Slide 1:1 Informal Balance Art II, Art Talk ch. 9 created by Zoe Williams October 2007


Informal Balance= Asymmetry, an uneven balance :2 Informal Balance= Asymmetry, an uneven balance Formal Balance Bilaterally symmetrical Official Balanced Stable Serious Predictable Informal Balance Asymmetrical Casual Unbalanced Unstable Playful Unpredictable


Slide 3:3 Informal Balance has no central axis and no symmetry. In an image with informal balance, objects on one side may appear heavier than objects on the other side. Annunciation, Leonardo da Vinci, 1475


Slide 4:4 Nostalgia of the Infinite, 1911 Melancholy & Mystery of a Street, 1913 The Red Tower, 1913 Giorgio de Chirico (1888-1978) was an Italian painter known for his use of long shadows and informal balance. Informal balance here makes the viewer wonder what is happening in the scene. His mysterious and confusing images influenced Surrealist artists.


Slide 5:5 Diego Rivera (1886-1957) was a Mexican artist known for his formal balance in depicting people engaged in everyday activities. Using formal balance makes the people in his paintings seem serious and important instead of casual and ordinary. Man Carrying Calla Lilies Kneeling Child


Slide 6:6 Formal balance can be of two types of symmetry: Bilateral symmetry and approximate bilateral symmetry


QUIZ TIME… :7 QUIZ TIME… Number your paper from one to ten.


Slide 8:8 The Disquieting Muses (1916). Which artist created this painting? M C Escher Giorgio de Chirico Diego Rivera Salvador Dali Leonardo da Vinci 2. Which type of balance does this painting have? informal balance formal balance approximate balance unbalance


Slide 9:9 3. You are an architect designing a new bank. The bank should appear safe and stable. You need to show that the bankers are serious about protecting money. Which type of balance will you choose for the building? approximate balance informal balance formal balance normal balance 4. You are an architect entering a contest to create the most original building design for a new toy museum. Which type of balance will you choose to show that the museum is fun? approximate balance informal balance formal balance normal balance


Slide 10:10 5. This painting by Leonardo da Vinci shows which type of balance? approximate balance informal balance formal balance normal balance 6. Explain in sentence form how you know it has this type of balance. 7. Leonardo da Vinci is from the same country as artist Giorgio de Chirico. Which country is that? Mexico Spain Greece Italy


Slide 11:11 8. This painting is approximately symmetrical. Which kind of balance does it have? normal balance formal balance informal balance 9. Which artist created this painting? M C Escher Giorgio de Chirico Diego Rivera Salvador Dali Leonardo da Vinci 10. What is this artist’s heritage? Italian Dutch Spanish Mexican


Slide 12:12 Answers: 1. Giorgio de Chirico 2. informal balance 3. formal balance 4. informal balance 5. informal balance 6. There are larger trees on the left. The angel is leaning to the right. 7. Italy 8. formal balance 9. Diego Rivera 10. Mexican