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Space - EduqasSpace

Three-dimensional work creates real space. Two-dimensional works can create implied space using artistic technique. Objects take up positive space, while negative space is the empty space around them.

Part of Art and DesignElements of Art

Space

What is space?

Space refers to objects and to the area around them. Space relates to volume, so a space has width, depth and height.

Works by Canaletto, Barbara Hepworth and Antony Gormley demonstrate implied and actual space, and positive and negative space.

Real space

Three dimensional works like sculptures, architecture, products and jewellery exist in real space 鈥 they are real forms that take up a real volume.

Sculpture with Colour (Oval Form) Pale Blue and Red (Barbara Hepworth, 1943) is a three dimensional sculpture that takes up real space. It has height, width and depth and takes up real volume.

Sculpture with Colour (Oval Form) Pale Blue and Red, Barbara Hepworth, 1943, wood and string
Image caption,
Sculpture with Colour (Oval Form) Pale Blue and Red, Barbara Hepworth, 1943, wood and string

Just because an artwork or design takes up real space doesn't mean it has to show space in a realistic way.

Teatro Olimpico and proscenium arch, Vicenza, Italy, 1580-85
Image caption,
Teatro Olimpico and proscenium arch, Vicenza, Italy, 1580-85

The design of the Teatro Olympico (1580-1585), a Renaissance theatre in Vicenza, Italy, plays with to exaggerate the depth of the stage.

The floors are tilted, the walls are placed at angles and the model buildings shrink in height. This false sense of perspective makes the streets appear to stretch further into the distance than they do in reality.