Analysis

Both artists mentioned below are similar in the way that they are both pioneers of the Minimalism art movement, and their artworks consists of the following elements and principles of design:


Elements of Design:

• Line: the edge created when two different shapes meet (found in both artists' artworks). Line also communicates emotion (aim in Minimalism art movement) and states of mind through its direction and character.
• Shapes: both artists' artworks contain shapes (circles, geometric shapes, squares, etc.). However, in Ellsworth Kelly's work, his oddly shaped canvases alone also represent the element of shape in his artwork. Also like Kelly, Frank Stella started using shaped canvases (mostly T shaped).
• Direction: there is a movement in the works of the artists' (e.g. Red, Yellow, Blue - our eyes automatically move from left to right, from big to small, from bright to dark)
• Colour: both artists use a lot of primary colours in their artwork, redefining the theory of Minimalism. In Red, Yellow, Blue, especially, there is a triadic harmony of the three colors.
• Typography: no typography were used in both artist's artworks.

Principles of Design:

• Unity: both artists' artworks have repetition and continuation in their artworks (in terms of color, shapes and lines)
• Emphasis: not really an emphasis on one particular focal point, but rather a contrast in the colors used
• Balance: there is a symmetrical balance in some of the artists' artworks, used by the repetition of shapes and color. In this case, balance is achieved through perfect symmetry.
• Space: the artists maximizes the use of space on their canvases, therefore not really creating a positive or negative space.
• Rhythm: there is a repetition in the work, therefore it achieves rhythm.