Motif (visual arts)

Motif (visual arts)

Wallpaper group

For other uses, see Motif (disambiguation).
Plant motif, Taj Mahal

In art, a motif About this sound (pronunciation) (help·info) is an element of a pattern, an image or part of one, or a theme. A motif may be repeated in a design or composition, often many times, or may just occur once in a work. A motif may be an element in the iconography of a particular subject or type of subject that is seen in other works. Ornamental or decorative art can usually be analysed into a number of different elements, which can be called motifs. These may often, as in textile art be repeated many times in patterns. Important examples in Western art include acanthus, egg and dart, and various types of scrolls.

Many designs in mosques in Islamic culture are motifs, including those of the sun, moon, animals such as horses and lions, flowers, and landscapes. Motifs can have emotional effects and be used for propaganda.[1]

Contents

Film

Visual motifs are used in film to establish a mood, such as film noir.[2][3] Blade Runner is a science fiction film that uses visual motifs effectively; director Ridley Scott used a birthing motif in a previous film Alien.[4]

Patterns

  • The Grammar of Ornament Egyptian No 7 (plate 10), image #20
  • Illustration from The Grammar of Ornament (1856)
  • Motif in lace

  • A Persian motif on textile

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Motifs in Jihadi Internet Propaganda (PDF)
  2. ^ (2004) Some Visual Motifs of Film Noir By Alain Silver and James Ursini ISBN 0879101970
  3. ^ (1974) Some Visual Motifs of Film Noir by Janey Place & Lowell Peterson
  4. ^ Blade Runner

Further reading

  • Hoffman, Richard. Docorative Flower and Leaf Designs. Dover Publications (1991), ISBN 0486268691
  • Jones, Owen. The Grammar of Ornament. Dover Publications, Revised edition (1987), ISBN 0486254631

External links



Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Motif (narrative) — In narrative, a motif  (pronunciation) (help·info) is any recurring element that has symbolic significance in a story. Through its repetition, a motif can help produce other narrative (or literary) aspects such as theme or mood. [1] …   Wikipedia

  • Motif — See also: Motive Motif may refer to the following: In creative work: Motif (music), a perceivable or salient recurring fragment or succession of notes Motif (narrative), any recurring element in a story that has symbolic significance Motif… …   Wikipedia

  • arts, East Asian — Introduction       music and visual and performing arts of China, Korea, and Japan. The literatures of these countries are covered in the articles Chinese literature, Korean literature, and Japanese literature.       Some studies of East Asia… …   Universalium

  • arts, Oceanic —       the literary, performing, and visual arts of the Pacific Islands, including Australia, New Zealand, and Easter Island, and the general culture areas of Polynesia, Melanesia, and Micronesia. Many of the island clusters within these culture… …   Universalium

  • Theme (arts) — In the visual arts, a theme is a broad idea or a message conveyed by work done in a visual experience, such as a performance, a painting, or a motion picture.it is also something required for most art critics. This message is usually about life,… …   Wikipedia

  • Islamic arts — Visual, literary, and performing arts of the populations that adopted Islam from the 7th century. Islamic visual arts are decorative, colourful, and, in religious art, nonrepresentational; the characteristic Islamic decoration is the arabesque.… …   Universalium

  • performing arts — arts or skills that require public performance, as acting, singing, or dancing. [1945 50] * * * ▪ 2009 Introduction Music Classical.       The last vestiges of the Cold War seemed to thaw for a moment on Feb. 26, 2008, when the unfamiliar strains …   Universalium

  • Southeast Asian arts — Literary, performing, and visual arts of Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines. The classical literatures of Southeast Asia can be divided into three major regions: the Sanskrit region of… …   Universalium

  • South Asian arts — Literary, performing, and visual arts of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. Myths of the popular gods, Vishnu and Shiva, in the Puranas (ancient tales) and the Mahabharata and Ramayana epics, supply material for representational and… …   Universalium

  • Central Asian arts — Literary, performing, and visual arts of Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Tibet, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and parts of China and Russia. The term usually denotes only those traditions not influenced by the… …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”