TEACHER NOTE 1: FORMS

Basic Design Components

Kwakiutl Color Meanings

  • Black–primar y color, used for the form line–structures the design
  • Red–secondar y color-reserved for elements of secondary importance
  • Blue Green–tertiary color
  • 4th color–sometimes added for brilliancy (second blue, second red, white, green, yellow)

Line

  • The form lines curve, connect, and flow continuously.
  • Where a heavy line meets a curved one, the artist adds a negative shape in the form of a crescent, T or Y at the junction; this maintains the outline of the curve and gives relief to the solid thickness.
  • Where two heavy lines meet, or in any other area where the mass of color is unbroken, the negative relief may be a circle.
  • Form line changes constantly—in both thickness and direction.

Ovoid

Rounded rectangle

  • Top edge appears sprung upward
  • Lower edge slight upward bulge
  • Used by most of the Kwagiutl (North)
  • Open, linear ovoid often contains an inner ovoid
  • May be small and solid, or nearly solid
  • Often represents an eyeball
  • May be a specialized motif called a "salmon-trout" head

Common Ovoid

U Form

  • Very characteristic Northwest Coast feature
  • Can vary tremendously in proportion and still maintain a "U" shape
  • Large "U" often helps form contour of a bird or animal body or body parts.
  • Smaller "U" serves to fill in open spaces and represents small feathers.

U Form

Split U Form

  • Seen in ears, tails and many open spaces
  • Usually used with the "U" form
  • Haida word for split "U" means "flicker feather"

Split U Form

S Form

  • Derived from two halves of a "U" form joined in opposite directions
  • Used as a connecting element as part of an arm or a leg
  • To create an outline
  • A series of "S" forms within a body cavity of a creature represents its rib cage.

S Form

Basic design components taken from Looking at Indian Art from the Northwest Coast
by Hilary Stewart, pp. 19-24, University of Washington Press, Seattle

Note:
Designs are manipulated to fit the shape of the object being decorated, so it is common to distort and split shapes to fit the need.
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