Final answer:
The assertion that scale and proportion are among the least important factors in art and design is false. These elements are essential for creating harmony, emphasis, and conveying deeper meanings within a piece of art. They impact the composition and can alter the viewers' perception significantly.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that one of the least important considerations in scale and proportion is the study of the size and scale of elements within the design is false. Scale and proportion are crucial elements in the world of art and design, significantly impacting the overall composition, aesthetic, and meaning of an artwork. When artists like Michelangelo created the Pieta, he intentionally used scale to convey a deeper emotional connection, making Mary larger than Christ to emphasize her significance and to make the relationship between the two figures appear more harmonious and believable.
Similarly, artists like Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen play with scale to give familiar objects a new and unexpected character, often resulting in a playful and engaging public art experience, such as the Spoonbridge and Cherry. Scale can also be used to create visual emphasis, leading the viewer's eye to the focal point of an image, or, conversely, to create harmony within the piece, suggesting a balance between various elements.
In the Benin Altar Group, proportion between the figures of Oba (King) Akenzua I and his attendants communicates a hierarchy of importance, while the use of scale in surrealist artworks, like those by Rene Magritte, often distorts the usual perception of reality to make a statement or evoke a reaction. Whether subtle or dramatic, manipulation of scale and proportion is far from being the least important consideration; it's integral to the effectiveness and message of the art.