Shapes are most often created by enclosing a space within an edge contour. However, we can also create shapes based on visual properties such as color, value, or by surrounding an area with other shapes. Implied shapes are perceived because the viewer groups together those areas that are enclosed or that share similar formal properties. Implied shapes can also be perceived on the basis of conceptual qualities such as function or completeness. This allows a viewer to perceive a leg as a separate shape from a torso even if they are connected, with no line separating them.
Artist Name: Jonathan T. Schmidt
Title of Work: Line & Highlights: Figure Study
Size: 18" X 24"
Year Completed : 2000
Medium: Charcoal & Conte
Artist Name: Amber Reed
Title of Work: Hei Jyoo Shin Fait Dodo
Size: 5" X 5"
Year Completed : 2001
Medium: Digital Imaging
Artist Name: Stephanie Schollenberger
Title of Work: Kimono
Size: 4" X 4"
Year Completed : 2000
Medium: Enamel
Artist Name: Rebecca Crockett
Title of Work: Tea in Crystal Cup
Size: 11" X 17"
Year Completed : 2000
Medium: Digital Image
Based upon controlled laboratory tests, many psychologists have come to believe that the oval is the first shape that infants learn to perceive. They speculate that this may be due to the survival advantage associated with being able to recognize the breast and the face of adults, especially the mother.
A shape is highlighted within the composition above. Is this shape defined by its outer lines, its color, its value, or by other shapes surrounding it?
