Page 120 - ART FORM AND MENTAL HEALTH - Ingrid Pénzes

Table 3. Comparison of clinically relevant, objective and reliable formal elements
Clinically relevant formal elements according to art therapists
Movement
Movement refers to the amount, character, and direction of the movement. Movement becomes visible by the brush marks.
Dynamic
Dynamic refers to tension (tectonic) within the art product. Dynamic varies from static, restrained, and calm to fast, turbulent, energetic, and forceful. It refers to the vitality of the movement made.
Contour
Contour refers to the de- limitation that emerges when shapes are outlined or are placed directly next to each other. This leads to rigid and sharp distinc- tions.
Repetition
Repetition refers to the return of one or more for- mal elements in a pattern. A lot of repetition leads to symmetry.
Formal elements operationalized in art theories
Movement
Movement consists of a com- bination of elements, such as diagonals and overlap. Movement varies in amount.
Dynamic
Dynamic refers to the tension within the artwork. This tension is created when the artwork seems to deny the boundaries of the frame. This is called “a-tectonic”. The opposite is an artwork that shows no tension with the frame.
Contour
Contour refers to the sharp edg- es, outlines, and borders of and between separate parts of the art product. Contour is formed by the use of sharp lines or distinct borders. Shapes are completely accentuated by lines and/or have distinct borders as if they were “cut out”. The opposite of contour is pictorial, diffuse artwork.
Symmetry
Symmetry is formed by an optical vertical axis of the middle of the artwork. The left and right half of the art product are mirrored and are equal regarding color
Agreement of experts
All experts gave a rat- ing of “2”
All experts gave a rat- ing of “2”
All experts gave a rat- ing of “2”
All experts gave a rat- ing of “1”
table continues
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