Discovering Texture (1961)

[Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] all around us there are many exciting surfaces Oh [Music] [Music] surfaces are smooth or rough shiny or bumpy or anywhere in between differences in service we call texture every surface has texture and an object may have several textures the earth itself has texture and so do the living things on the earth [Music] our first experiences with texture come to our sense of touch when we touch different objects we feel that their surfaces differ and we see that they different textures look different depending upon the way they reflect light a surface that reflects light unevenly broken by many small shadows as a rough texture you [Music] surfaces that reflect even amounts of soft dull light have a matte texture [Music] surfaces that reflect still more like have a smooth texture and a very smooth service that reflects a great deal of light is called shiny the bright reflecting areas are called highlights so whether a texture looks shiny and smooth course and Matt smooth or rough rocky bumpy or fuzzy depends upon the way in which it reflects light [Music] in nature we see a great variety of textures and light playing on changing surfaces reveals the beauty of textures [Music] you [Music] natural textures can be a source of pleasure to us when we learn to look carefully [Music] but we can also derive pleasure from creating our own textures man uses paints tools and materials to change the texture of surfaces he may use sandpaper to change texture or he may polished surfaces making them shiny so they reflect highlights [Music] many different textures may be created in familiar materials clay is soft and easy to work it can be cut roughened with tools or changed by the hands of the Potter [Music] when clay is fired it becomes hard and stony its texture changes or glazes may be added to clay to make steel new textures paint can be used to create a variety of textures paintbrush Don wet paper makes fuzzy or furry textures a brush can be used to apply paint evenly or a brush can be used to apply paint unevenly as in stippling an almost dry brush can be dragged over the surface a lifted brush creates irregular raised areas the shadows that result make the texture rough or ridged in this student painting a lifted brush has been used to create several textures here the English painter John Constable applied his paint in thick bold strokes [Music] but textures can be made without a brush [Music] fingers create textures in web pain [Music] sponging paint on a surface changes its texture and paint may even be allowed to create its own textures see what happens when ink is applied to a wet surface textures can be varied by combining materials crayon may be used over paint or paint may be spread on crayon with a palette knife or heavy layers of wax crayon maybe painted and scraping layers of wax crayon and paint makes steel different textures here crayon paint and ink have been combined and through the medium of photography new and surprising textures may be discovered [Music] Photography may also help us to see distant textures such as the surface of the Moon or very close everyday textures we might overlook [Music] so there are both man-made and natural textures in nature beautiful textures may occur at random [Music] man however selects and organizes textured surfaces or their contrast and harmony [Music] in this painting by Pablo Picasso we see the texture of painted surfaces combined with the grain of wood [Music] sculptors also combine different textures [Music] [Music] a variety of textures can be found in the yarns from which our fabrics are woven we select our clothing for textural contrast or harmony in our homes the textures of woods fabrics fibers and metals offer variety and visual interest [Music] well designed buildings reveal rich contrasting textures offered by metal and plaster glass brick and stone in our Gardens we select and group plants rocks and pebbles to create beauty all through life we learn about textures by touching the surfaces of objects [Music] and looking at the way light reflects from these services some textures are man-made some are natural in nature textures seem to occur at random man however selects and organizes them with care as we can see in this painting by the Mexican artist rufino tamayo [Music] discovering textures can be a daily adventure our world is full of many textures for us to enjoy some we feel some we see and some we create [Music]