fascinating, horrifying, and at the same time somehow beautiful. The scarification completely transforms the body, really making it appear as something almost alien and intriguing that in my opinion can hence be considered as a kind of living art.

“The ceremonies and the initiation scars, or marks, were part of my induction into manhood and training in the ways of Sharmanic healing and medicine” Ben Lewis, Healer and Performer, 22
In every case, the art of tattooing is using the skin as a surface for projecting fantasy. It comes from a desire for permanent alteration of the body- to become a kind of artistic composition in the flesh. What tattooists can create are works of art actually under our skin- the art becoming a part of the human body. Similarly with the deliberate scarring of the body, the skin morphs into something more significant and altogether mesmerises the viewer.

What tattooists can create are works of art actually under our skin- the art becoming an integral part of the human body. Whether symbolic religious marks, autobiographical scenes or simply fantastic designs, the whole body becomes a kind of gallery through these forms of body art- a gallery of beliefs and traditions or personal thoughts, emotions and self expression. The decoration of the body reflects entirely the psychology of the wearer. It is an incredibly personal and intimate form of art- using the body as an artistic canvas that one can display to the outside world.

The New-York based Chinese performance artist Zhang Huan really explores in depth this notion of using his body to express himself as a human- to unlock his inner thoughts to the viewer and inspire the imagination. His works emit a strong fantastical element. A piece of his work that I feel really reflects this is “Family tree”, a work created in 2001 that displays a set of bold calligraphy across the artist’s face, which gradually complexifies throughout the set of photographs until his whole face is blackened, covered by the inks.
Zhang Huan seems fascinated with the way people see the human body- with writing and legibility and how we see and understand others or ourselves in particular within a cultural framework. The second piece of work of his that I have here shown named “skin”, created in 1997 displays Huan in a ‘cage’ of animal ribs, complete with flesh still clinging to them. The image displays the vulnerability of the human body; the insides on the outside of the skin. Zhang’s body is truly a canvas for his conceptual artwork.